Our Family Vlog Journey
We just started posting daily vlogs of our family life on The Allec Family channel a few weeks ago. The plan is to keep it up daily—just pulling out the camera throughout the day and capturing life as a young family with our one-year-old.

We’ll also be sharing travel videos there, like from our Italy Christmas trip and other vacations. We decided to post on this channel because we want to give our followers a peek into our personal lives—whether they follow my personal finance channel or Caroline’s lifestyle and beauty content.

I’ll be sharing monthly updates on how the family channel is doing, at least for the first 12 months after monetization. That includes how much money the vlogs make and lessons we learn along the way. The goal is to document the growth of a small, newly monetized family YouTube channel to show that starting and growing a channel in 2020 is possible.

That said, I fully admit our family vlog has three big advantages most people starting from scratch won’t have.

How YouTube Monetization Works

First, I’ll walk you through how to get monetized—the requirements, how to apply, etc. Then, I’ll break down our first seven days of ad revenue and dig into the analytics.

What Is YouTube Monetization?
Also called the YouTube Partner Program, monetization means earning money from ads on your videos. There are other ways to make money on YouTube (affiliate links, memberships, merch, Super Chat, etc.), but I’m focusing on the most basic form: ad revenue.

In simple terms:

• Advertisers pay YouTube (owned by Google) to run ads before, during, or after videos.
• YouTube splits that revenue with creators—55% to you, 45% to them (no negotiation).

Earnings per view vary a lot based on different factors, but I’ll show you exactly what The Allec Family makes.

How to Get Monetized

Eligibility Requirements:

1. Follow YouTube’s monetization policies—no violent content, plagiarism, or shady stuff. If you’re running a legit channel (like ours), you won’t have issues.
2. 4,000 watch hours in the past 12 months—that’s about 11 hours of watch time per day.
3. 1,000 subscribers (total, not just in the past year).

We got lucky with our channel because before it was a family vlog, we posted concert performances and random clips. One video—a magician at Caroline’s old work holiday party—blew up, giving us hundreds of daily views. So, the watch hours weren’t a problem.

The harder part was hitting 1,000 subscribers. Most viewers of the magician video didn’t subscribe. It wasn’t until my Logan Allec channel grew and I promoted The Allec Family there that we hit the threshold.

On June 15, we finally hit 1,000 subs (I refreshed like crazy until it ticked over to “1k”—so exciting!). Right away, I applied for monetization.

How to Apply for the YouTube Partner Program

(Do this on a computer, not mobile.)

1. Go to YouTube Studio > Monetization > Click “Apply Now.”
2. Review & accept the YouTube Partner terms—they cover the 55/45 revenue split, $100 minimum payout, and other basics.
3. Link or create a Google AdSense account—I already had one for my finance channel, so I just linked it. If you’re new to AdSense, you’ll need to verify your address via a mailed PIN.
4. Wait for review—YouTube said it could take 30+ days, but we got approved in two. Maybe because my other channel helped speed things up.

Once approved, turn on ads for your videos:

• Go to YouTube Studio > Monetization column > Switch from Off to On.
• You can also enable ads for future uploads automatically.

Ad Settings I Use:

• I allow all ad types except non-skippable ads (they’re annoying).
• Mid-roll ads (for videos 10+ minutes) boost revenue if viewers stick around.
• You can place mid-rolls manually or let YouTube auto-place them. Some creators use cliffhangers before ads (like TV).

Our First Week of Monetization Earnings

Before I reveal the numbers, a few disclaimers:

1. We’re a small channel (~2,000 subs), so earnings aren’t huge.
2. The real value is documenting our family life—you can’t put a price on those memories.

Our Unfair Advantages:

1. Existing audience—my Logan Allec channel (96k+ subs) promotes the family vlog.
2. The magician video—sheer luck it went viral, but it brings in steady views.
3. Our son, Hunter—let’s be real, he’s the star.

What We’re Doing With the Ad Revenue

For now, all earnings go to Hunter (and future kids) in a tax-smart way:

• 50% to Hunter’s Roth IRA: Tax-free growth for decades (he’s in the 0% bracket!).
• 50% to a 529 plan for his education.

Why Roth? A $1,000 investment at age 1 (with 8% avg. return) could grow to $100k+ by 60—tax-free.

How Hunter Qualifies for a Roth IRA:

• He’s the “talent” in our videos, so my LLC pays him as an employee.
• Since he doesn’t “work,” we split revenue 50/50 (fair for IRS purposes).

Final Thoughts

Building a YouTube channel takes time, but it’s possible. Even with our advantages, we’re starting small. I’ll keep sharing updates—thanks for supporting us with likes, comments, and shares!