Mumbai's young make a living off YouTube

Youtube has created a special place in all of our lives whether it is as a source of our news, film trailers or our place to look for all things adorable. Independent youtubers have managed to create a thriving business of this platform, creating large fanbases in the process.

YouTube videos mainly earn revenue from ads served via the AdSense auction and ads sold on a reservation basis via DoubleClick (DCLK) and other YouTube-sold sources. This amount can be supplemented by brands looking to promote their products.

"My Youtube income is negligible stand alone but with brand deals, I can support myself. Brand deals eventually happen for everybody, It's only the kind of monetization that will vary. People starting out do need to incorporate that in thier content and do whatever they can to increase their popularity." said Scherezade Shroff, a Model, fashion and beauty blogger who is now a full time Youtuber.

The biggest attractions for those starting out is that they can do so with close to no investment. "You can start off with zero investment, I started with my own laptop, use to do self-editing, take help from friends, Since I was a model I use to use my own stuff, that's the beauty of being a Youtuber, no need to get yourself to get a big set-up to start with. As you make money you can improve your equipment." Scherezade added

The interesting part however is how people decide to start becoming Youtubers, since Youtube is already such a big part of people's lives it is easy for them to get inspired. "I was studying animation back in 2011 and spent a lot of time on YouTube, watching video tutorials. I then started watching beauty tutorials as well and discovered a lot of great beauty gurus.

I started following these channels regularly and thought I should give it a shot too. I got in touch with a school friend of mine, Rishabh, who had just gotten into photography and asked him if he could help me make videos. We uploaded our first video in February of 2011 and have been working together since."said Sonal

"The first one year was just figuring out how to make videos and learning the skills required to improve our content quality. But it was after 2013 that we really got serious about putting out content regularly. This resulted in much more traction on the channel and our subscription count went up to 12k. Brands have started approaching us for promoting their products, and we have collaborated with a few on such projects. At this point of time we are breaking even in terms of ROI. There's a lot more investment to be made into buying new equipment and marketing. But with the pace that we are at we think we can start making a good profit by 2015." she added

Youtube is also helping young creators by partnering with them as good content is mutually beneficial for everybody involved."I feel being direct partner has definitely helped lot. These guys organize a lot of events like fanfest, where I can reach out to my subscribers, which is great. Lots of those who approach YouTube are young, they don't know what they are getting into, but at least here they are in control and parents are in control and they are not taken advantage of. YouTube encourage right kind of creators, they will create example out of you for others." said Scherezade

"They helped me with video production and reach. It has got me lots of brand opportunities, because of which I have now worked with HUL, Dove and other international brands" said Rishabh Shah

One important thing to note however is that just because it's trending right now and people are able to make a living off it doesn't mean it's for everybody. Do it if it's your thing, otherwise don't. " added Scherezade.