At some point a couple years ago, I decided that it would be interesting to experiment to see how much money I could get by posting YouTube videos and making ad revenue. I also setup an Amazon referral account so that I could get referral income.

I primarily used Open Broadcasting Software, my cell phone, or a camcorder that sat on a tripod.

TL;DR: You can make money, but the time invested may not be worth your time unless you really enjoy it, or if you have a lot of free time on your hand.

Some of the top videos I have were of me simply fumbling around. My general strategy was low-effort, first-take, minimal editing sort of videos. Because I was simply experimenting with no idea what would be popular or not, I simply just did a shotgun approach. I really dislike editing videos and the thought of putting large amounts of effort that ultimately resulted in very little views / ad revenue, appealed very little to me.

I was primarily interested in seeing how my low-effort videos could profit me.

The results are fairly surprising.

HERE ARE JUST HOW LOW EFFORT MY TOP 10 MOST LUCRATIVE VIDEOS & HOW MUCH AD REVENUE WAS GENERATED :)

#1) $332.40 - Swann HD 1080P IP Bullet Camera SWNHD-820CAM: Impressions Review Setup HIKVISION DS-2CD2032-I

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=6N3DrHFBO50

#2) $191.08 - Terro Liquid Ant Baits in Action (Extreme Closeup)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aE6RwndTDI4

#3) $164.81 - Fortress Security Store S02-B Wireless Home Security Alarm System Kit Review

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gUfU1K1n6HA

#4) $157.44 - Potty Training Dance Song - Poop Goes in the Toilet - Poop Song - Potty Song

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=A_8VA_Ul_u4

#5) $142.53 - How to Speed Up Your D-Link DIR-655 Wireless Router (Dropped Connections)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=mNNY6CPSVT0

#6) $77.26 - How to Setup Email Notifications for Hikvision / Swann NVR with Gmail 1080p

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HUBpO0cqW0Y

#7) $66.59 - TENVIS JPT3815 Wireless IP Camera Unboxing, Installation, Testing with Android Phone & Tablet (Pt.1)

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rkRTSwI-Rts

#8) $62.10 - UTG Pro Super Slim vs. Quad Rail Free Float Handguard, 13-Inch Comparison

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=J7fZdx7Yc40

#9) $55.97 - How I Personally Allocate my Roth IRA Investments for Free Through Vanguard Using Index Funds

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WOKUjXc_NL4

#10) $54.00 - How to Install Pegboard over Drywall for Under $20 (Pt 1) [Raw Footage]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=DsJwS8MUDMM

CONCLUSION

You'd better believe I get a lot of haters on YouTube. And you pretty much have to ignore them. I know these are low-effort videos. In my opinion, that's why there's a 2x speed playback and the option for you to jump around to different sections that are useful!

The peculiar thing about all of this is that I think I ended up making more money than I expected and for some of the most surprising videos that I didn't expect it to. Now, mind you, many of these videos were made possibly more than 3 years ago.

For my children, at least, I'm now a believer. It sure beats doing a part-time job. I'll encourage them to monetize YouTube videos.

I tend to be overconfident, so it doesn't bother me to publicly embarrass my incompetence to the world and then be made fun of online. It's also made me much more comfortable on my political commentary.

I'm sure there are more focused, profitable ways to monetize YouTube. Those require higher effort and focus, for which I did not have the passion or energy levels for. If you have that passion and drive (and hunger to edit videos with multiple takes), I'm sure you can make much more money than I ever did with my shotgun, lazy man's approach.

For those of you lazy like me, just start hitting that record button for every little thing that goes on in your life, and you may be surprised (like me) what videos end up paying out.

See my other low-effort YouTube videos: YouTube.com/jeffersonkim

Find my low-effort websiteJeffersonKim.com

P.S. Even this post was relatively low effort :) Minimal effort. Maximum results.