I recently wrote about an estimate on how much I think Grant Horvat makes on YouTube based on some general calculations.
The same rules apply here.
These numbers are only my estimations based on publicly available data including view counts, average RPMs and more.
As such, use this info only as that: a rough (but educated) guess as to what Rich Shiels earns in YouTube ad revenue from his main Rick Shiels Golf channel (not his podcast or other channels).
Keep in mind that this estimation doesn’t include any private sponsorship deals including his deal with LIV Golf.
Understanding RPMs
The first thing to tackle is RPMs, revenue per mile. This number is crucial to estimating what Shiels makes per year on YouTube.
Simply put, an RPM is the amount of money a creator makes per 1,000 views, AFTER YouTube takes its cut.
| YouTube Niche/Category | Estimated Average RPM Range |
| Finance & Investing | High-End ($6 – $20+) |
| Make Money Online/Business | High-End ($5 – $18+) |
| Digital Marketing/B2B | High-End ($5 – $15+) |
| Technology/Gadget Reviews | Mid-to-High ($4 – $10+) |
| Educational/Tutorials | Mid-to-High ($3 – $8) |
| Health & Fitness | Mid-Range ($2 – $7) |
| Travel | Mid-Range ($2 – $7) |
| Lifestyle/Vlogs | Mid-to-Low ($1.50 – $4) |
| Cooking/Food | Mid-to-Low ($1 – $3) |
| Gaming | Low-End ($1 – $3) |
| Music/Entertainment/Comedy | Low-End ($0.50 – $2) |
As I did with Grant Horvat, we’re going to assume an RPM of $3 for our calculations.
My estimation
From what I could find, Rick Shiels has averaged around 7.2 million views per month so far this year. That’s down nearly 30 percent from last year, which is worth noting.
Based on our RPM of $3, that averages out to about $22,000 per month in ad revenue which, stretched across the entire year, puts us squarely in the $250,000-$300,000 range, quite a bit less than Grant Horvat.
Still, this number is only an estimate and doesn’t include the fact that Shiels has at least two other channels that are garnering views.
Essrell
7 months ago
I stopped watching when he brought Guy Charnock on the channel. I’m sure Guy is a perfectly nice man, but their energy and charisma was zero. It was just boring. Shiela also seems to have run out of ideas. Peter Finch is significantly more entertaining and continues to have solid stories to tell. Unfortunately, I appear to be in the minority based on his viewing numbers.
Sean
7 months ago
I find Finch to be an insufferable narcissist.
Everything he does is about his own very average game, yet he acts as if he’s a top pro. It’s all “look at me”
You see better down your club every weekend.
Youtube golfers have reached critical mass and it has become stale, boring, repetitive and worst of all, the vast majority of the “personalities” who do them are fairly unlikeable people.