| Haha, it's okay Chris :) I don't usually go into specifics, because if I do, I feel kinda sorta like a braggart, and plus, my contract with google bars me from giving specific numbers... Yes, I do make money on my YouTube videos... There are ads on them, and when one out of every X number of viewers clicks an add, I get some money and google gets a little... I also do have a number of sponsors... They range from new and up-and-coming companies, to some of the most respected and well known in the industry... They see value in my videos, and are willing to put money down to watch me succeed... In the form of sending things out to me... For instance... Company "A" makes machines or products that weldors buy... They hear about my channel from wherever, and see it as an opportunity. For their cost of whatever the product is, and the cost of shipping, they get to show off their whatchamacallit to a highly targeted audience not just here in north America, but in literally dozens of countries around the world... My subscribers get to see the "latest and greatest" from whoever put to the test... And I get a new toy... Its great for me, because I get my shop outfitted, so that when I leave school and go into business, I'll have a headstart... Its a dream come true for me... But I put limits on what I'm willing to do... I've NEVER accepted money to promote products (not to say it hasnt been offered...) I've never been "bought" either... I've made bad reviews of free things in the past, as well as things I've bought out of my own pocket, and I'm not afraid to do it again... I can't wholeheartedly recommend a piece of junk to my viewers... And I make it clear with these companies that they'll get an honest review... And this isnt a "gimme, gimme, gimme and I'll say its the best thing ever" deal... Another thing, is that I get to put these machines to the test... For instance, I torture tested a couple inverter-based machines recently for a newer company. Since my money didnt buy the machine, I have no reason to "baby it" and I can run it flat out... I've yet to kill one, but if I do, its not my problem... lol... And that seems to be something that my viewers like, because they get to see what a machine is really capable of... Well, that's that... In a nutshell... Hope it clears a few things up :) I'll also say I don't make that much actual money from my channel... And it's taken me FIVE YEARS of hard work and long hours for little or no pay to get where I am today... I never really thought my random welding videos would go over like they did/do... My goal this year, is to see 200-300 percent growth of my channel... And I'm pretty sure I can pull it off. It's a huge amount of work, I bet I spend 30 hours a week on YouTube, shooting videos, editing, rendering, etc... But I love it. I'd have to say my favorite part of everything, is hearing from people that my random videos actually help them... Comments from people that say my videos got them back into welding after X number of years, or from other frustrated high school students that aren't getting the welding help they need at school, but somehow claim to understand things better after watching a video I made... Things like that... I've got a lot of "how-to" and "educational" videos planned for this year... And a lot of project videos, as well... I'm glad y'all watch em, lol... Its a great little hobby... Well, thats about everything... Now, lets bury this thread, lol....
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