After 1.5 Years on YouTube, I've Finally Made My First $1,000

[u/Forward_Problem_7550]

After roughly a year and a half of creating videos, I’ve officially passed $1,000 in YouTube AdSense revenue.
Now, I know $1,000 over 18 months isn’t exactly life changing money, but to me it’s a pretty incredible feeling knowing something I started purely as a hobby has managed to earn that much.
For a bit of context, I run a gaming channel. I started with nothing more than my PS5, a microphone and a genuine enjoyment for making videos. No expensive setup, no professional editing experience, not even a PC, just learning things as I went.
And I’ll be the first to admit, YouTube has been one hell of a rollercoaster.
I’ve had videos reach thousands of people, followed immediately by uploads that struggle to get even 100 views. I’ve spent hours recording, editing and putting together thumbnails, only to watch a video completely flop.
There have been times where I’ve questioned whether what I’m doing is actually worth it, times where I’ve felt burnt out, and times where I’ve probably spent far too long staring at YouTube Studio wondering why something wasn’t performing.
But then you get those little wins. A video suddenly takes off, someone leaves a genuinely nice comment, or you see a familiar viewer coming back to support another upload. Those moments remind me why I started in the first place.
My channel currently sits at around 2K subscribers, 573,000 longform views and just over $1,000 earned.
I’m nowhere near where I’d eventually like to be, and I still have so much to learn. Some months I feel like I’m making progress, and others it feels like I’m going backwards.
But looking back at where I started, I’m genuinely proud of what I’ve managed to build.
I guess the reason I’m sharing this is because I know how discouraging YouTube can be, especially when you’re putting so much effort into something and not seeing the results you’d hoped for.
Don’t let one bad upload convince you that you’re wasting your time. And don’t compare your first year to someone else’s fifth.
Keep experimenting, keep learning, take breaks when you need them, and most importantly, try to enjoy what you’re creating.
I’m still just a small creator figuring things out myself, but 18 months ago I never would’ve imagined that making gaming videos in my spare time could earn me $1,000
Here’s to the next milestone. 🍻

[u/nikhilsai_s]

Can i see your channel?

[u/skiThooly → u/nikhilsai_s]

same, 573k views at 2k subs is a pretty interesting ratio tbh

[u/B_Bearington]

that's not that long of a timeline. anyway, congratulations.

[u/MUSCLEVIOLENCE]

Lay off the ChatGPT