The Entrepreneur Forum | Financial Freedom | Starting a Business | Motivation | Money | Success

Welcome to the only entrepreneur forum dedicated to building life-changing wealth.

Build a Fastlane business. Earn real financial freedom. Join free.

Join over 80,000 entrepreneurs who have rejected the paradigm of mediocrity and said "NO!" to underpaid jobs, ascetic frugality, and suffocating savings rituals— learn how to build a Fastlane business that pays both freedom and lifestyle affluence.

Free registration at the forum removes this block.

Is Youtube good for passive income?

Luis Freitas

New Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
59%
Aug 17, 2020
17
10
26
Belgium
Is Youtube good for passive income? (My english isn't very good sorry for that)
When you upload a video this video stays on Youtube and people can still watch as long as the video is on Youtube.
Does more video's mean more passive income?

I'm not a Youtuber i'm just curious.
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

Andy Black

Help people. Get paid. Help more people.
Staff member
FASTLANE INSIDER
EPIC CONTRIBUTOR
Read Fastlane!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
370%
May 20, 2014
18,568
68,701
Ireland
Is Youtube good for passive income? (My english isn't very good sorry for that)
When you upload a video this video stays on Youtube and people can still watch as long as the video is on Youtube.
Does more video's mean more passive income?

I'm not a Youtuber i'm just curious.
Maybe. I’d say it depends on execution and a lot of hard work to get to the point where it’s less hard work - like for most things.

Maybe check out some of these:
 

MJ DeMarco

I followed the science; all I found was money.
Staff member
FASTLANE INSIDER
EPIC CONTRIBUTOR
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Summit Attendee
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
445%
Jul 23, 2007
38,083
169,525
Utah
With a lot of subscribers which comes from good content, I'd say yes. Challenge is, "good content" doesn't come easy and it can be time consuming. In other words, the path to passive income is anything but passive.
 

Luis Freitas

New Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
59%
Aug 17, 2020
17
10
26
Belgium
With a lot of subscribers which comes from good content, I'd say yes. Challenge is, "good content" doesn't come easy and it can be time consuming. In other words, the path to passive income is anything but passive.
That's a good point never thought of it this way.
Thanks for the reply.
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

Kevin88660

Platinum Contributor
FASTLANE INSIDER
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
118%
Feb 8, 2019
3,459
4,082
Singapore
Is Youtube good for passive income? (My english isn't very good sorry for that)
When you upload a video this video stays on Youtube and people can still watch as long as the video is on Youtube.
Does more video's mean more passive income?

I'm not a Youtuber i'm just curious.
If you spot a niche that you can dominate then thats good for you.

Content creation is an industry. Long video is a “information format”. And I think Youtube has more or leas monopolised the English speaking market for long videos format.

If you see someone Famous in a niche and you can do better that is a possible entry point.

It is also better if you have your own product and service to sell for conversion-not totally reliant on their advs revenue.
 

WabiSabi

Bronze Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
266%
Sep 2, 2019
64
170
Katy, Texas
I'd say no, the big ad revenue days are over. Waaay too many people in the space and it's hard to get noticed without incredible execution. You're also at YT's mercy for alot of things. Control, and Entry already gone.

I think where YT excels is it's potential to reach alot of people. Great to supplement a business with but never the core product. YT will eventually become the new TV, it'll probably function much like old TV did. Pay for channels and whatnot.
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

Luis Freitas

New Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
59%
Aug 17, 2020
17
10
26
Belgium
If you spot a niche that you can dominate then thats good for you.

Content creation is an industry. Long video is a “information format”. And I think Youtube has more or leas monopolised the English speaking market for long videos format.

If you see someone Famous in a niche and you can do better that is a possible entry point.

It is also better if you have your own product and service to sell for conversion-not totally reliant on their advs revenue.
Thanks for the reply.
Let's say there is a famous video with good information but it's long and boring, you create something les boring and maybe not that long with some animation to make it more interesting, maybe that way you create a entry point. I think i inderstand what you mean.

I think i inderstand now you can't just make a few video's on YouTube en just stop, you have passive income but just for a moment people wil stop watching your videos and eventually no income so you have to continue to create good content.
 

Luis Freitas

New Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
59%
Aug 17, 2020
17
10
26
Belgium
I'd say no, the big ad revenue days are over. Waaay too many people in the space and it's hard to get noticed without incredible execution. You're also at YT's mercy for alot of things. Control, and Entry already gone.

I think where YT excels is it's potential to reach alot of people. Great to supplement a business with but never the core product. YT will eventually become the new TV, it'll probably function much like old TV did. Pay for channels and whatnot.
Thanks for the reply
That's true there are to many content creators, the problem is you need to be very creative and make quality videos to get noticed. Even with good content it's difficult to get noticed.
 

Kak

Legendary Contributor
FASTLANE INSIDER
EPIC CONTRIBUTOR
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Summit Attendee
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
493%
Jan 23, 2011
9,678
47,666
34
Texas
I have a youtube channel for the radio show. I look at it like another platform for listeners.

There are two types of wealth...

Monetary wealth...

And

Influence...

Influence is the kind of wealth that you can leverage to get things done. Your network explodes. You can start again if you have to. You can set your kids up if you want. Influence is flexible and not taxed like income. It even follows you across borders. SO ALL of that appealed to me. A diversification if you will.

Here is the deal... It doesn't happen quickly and it is not something you are going to do properly without a lot of work. You can't half a$$ it. I am putting out a lot of content that people are liking. I have 58 videos posted and youtube performance is ok at best. Granted a lot of my stuff is audio only, but that is common with radio shows.

You also need 1000 subscribers before you can even advertise with youtube ads.

This is for the long haul. Not the short haul. Passive? Only if you quit and wait for it to become irrelevant. So to answer the question... No, I don't think it is passive...
 
Last edited:

Private Witt

Gold Contributor
FASTLANE INSIDER
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
220%
Feb 20, 2018
984
2,168
Oklahoma
There are two types of wealth...

Monetary wealth...

And

Influence...

Influence is the kind of wealth that you can leverage to get things done. Your network explodes. You can start again if you have to. You can set your kids up if you want. Influence is flexible and not taxed like income. SO ALL of that appealed to me. A diversification if you will.

Love this passage, thank you!
 

Kevin88660

Platinum Contributor
FASTLANE INSIDER
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
118%
Feb 8, 2019
3,459
4,082
Singapore
Thanks for the reply.
Let's say there is a famous video with good information but it's long and boring, you create something les boring and maybe not that long with some animation to make it more interesting, maybe that way you create a entry point. I think i inderstand what you mean.

I think i inderstand now you can't just make a few video's on YouTube en just stop, you have passive income but just for a moment people wil stop watching your videos and eventually no income so you have to continue to create good content.
It is not passive, at least you need to pump new videos to keep you ahead in the recommendation algo game. The system prefers creators who upload consistently and will promote their content.

Studying existing famous creators is the best market research in my opinion, because they have proved that a market exists for such content and all you need to figure out is if you can do better.

It is not something that can generate you immediate cash.

I have seen people who use 3-4 months to cross the initial barrier of 1000 subscriber and 4000 hours. Of courses he posts everyday.

He is running on very “lightweight”. He is running a solo talkshow on geopolitics, targeting chinese listeners on Basically a camera filimg him talking thats all. He already has experience doing on other chinese language video spaces. He has a membership subscription program that charges for member access to private video.

He spent years writing on forums on related topics as a forum writer.

The best way to start in my opinion is to convert your existing strength in knowledge in a field into a content, and this market also exists. Because having better knowledge quality is a lot easier than having better visual or audio effect, which take a lot of investment and time and the return on these are uncertain. Fundamentally Youtube has over the years morphed into an education platform from a copyright infringement corner in 2005. People are going to care less about how much they are entertained but what they care learn. Thats my feel for the market.
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

Knugs

Silver Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
181%
Jan 10, 2016
345
624
33
I'd say no, the big ad revenue days are over. Waaay too many people in the space and it's hard to get noticed without incredible execution. You're also at YT's mercy for alot of things. Control, and Entry already gone.

I think where YT excels is it's potential to reach alot of people. Great to supplement a business with but never the core product. YT will eventually become the new TV, it'll probably function much like old TV did. Pay for channels and whatnot.


Mind you about 15 years ago I was 13/14 and Youtube had exploded in growth. The general saying was its too late now, too saturated, the days to make it on YT are over. I believed the herd and never tried. Look how much has changed since now. The vlogging thing is new and sponsorships have reached a new level as access to better technology/filming/editing has lead to more professional videos. Advertisements have become more acceptable. People actually buying over the internet now. YT is not full of kids anymore.

I'm not sure how the pay rate /1000 views has changed but consider that back then having 1 million views was insane. You can tell the supply of "Views" has gone up significantly.

I mean back in the days YT was so primitive. Horrendous quality, bad internet lines. 360p was actually high quality. You can tell how it and the videos have evolved over time.

To some degree it has become easier now.

Where is our man James Jani. He started 6 months ago, published 9 videos and has accumulated 350k subscribers and total of 7 mil views so far. Prime example how to crush YT nowadays. Pick a niche and make it better than anyone else. Just the same as in any Business. Most things already exist, most markets are saturated af = its about you doing it better.

You literally just need to hit it right with one video and win in the YT algorithm battle. If you can repeat that process you can build a strong income on YT.


_____
I dont believe YT is a passiv income source. It involves far too much active work to build and maintain. A new video published gets a peak of its view quite early on and will drop off quickly. The question is how many views do you generate daily per video from a specific time on ward. If you persistently get 200 views/day on a 6 year old video then you can call that passiv.

Just to remember that channels and videos die out. Its the youtubers responsibility to keep their channel alive and active so that the older videos generate views as well. Hence all the crap about please subscribe, like and comment on the video below.
 

Valier

Gold Contributor
FASTLANE INSIDER
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
1,022%
Apr 3, 2019
132
1,349
UK, London
I've been running my channel for just over half a year now and make a solid income within the six figures range.

But would I consider that money passive? Absolutely not.

Sure, I could just sit back and not upload and let my current library of videos generate money, but the numbers will eventually fall within the next few months and so too will the money if I don't continue pumping out more content.

As of right now, I work very intense hours to keep things running on my channel - nowhere near passive (just like any business at the start).

As time goes on I plan on building out a team to help me, giving me a little more leg-room - but even that isn't passive.

YouTube is great, but it's definitely not passive!
 

Andy Black

Help people. Get paid. Help more people.
Staff member
FASTLANE INSIDER
EPIC CONTRIBUTOR
Read Fastlane!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
370%
May 20, 2014
18,568
68,701
Ireland
Influence is the kind of wealth that you can leverage to get things done. Your network explodes. You can start again if you have to. You can set your kids up if you want. Influence is flexible and not taxed like income. SO ALL of that appealed to me. A diversification if you will.
^^^ Fantastic way of putting it @Kak, and it’s great watching you attack this.
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

Luis Freitas

New Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
59%
Aug 17, 2020
17
10
26
Belgium
I have a youtube channel for the radio show. I look at it like another platform for listeners.

There are two types of wealth...

Monetary wealth...

And

Influence...

Influence is the kind of wealth that you can leverage to get things done. Your network explodes. You can start again if you have to. You can set your kids up if you want. Influence is flexible and not taxed like income. SO ALL of that appealed to me. A diversification if you will.

Here is the deal... It doesn't happen quickly and it is not something you are going to do properly without a lot of work. You can't half a$$ it. I am putting out a lot of content that people are liking. I have 58 videos posted and youtube performance is ok at best. Granted a lot of my stuff is audio only, but that is common with radio shows.

You also need 1000 subscribers before you can even advertise with youtube ads.

This is for the long haul. Not the short haul. Passive? Only if you quit and wait for it to become irrelevant. So to answer the question... No, I don't think it is passive...
That is true
Thanks for the reply
 

Luis Freitas

New Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
59%
Aug 17, 2020
17
10
26
Belgium
Mind you about 15 years ago I was 13/14 and Youtube had exploded in growth. The general saying was its too late now, too saturated, the days to make it on YT are over. I believed the herd and never tried. Look how much has changed since now. The vlogging thing is new and sponsorships have reached a new level as access to better technology/filming/editing has lead to more professional videos. Advertisements have become more acceptable. People actually buying over the internet now. YT is not full of kids anymore.

I'm not sure how the pay rate /1000 views has changed but consider that back then having 1 million views was insane. You can tell the supply of "Views" has gone up significantly.

I mean back in the days YT was so primitive. Horrendous quality, bad internet lines. 360p was actually high quality. You can tell how it and the videos have evolved over time.

To some degree it has become easier now.

Where is our man James Jani. He started 6 months ago, published 9 videos and has accumulated 350k subscribers and total of 7 mil views so far. Prime example how to crush YT nowadays. Pick a niche and make it better than anyone else. Just the same as in any Business. Most things already exist, most markets are saturated af = its about you doing it better.

You literally just need to hit it right with one video and win in the YT algorithm battle. If you can repeat that process you can build a strong income on YT.


_____
I dont believe YT is a passiv income source. It involves far too much active work to build and maintain. A new video published gets a peak of its view quite early on and will drop off quickly. The question is how many views do you generate daily per video from a specific time on ward. If you persistently get 200 views/day on a 6 year old video then you can call that passiv.

Just to remember that channels and videos die out. Its the youtubers responsibility to keep their channel alive and active so that the older videos generate views as well. Hence all the crap about please subscribe, like and comment on the video below.
It's because of James Jani that i start reading unscripted really great YouTuber.
 

Luis Freitas

New Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
59%
Aug 17, 2020
17
10
26
Belgium
^^^ Fantastic way of putting it @Kak, and it’s great watching you attack this.
I didn't mean this in a bad way, i now YouTube is a lot of work, you have to be sure to always create good content. I just wanted to now what happens if a YouTuber quit because i now a few YouTubers who stop creating content. Maybe my question wasn't that clear sorry for that.
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

Luis Freitas

New Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
59%
Aug 17, 2020
17
10
26
Belgium
I've been running my channel for just over half a year now and make a solid income within the six figures range.

But would I consider that money passive? Absolutely not.

Sure, I could just sit back and not upload and let my current library of videos generate money, but the numbers will eventually fall within the next few months and so too will the money if I don't continue pumping out more content.

As of right now, I work very intense hours to keep things running on my channel - nowhere near passive (just like any business at the start).

As time goes on I plan on building out a team to help me, giving me a little more leg-room - but even that isn't passive.

YouTube is great, but it's definitely not passive!
That's a good Point.
 

Andy Black

Help people. Get paid. Help more people.
Staff member
FASTLANE INSIDER
EPIC CONTRIBUTOR
Read Fastlane!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
370%
May 20, 2014
18,568
68,701
Ireland
Here’s how it could be passive:

Setup ads on YouTube that send people to an offer that converts those visitors into signups and/or sales. Once dialled in it could potentially run like clockwork without you needing to keep creating content on YouTube.
 

Tossek

Bronze Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
118%
May 5, 2019
116
137
Germany
I have lately seen a documentary in which the lady with 2 million subscribers got a near nerve breakdown because she could not come up with any good content. I would say it is at all not passive, especially when you target the younger high communicative audience.

Most (clever) people use it as a sideline bonus to squeeze out an extra bit while having a progress in their business or family. There are so many mothers just showing off their kids. It disgusses me how the private rights of these kids are abused in the very early ages. But for the parents it is relatively easy money.
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.

WabiSabi

Bronze Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
266%
Sep 2, 2019
64
170
Katy, Texas
I briefly interacted with this guy for a freelance job. He's got a whole team behind him just sending him memes. There's alot of different ways to use youtube, but It can be done. I just don't think it's in the way most people expect.

I dunno just feels gimmicky to me on some level. Maybe I just need to get educated on it some more.
 

Attachments

  • memenade.PNG
    memenade.PNG
    691.3 KB · Views: 22

Luis Freitas

New Contributor
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
59%
Aug 17, 2020
17
10
26
Belgium
I have lately seen a documentary in which the lady with 2 million subscribers got a near nerve breakdown because she could not come up with any good content. I would say it is at all not passive, especially when you target the younger high communicative audience.

Most (clever) people use it as a sideline bonus to squeeze out an extra bit while having a progress in their business or family. There are so many mothers just showing off their kids. It disgusses me how the private rights of these kids are abused in the very early ages. But for the parents it is relatively easy money.
It's impressive how some Youtubers always has ideas even after making video's for years
 

Kid

Gold Contributor
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
98%
Mar 1, 2016
1,736
1,707
Unless you hire someone to do it for you, it's still a job.
Paid more or less, but you still have to show up everyday.
've read somewhere that most famous youtubers hate
what they do..
Ofc, they won't say it to their public.
 
Last edited:

MJ DeMarco

I followed the science; all I found was money.
Staff member
FASTLANE INSIDER
EPIC CONTRIBUTOR
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Summit Attendee
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
445%
Jul 23, 2007
38,083
169,525
Utah
isn t that everywhere?

Yes, but you'd never guess that the way "passive income" is promoted like a super easy concept, about as easy as getting an email address and registering at ClickBank.
 

Ing

Gold Contributor
FASTLANE INSIDER
Read Rat-Race Escape!
Read Fastlane!
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
102%
Jun 8, 2019
1,621
1,651
58
Bavaria
Yes, but you'd never guess that the way "passive income" is promoted like a super easy concept, about as easy as getting an email address and registering at ClickBank.
„Wow, thats great, you want passive income. You know what I want?
A billion dollars, preferrable hand-delivered by Jessica Alba bearing wine...“. (From a book I read)

Man, it must be hard for you sometimes.. you are patient!
 
Dislike ads? Remove them and support the forum: Subscribe to Fastlane Insiders.
Last edited:

A Sunderland

New Contributor
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
108%
Aug 26, 2013
13
14
With a lot of subscribers which comes from good content, I'd say yes. Challenge is, "good content" doesn't come easy and it can be time consuming. In other words, the path to passive income is anything but passive.
I followed a guy in the KDP fiction writing niche for a while. His early videos 'sucked' in his own words, and Derek Doepker featured him as an example of someone who persisted, got better, and built an audience, so it won't come easy but putting out quality content can pay off
 

Kevin88660

Platinum Contributor
FASTLANE INSIDER
Read Unscripted!
Speedway Pass
User Power
Value/Post Ratio
118%
Feb 8, 2019
3,459
4,082
Singapore
Passive income exists in theory but it is not as worthy as you think. Creating a evergreen video gets constant flow of traffic can make you a few hundred/ thousand over 2-3 years. But its is perhaps one out of the hundreds of video you create.

If you look at real low cost production that ramp up fast just look at Dr Campbell. He was doing on how digestive system work ten years ago no one bothered to view. Once the pandemic hits he focuses on the pandemic numbers and research papers he went viral.

Seek compounded growth in a niche not passive income.

Active income with one million followers is better than passive income with 100 views per day.
 

Post New Topic

Please SEARCH before posting.
Please select the BEST category.

Post new topic

Guest post submissions offered HERE.

Latest Posts

New Topics

Fastlane Insiders

View the forum AD FREE.
Private, unindexed content
Detailed process/execution threads
Ideas needing execution, more!

Join Fastlane Insiders.

Top