Top beauty influencer Adelaine Morin says 'people think that YouTubers make a lot of money but if we only did YouTube we wouldn't'
- Beauty and fashion influencer Adelaine Morin has more than 2.5 million subscribers on YouTube.
- Morin, 22, told Business Insider that she supports herself financially from her influencer business.
- But she said there's a misconception among some that YouTube stars like herself make most of their money directly from the platform.
- "A lot of people think that YouTubers make a lot of money, but if we only did YouTube we wouldn't," she said.
- To diversify her income, Morin said she's developed multiple revenue streams, like selling merchandise and promoting brands online.
- Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories.
22-year-old Adelaine Morin runs a popular beauty, fashion, and lifestyle channel on YouTube with over 2.5 million subscribers.
Morin told Business Insider that she supports herself financially from her influencer business, but despite her massive audience on YouTube, most of her income doesn't come directly from the platform.
"I think it's really smart for YouTubers to still do YouTube, but also branch out," she said. "A lot of people think that YouTubers make a lot of money, but if we only did YouTube we wouldn't."
Morin has amassed a large following on other platforms as well, like Instagram, where she has 1.2 million followers.
"For the amount of time that I put into YouTube, it's almost like minimum wage," Morin said of her earnings directly from the platform, through Google-placed ads on her videos. "I have people I'm paying, and it's a lot of stress that all of these people are counting on you for a paycheck at the end of the day. So, I like to find different ways to source income."
Morin's YouTube team consists of her manager, multi-channel network (AwesomenessTV), assistant, publicist, and video editors. Besides direct YouTube revenue, Morin makes money by selling merchandise, promoting brands, and even investing in real estate.