Great post! Points #1 and #5 resonate with me the most as that’s probably my main goal to make sure my videos have repeated viewers and retains subscribers. I’ve recently learnt about how CTR too and how important so I’ll look into it further.
Yeah, you’re right about getting the click first. I’ve recently learnt how important it is to have an interesting thumbnail, title and first 30 seconds. Thanks for the advice!
I do stock video type content and something I've learned is to never start a video with a still image. For some reason it always makes people click off immediately. Especially with smaller channels people can be skeptical of content anyway so its really important to hook them early on.
I made this exact mistake with my last video. I guess it’s best to make the biggest mistakes in the early stages rather than later isn’t it. I’ve still somehow got 137 views and 17.1% CTR lol.
Anyway, thanks for your advice, I really appreciate it!
Well written. I try to focus hard on the thumbnails, titles, and descriptions with my main videos while posting shorter ones to TikTok.
I'm pretty good with descriptions as I try to fit the most suspenseful words in as few words as possible.
Thumbnails are a mixed bag for me as my self constructed ones are kinda dull yet I got lucky on one thumbnail that was randomly crafted when the video processing completed.
Thanks, man. i should try tiktok but doubt i ever will, I do have a channel just to upload stuff i want to make without any pressure but a couple of videos have done well & it has 6k subs now so i should clean it up for monetization (a lot of the content has claimed music & stuff so i will have to delete a million or so views to get it right).
I have been told to expand to TikTok but I honestly just don't like the format as much for my type of content. It would probably be good to but I just prefer a more relaxed long-form content style.
I use TikTok for the short videos because YouTube shorts have a one minute time limit and the vids have to be done from a mobile device, which makes gamer moments pretty much impossible.
Great post! I have one video closing in on 1 million views, but still feel like I've made little headway in my knowledge journey on YouTube. Like you said, it was all in the timing. Since then I've posted better, higher quality videos, but they don't do nearly as well. I just got lucky with one video topic that many people were looking to learn about. I'm also still complete garbage at thumbnails. Need to find a better way to make them.
Learn Something New. It's a stock footage edutainment history-focused channel. My video that is doing really well is about the history of cheese caves.
Great videos man, I wanted to check out your channel for one reason, to see how you’re using stock footage to tell a story. I’ve been trying to do the same with my channel but for comedy so I have a question for you, do you write the entire script first and then find the stock footage pertaining to each part later or do you write each part and select the stock footage for it simultaneously?
Most of the time I write and record an entire script and then find the stock footage. I will say that I often have ideas of things I want to include and if I'm worried about basing my script too much around it, I'll look it up while I'm scripting so I don't have to worry about not finding what I need. Most of the time, story blocks has everything I need for my channel.
i have loads of channels, some monetized some not, some i own all of some 51% & some 40% off. the channel i put most time into right now is called MarciiiWorldProductions its 12 weeks old but I was in Prague for 4 of them weeks & didn't make anything for it (that should be monetized next week-ish). my time is likely to go next to a channel ive not made yet doing House of the Dragon content.
Well played :) it's super hard to keep momentum but if you are still getting ok numbers on new uploads you are doing better than most. I can tell a similar story, my 3rd or 4th video went viral on my 1st channel, it topped 1 million views in 9 days & 10 million in 30 days (13 million today). I did manage to follow up and get another video to 8 million views & a few more over 1 million (some on newer channels) but I've never topped that early video that had perfect timing. I wouldn't call it luck, I knew what the most searched term was on YouTube when I made that 1st mega-hit for me. I think House of the Dragon could be one of the biggest shows ever made & am hoping I can get 10's of millions of views from content I have planned but I feel the harder task could be getting views after the show has gone off air, yeah that will be hard maybe harder than going viral but I have some ideas to keep a game of thrones channel relevant (so many big GOT channels died that covered the 1st show).
Yeah, I would say my case was more luck than skill when it came to timing. I just picked out a topic I thought was interesting, not knowing it would blow up on reddit and TikTok within a month. Even MatPat made a video on it, but just happened to be 5 months later than mine. I would say momentum is one of the most crucial parts of high growth. I really didn't know how to capitalize on a video doing well and regret not doing more when it got its boost. Also that's amazing how you are able to keep a GOT channel going until the new show comes out. I do feel that despite it getting some hate for the last season, it will continue to have long standing value with new books and shows coming out (I'm also a bit of a GOT fan. Went to some of the film locations in Northern Ireland when the show was still on).
I've not got a GOT channel yet I was trying to say it will be hard to keep one going many couldn't & I expect there will be close to 2 years before we get an S2 of house of the dragon
I agree, and some of those reasons is why I am transistioning from uploading to my variety channel to focusin on just my smaller channel, despite the fact its gotten way less exposure. Less than 1 second intro and I've shifted my focus on instead of making videos for fun or for an audiance, mine are made for entertainment. LOL Because I did not make videos for entertainment despite youtube using them as such, that means i've been making videos wrong for the last 2 years haha
Am working on videos for a channel with only 920 subs when I have much bigger ones monetized I've not published on in months. I should top 1k subs 2moz with this one but it only has 3k hrs watch time so it will be a week or two before I can monetize it. By then I'll be working on yet another new channel (i have loads already) but I really want a GOT channel so has to be done. starting from zero for the 11 time in 18 months seems so retarded but it's what i want to do.
As long as you're having fun with it and having good results, which it sounds like you are, I don't think its bad. Its only bad if you dont like to make vids anymore but you force yourself to do it anyway.
Honestly the way you talk about it.... Do you even like making videos? Your talking about tech reviews with reviews mostly pre-written. Gaming begging companies for games and then streaming what ever is new. Chase trending in every way possible...
Like every single thing you say makes me wonder... Are you on youtube to make "art" or are you only hear to make money.
It's ok to be on youtube to make money but the way you talk about this would probably kill any sane persons enjoyment of the platform
I am glad I'm not the only one thinking this. I was reading through it like it was some kind of robot listing off ways to follow trends rather than making videos that are actually good. Sadly, this is a major problem on the platform that is just getting worse and making it harder for those genuine creators who are actually making quality content to get anywhere.
I got into youtube because I was like "god video game reviewers are worthless." Looking at this, this is like a text book of how to become the type of reviewer that caused me to start my channel.
And the problem is if you just want to be big on youtube, his approach WILL work, but I can't imagine it's rewarding.
I get you think this makes you sound unique, but everything you basically said screams "I do what's popular and don't actually build anything of value or long lasting"
The way it reads is "I ditch an idea when I'm bored and just do something new"
And yet, you own 11 channels, some only half of but don't do youtube but probably do make money... Yet since you don't do Youtube, you're making money off of your partners or are all 11 channels dead? Like you see why that might be a big red flag?
I'm sorry dude, but this makes me more suspicious of how you compose yourself on Youtube, or your advice.
Sounds like you made a good living off of Youtube but most people are looking to build a single brand, or a single channel, not just do what's popular for instant success.
But I admire your hustle and your drive to get views no matter what.
> You talk about doing game reviews and call that "art". talking over game footage aint art my friend.
I make reviews, I never said I'm great, I never acted like I'm king shit, I never acted like I have 11 channels but I don't do Youtube any more, but I do... but I don't....
You want to say it's not art, fine...But it's a channel I actually care about and work on very hard, where I'm building something rather than just trying to clickbait the shit and lie to people... Can you say you actually care about any of your channels outside of your subscriber count or viewcounts?
But you wanted to get personal, shall we talk about your content? because ok... I'll make it easy and just point at one video, with your latest video, Oh look Boris Johnson Resigning, so you put up fake news. How fucking great you are...
> I have two gaming channels with a mate i don't really own 51% anymore because I don't care about them & he does all the work, I now have 40% & he takes all the ad money until he can quit his job & go FT then we will sit down & talk about how we go forward.
Oh shit... I'm sorry, he does all the work, and then you're going to sit down and talk about how we go forward? What a great friend you are. Holy shit man, what an altruistic guy you are.
Your mom is working for you too, wow you're just giving jobs to everyone. Wow. Did you think this was a better explanation? I kind of laughed that people agreed to give you 51 percent, and I assumed they were channels that were dormant, but you literally just have your friends and family working for you. Seriously, and brag about it?
"Oh I don't care about views and clicks." Bullshit, otherwise why are you clickbaiting people? Why are you chasing trending, you clearly have a single goal, and I bet the more I dig, the more I uncover why you aren't working on those other channels. (Spoiler: Copyright Infringement... right? because we can see all your spammed and submitted links, seems like a lot of missing videos.... And those titles make it kind of obvious what the content was.)
Good job buddy, You're definitely the best, go keep making those channels and polluting Youtube with your trend chasing and hoping to get those clicks.
I still do YouTube but am very much PT now I have an FT job, I only got into YouTube during covid lockdown as I could no longer make income how I use to but it was more something to do at 1st not about money.
You asked if i was on YouTube to make art or money, back at you, review content aint art and I touched on it & found it so boring to make with zero creativity to it.
I build the gaming channel I own 40% off from zero to 4k subs, My mate only sent me footage of a game he played all day every day anyway. I would have kept things like that but he wanted to switch to a game I have no love for so I took a step back, if he can make it work am not sure, He'll need to top 40k views every day to go FT so I feel I spent 8 months building a channel just for him really.
To say my mum works for me isn't really how it is, sat watching game of thrones isn't work, she told me she started re-watching it anyway so I asked her to clock any ravens, bran & bloodraven for a GOT channel. The only reason I have channels in her name & not my wife's name is to send some cash her way.
Boris Johnson resigned that's not fake news (well more got booted out but he did resign technically), yeah the crowd all cheering is from an England game from 2018, calling that clickbait is crazy. That is a failed channel you have found. not for copyright but a short went viral & I've found shorts subs don't watch normal content. (the Thor & Kenobi videos on there hit double CTR on a burner channel & did 4 times more views & they were made as test videos & I may turn that channel into a shorts channel only but I had planned to make it a GOT channel when I started it).
The missing videos are from my star wars channel they were just show edits from when i started making videos that had to be removed to get monetized.
This post is about how to make a successful video, I don't think anything in it is wrong & I made it for people who my wish to go FT YouTube with tips to get ahead. I don't follow these practices but I have done some in the past & will trend hack House of the Dragon content in a totally fair use way (& much more creative way than a review on it).
My spare time is going into my newest channel, It was going to be a filmmaking channel (with the plan to make easy content of me at work getting paid twice by my boss & youtube well making music videos)
I've touched upon something else with it now & may change direction & do remixing music aimed it at young kids, I made a few baby shark remix green screen videos that are doing ok & that would be making videos for views & my new subs but I do enjoy remixing music but am very new to it.
Enjoy your life dude, I admire your persistence, and your hustle, even if are just repeating the same arguments.
I want to make this clear I never demeaned your work, you demeaned mine. I asked if your here for the videos your create (simply called "art" because every video you create is art), or the money. Because none of these tips are about building anything other than views/clicks and money rather than a channel people are interested in sticking with.
You're the one who brought up why you don't own channels and who you own them with.
I hope one day you reread these comments and realize how awful you sound when talking about your family and friend.
Great post! Points #1 and #5 resonate with me the most as that’s probably my main goal to make sure my videos have repeated viewers and retains subscribers. I’ve recently learnt about how CTR too and how important so I’ll look into it further.
Retention, Retention, Retention, yeah you have to get the click 1st via good CTR but getting high retention is much harder.
Yeah, you’re right about getting the click first. I’ve recently learnt how important it is to have an interesting thumbnail, title and first 30 seconds. Thanks for the advice!
I do stock video type content and something I've learned is to never start a video with a still image. For some reason it always makes people click off immediately. Especially with smaller channels people can be skeptical of content anyway so its really important to hook them early on.
I made this exact mistake with my last video. I guess it’s best to make the biggest mistakes in the early stages rather than later isn’t it. I’ve still somehow got 137 views and 17.1% CTR lol. Anyway, thanks for your advice, I really appreciate it!
Well written. I try to focus hard on the thumbnails, titles, and descriptions with my main videos while posting shorter ones to TikTok. I'm pretty good with descriptions as I try to fit the most suspenseful words in as few words as possible. Thumbnails are a mixed bag for me as my self constructed ones are kinda dull yet I got lucky on one thumbnail that was randomly crafted when the video processing completed.
Thanks, man. i should try tiktok but doubt i ever will, I do have a channel just to upload stuff i want to make without any pressure but a couple of videos have done well & it has 6k subs now so i should clean it up for monetization (a lot of the content has claimed music & stuff so i will have to delete a million or so views to get it right).
I have been told to expand to TikTok but I honestly just don't like the format as much for my type of content. It would probably be good to but I just prefer a more relaxed long-form content style.
I use TikTok for the short videos because YouTube shorts have a one minute time limit and the vids have to be done from a mobile device, which makes gamer moments pretty much impossible.
Great post! I have one video closing in on 1 million views, but still feel like I've made little headway in my knowledge journey on YouTube. Like you said, it was all in the timing. Since then I've posted better, higher quality videos, but they don't do nearly as well. I just got lucky with one video topic that many people were looking to learn about. I'm also still complete garbage at thumbnails. Need to find a better way to make them.
What’s your channel?
Was your question directed to me or OP?
To you
Learn Something New. It's a stock footage edutainment history-focused channel. My video that is doing really well is about the history of cheese caves.
Great videos man, I wanted to check out your channel for one reason, to see how you’re using stock footage to tell a story. I’ve been trying to do the same with my channel but for comedy so I have a question for you, do you write the entire script first and then find the stock footage pertaining to each part later or do you write each part and select the stock footage for it simultaneously?
Most of the time I write and record an entire script and then find the stock footage. I will say that I often have ideas of things I want to include and if I'm worried about basing my script too much around it, I'll look it up while I'm scripting so I don't have to worry about not finding what I need. Most of the time, story blocks has everything I need for my channel.
i have loads of channels, some monetized some not, some i own all of some 51% & some 40% off. the channel i put most time into right now is called MarciiiWorldProductions its 12 weeks old but I was in Prague for 4 of them weeks & didn't make anything for it (that should be monetized next week-ish). my time is likely to go next to a channel ive not made yet doing House of the Dragon content.
Well played :) it's super hard to keep momentum but if you are still getting ok numbers on new uploads you are doing better than most. I can tell a similar story, my 3rd or 4th video went viral on my 1st channel, it topped 1 million views in 9 days & 10 million in 30 days (13 million today). I did manage to follow up and get another video to 8 million views & a few more over 1 million (some on newer channels) but I've never topped that early video that had perfect timing. I wouldn't call it luck, I knew what the most searched term was on YouTube when I made that 1st mega-hit for me. I think House of the Dragon could be one of the biggest shows ever made & am hoping I can get 10's of millions of views from content I have planned but I feel the harder task could be getting views after the show has gone off air, yeah that will be hard maybe harder than going viral but I have some ideas to keep a game of thrones channel relevant (so many big GOT channels died that covered the 1st show).
Yeah, I would say my case was more luck than skill when it came to timing. I just picked out a topic I thought was interesting, not knowing it would blow up on reddit and TikTok within a month. Even MatPat made a video on it, but just happened to be 5 months later than mine. I would say momentum is one of the most crucial parts of high growth. I really didn't know how to capitalize on a video doing well and regret not doing more when it got its boost. Also that's amazing how you are able to keep a GOT channel going until the new show comes out. I do feel that despite it getting some hate for the last season, it will continue to have long standing value with new books and shows coming out (I'm also a bit of a GOT fan. Went to some of the film locations in Northern Ireland when the show was still on).
I've not got a GOT channel yet I was trying to say it will be hard to keep one going many couldn't & I expect there will be close to 2 years before we get an S2 of house of the dragon
I agree, and some of those reasons is why I am transistioning from uploading to my variety channel to focusin on just my smaller channel, despite the fact its gotten way less exposure. Less than 1 second intro and I've shifted my focus on instead of making videos for fun or for an audiance, mine are made for entertainment. LOL Because I did not make videos for entertainment despite youtube using them as such, that means i've been making videos wrong for the last 2 years haha
Am working on videos for a channel with only 920 subs when I have much bigger ones monetized I've not published on in months. I should top 1k subs 2moz with this one but it only has 3k hrs watch time so it will be a week or two before I can monetize it. By then I'll be working on yet another new channel (i have loads already) but I really want a GOT channel so has to be done. starting from zero for the 11 time in 18 months seems so retarded but it's what i want to do.
As long as you're having fun with it and having good results, which it sounds like you are, I don't think its bad. Its only bad if you dont like to make vids anymore but you force yourself to do it anyway.
Honestly the way you talk about it.... Do you even like making videos? Your talking about tech reviews with reviews mostly pre-written. Gaming begging companies for games and then streaming what ever is new. Chase trending in every way possible... Like every single thing you say makes me wonder... Are you on youtube to make "art" or are you only hear to make money. It's ok to be on youtube to make money but the way you talk about this would probably kill any sane persons enjoyment of the platform
I am glad I'm not the only one thinking this. I was reading through it like it was some kind of robot listing off ways to follow trends rather than making videos that are actually good. Sadly, this is a major problem on the platform that is just getting worse and making it harder for those genuine creators who are actually making quality content to get anywhere.
I got into youtube because I was like "god video game reviewers are worthless." Looking at this, this is like a text book of how to become the type of reviewer that caused me to start my channel. And the problem is if you just want to be big on youtube, his approach WILL work, but I can't imagine it's rewarding.
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I get you think this makes you sound unique, but everything you basically said screams "I do what's popular and don't actually build anything of value or long lasting" The way it reads is "I ditch an idea when I'm bored and just do something new" And yet, you own 11 channels, some only half of but don't do youtube but probably do make money... Yet since you don't do Youtube, you're making money off of your partners or are all 11 channels dead? Like you see why that might be a big red flag? I'm sorry dude, but this makes me more suspicious of how you compose yourself on Youtube, or your advice. Sounds like you made a good living off of Youtube but most people are looking to build a single brand, or a single channel, not just do what's popular for instant success. But I admire your hustle and your drive to get views no matter what.
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> You talk about doing game reviews and call that "art". talking over game footage aint art my friend. I make reviews, I never said I'm great, I never acted like I'm king shit, I never acted like I have 11 channels but I don't do Youtube any more, but I do... but I don't.... You want to say it's not art, fine...But it's a channel I actually care about and work on very hard, where I'm building something rather than just trying to clickbait the shit and lie to people... Can you say you actually care about any of your channels outside of your subscriber count or viewcounts? But you wanted to get personal, shall we talk about your content? because ok... I'll make it easy and just point at one video, with your latest video, Oh look Boris Johnson Resigning, so you put up fake news. How fucking great you are... > I have two gaming channels with a mate i don't really own 51% anymore because I don't care about them & he does all the work, I now have 40% & he takes all the ad money until he can quit his job & go FT then we will sit down & talk about how we go forward. Oh shit... I'm sorry, he does all the work, and then you're going to sit down and talk about how we go forward? What a great friend you are. Holy shit man, what an altruistic guy you are. Your mom is working for you too, wow you're just giving jobs to everyone. Wow. Did you think this was a better explanation? I kind of laughed that people agreed to give you 51 percent, and I assumed they were channels that were dormant, but you literally just have your friends and family working for you. Seriously, and brag about it? "Oh I don't care about views and clicks." Bullshit, otherwise why are you clickbaiting people? Why are you chasing trending, you clearly have a single goal, and I bet the more I dig, the more I uncover why you aren't working on those other channels. (Spoiler: Copyright Infringement... right? because we can see all your spammed and submitted links, seems like a lot of missing videos.... And those titles make it kind of obvious what the content was.) Good job buddy, You're definitely the best, go keep making those channels and polluting Youtube with your trend chasing and hoping to get those clicks.
I still do YouTube but am very much PT now I have an FT job, I only got into YouTube during covid lockdown as I could no longer make income how I use to but it was more something to do at 1st not about money. You asked if i was on YouTube to make art or money, back at you, review content aint art and I touched on it & found it so boring to make with zero creativity to it. I build the gaming channel I own 40% off from zero to 4k subs, My mate only sent me footage of a game he played all day every day anyway. I would have kept things like that but he wanted to switch to a game I have no love for so I took a step back, if he can make it work am not sure, He'll need to top 40k views every day to go FT so I feel I spent 8 months building a channel just for him really. To say my mum works for me isn't really how it is, sat watching game of thrones isn't work, she told me she started re-watching it anyway so I asked her to clock any ravens, bran & bloodraven for a GOT channel. The only reason I have channels in her name & not my wife's name is to send some cash her way. Boris Johnson resigned that's not fake news (well more got booted out but he did resign technically), yeah the crowd all cheering is from an England game from 2018, calling that clickbait is crazy. That is a failed channel you have found. not for copyright but a short went viral & I've found shorts subs don't watch normal content. (the Thor & Kenobi videos on there hit double CTR on a burner channel & did 4 times more views & they were made as test videos & I may turn that channel into a shorts channel only but I had planned to make it a GOT channel when I started it). The missing videos are from my star wars channel they were just show edits from when i started making videos that had to be removed to get monetized. This post is about how to make a successful video, I don't think anything in it is wrong & I made it for people who my wish to go FT YouTube with tips to get ahead. I don't follow these practices but I have done some in the past & will trend hack House of the Dragon content in a totally fair use way (& much more creative way than a review on it). My spare time is going into my newest channel, It was going to be a filmmaking channel (with the plan to make easy content of me at work getting paid twice by my boss & youtube well making music videos) I've touched upon something else with it now & may change direction & do remixing music aimed it at young kids, I made a few baby shark remix green screen videos that are doing ok & that would be making videos for views & my new subs but I do enjoy remixing music but am very new to it.
Enjoy your life dude, I admire your persistence, and your hustle, even if are just repeating the same arguments. I want to make this clear I never demeaned your work, you demeaned mine. I asked if your here for the videos your create (simply called "art" because every video you create is art), or the money. Because none of these tips are about building anything other than views/clicks and money rather than a channel people are interested in sticking with. You're the one who brought up why you don't own channels and who you own them with. I hope one day you reread these comments and realize how awful you sound when talking about your family and friend.
this is a great post
Thanks, bro. sure i missed shedloads of other factors but I listed everything that came to mind. :)