How This Etsy Creator Made $7k Documenting Her Craft on Youtube

Adriana had a successful jewelry business on Etsy before discovering her passion for YouTube. She began documenting her jewelry making process and reached monetization 8 months later. Over her first year of monetization, she made great strides developing an audience, allowing her to quit the worst job she’s had in her life to focus on her business and being a mom, full-time.

Here’s a breakdown of her progress over the past year with YouTube Adsense earnings. We share insights into her income growth, key videos, and the strategies that drove her success

YouTube Channel Growth

YouTube has become an important of her income. While ad revenue isn’t the only source, it’s grown to be a significant component:

Pre-Monetization (April - November 2023)
Adriana was focused on learning the platform and growing her audience. She started because she enjoyed the the process and hoped to supplement her income in the long run. It took her 8-months, but with a strong audience behind her, she was finally monetized

Post-Monetization (November 2023 - October 2024)

1. November 2023 - $48

   • Partial month of monetization, with most income from library of long-form videos

2. December 2023 - $229

   • RPM up a lot to $8.55 on 25k views as her channel gains traction

3. January 2024 - $204

   • Earning between $4 and $15 per day with higher days following new posts. She had 3 new videos, 3 new shorts and 1 live stream

   • RPM went down from $8 to $5, an annual industry low as advertisers cut spend following the holidays

4. February 2024 - $267

   • $7.25 RPM’s on consistent viewership

5. March 2024 - $656 (+150%)

   • 76k views and $8.46 RPM. A most successful video was published (“Why I’m closing my Etsy Shop after 3 YEARS”) driving views and subscribers for months to come

   • I break down takeaways from this video below

6. April 2024 - $646

   • This was the month she quit her job!

   • A slight dip to $646 on 106k views with 5 new videos. RPM was $5.93 though, down from last month

7. May 2024 - $797 (+23%)

   • A new earnings high with 95k views. Her video overviewing 6-months of YouTube earnings was published mid-month for her strongest day at $61

8. June 2024 - $871 (+9%)

   • This was Adriana’s highest-earning month yet, with 103k views, from 4 new videos, 8 new shorts and 1 live

9. July 2024 - $841

   • 3 new videos and 3 new shorts with 98k total views, but the 6-months earnings video still represents $300 of this month’s earnings

10. August 2024 - $646

    • Experimented with new types of videos, boosting viewer interest for the upcoming months

    • The 6-month earnings video decreased to $165

11. September 2024 - $679

    • Boost in views from long-form content with 3 new videos, 4 shorts and 2 live streams

    • $137 from the 6-month earnings video

12. October 2024 - $823

    • Adriana finishes her first year strong with 2 new videos, 5 shorts and 4 live streams

Other Income Streams

• Jewelry Business: Free exposure and new, more loyal customers from her YouTube journey

• Video Sponsors: Pepe Tools and Durston Tools

Key Videos that Boosted Earnings

Adriana’s content strategy is steadily growing thanks to 3 key content strategies. Take note how this can be applied to your content

• How Much Youtube Paid me in The First 6 Months of Being Monetized: This video accumulated 212k views and 14k watch hours alone. It expanded her audience by 2900 subscribers too. This video generated $1,376 in total with a $15.53 CPM. Opening the curtain behind her business resonated with her audience and the YouTube algorithm

• Why I Am Closing My Etsy Shop After THREE Years & 100's of Sales: This title is attention grabbing, but most importantly it delivers a well presented controversial opinion. Controversial in that Etsy is a trusted marketplace with thousands of successful vendors and she was a seller abandoning it. Naturally viewers are curious why and what’s next. This video made $768 on 146k views

• Studio Vlogs & Jewelry Tutorials: These videos remain consistent drivers of views and core subscribers for years to come from YouTube search. Her strategy is to appeal to a very niche audience with regular videos around this core topic she enjoys

The Importance of Diversified Income Streams

One thing Adriana has learned throughout her journey is the importance of diversifying income streams. She started YouTube to complement her jewelry business, and it’s grown to contribute meaningfully in her ability to quit her full time job.

Total Earnings After One Year

Adriana has earned a total of $6,873.71 in her first full year of being monetized. While this doesn’t yet replace a full-time income, it’s a valuable supplement to her business and proves that consistent effort on YouTube can lead to significant results over time.

Looking Ahead: The Second Year

As Adriana moves into her second year of monetization, she’s focused on further optimizing her content, experimenting with new video ideas, and increasing engagement with her growing audience. Her goal is to >2x in the next 6 months to 75k subscribers and hopes you’ll follow along

For those of you thinking about starting your own YouTube journey, it’s clear that success doesn’t happen overnight. But if you stay consistent and passionate about the content you create, the rewards can follow

Connect with Adriana

How Much I Made in My First Year as a Content Creator
YouTube | Instagram | TikTok | Mitera Made

Warmly,
Abe Colwell
Creator in Public