The Highest Paid YouTubers and How You Can Try To Reach Their Heights

Have you ever surfed through YouTube on an infinite scroll and found a YouTuber you really admired, whose opinions and the outlook was much like yours, and then wondered if you too could become a successful YouTuber? 

Is this something you think would be easy to achieve? If so, you should probably not attempt to replicate their success as we can reliably inform you that trying to do so will take a great deal of effort and planning and isn’t something you should enter into without knowing the likelihood of failure.

There is a litany of guidelines that you’ll have to follow in order to not only adhere to YouTube guidelines, such as choosing YouTube royalty-free music that helps you avoid copyright bans as well as other ways to make sure you can get your content high up the search rankings and then there’s the small matter or producing engaging content that is actively viewed and enjoyed, by millions of users. 

Lower Expectations and Be Aware of the Long Haul

Any attempt to make a name for yourself on YouTube should be tempered with more than just a little bit of a reality check. Of the millions of YouTube channels, it’s believed that only 0.025% make revenue; think about that for a moment. 

The chances of running a YouTube channel that makes any money whatsoever are already stacked against you, and the odds of your work leading to the type of revenue that means you don’t have to have a second job are frankly mind-blowing.

So you should be realistic with your goals and remember why you are running the YouTube channel in the first place. If you are doing so because you enjoy the subject matter you plan on covering, and you get satisfaction from the production of your work, then that’s a good start.

Your focus should start down this route, and then if you find that your videos are being seen by a growing audience, and the numbers are backed up by great reach and a good level of interaction with subscribers, then perhaps you can start to think about taking things to another level. 

Plan, Strategize and Use Analytical Tools to Measure Growth and Audience Demographics

As with all things on the internet, a major bonus when it comes to building on any residual success you may achieve comes in the form of real-time analytical data. Using a raft of tools, you can easily find out what’s working and what’s not as well as using key audience demographic info to better target your overall strategy.

Having all the key data available makes it easier for a YouTuber to get better at the things that work and to easily drop things that don’t hit the right spot. Taking time to effectively dissect this information is almost as crucial as planning the actual content of your videos.

The Big Stars of YouTube

Though it’s true that only a fraction of YouTubers make any sort of meaningful revenue from their channels, it’s worth noting that there are a select bunch that rakes in cash in a big way, and those numbers grew in 2021. 

Here’s a look at the top five most successful YouTubers of 2021, and by most successful, we are talking purely about the revenue they generated.

5) Unspeakable (AKA Nathan Graham) – $28.5 million

Unspeakable has been part of the YouTube ecosystem for over a decade and is increasingly becoming a big player in the market. His main focus is Minecraft, and at present, he has just short of 13 million subscribers.

4) Rhett & Link – $30 million

These guys have a talk show that entertains their viewership of just over 17 million subscribers and has been working their magic since 2006. They have expanded to running live streams that have helped to boost their revenue. 

3) Markiplier – $38 million

This channel has over 30 million subscribers, and the revenue he’s generated has been greatly aided by merchandise sales. He’s also moved into tv adaptations and works with Netflix and Hulu, and seems geared to branching out.

2) Jake Paul – $45 million

Clearly, like his brother, Jake Paul owes his roots to YouTube but now makes a vast sum from his boxing career where he’s successfully won over the doubters with big wins. He still posts content to his 20 million followers, but it’s fair to say that he has his fingers in other pies right now.

1) Mr. Beast – $54 million

When it comes to YouTube channels with massive subscription rates, Mr. Beast’s 88 million followers is quite something to behold. He also has separate gaming channels and has used his name to branch out into other areas, with his MrBeast-branded meals being sold in 1600 restaurants across the US. 

Clearly, if you have designs on making any future list of top-earning YouTube talents, then you’ll need to bring your A game and more patience than you might at first think. Obviously, it’s great to have a dream and a goal but try to stay within your wheelhouse and remember why you wanted to run your YouTube channel in the first place. 

If the primary target is to make vast sums of money, then you might want to consider alternative ways to earn a living.