You've watched the videos. You've clicked through some of the links. Maybe you've bought something I recommended. At some point, you've probably wondered how this whole operation actually sustains itself — how a style channel operating out of Wittenberg, Wisconsin (population 1,113) generates the revenue to run a team, produce consistent content, and reach millions of men.
Fair question. Transparency about how content businesses make money helps you become a smarter consumer of content — and if you're building something yourself, it gives you a realistic map of what's possible. This is the second installment of a series on how Real Men Real Style makes money. The first part covered affiliate marketing. This one is about advertising.
Advertising is one of the four revenue streams that RMRS runs on — alongside affiliate marketing, information products, and sponsored content. Understanding each one separately matters because they have different economics, different relationships with the audience, and different levels of control. Advertising is the most passive of the four. It's also the one that most people notice first and understand least.
To view the full picture: This is the second installment of a series on How Real Men Real Style Makes Money. To read the first part on affiliate marketing, click here.
If you've watched videos on the Real Men Real Style YouTube channel, you've seen the ads before the video starts. Pre-roll ads. Sometimes a display ad appears below the video as it plays. Occasionally the video itself is produced in partnership with a specific company. Click here to watch the video breakdown of how advertising revenue works for RMRS.
There are three distinct ways advertising shows up in the RMRS model. Here's the full YouTube breakdown of advertising revenue for RMRS. Let me walk through each one.
1. YouTube AdSense
YouTube AdSense is the most familiar advertising format for anyone who watches YouTube regularly. Google places ads on monetized videos — pre-roll ads before the video begins, mid-roll ads within longer videos, display ads alongside the player. The channel owner receives a share of the ad revenue generated from those placements. YouTube takes its cut; you keep the rest.
A few things are worth understanding about how this actually works. First, the creator controls whether ads run on their content. YouTube requires opt-in for monetization. Without the channel owner's permission, no ads run and no revenue is generated. Second, ads are targeted by keyword. Google matches ads to content and viewer data, which means ads showing up on RMRS videos tend to be relevant to men's interests — clothing, grooming, finance, fitness. That relevance matters because irrelevant ads damage the viewing experience and trust.
How much does YouTube AdSense pay? The honest answer is: it depends heavily on the audience, the topic, and ad market conditions. CPM (cost per thousand views) varies from about $2-4 for general content up to $15-30+ for high-intent financial or business content. Men's style typically sits somewhere in the middle. At meaningful scale — hundreds of millions of views over years — it adds up. At small scale, it's beer money at best.
Important note: at RMRS, I only allow ads from companies I actually trust. I'm not in the position of most channels where Google runs whatever it wants. Over time, I've worked to ensure the ads that appear alongside my content are from companies with solid products and genuine customer service. That's an imperfect control — I don't approve every individual ad — but the principle matters. The content earns the audience's trust; the ads shouldn't undermine it.
2. Google AdSense
Google AdSense on websites operates on the same fundamental model as YouTube AdSense but on web properties instead of video. I place Google ad units in specific locations on realmenrealstyle.com. When a visitor clicks one of those ads, I earn a small amount — sometimes a few cents, sometimes more, depending on the keyword value of the ad that was displayed.
The targeting works the same way: Google reads the content of the page and the visitor's profile, then serves an ad that's meant to be relevant. A page about suit jackets might show an ad from a menswear brand. A page about productivity might trigger a software or finance ad. The more targeted the ad, the higher the click rate, the more revenue gets generated.
Web display advertising has lower revenue per engagement than YouTube ads, largely because it's easier for readers to ignore. Most people have trained themselves to tune out display ads entirely. I use it sparingly — a few placements in locations where it doesn't disrupt the reading experience. It's a secondary income stream, not a primary one. If you're a new creator deciding where to invest time, I wouldn't build your model around display advertising. It works best when you're already getting significant traffic consistently.
3. Premium Sponsors
Premium sponsorships are direct deals negotiated between RMRS and a specific company. No Google middleman. A defined agreement: the brand pays to be featured in videos, articles, or emails, and I create content that integrates the brand in a way that's natural and useful to the audience.
The standard I apply is non-negotiable: I only take sponsored work with companies whose products I've actually used and believe in. Pete & Pedro on hair care, for example. Tiege Hanley on skincare. Brands I can speak about with genuine knowledge and credibility. When I do a sponsored segment, I'm not reading off a spec sheet — I'm telling you what I actually think about a product I've actually used. That authenticity is what keeps the audience engaged and keeps sponsors coming back.
The integration matters too. A sledgehammer-obvious ad read that interrupts the content and screams “this is a commercial” doesn't serve anyone — not the audience, not the sponsor. The most effective sponsored content is woven into the natural flow of what I'm already talking about. The viewer gets useful information; the sponsor gets credible exposure to the right audience. Done right, it's a legitimate value exchange.
Premium sponsorships are the most relationship-intensive of the advertising revenue streams. You're having real conversations, negotiating terms, delivering on commitments. But the economic upside is also the highest. A well-structured sponsorship deal can significantly outperform the same content monetized solely through AdSense.
A Word of Caution for New Creators
Advertising revenue — whether YouTube AdSense, Google display, or premium sponsors — requires an audience first. Without consistent traffic and engaged viewers, ad revenue is negligible. If you're starting a channel or website today with fewer than 10,000 engaged followers, advertising is not where I'd focus your energy. Affiliate marketing gives you revenue opportunities at lower traffic thresholds. Information products, once you've established genuine expertise, are where real leverage lives.
For a new creator, the practical sequence is: build the audience first, build trust with that audience, pursue a premium sponsor before you try AdSense. One well-placed sponsor sho aligns with your audience will generate more revenue at 5,000 subscribers than AdSense will at 50,000. The sponsor relationship rewards trust and niche authority. AdSense rewards raw volume. Focus your early effort on the former.
RMRS today runs on four streams working together. No single one of them works in isolation. The advertising revenue makes sense because of the audience that affiliate marketing helped build. The premium sponsorships work because of the credibility that years of consistent content established. Each piece reinforces the others. Build the foundation first. The revenue structures follow.
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