I’m a Small Creator. Here’s What YouTube Actually Pays Me

I’m almost at 10,000 subscribers on YouTube, and I wanted to share the honest reality of being a small creator. In this video, I break down what it’s really like running a small YouTube channel, including my analytics, how much YouTube pays me, what tools I use, and what it costs to keep making videos. This is not a “how I got rich on YouTube” video. It’s a realistic look at small creator income, YouTube monetization, content creation costs, and the lessons I’ve learned while building a gaming channel around Rust content. I’ll talk about my recording setup with OBS, how I separate game audio and microphone audio, what I use to edit videos, how I make thumbnails, and the subscriptions I pay for like Epidemic Sound, Camtasia, Pixlr, and TextStudios. I’ll also share advice for new YouTubers, including why consistency matters, why thumbnails and audio are so important, and why evergreen videos can help a small channel grow over time. If you’re a small YouTuber, gaming creator, Rust content creator, or someone thinking about starting a YouTube channel, I hope this gives you a real look at what to expect before the big numbers show up. Thanks for watching, and good luck building your channel. Stay Rusty! 💵I'd love for you to help support the channel by becoming a member of my Patreon.   / rustyoldman   💩Follow me on X: https://x.com/TheRustyOldMan 🗣️Join the Discord:   / discord   🎮Sometimes I stream:   / rustyoldman   🎵Music and Sound Effects by https://www.epidemicsound.com and the Rust Soundtrack 🎨Thumbnail design by RustyOldMan