YouTube success revealed: Top 50 vloggers earn average $23 million a year!
- YouTube’s top child stars attract an average of 19.1 million views on each video, which is eight times more than the top gamers on the platform
- The average length of the most popular vlogger videos on YouTube is 12 minutes and 4 seconds
- Kids entertainment content and parody music videos are the most popular types of vlogger content
With some of the world’s top YouTubers earning millions a year off the back of their content, vloggers are some of the digital age’s most powerful celebrities. But, with 500 hours of video uploaded to YouTube every minute, what does it take to get noticed?
And what can you learn from the those at the top of their game, whether you’ve got your sights set on YouTube stardom or want to send your brand viral on the platform?
New research from Currys PC World analysing the profiles of the top 50 most-subscribed-to YouTubers reveals the secrets behind their online success. Here are just some of them.
Viral video formula revealed: hit the big time in just 12 minutes 4 seconds
- The average length of the top 50 YouTubers’ most popular videos is 12 minutes and 4 seconds
- Of the top 50 most-subscribed-to vloggers, 82% are male and the average age is 24
- It took the YouTubers in the top 50 an average of 4 years and 7 months to achieve their most popular video
- Parody music videos are the most favoured type of content, ranking number one most popular among many of the top vloggers’ back catalogues
- The most popular video of all time is ‘HUGE EGGS Surprise Toys Challenge with Inflatable water slide’ by Ryan’s World
Looking to create a viral hit? Your best bet is to target a sense of humour. And if you’ve got a musical side? Even better. Parody music videos and ‘diss tracks’ are one of the most popular types of vlogger content on YouTube, with PewDiePie’s “B**** Lasagna”, Jake Paul’s “It’s Everyday Bro” and Logan Paul’s “The Fall of Jake Paul” ranking as the vloggers’ most successful videos to date. Time your video around the 12-minute mark and you could be onto success.
It took the top 50 vloggers an average of 4.5 years to achieve their biggest hit, with 2017 being the most successful year. And, on average, the top 50 most-subscribed-to YouTubers have uploaded 1,526 videos in total each. That’s not to say aspiring vloggers should be disheartened, however, as YouTube’s child stars are proving newcomers can also make their mark. Vlad and Nikita joined the platform in just 2018 and now have the 6th most-subscribed-to YouTube vlogger channel, while Ryan’s World (age 8) holds the most popular video of all time.
Wanna be next PewDiePie? Work with kids to get 8 times more views
- Over a quarter (28%) of the top 50 most-subscribed-to YouTubers are gamers, with PewDiePie ranking top with 103 million subscribers
- Kids get eight times more views on the average video than gamers – 1 million vs. 3.6 million
- On average, entertainment vloggers clock up2 million views per video and style & beauty vloggers receive around 4.8 million views
Gamer PewDiePie may be one of the most widely known YouTube stars in the world, ranking first for the most subscribers, but kids’ entertainment vloggers are giving him a run for his money. By genre, kids in the top 50 have an average of 31.8 million subscribers, while gamers average 30 million. Plus, YouTube’s youngest stars’ video attract 8 times more views than top gamer content on average.
General ‘entertainment’ is another popular genre, making up 44% of the top 50 list. Covering personal vlogs, lifestyle themes, interviews and comedy, the vloggers in this category receive an average of 31.8 million subscribers and 7.2 million views, while style & beauty vloggers receive around 18.5 million subscribers and 4.8 million views per video.
YouTube’s top 10 biggest earners (and who’s making over $1M per video!)
- The top 50 YouTubers earn an average of $139k per video and $22.7 million a year
- Kids entertainment is the most lucrative genre, earning an average of $423.2k per video
- Kids’ vlogger Like Nastya makes the most per video, earning an estimated $1.3 million per video
- Gamer, Fernanfloo makes the most money on an annual basis, earning an estimated $205.8 million per year from his videos. He also makes the most profit per subscriber, at $5.76 per person
Becoming a top vlogger certainly pays off, with stars in the top 50 taking home an average of $22.7 million a year. Among them, kids are the biggest money makers, raking in the cash with kids’ entertainment content, largely including toys and light kids’ storylines. Like Nastya earns an astonishing $1.2 million per video – and she’s only six years old.
In fact, kids’ entertainment vloggers earn an average of 15 times more than gamers. While PewDiePie tops the subscriber list, he ranks at just number 6 for annual earnings. Fellow gamer, Fernanfloo tops the rich list, earning an estimated $205.8 million a year for streaming video gameplay!
