Hey my name is Charles, a JavaScript Developer from Africa, Kenya. In this post, I will mainly talk about my YouTube journey as a web developer. How much have I earned? What are the challenges? Is it worth it? Will I quit in 2022?
If you wish to check out my channel, here is the link: https://youtube.com/chaoocharles
Table Of Contents
- Analytics
- Why did I start YouTube?
- Choosing a niche
- Getting Monetized
- Upwork Freelancing
- YouTube Money
- Challenges
- My 2022 YouTube Goals
- Take Away
- Support My Content
Analytics
Let me breakdown these analytics for you:
- Total Subscribers: 4.7k subscribers
- Videos: 126 video uploads
- Period: 2.5 years (since jul 2019)
- Total Views: 244,998 views
- Total watch time: 10.9k hours
- Total ad revenue: $374 (10 months)
- Donations revenue $38
- Revenue from YouTube Opportunities (clients): $780 (3 clients, one premium course)
Why did I start YouTube?
As you can see from the above analytics, I have been uploading content since jul 2019, that is approximately 2.5yrs ago. I wasn't consistent with my uploads though. I was still a student pursuing an I.T degree and in the last semester of my 3rd year. Like many students, I was broke and raised from a humble background. Therefore, before starting my channel I was thinking of different ways I could generate some passive income online while studying.
By the way I graduated this year (2021) 🎉
I explored many options. I tried freelancing on Upwork, but the journey at Upwork was tough and I didn't get even a single client after applying on several projects. And then I thought of YouTube. I knew that YouTube would not start paying me any time soon, but the idea of it paying me by the time I graduate was awesome. At least I would have something to keep me busy before I got a full-time job. This is what motivated me to start uploading.
Choosing a niche
I watched many advisory YouTube videos before settling for a niche. First I had thought of gaming, I thought this was easier because I would be having fun while doing it. The challenge was that my laptop is a low level laptop (it's what I'm still using even when writing this post). I remember my classmates joking about it, they used to call it CRT 😂😭 I still call it that way, lol. I will share the specs later in the post.
So, gaming failed like nobody's business 😂. I thought of vlogs but then I didn't have a camera, not even a phone with a nice camera. Since I was pretty comfortable working with HTML, CSS and React, I settled with web development tutorials. This didn't require a powerful PC nor a camera. It just needed a screen recorder, a microphone(I have been using a phone for this for a long time), a vs code, a chrome browser and me at work.
Getting Monetized
I have never seen anything hard in life like being monetized on YouTube 😭 The momentum of uploading videos also goes from 100 to 0 real quick after just a few uploads. This is mainly so when you don't have any other social following to give you the initial boost.
The requirement for monetization is 1k subs and 4k hours of watch time. This bar is so high and I uploaded videos for almost 2 years without getting a penny from YouTube. But this might have been because of many reasons like lack of consistency with my uploads, sh*tty content, bad English and many other factors. But who cares? I was definitely trying my best.
For me to keep uploading, I had to switch my mindset from getting money from YouTube to just helping and teaching others. This is still my mindset, otherwise, if it was just for money I would have quitted a long time ago.
I got my first 100 subs from my classmates and friends, but only about 3 of them were actually watching my content 😂 I was getting very little watch time from them and my videos were hardly getting over 50 views. I had to learn different ways of boosting my videos. That is when I realized reddit existed, that is when I learned about this DEV site and I'm happy to be here by the way 😍 You guys got me to 1k subs 🥳
I joined several Facebook groups but I was banned from most of them for spamming them with my low quality content 😣 I had to simply improve the quality and that is exactly what I did. After dropping two good react and MERN stack series, I got to 1k subs and even got the 4k watch time. I was monetized on march 2021
Upwork Freelancing
I wasn't earning a sh*t from YouTube for a long time, but man must pay bills and eat. I therefore started freelancing again on Upwork in 2020. I had more time since all schools had been closed due to covid-19. This time round I got a few clients, and I could earn a little while creating content. I was doing small projects like fixing bugs and cloning designs to html and CSS. I didn't manage to get good paying projects on Upwork so I quitted after a few months. But my Upwork profile is still solid. Maybe I might go back later in life 👇
YouTube Money
I thought that I would become a millionaire once I was monetized on YouTube. I'm still broke and it doesn't work that way 😂 To generate enough revenue from ads, the videos should be getting good viewership. Right now I get about 500 views per day on average. This makes between $1 to $3 per day
As you can see, I'm hardly making money from YouTube ads. Despite having a deep passion on content creation, I'm still heavily relying on freelancing and it's so hard to focus on YouTube fulltime as for now.
Challenges
Shitty setup - Shitty content - although you can just start YouTube with whatever equipment that you have, sometime the equipment can greatly affect the quality. I'm still using my shitty setup 👇 (but it's way better than nothing 😊)
My laptop is very low level, 3gb ram, core 2 duo CPU. Hangs a lot when recording, can't do heavy video editing. I bought this laptop from my students loan and it really helped me to study coding and even complete my studies. I still use a budget phone for audio (Samsung A22 4g) - Bought with freelance money.
Lack of consistency - With school work it was so hard to be consistent with my video uploads. Tutorials are not easy to create, they require research time(even when you know the topic very well), recording and editing.
My 2022 YouTube Goals
Will I be quitting YouTube in 2022? Hell No! I am more ready and pumped up than ever before. I once wished to be monetized on YouTube and now I am. I once wished to get to 1k subs and now I am at 4.7k.
Some channels which started around the same period as mine grew so big (e.g dev ed and web dev simplified with over 700k subs) and mine is still so tiny. This tells me how big the room for growth and improvement is. As long as I get to help at least one person, I'm good to go.
The following are my 2022 YouTube goals:
- Become a bit more consistent. At least one well curated video per week
- Work my ass off and upgrade my setup for better quality content
- Get to 20k subs
- Earn at least $300+ per month from YouTube ads Revenue
Take Away
If you are looking forward to start a YouTube Channel or if you already have one, the following is what you can take a way from this post.
- You can start YouTube with any equipment you have, but strive to upgrade to better one.
- Be consistent with uploads, your content will go a long way that way.
- Share your content on other platforms but do not spam like I did. Otherwise you will be kicked out
- Have a side hustle. Otherwise you will die of hunger. Small channels earn peanuts.
- Try to improve your content with every upload.
- If you want to start YouTube, the best time is now.
- Be humble and be yourself. I'm still learning to be myself though coz I don't know who I am 😂
Support My Content
Your support will help me to upgrade my setup for better quality content and more videos per month.
- Subscribe (Get me closer to 5k subs): https://youtube.com/chaoocharles
- Donate with PayPal: Chaoo Charles PayPal Link
- Support via Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/chaoocharles
Other Links
- I'm on Twitter: https://twitter.com/ChaooCharles
- Stalk My Portfolio: https://chaoocharles.dev/
- Join My Discord Server: https://discord.gg/WGqJ2CZebb
If you have a blog or a YouTube Channel, share it below. I will definitely check it out. Also I'm sure others would like to see what you are creating.
Happy New Year Everyone 🎉🥳🥳🥳
Top comments (47)
Hey Mate, I am just getting started with the youtube ! your story will help me a lot
Please checkout my channel at
youtube.com/channel/UC-PHymXrKOnSn...
Please let me know your thoughts :)
This is really nice, @chaoocharles , I started YouTube with 3 primary aims.
But just like as you said, after one year, I gave up on making money from it anytime soon, and just decided to stay focused on the first 2. Unfortunately I was a student just like you, it wasn't easy combining the whole thing together with academics. Just like you, I graduated 2021, and it's almost 2 years, my channel hasn't even reached 500 subs.
Reading through your story, I found out that it's much similar to mine, the only difference with mine was that I attempted YouTubing twice and failed, it was this last time that I prepared a lot before starting and I made up my mind never to give up on it, as it was part of my personal goals to help people.
Also, just like you, I tried Fiverr in my 3rd as a student, but even after taking Fiverr's skill test on web development (Django) and passing it, it didn't make my job search on Fiverr any easier, finally I gave up and decided to let it go.
Your story is a motivating one for people like me.
Before 2021 ended I made up my mind to be more consistent and upload better quality contents on my YouTube channel and across my other social media handles.
My goals for 2022 is to focus on creating Project based tutorials and creating videos/contents on data structures and algorithms.
@chaoocharles , I hope to collaborate with you in the nearest future.
Checkout my YouTube channel and other Social media handles.
youtube.com/Nwafor_Livinus_Anayo
linktr.ee/nwafor
It's really nice seeing someone you really relate to so much.
Hey, I'm glad that you can relate. I hope this inspires you to keep moving despite the challenges.
@chaoocharles thanks a lot. I will get in touch with you.
Yeah! It's just surprising how much we have in come, it really gives me hope that, there will be a happy ending to the journey, if I keep pushing, while working to improve.
Hey, I'm glad that you can relate. Keep uploading as a part time thing and one day You will get to 1k subs, also try to improve the quality with each upload.
"sh*tty content, bad English and many other factors. But who cares? I was definitely trying my best."
best line :D
very inspiring Chaoo.
I"ve started my youtube last month.
where i post fronend related tutorials and tips.
so far 50 subs lol
youtube.com/channel/UCiHUi4wJ6rkPS...
I would love to do a colab with you Chaoo :)
Thanks and you have a good channel. Don't give up with uploading, to boost your views you can convert your videos to blog post but you also pin your video at the top of the post for those interested with video format. You can make use of this DEV platform.
thanks for the tip.
I started adding videos to my articles.
Great, so what kind of collaboration were you talking about?
I was thinking of you create 1 great video for my channel and i create one for your channel.
great post @chaoocharles you just encouraged me to start my youtube channel (January 5, 2022) after a series of procrastinations, I currently have one subscriber 😃 😌 but I know I'll grow .... if you are reading this comment please like and subscribe to my youtube channel here ...thanks a bunch guys. 😭
Great 😂😂 I will subscribe to your channel. But there is a catch, start uploading soon or I will unsubscribe, lol 😆
Thanks man...it's a goal, I'll surely be consistent with my uploads
Keep up the fighting spirit @chaoocharles , a lot of people just consume content on the web without providing anything back; you're an inspiration, hell you make me want to start my YouTube chan as well;
Subscribing to your channel and tweeting about it now !
Thank you so much. I really appreciate. You can well start YouTube as a part time thing.
Yeap, for that I'll need more free time ⏱️... for now I'm forcing myself to publish an article right here, on dev.to at least once a week; I realized this year that I have a ton of notes I've taken while learning dev stuff for 3 years, so I'm starting to step up my content creation game with a reasonable objective for starters: 1 article a week :)
I might reach out to you in a few months for some YouTube advice if you don't mind though !
Cool, content creation will get you well connected with the Dev community and even get some cool opportunities. I highly recommend.
Keep it up. I'm one of your earlier subscribers. I always check your content when you do drop something new. I've noticed the progression in your videos. Keep focused on teaching & the views & subscribers will come.
Hey, thank you for the huge support. I really appreciate 🙏
Keep up the fighting spirit @chaoocharles , just keep up the struggle on mate and it will surely pay you off in a lot better way that you can imagine; currently I do not have a channel on YouTube like you but I'll start that soon any help on the niche would be a huge help to me.
BTW apart from these YouTube stuff I was currently working on my Blog Platform ( a bit long time I must say ) which is accessible here codeitdown.ml and now I'm just working at a Company ( and currently I'm unable to write new Blogs for my readers )
also Subscribing to your channel !
Thanks buddy, I will check out your blog. About a niche I would recommend you focus on what you are interested in, so that you don't get tired creating videos on it.
Thanks
Congratulations on your actual achievement, that is on your graduation! That is your actual achievement, not the YouTube channel. Keep your coding skills sharp and yourself on a lookout for a project, not on YouTube video production. Social media is a race nobody can win. I am sure it has a role in self-promotion but keep in mind who are you talking to: any of them actual job prospects? No, most are probably aspiring to get to where you are now. If all you care is putting up content for the purpose of teaching your viewers something, you might as well just screen share your command line or desktop and maybe subtitles. Get yourself on GitHub, start a project you think might be cool and get yourself a LinkedIn profile. And start from there.
YouTube monetization is a moving target, rules are always changing. But your actual projects are real.
Have a happy, healthy and prosperous New Year 2022 and the best of luck on your journey.
Thank you for this advice, happy new year!
Even with the challenges you've faced getting started on Youtube, this is inspiring! Maybe you could even make videos about your experience being successful on Upwork/freelancing, or how you started your channel with the equipment that you have.
Thank you, and yeah, these are good video ideas. Actually a few of my subscribers already requested for some freelancing tips and so far I have made only one video. Maybe you can check it out if interested: youtu.be/9Dj4XgMsCGI
I wish you all the best in 2022!🎉🎉🎉
Thank you man!
I just started posting on YouTube. Seeing your dedication to YouTube inspires me a lot 🔥🔥
You got a subscriber mate!!
Good luck!!
Thanks buddy, all the best as well.
Keep it up! Somewhat I can empathize on how it feels running vscode in potato laptop since I regularly using cheap Chromebook in my works.
May I ask what OS do you use in your setup?
I use window 10. Mostly no issues but when I open multiple apps I get issues e.g when I run vscode, chrome, commandline, recording app at some point it might freeze, lol
Man You are a crack, keep doing what You love. I would love do that too but i have tutorial hell and never. I a m computer engenier and like study programming but never do any projects. Some advices?
I recommend you join the #100DaysOfCode on twitter, where you code for atleast one hour each day and share your progress on twitter with the #100DaysOfCode hashtag. This will help you to stay committed and learn in public. I also recommend learning by doing a lot of projects. You can start with frontend mentor challenges, convert designs to html, css and js.
Thanks i would try
i love your spirit man.... i see doors opening for you soon
Thanks man
Congrats Charles and stay resilient. Glad you realized that at the end of the day it's all about providing value, then the money will come
Sure thing! Thanks buddy.