Monetizing a YouTube side hustle is a slow burn—but when it takes off, it really takes off. In the first year, this channel pulled in $1,787, starting with just $1.58 on day one (barely enough for a pack of gum).

‍

But here’s the weird part—RPM (earnings per 1,000 views) suddenly jumped 7x on October 7. Before that? $0.78 RPM. After? $5.66. A massive leap in ad revenue potential.

What happened? More views? A better audience fit for advertisers? A single viral video? Monetization is full of these weird spikes, proving that sticking with it matters.

‍