Twenty-five years ago, it was predicted the internet would replace the established old-school media landscape with its traditional advertising model. For specialist niches, a lot of this was print based. I've done a lot of advertising in trade publications, with mixed success. Generally speaking, advertising could get very expensive, very quickly.
Now we have the rise of online content creators, proving those early predictions. I was a little surprised to find that personal finance is the most profitable for content creators with a solid following. The following article outlines things rather well. Note the reference to CPM and RPM. CPM is cost per mille, or cents per 1,000, that is, how much you spend for 1,000 views. In my day, this could be very expensive if you were targeting capital intensive industries with very defined targets in mind. RPM is revenue per mille, or earnings in cents or dollars per 1,000 views. CPM is how much you spend, RPM how much you're getting back. Clearly, you want to maximise revenue and not spend too much to get it.
These days, individuals equipped with just a few essential pieces of equipment can deliver as much reach as large corporates. It does look as if some large traditional media companies are about to become dinosaurs.
https://outlierkit.com/blog/most-profitable-youtube-niches
The highest CPM YouTube niches in 2026 are Personal Finance ($15-22 CPM), Make Money Online ($15-20 CPM), Legal/Court Drama ($12-18 CPM), Digital Marketing ($12-18 CPM), and Real Estate ($10-16 CPM).
