6 checks before you trust a creator's CPM

6 checks before you trust a creator's CPM

CPM = cost per 1,000 views. Audit it in order:
— Denominator: 30-day views, not lifetime
— View definition: platform-counted vs 3s vs full
— Audience geo: a US CPM and a tier-3 CPM are not the same unit
— Median vs mean: one viral video skews the average
— Organic vs boosted: strip any paid reach
— Recency: last 8 posts, not the pinned hit

Skip any check and your CPM is fiction dressed as a number.

So what: normalize every quote to 30-day median US-equivalent views before comparing.

Benchmark: median IG Reels CPM lands $9-15 once boosted views are stripped (n=240 posts).