The possibility of making money from 1 million YouTube views is simple, however, the amount of payment is much different than what most people think if you are a beginner. There are no fixed payouts per view on YouTube in India. Instead, earnings are dependent on advertising rates on audience demographics, niche category, watch time and overall engagement quality. As a result two creators with the same amount of views can make drastically different amounts of money.
On an average, how much youtube pays for 1 million views in India would have fetched any amount between Rs. 30,000 – Rs. 1 50,000 in revenue just from AdSense. This range however is not an absolute figure. Some creators may make less than 30k and some niches where there is an audience that will be paying may make more than 200k if they can get a crowd of high-paying advertisers. The difference is less in terms of the quantity of views than in the question of value attached to views.
How YouTube is really calculating payments
YouTube pays its creators primarily through advertising money under the YouTube Partner Program. Payments are calculated based on CPM (Cost Per 1,000 impressions) and RPM (Revenue Per 1,000 views). CPM is what advertisers are getting paid and RPM is what the creators are actually getting after YouTube took its 45% share.
In India, CPM rates are quite lower compared to Western markets. This is because the advertising expenditures and purchasing power are different from one nation to another. As a result of this, Indian creators face CPMs anywhere between Rs 40 to 250 depending upon niche and audience types. Once the share of YouTube is taken off, it becomes the lesser RPM, thus coming into direct play when deciding how much 1 million views earn.
Why Niche Plays a Major Role
One of the most unheard of elements of YouTube money-making is niche selection. A million views case in case of a comedy or meme-based channel will generally lead to a lesser amount of revenue in comparison to a finance or investment channel. Advertisers of industries like banking, insurance, stock trading, software services, etc., are happy to pay a lot higher price for each impression as their customer life value is high.
For example, the price of entertainment channels can be in the range of Rs. 30,000 – 60,000 for 1 million views. Education, tech channels tend to go – Rs.60,00,000 – Rs.1,00,000. Finance, business, and digital marketing content lie in the domain of having a cross of over Rs 150000 especially if there exists a working person or decision maker in the audience.
This does explain why some creators get low levels of income even though they reach viral numbers and others have a lot of money with a lesser amount of total views.
The Role Played By The Audience Geography
Audience location can have a dramatic effect on the earnings from YouTube. If the majority of views are coming from India, then the revenues are equivalent to Indian CPM rates. However, if the audience will be coming from a substantial number of countries such as the United States, the United Kingdom, Canada or Australia the CPM increases significantly.
For example, 1 million views from India might generate Rs 50,000 One million views of a 40 – 50% western audience could possibly double or triple that figure. Global audience targeting has therefore become a strategy for many Indian creators who try to make more revenue without necessarily making more views.
Watch Time and Video Length Matter
Longer videos indeed have the tendency to make more money as they give the operator the option of mid-roll advertisements. Videos of more than eight minutes duration can have multiple ads, implying even greater impressions. A short three-minute video means that there will be less time to advertise, even if it becomes a huge hit in terms of the number of views.
In addition, retention rate plays an important role. Advertisers love the centered viewers. If viewers watch more and interact more – the algorithm serves more ads – that is better for revenue. Therefore, 1m views with a high engagement rate can be worth more money than 1m views with a low engagement rate.
Shorts vs Long-Form Content
YouTube Shorts have become tremendously popular in India, but the way they make money is different than the way long-form videos make money. Short form revenue is further joined and distributed in a different way, so it often results in the same to lower earnings per million views.
Normally 1M Shorts will make between Rs 2000 to Rs 10,000 in India. Long-form videos with the same number of views in contrast can make ten times the same. Shorts are great for growth and acquisition of subscribers, but the long-form content still dominates for the purposes of direct monetization.
Seasonal Fluctuations in Earnings
Advertising rates do not always remain the same throughout the year. The last quarter is especially when it comes to festive times such as Diwali and New Year that there is more spending from advertising agencies. With these times, the CPM rates and RPM rates are increasing.
On the other hand, in the first quarter of the year there may be less advertising budgets being allocated so there may be slightly less payouts. Therefore, the same 1 million views will pay more in November than they will in February.
Outside of AdSense: The Bigger Picture
While AdSense revenue is the one metric that is most frequently discussed, among the successful creators, many are making more off brand collaborations, affiliate marketing, and product promotions. For channels consistently generating 1 million views per video, sponsorship deals can exceed AdSense revenue multiple times over.
In fact in high-value niches an individual brand deal can be for much more than the whole AdSense earnings from 1 million views. This is the reason that professional creators use AdSense as a basic income and not as the primary source of revenue.
Final thoughts
In India, 1 million views on YouTube can result in anywhere from 30,000 to 1,50,000 as an average while more can be possible depending upon niches, geography and engagement quality among others. It is not the number that determines the income, but the demand of advertisers and the value of the audience.
For creators, the most important point to understand is that it is often more important to focus on high-value topics, better watch time, and a better audience than it is to focus on achieving cracks that are pure mindshare. Views do bring on the visibility but fact earnings are said to be achieved through strategic setting up.
Also Read: How To Use The YouTube To Mp3 Conconverter?
About the Author
