The power of going viral, how much money 4 million YouTube views earns, a day with Doctor Mike
by Amanda Perelli, Business Insider US
Happy Friday!
This is Amanda Perelli, and welcome to Influencer Dashboard, a weekly rundown of what’s new in the business of influencers.
How important can “going viral” be in boosting the success of a YouTube creator?
For Alyssa Kulani (676,000 YouTube subscribers), everything changed after YouTube’s algorithm picked up and recommended a prank video she posted in late 2018. She received a check from YouTube in January for nearly $30,000. Of that amount, $23,811 was from the viral prank video, according to a screenshot viewed by Business Insider.
Kulani told me that until then, YouTube had always been a hobby and she worked a day job in retail because she wasn’t earning enough from the platform. That check allowed her the freedom to focus on YouTube full time, and helped boost her channel at a rapid pace. It grew from 100,000 subscribers at the end of October 2018 to 400,000 subscribers by the end of January, she said. (Read her full story here.)
Dr. Mikhail Varshavski, known as Doctor Mike online, also saw his influencer career take off after going viral. In Varshavski’s case, it was for being attractive on Instagram. Since then, he has focused on YouTube and tried to build a business that stretches beyond the superficial. I spent an afternoon with him in the studio.
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Seeking nominations for the top YouTube and Instagram influencer-led direct-to-consumer brands
Before we get into this week’s rundown, I need your help! Which brands founded by creators are the most valuable and impactful?
Business Insider is putting together a power list of the leading direct-to-consumer brands founded by influencers and creators. The list will be determined by Business Insider based on our reporting and the nominations that we receive, and take into consideration factors like sales, reach, and impact on the industry.
Please submit your ideas through this form by December 1.
Check out our previous power lists, highlighting the top 14 talent managers and top 18 talent agents in the YouTube influencer space, for a sense of how this list will look.
2 YouTube creators told us how much money they earned from videos with 4 million views
How much money a creator earns from a YouTube video varies depending on a number of factors, from where the viewers are to which advertisers the video attracts.
I spoke to two YouTube creators, Shelby Church and Alyssa Kulani, about how much each of them earned from videos with 4 million views.
Previously, I spoke to Church and other top creators on their strategies for earning the most money possible through ads, and put together a five-step guide. (Check out that guide here.)
Doctor Mike went viral on Instagram for being attractive. Now he’s focused on building his YouTube business and moving beyond the superficial.
I spent the afternoon Varshavski, a board-certified primary-care physician and popular YouTube influencer with 4 million subscribers.
Varshavski’s Instagram page went viral in 2015 after he was featured in a BuzzFeed article, and then again in People magazine’s 2015 “Sexiest Man Alive” issue.
He told me that today he splits his time between filming videos for YouTube and working as a doctor.
Read the full post on how Varshavski has built a successful business on YouTube.
And check out a day in his studio, here.
Send tips or feedback to me at aperelli@businessinsider.com.
Here’s what else we’re reading:
- YouTube star who earns $1.6 million a year shares how he got his start: Kathleen Elkins, from CNBC, spoke with popular YouTube creator Graham Stephan on his yearly earnings from his two YouTube channels.
- The life and rise of Emma Chamberlain, the 18-year-old YouTuber who has become one of Gen Z’s most beloved celebrities: Paige Leskin, from Business Insider, documented everything you need to know about the internet star Emma Chamberlain, from where she grew up to her life today as a popular YouTube influencer and the internet’s favorite teen.
- UTA Signs Viral TikTok Star Brittany ‘Kombucha Girl’ Tomlinson (Exclusive): Geoff Weiss, from Tubefilter, has the details on one of Hollywood’s top talent agencies signing a popular TikTok star who went viral earlier this year for a funny video of her trying kombucha for the first time.
- James Charles: Sisterhood Is Stronger Than Subscribers: Jeena Sharma, from Paper Magazine, interviewed one of YouTube’s top beauty influencers, James Charles, on cancel culture and his comeback after a recent controversy.