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Hi Creators,

I try very hard to avoid being negative or trying to scare Creators, but if you've followed me on X/Twitter you know I've been very outspoken about the Invalid Traffic Issue on YouTube and how it's affecting Ad Revenue on the platform and some creators are losing 30-80% of the revenue, through no fault on their own.

​This Creator Lost 90% of their YouTube Ad Revenue!​

Daniel Batal did a great video breaking down the Invalid Traffic Issue, and how it's affecting creators.

One of the reasons I've been doing My Live Streaming Series on YouTube has been to try to help Creators Go Full-time but the focus has been prioritizing income streams outside of YPP (YouTube Partner Program). I love YouTube but I don't think Creators can keep pretending they can rely on platforms for monetization and support.

Be sure to Watch a Complete Monetizatoin Guide to Brand Deals and UGC Partnerships from my Monetization Monday weekly live streams!

Also feel free to sign up for the Wait List if you're interested in my Brand Deal Secrets Course launching later this year for early access and a discount!

What is Invalid Traffic and How is it Affecting YouTubers?

So what is Invalid Traffic and how does it impact you as a content creator on YouTube, and why is it happening?

LonTV did a great job explaining Invalid Traffic in his video.

YouTube's Official Stance on Invalid Traffic frames it largely as a Creator being at fault, whether intentionally or unintentionally.

According to YouTube/Google, this is how they define Invalid Traffic:

You can read their official help document on it here.

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While there are no doubt bad actors in the Creator Community from time to time I can speak from personal experience as someone who has dealt with the Invalid Traffic Issue for over a year, and tell you that most Creators are not at fault and have not been doing bad practices.

Yet they are impacted regardless, and even I have seen my YouTube RPM's on regular videos go from being $10-$15 RPMs to roughly $7 RPMs which is not nearly as drastic as most Creators experiencing this, but still unusual for my channel overall, and I've done this enough years to know its not just due to changes in the market.

My own RPM values never dropped this low even with 4-6 month upload breaks during the pandemic. And it's not unique to me, HUNDREDS (if not thousands) of Creators have been experiencing this and been vocal about this for months.

Up until now there has been no real support for Creators on this issue beyond YouTube officials saying they are looking into it.

While many have theorized that this is some intentional move by YouTube, I've been in communication with multiple people from YouTube internal and that is not the case, and those I've spoken with acknowledge that Creators are not at fault, and that this is most likely targeted outside interference.

And while I cannot confirm my own suspicions I believe that it may be outside hacker groups that have an axe to grind with Google/YouTube specifically and that Creators are collateral damage in that conflict.

So what is the solution?

Right now, there really isn't one beyond simply NOT RELYING ON ADSENSE, which doesn't sound helpful for entertainment based content creators such as Gamers and Reaction Channels.

I'm planning a Monetization Monday Stream on my channel soon that will basically outline "How to Diversify Your Income in EVERY Niche on YouTube", where I will do segments of the different ways to earn income outside of Adsense for 20 major niches on the platform.

You can also keep reading for my mini-guide in today's newsletter on how to diversify your income as a content creator.

If you'd like to work with me 1-on-1 specifically around coaching when it comes to Brand Deals and Sponsored content, you can reach me here.

Sponsored by Streamable​ Fast and Affordable Video Hosting There are many Creator Tools that I use in my business and one of the things that is rarely talked about is the ability to backup your footage reliably and the ability to easily share those videos with your team, freelancers or with brands and clients. ​ I've cancelled Dropbox Business and moved to Streamable because it has been easier to use cost less money, and is VIDEO ONLY so I don't have to deal with a cluttered and endless Google Drive when I need to prioritize videos. This is ideal for freelance video editors and lets you embed videos on your own portfolio site without having to worry about ads getting in the way when you want to show your work to clients. ​ For Content Creators this is a good way to be able to share videos with people and not worrying about them having access to a Google account connected to your YouTube channel. Try Streamable for FREE using my referral link!

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My INSIDERS Guide to Diversifying Your Income as a Creator

10 WAYS TO DIVERSIFY YOUR INCOME
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• UGC Sponsorship - Make Content for Brands on Their Social Media Platforms Instead of Selling your Reach
• Membership Website - Build Your Own Membership Site using tools like Kajabi instead of splitting a revenue share with a platform like YouTube (30%) or Twitch (50%) and Don't Let Them Cut Off Access to Your Audience
• Digtial Products - Sell Digital Downloads Directly to Your Audience where you keep all/most of the revenue
• Physical Merchandise - Use sites like FourthWall to make and sell merchandise with $0 upfront cost, but don't just rely on the YouTube Merch Shelf, promote it yourself across your platforms.
• Monetize Your Newsletter - Start a Newsletter for $0 with ConvertKit and build it up to monetize with ConvertKit Ads, TipJar, Paid Referrals and Sponsorship Network
• Long Term Brand Deals - Create Long Term Brand Deals and Sponsorships for Your Content Across All Of Your Platforms, If You Struggle with this Get Our Brand Deals Starter Kit​
• Multi-Streaming Donations -Stream Directly to Multiple Platforms and Monetize all of them while gaining support and donations from your viewers regardless of where they watch, using Streamyard​
• Affiliate Links - Promote Affiliate Links by signing up for affiliate marketing programs such as the Amazon Influencer Progarm and earn Commissions when people click and buy
• Monetize Multiple Platforms - Make Your Content More Platform Agnostic and Post to and Meet the Monetization Requirements for Multiple Platforms, using Repurposing Tools like OpusClip​
• Online Courses - Create and Sell Online Courses Directly instead of sharing 30% with YouTube

Below is a Pie Chart that Represents a Rough Breakdown of My Income Streams for last year (2023)

You need to stop being a digital sharecropper at some point and not constantly rely on Ad Revenue and Creator Funds to make your living, or you're not much better off than an employee.

Yes, most people will need social media as DISCOVERY platforms for Awareness to ATTRACT your initial broad audience.

But after that you need those people to move to RELATIONSHIP platforms that you own and have control over. These are what I often refer to as permission-less platforms or algorithm-free platforms. This would be your Email Newsletter, Customer Database, Text Message Community, Discord Server, Private Community (Kajabi/Patreon/Skool).

As long as you are beholden the platforms, your revenue is always at risk, so you need an off-platform strategy for monetization.

Your email list is gold because it can be monetized with Ads (if you use ConvertKit), Sponsors, Affiliate Links, Donations, and Direct Sales. And you have control over it at all times. This is why I advocate for building one so aggressively.

Platforms teach creators to be dependent on them and lure them with the $0 monthly cost, but then take large amounts of your earnings, and to a degree control some of what you make because you play by their rules, "or else", and so you don't really own anything.

You need to use the platforms to YOUR ADVANTAGE and as nice as it is to have large follower counts and subscriber counts, it doesn't do any good when the platform stops serving you and stops supporting you.

So you should be using the platforms with the goal not of becoming a larger Creator (its a nice to have), but becoming a Full-time Creator on your own terms who has access to an audience that wants to hear from them and is willing to support not just with their eyeballs but with their wallets. Your real goal once again, is 1000 True Fans, that on average can spend $100-$1000 a year with you.

By diversifying your platforms and your income streams, and overlapping them to your advantage, this has a much better chance of happening because there are just more pathways to supporting you.

CREATING MORE RESOURCES FOR YOU

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We've been trying to create more resources for you at Awesome Creator Academy to build the ultimate Creator Education Business. This includes our library of articles and videos to help you become a full-time content creator.

Check out our Academy Member Pro Group! We offer 2 Office Hours Sessions Every Week.

As long as you are a paying monthly member, you will have access to all of our current and future digital products and courses!

On top of that, you will be part of a community where you can get feedback and accountability partners!

CREATOR NEWS AND UPDATES

Here are some great videos and other content #TeamRoberto has for you!

• 🎬 Watch: How to Stand Out on YouTube in 2024
• 🎬 Watch: How YouTube Shorts Collabs Work​
• 🎬 Watch: 7 Biggest Social Media Trends of 2024​
• 👀 Read: How Many YouTube Channels Have 10M Subscribers​
• 🎧 Listen to: My Million Dollar Weekend Interview with Noah Kagan ​
• 🎧 Listen to: My Interview on The Funded YouTuber Podcast​
• 🎬 Watch: How to Find Your Audience on YouTube in 2024​
• 👀 Read: YouTube CEO Neal Mohan's 2024 Letter ​
• 👀 Read: YouTube Going All in On AI Tools​
• 🎧 Music to Help You Feel Less Stressed​

Have A Question and Need a Quick Answer? ➡️ HMU on Twitter​

[Some of the links mentioned are affiliate links and if you purchase with them I receive a small commission at no additional cost to you.]

SUPPORT FOR CREATORS

If you have more questions, I will respond the fastest on Twitter. I frequently check Tweets using #AskRoberto, and I host Twitter Spaces each week where you can ask questions on different topics.

Ask Me Anything @robertoblake​

Stay Awesome! -R