YouTube automation can be worth it in 2024 if you:

YouTube automation means outsourcing major aspects of video content production to tools and freelancers. As such, YouTube automation requires money to do successfully. If you don’t have enough money, YouTube automation is not worth it because you likely won’t be able to create enough high-quality videos to get monetized. Many YouTube automation channels recommend spending around $100/video. Typically, you need to post around 50 videos on a consistent schedule for optimal visibility from the YouTube algorithm and reach the requirements for YouTube monetization.   

A YouTube automation channel can typically get monetized in between 6 months to 2 years. As such, YouTube automation is not worth it for those who need to start generating income within the next 6 months. A YouTube automation channel owner on Reddit details their realistic journey to a monetized YouTube channel. It cost them $5,000 over the course of approximately 15 months (Dec. 2022 - Feb. 2024) to unlock YouTube monetization features on their channel. 

YouTube is hypercompetitive these days. As such, you need to create videos that are high-quality, which requires a talented team. Many YouTube automation channels struggle to find good talent for a fair value. You should be willing to go through a period of trial and error as you construct your YouTube automation team for the business model to be worth it. 

CPM is how much advertisers pay to display ads on YouTube videos of monetized channels. The higher the CPM, the more you get paid for your YouTube video content. Examples of niches with high CPMs on YouTube include tech, online business, and personal finance. YouTube automation channel owners that want to optimize their income potential with the business model should typically choose a high CPM niche. 

Despite what many YouTube automation influencers depict, successful YouTube automation channels typically require hard work from the channel owner. YouTube automation expert Noah Morris with 18 YouTube automation channels says that YouTube automation is hard and you can’t automate everything if you want to be successful. 

Local lead generation is an alternative online business model that typically generates income much faster and more affordably than YouTube automation. Local lead generation entails setting up websites that attract customers for local service businesses. These websites cost a few hundred dollars to set up and can be rented to real local service business owners who want marketing support for $500 to $3,000/month. Ranking a website on Google for local search typically takes between 6 weeks and 6 months. 

In the following article, we discuss further whether YouTube automation is worth it by discussing how much money you can expect to make and looking at some interesting stats about the business model.

What is YouTube automation?

YouTube automation is an online money making strategy where you automate monetization of a YouTube channel by outsourcing content creation and channel operations to a freelance team. These freelance teams are built by hiring remote workers from online platforms like Upwork and Fiverr to make videos for $30 to $100 or more. YouTube automation channels are faceless channels that usually incorporate stock footage or simple animations with voice overs, so they do not involve a YouTube influencer. There are several ways you can make money from a YouTube automation channel, but the primary method is to join the YouTube Partner Program. Once accepted, YouTube pays you 55% of the ad revenue generated by letting advertisers run ads on your videos.

Some stats that show how YouTube automation is a massive opportunity

To comprehensively answer whether a YouTube automation is worth it, let’s start by looking at some relevant YouTube platform statistics for 2024. 

• According to data from Statista, 2.6 billion people around the globe use YouTube. Considering that we recently passed 8 billion people, that means well over a quarter of our planet's entire population uses the platform. 
• YouTube user growth has been steadily increasing for many years and is expected to hit 2.9 billion by 2025, according to Oberlo. The platform is already one of the most popular places on the internet, and will continue adding to its gigantic audience base. 
• When looking specifically at USA viewers, 62% use YouTube every day and 98% use it at least monthly. Clearly, the social media platform does well in attracting a massive and engaged audience. 
• YouTube generated $19.7 billion in ad revenue in 2020, and then $28.8 billion in 2021. YouTube attracts massive advertising dollars and a YouTube creator can benefit substantially from this by letting YouTube ads run on their content. 
• The average social media user spends 2 hours and 27 minutes on various social platforms daily, and according to Broadband Search, 19 of those minutes are spent on YouTube. YouTube is by no means the most popular social media platform, but it has carved out a fairly significant piece of the market. 

How much money can you make from YouTube automation?

Many aspiring entrepreneurs make little to nothing from their YouTube video efforts. However, some YouTube automation channels, like Bright Side, generate millions of dollars in annual revenue. Realistically, if you start an automation channel in a niche with a decent CPM and rack up at least a few hundred thousand subscribers, your YouTube content could generate anywhere from a few hundred to tens of thousands of dollars each month. According to Credit Karma, monetized YouTubers with 100K subscribers can expect to earn approximately $1,800 per week. 

Pro tip: If you come across a suspective YouTube automation channel and want to know how much the channel generates in revenue, you can plug the channel name into the Social Blade analytics tool to see the estimated performance. 

Ways to earn with YouTube automation

There's more than one way to earn money with a YouTube automation channel. Below are some of the most profitable methods for monetization.  

The primary way most YouTube automation channels generate revenue is by joining the YouTube Partner Program and letting AdSense advertisers run YouTube ads on their content. However, your channel needs to meet certain performance thresholds before you’re accepted into the program, like over 1,000 subscribers and at least 4,000 watch hours within the year. 

Another way you can earn money from a YouTube automation channel is by promoting affiliate products in your videos and putting affiliate links in your video descriptions. You can find affiliate offers on affiliate networks like ClickBank or CJ Affiliate. 

With brand deals, you use part of your video content to promote your sponsor. According to Marketing Amateur, sponsors pay YouTubers between $10 to $50/1,000 video views.

Integrating memberships into your YouTube automation monetization strategy with a site like Patreon can allow you to offer exclusive content to paying viewers.

Selling products isn’t only for Amazon FBA sellers, a YouTube automation channel can make some nice profits by selling products as well. For a automation channel with an established brand image, using your branding on print-on-demand gear from a site like Printify is a useful way to simultaneously make money and generate brand awareness. 

You can use your YouTube automation channel to promote your own services if you have something to offer. For example, if you run a travel agency, you can make a YouTube automation in the travel niche and use it to promote your own services. 

4 Mistakes that cause many people to fail YouTube automation

1. Choosing the wrong niche

As with most online business models like affiliate marketing or local lead generation, it’s especially important to start your YouTube automation channel on the right foot by choosing a suitable niche. In fact, according to Zippia, 500 new hours of content are uploaded to YouTube every minute! An effective strategy is to look for a viable niche with low competition.

Choosing the wrong niche affects your channel beyond just competition level, though. Your profit potential is also heavily influenced by the niche you choose. Niches that are associated with industries where people spend a lot of money, like finance or technology, draw substantially more interest and ad spend from advertisers. Therefore, the advertising space on videos in those niches is much more valuable. To be successful with YouTube automation, choose a niche that can generate high and long-term profits.

2. Paying for bad mentorship

YouTube automation is as easy as paying a freelance team to do your video editing while you profit from their work, right? Well, that’s how many YouTube automation “gurus” convince you to buy their courses. These courses range from hundreds to thousands of dollars. According to the New York Times, a YouTube automation program by Caleb Boxx even costs upwards of $20,000! Certainly, many of these courses contain tremendous value and can help set you on the right path to YouTube automation success. It’s just a matter of taking the time to do proper research so that you choose from one of the best YouTube automation courses available instead of a low-quality course that’s a waste of your money.

3. Hiring a low-quality team

The success of a YouTube automation business is closely tied to the quality of the team you assemble. If you try to cut too many corners to save money, you’re likely to end up with poor quality videos that don’t do very well. You need to set a sufficient budget for each video so that you can hire talented people and publish the best videos possible within your niche.

4. Giving up too soon

According to Remote Working Warriors, it takes approximately 15.5 months and 164 videos on average to get to the 1,000 subscriber mark on YouTube, which is one of the thresholds for getting accepted into the YouTube Partner Program. Many aspiring entrepreneurs have dumped thousands of dollars into videos for automation channel ideas, only to give up and consider it a failure when the channel doesn’t produce money after a few months. Therefore, if you’re looking for a get rich quick scheme, a YouTube automation channel probably isn’t the way to go. However, if you produce consistent and high-quality videos that people enjoy, YouTubes algorithm is bound to notice, eventually. Then, it will start recommending your channel more on the platform, which is how automation channels takeoff.

Best YouTube automation tools in 2024

If you want to maximize your channel’s potential to get YouTube views and subscribers, leverage the benefits of at least one YouTube automation tool. Here are the best YouTube automation tools for 2024. 

TubeBuddy

VidIQ

Repurpose.io

Zapier

Socinator

YTMonster

A YouTube automation company with an impressive portfolio

If you thought YouTube automation was just for the bootstrapped entrepreneur hiring affordable freelancers on Upwork, you'd be dead wrong. YouTube automation can be a serious business. Just look at Valnet Inc. Valnet Inc. is a digital media publishing company that primarily specializes in acquiring and operating high-value YouTube automation channels. For example, the company owns The Richest YouTube automation channel with over 15 million subscribers, and Screen Rant, with over 8 million subscribers. With multiple high performance YouTube automation channels and the capital to continue acquiring more, it's safe to say Valnet Inc. is a YouTube automation company that's absolutely crushing it. 

Conclusion

Many have found great success with YouTube automation, and you could too. However, there are substantial uncertainties with the YouTube automation business model. It's a long-term investment that may very well end up flopping. That's why I much prefer the local lead generation business model. Local lead generation involves getting a niche business website to rank on the first page of Google in a targeted location and then selling the client leads it generates to local businesses who offer the niche service for hundreds to thousands of dollars every month.

With local lead generation, the overhead costs are relatively low so you can spread your risk across multiple website properties. Furthermore, local lead generation website properties can start generating revenue in the matter of just of few months, so you won't be waiting around wondering if your efforts and investment will ever make money, like with YouTube automation. Some people make a killing with YouTube automation, but local lead generation is just a better passive income online business model for most people.