12 Boring BUT Realistic YouTube Channels You Can Actually Copy
Chapters16
The host previews a collection of simple, copyable YouTube channel ideas that feel realistic to replicate, emphasizing that viewers can put their own spin on them for potential success.
Realistic, low-friction YouTube ideas that actually scale, plus practical monetization paths and relatable growth anecdotes from Shane Hummus.
Summary
Shane Hummus curates a candid look at “boring but realistic” YouTube channels that everyday creators can copy with a personal twist. He highlights ASMR The Chew’s viral Pickle ASMR video and the heavy monetization that can come from long-tail views, then contrasts it with Report of the Week’s brutally simple setup and big earnings, arguing that authenticity often beats heavy editing. The video moves through a spectrum of niches—from food reviews (Pickle Pepsi), to trades and cars with Scotty Kilmer, to AI and tech channels—demonstrating that success doesn’t require flashy production. Shane emphasizes that many creators understate their earnings, noting how view-based estimates can underestimate AdSense and affiliate revenue. He also spotlights older creators’ upside on YouTube, sharing real-world examples like R.J. the unretired, who reportedly hit substantial early-month earnings. Throughout, he teases a free live training on monetization and niche discovery, inviting viewers to learn how to scale with minimal gear, smart topic choice, and targeted monetization strategies. The overall message: pick a simple concept you can own, document it consistently, and monetize across multiple channels—without pretending to be something you’re not.
Key Takeaways
- A Pickle ASMR video can go mega viral (40 million views) and yield substantial AdSense income, illustrating how odd yet specific formats can explode.
- Simple, low-edition formats (like Report of the Week’s basic camera setup) can still generate meaningful revenue, especially when paired with broad monetization beyond AdSense (merch, Patreon, podcasts).
- Pickle Pepsi and other quirky experiments show timing and niche appeal can trump production quality when the idea resonates with search trends and curiosity.
- Older creators often find favorable traction on YouTube due to audience targeting and advertiser willingness, leading to strong AdSense درآمد per 1,000 views in educational/experiential niches.
Who Is This For?
Aspiring YouTubers and small creators who want proven, low-barrier paths to growth. Ideal for anyone exploring niche ideas like food, tech, science, or trades, and for those considering monetization beyond AdSense (courses, memberships, affiliate offers).
Notable Quotes
"All right, guys. I have been in the kitchen cooking up a bunch of boring but realistic YouTube channels that you can actually copy."
—Intro setup: Shane frames the video’s premise and his practical approach to replication, not duplication.
"This video got 40 million views. It’s also a 9-minute video, which means she probably got a ton of AdSense money from it."
—Illustrates how a single viral hit with long watch time can spike earnings.
"There is literally nothing special about his videos. He usually doesn't even have that many edits in his videos."
—Emphasizes that simplicity and consistency can outperform high production in some niches.
"And not only that, he blew his channel up to over 500,000 subs. So, congrats to him as well."
—Highlights rapid growth through a viral hit in a simple format (M andJ Metal example).
"R.J. is older and he's absolutely crushing it on YouTube."
—Points to age as a potential competitive advantage in monetization and audience targeting.
Questions This Video Answers
- How does a simple food or gadget video go viral on YouTube in 2024?
- What monetization mix should a small YouTube channel use besides AdSense?
- Can older creators realistically beat younger creators in YouTube growth?
- What are the most realistic niche channels to start with in 2024?
- How can I leverage AI or tech topics without a large production budget on YouTube?
YouTube growth strategyASMR YouTube channelsFood review channelsOld vs. new creators on YouTubeMonetization strategies (AdSense, memberships, sponsorships)Niche channels (AI in business, tech education)Time-tested creators (Scotty Kilmer, Report of the Week)Audience demographics and advertising value
Full Transcript
All right, guys. I have been in the kitchen cooking up a bunch of boring but realistic YouTube channels that you can actually copy. Now, by copy, I don't mean you literally copy and paste the YouTube channel and like copy everything about them, but what I mean is you're going to see how simple these YouTube channels are. And there are going to be things that you can take from them and put your own spin on it quite easily and realistically have a chance at the same level of success. So, if you appreciate me doing these types of videos, let me know by gently tapping that like button.
And let's jump into it right now with number one on the list, which is ASMR The Chew. Now, this is of course an ASMR channel, but not just any ASMR channel. This channel went mega viral and basically became a meme because she posted a video called Pickle ASMR Eating Sounds Big Crunch Intense Spirit Payton. And this video got 40 million views. Now, just to put that in perspective, guys, 40 million views is an insane amount of views. It's also a 9-minute video, which means she probably got a ton of AdSense money from it. And according to view stats, she made about $23,000 from this video, which means she could buy a house as long as it's in a rural area.
But chances are she actually made more money than this because view stats tends to kind of underestimate how much money you make from these types of channels. With that being said, she clearly made a ton of money from this channel. And she's also got a ton of links in her about section. She's got a Patreon. She's got a GoFundMe. She's got an ASMRthechw.com. So, she's likely monetizing in many other ways. And she clearly made the most out of her 15 minutes of fame, which is pretty epic, right? Even her profile picture is her eating a pickle.
So, am I saying that you need to do stuff exactly like this? No. But what I am saying is if you can add kind of a funny spin to something that a bunch of other people already do, like eating a pickle for instance, for ASMR channels, it could work out well for you. All right, next channel is the Report of the Week. And this is a YouTuber where there's a very good chance you probably recognize this guy cuz he is also somebody who's went mega viral before. He's become a meme. And basically he became very famous by trying out different fast foods and reviewing them.
And some people refer to him as review bra. Now according to view stats he's making about $3.8 to $10,000 a month. Of course that's just from AdSense alone. That's the ads that show on his channel. And in the past year he's made about 55 to 153,000 again just from ads alone. And his most viewed video which is I react to mean comments. you look like an albino rat with an actual picture. Made about $50,000 and got nearly 10 million views. Now, additionally, he has a ton of different links of a bunch of different things that he sells.
He's got PayPal, donate, shop his merchandise, Patreon, Amazon shop, he's got a podcast channel, got lots of different social medias, iTunes, Spotify, TuneIn, Google Play, Stitcher, and he even has a radio show that he started as well. So, he is clearly monetizing outside of just his YouTube channel alone, and he's probably making a heck of a lot more money, not to mention affiliate links and sponsorships, which he could be making more money with, too. Now, I don't mean to be rude here, but there is literally nothing special about his videos. He usually doesn't even have that many edits in his videos.
It's just him setting up a camera, looks like a very basic camera, probably just his phone, and then eating the food and then giving his comments on the taste. That's it. like his videos are dead simple. And to be honest, it's the same exact thing with the ASMR, the Chew channel, except the only difference is she did have to set up a nice mic in order to get the ASMR sounds. But it's really not that hard to do it. Watch tutorials for one evening and you're going to have it down. But what the Report of the Week does is even easier.
It literally could not be more simple than what he does. But you might be thinking, "Well, that ship sailed a long time ago. You know, you can't do food review videos. That doesn't work anymore." Well, let me introduce you to the third channel, which is M andJ Metal. Now, this channel about 4 months ago made this video, How to Make Pickle Pepsi at Home for Free, and the video blew up and got 8.4 million views. Before that, his channel basically had no subscribers. And now his channel has over 500,000. And there's even other people that have made remixes of his video, and they've gotten hundreds of thousands of views, too.
Now, I just said that Report of the Week's videos could not be any simpler, and I lied. This guy's videos are way simpler than even Reporter of the Week. It looks like he recorded this with a cell phone from the early 2000s. And not just the video, but he recorded the audio as well. It's very good. Um, I like it. And when he's making the pickle Pepsi, which by the way, pickle Pepsi is this thing that KFC did. I don't even know if it's released in the US. I think it was just released in Canada or something.
But when he's making the pickle Pepsi, he actually doesn't even show it on camera. And it's supposed to be kind of a tutorial video on how to make it, right? He doesn't even show him mixing the Pepsi and the pickles and stuff like that on camera. So, it's just an objectively, no offense to him, just a pretty bad video, right? And the thumbnail is dead simple, too. But, it didn't matter because he made the right video at the right time. A bunch of people were searching that. There's probably a bunch of money people were spending on marketing campaigns and it went totally viral.
And since then, he's had a bunch of other super basic videos that have gone viral as well. Now, he's making $4 to $111,000 a month with this channel. And that Pickle Pepsi video made $42,000. So, this man is absolutely cooking. He's likely made well over $100,000 with these super basic videos that look like they were recorded with a super old camera. And I am super happy for him. Awesome stuff. And not only that, he blew his channel up to over 500,000 subs. So, congrats to him as well. But I guess the whole point is you can absolutely blow up with relatively basic content.
People love this raw authentic content. And also, if you're an older creator, it's actually easier for you to blow up on YouTube right now. YouTube seems to be pushing older creators. And by the way, if you need help with the basics of making a video, picking your niche, picking video ideas, basically just what to do and what not to do, I have a completely free live training this week, which you can check out by clicking the link in the description and the pin comment below. And let me show you an example of an older creator that's doing extremely well, R.J.
the unretired. He actually started on YouTube about five months ago. He's making $2 to $5,000 a month according to view stats. I know that he's making a lot more than that, of course, but this video 5 months ago was the one that initially took off a little bit. Got about 176,000 views, but then he posted this absolute banger right here. I'm not giving financial advice here because everybody's situation is totally different. Now, R.J. is older and he's absolutely crushing it on YouTube. And he happens to be my client. And in his second month uploading on YouTube, he made $28,000, nearly $30,000.
And that's just from AdSense alone. That doesn't count all the other monetization methods that he could be doing. And not only is YouTube pushing older creators a lot more, but additionally, if you're an older creator, you probably attract an audience of older creators, which means advertisers are willing to pay way more money to get in front of you because older people have most of the money and advertisers want to get in front of them. So, I know his stats behind the scene and he's making way more on AdSense per 1,000 views than the average educational channel makes.
So again, if you want to learn how to do this, we're going to be talking about exactly how to do this in the live Zoom workshop called Make Money with YouTube, YouTube Secrets. It's happening this week. Click the link in the description and the pin comment below. Do not miss out on it. It'll be a onetime event and we're going to be giving away some amazing goodies like an AI, the Niche Validator Pro 2.3, completely free. That makes it incredibly easy to do all this. So do not miss out on it. Click the link in the description and then make sure you put it on your calendar as well.
And speaking of the live training, my brother is going to be popping up there, at least in the presentation, but possibly even live. And you guys might be aware of my brother basically Zach of all trades. Did I mention my brother's 50 years old? We started his channel. His very first video blew up. It now has over $800,000 views. And within one month, he was making $214 in a single day on YouTube. I'm giving you the trades that are actually paying the most right now. And he's crushing it even more now. And again, in the live training, we'll actually be giving you an update on how he's doing now.
So, click that link in description in the pin comment below. It's completely free, by the way. So, there's literally no reason to not go. Plus, I put a ton of effort into it, so do it. But yeah, he basically is just talking about stuff that's super simple to him. It's stuff that he already knew how to do. He's really wellplugged into the trades. He's got a bunch of friends that are in the trades, and so it's easy for him to talk about the pros and cons of different trades out there. I mean, he's been in the trades for 30 freaking years, so of course he knows about them.
And that kind of brings me to the next one, which is another gentleman who's been in the trades, and that is Scotty Kilmer. Now, Scotty makes really useful content on buying the best cars, like the most useful ones, basically, how to repair your car, how to maintain your car, like saving money on your car, all kinds of stuff like that. And there was actually an article posted on Fox News about him saying that he made $24 million on this channel. And he made more in one month than in his entire 40-year career as a mechanic.
Now, according to Vid IQ, he's making about 16 to 47,000 a month. And according to view stats, his highest viewed video, five things you should never do in an automatic transmission car, made $117,000. Don't go around doing burnouts all the time. But View Stats also says he's only made $1.1 to $3 million over the lifetime of his channel when it's been verified by Fox News that he made at least 24 million. And that was a while back. So, he's probably made a lot more since then. So, view stats generally speaking underestimates how much creators make.
And generally speaking, for educational channels, they make at least $10 per 1,000 views just from AdSense alone. So, I would estimate he's probably made about $31 million from this channel just from AdSense alone. And if he's monetizing correctly, he's got a lot of, you know, affiliate links and stuff like that here. He'd likely be making at least double that from other methods. So, yeah, Scotty is absolutely crushing it. And there is no reason why you can't do the same thing with whatever your career is as well. But you might be thinking, Shane, I'm not in the trades.
I'm more of a computer guy. And plus, Scotty has a lot of subscribers. Okay, fair enough. Let's check out this guy. brand new channel, Benai started very recently and he basically teaches people all about AI in business. So he started this channel about one year ago and his most popular video is this 20 plus AI agent team automates all your work relevance AI. It got 500,000 views and it really blew up his channel can automate complex workflows across multiple softwares with a simple English sentence. Now according to Vid IQ, he's only making about $700 to $2,000 a month.
Vid IQ has no idea how to actually figure out how much educational channels are making because educational channels make way more than entertainment channels per 1,000 views, but he has gotten about 126,000 views in the last month. And he sells an AI business academy which is for $97 a month. He has an AI business accelerator which is a high ticket offer. You can book a call for this offer. I'm sure it's at least $6,000. And from my experience working with hundreds of successful students and studying literally thousands of successful channels, I am very confident that he's making at least $100,000 a month from this channel or seven figures from the channel.
And that would mean he's making about $1,000 per 1,000 views cuz he got $126,000 views last month. Now, this is a niche channel, meaning it really appeals to a niche audience. And just to put that in perspective, my niche channel, Shane Hummus, the content growth engine, makes about $4,000 per 1,000 views. So, it's very reasonable to say that he'd be making $1,000 per 1,000 views. But you might be thinking, Shane, you know, he had success with AI, but not that many other people can have success, right? And plus, he's selling a high ticket product. What if I don't want to sell a high ticket product?
Well, here's Alex Finn. Alex Finn, as far as I'm aware, does not sell a high ticket offer. and he takes more of a mass market approach where he's just trying to appeal to a lot of different people and he's making 7 to $22,000 a month talking about AI content. His most popular video was on Cladbot and it was about 2 weeks ago and he absolutely blew up on his channel talking about that you have a full-time 24/7 AI employee working for you. I think it's called like OpenClaw now or something like that. They had to change the name cuz it sound too much like Claude.
Now he has a newsletter. I think he also does a lot of affiliate marketing on this channel. So, I would be willing to bet he's probably making at least $50,000 a month on this channel. Again, based on my experience. And if you look, he also has this thing called Vibe Coding Academy where he has over 400 members. That's about $40,000 a month. So, yeah, based on the views he's getting, you know, this is probably a bit of a better month for him cuz he just had his first ever video really pop off. But based on the views he's getting, 7 to 22,000 a month plus the 40,000.
I would estimate he's making at least $50,000 a month from this channel. Doesn't even count sponsorships, affiliate marketing, etc. But you might be thinking, Shane, I like tech, but I don't like software and I don't really want to work with AI. What should I do? Well, how about technology connections? This's channel is a deep dive on tech and home engineering. They make long, nerdy, but funny breakdowns of everyday products and systems like appliances, energy tech, car stuff, lighting, adapters, etc. and they test claims, debunk myths, and explain the mechanics and the history behind the different technology.
Very interesting channel, very cool channel. And they make 12 to $36,000 a month. And that's just from AdSense alone. According to view stats, they're making $16 to $46,000 a month. Again, just from AdSense alone. And their most viewed video, portable air conditions, why you shouldn't like them, made about $46,000 and got 9 million views. Not bad. Again, just from AdSense alone. portable air conditioners are actually kind of bad. Now, channels like this usually make a ton of money from affiliate marketing for the products they're reviewing. And so, I'm sure he's making way more money than just that alone.
So, he is very likely crushing it on this channel. And to be honest, there's so many channels in these niches and there's plenty of room for more. But you might be thinking, Shane, you know, I'm not a big fan of technology, but I really like science. Could I make money doing that? Absolutely you could. Like the channel Steve Mold. He makes $35 to $106,000 a month making science related videos. And again, this is just from AdSense alone. I don't have time in this video to guesstimate how much they're making from other stuff. They're probably making a heck of a lot more than that from other stuff.
And their most popular video, the assassin's teapot, is weird where it basically goes over how assassin's teapotss work. Got 50 million views and made at least $249,000. That's because the assassin's teapot can be used to pour three different drinks. But you might be thinking, Shane, I'm not into science. I'm not really like a subject type of person. I'm more of an outdoors type of person. Can I make money? Well, absolutely you can. Steve Wallace does. He makes videos about camping. He's making 7 to $21,000 a month doing it. He's got lots of different stuff that he promotes as well, like camping gear, etc.
So, he's probably making a lot more money than that from affiliate marketing. And by the way, these estimates are usually like way lower than what they're actually making, just FYI. But this guy's most popular video ever, tent inside tent winter camping, got 12 million views and made at least $60,000 according to view stats. It's a cool tent. I had to pick it up because I don't really have one that was small enough to put inside. So yeah, another channel absolutely crushing it. And by the way guys, if you're having trouble figuring out your niche or anything like that, like figuring out the video ideas you should make content on so that you can get views, go ahead and attend the live training.
Click that link in the description in the pen comment below. That's exactly what we're going to help you do. But you might be thinking, Shane, you know what? I don't want to do any of that stuff. The only thing I really like doing is eating food and maybe preparing the food. Well, there's lots of channels that do that as well. Grandpa Kitchen. This channel has a video, biggest Oreo chocolate cake recipe prepared by our grandpa from 6 years ago. Got 82 million views and it made at least $52,000. And honestly, probably a lot more than that.
The channel's gotten over a billion views in its lifetime, and that means they've made millions and millions of dollars from the channel. But you might be thinking, Shane, what about women? Is it only the men who can create these channels that make a bunch of money from cooking? Well, absolutely not. Just check out this channel, Emmy Made. And it's Emmy making different cool foods. Her biggest video was how to pull apart a pineapple. Pineapple peeling. That video got 8 million views and made at least $40,000. $40,000 teaching people how to pull apart a pineapple. Not bad.
You can kind of use your nail and kind of pull it apart. Now, of course, she can monetize this through merch. She could sell a cookbook. She can sell affiliate marketing stuff. Like all kinds of different ways to monetize this channel. So she likely made a bunch of money in other ways as well. But according to view stats, she's making about $3 to $9,000 a month. So I think you guys get the point here. There's so many different ways to make money on YouTube. Check out the live training this Tuesday, 9:00 p.m. Eastern Standard Time.
That's exactly what I'm going to help you do. And it's completely free. Do not miss out on it. It's a onetime event. Just don't miss out, right? Put it in your calendar as well. Additionally, I know 99% of people watching this are not going to work with us directly, but we do work with a select group of people one-on-one. These are people that we handhold and get them across the finish line when it comes to growing and making money on YouTube. The most common types of people we work with are business owners who want to use YouTube as a lead generation mechanism.
YouTubers who are getting views, but they're having trouble monetizing, YouTubers who are already crushing it, but they want to crush it even more. or people who are really serious about growing and making money on YouTube and they want to skip the line and skip the years of banging their head against the walls trying to figure it out on their own and they understand the value of one-on-one coaching. So, if you are one of those people, go ahead, apply. Links in the description and pin comment below or it might also be in my about section. We might also put like a QR code up on the screen as well.
And if you want to check out one of our coaching clients who had a ton of success, you can check that out by clicking right here.
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