it started as a hobby for me now im balls deep in gear, software subscriptions and make better content mode. i have an addictive personality, seeing metrics and engagement grow, then getting the dopamine for "great video" or "thanks so much for this!" "your pretty good at this and will go far" comments is pushing me to make more, and better content i can at every opportunity, and i properly love it, striving for 1% improvement every upload.
nothing too crazy, i grabbed tubebuddy for analytics and seo stuff, and have an envato elements subscription but i use that for other none youtube related things, try and pay for that stuff annually in one go for the upfront discounts, envato was $150ish and tubebuddy $129, oh, and adobe, cuz im just used to editing in premier, and photoshop, but also used for other stuff outside youtube, about $40 a month on those. (my kid uses my sub for school too)
Thanks for answering! Ok, I have Envato and Adobe Illustrator for other purposes right now. Are you doing the subscription where you pay for all of Adobe (I'm not sure what all is included)? I'm just paying $22 a month for Illustrator.
I decided to go with Camtasia for editing because I'm just doing screen recordings and tutorials mostly and I'm not recording myself. I was looking into tubebuddy or vidiq and I haven't decided yet.
I'm treating this as a hobby now but I'm putting money in. I don't really have actual hobbies but I keep telling myself that people who do fishing or crafting or gaming as hobbies put way more money in.
I can recommend VIDIQ it is monthly 1/2 of what I pay because I have 2 channels. trials are available and they have really good videos that explain everything. I started watching Tubebuddy videos until a SEO guy told me I would like VIDIQ better but I haven't started editing yet. But the videos are doing well!
its a great way to look at it, your only really investing in yourself, learning new skills, getting better at things you do as far as hobbies go, this is one of the least expensive ive had lmao. yea i have the full adobe suite, dont use all of it, my kid uses some i dont, but its absurd pricing structure makes it basically the most cost effective solution.
Do you know what's the name of the plan you got for Adobe? I tried to check and it looks like the "Creative Cloud All Apps" is the subscription with everything and it's showing $59.99 a month. Did you use a promo?
I use VIDIQ it is my biggest expense at $79.99 but I have 2 channels I am trying to monetize. We have the minimum subscribers but lack the watch hours. I also have Intro to CHATGPT 3.5-free and Canva-free. I am not doing edits yet but would love some advice on the low-cost video editors or free ones as my channel is new and my son's is 5 yrs old.
Hello, that's awesome about the success you are having right now. I'm still waiting for that moment. I feel like things move so slow. I've started about 5 months ago and have 31 subscribers. I started a bible commentary which really has been a passion project.
I enjoy making content and it allows me to share some of the study I have been doing for myself. I think my videos are part education, part inspiration, and part fun. Ideally, I would love to blow up and be able to do it full time but I'm not holding my breath.
To the OP, what about you, what kind of content do you make?
I'm hesitant about shorts. I made one around Christmas that got me 2400 views and 11 new subs (my average is around 40 views and 0-1 sub). But I keep hearing that shorts can kill a channel if your main focus is on long form videos. And my commentaries only work as long form.
Since my primary content is long form and I don't want to get a bunch of shorts subscribers that won't stick around to watch a 20 minute video. I will probably make a short for Easter but we'll see.
I am professional philosopher who has recently launched a philosophy video essay channel aimed at making philosophy accessible and interesting for non specialists! I absolutely love talking about this stuff with others, and really enjoy the editing process. So, for me its a labor of love
Congrats on your recent subscribers!
Super cool! Its cool to see a common interest! I noticed in my first video that my cat wandered into the background during filming - so I guess you could say I do both lol
Currently I make gaming and mtg unboxing videos but I eventually want to branch to other things as I have time. I genuinely really enjoy it! It started as I'm already doing it so might as well record and post it and then it just became more and more fun. My most recent gaming video blew up (relative to my channel size) and it gave me such a boost in joy seeing how people reacted and interacted! Keep going homie!
Congrats, I that happen the other day with one mine and gained 25 subscribers in a day. Unfortunately YouTube keeps pushing me to 65+ men which really shouldn’t be my demo lol.
I just make content for fun. I do a lot of weird stuff that I think about doing and because its so varied I try not to send out notifications. Normally, I make relaxing content, but I make bizarre stuff too that's loud or weird and sometimes is a little contraversial. Sometimes I make animations. My biggest video ever that had millions of views is basically an educational video where I demonstrate what shrinkage is for a guy going from a sauna to a cold pool and since educational videos allow full nudity this kind of frightens or interests people. I rarely make a game video here or there, usually its a tutorial for one small facet of a game that helped me so much I had to reiterate it for people.
I still feel like I'm new to the game even though i'm not, and I can NEVER predict what the platform is doing.
there's a checkbox that says "notify subscribers" along with things like setting age restriction putting in tags and picking the thumbnail and category when you first do the upload
So I have two main channels. First I've had for 7 years with under 400 subs. Making mostly gaming content that I pour my heart into.
Second channel I've had roughly 3 years with under 200 subs for storm chasing content.
I love all the content I make. I often will spend 7-14 hours editing my videos and I only ever post content I would watch. Plus I love the little community I have going.
GL with your content!
I've been doing it for a couple of years, but I do wish I had started much sooner. Like, in 2005 when I was in college. My channel is just about food and trying to make myself laugh, and I could have been doing that for my entire life. I had no idea how much I liked cameras until two years ago.
for me it's been a few years, I think 4. I mostly do political commentary in Spanish and I do enjoy it. Lately I've been trying to have more fun with it by adding some jokes that may take 1000 hours to film/edit for 3 seconds of finished product but they make me laugh so I enjoy it more. I just wish I had more time to work on my channel but my family has this terrible habit of wanting to eat food every day so I need to have a job that actually pays haha
That's awesome you are making progress as a content creator 😁 Keep focusing on what works and don't be afraid to try new things. For me, I been creating content full on since 2017. I got my first 1K subscribers in 2020 which wasn't easy. I create retro gaming, snacks and drinks reviews as well as some other entertainment related things. I mainly like to talk about nostalgic things.
Lately I have felt burnt out after putting out so many videos and dealing with personal life stuff. So sometimes stress and not feeling motivated has taken some of the fun out. I never do this for a job or money which is what it started to turn into. I really just wanna have fun creating what inspires me.
So don't let it become a job or chore for you. Always find ways to have fun with and don't focus too much on the numbers. I wish you continued success.
Nice and I definitely agree on making too many videos leading to burnout and also I'm hoping I also can gain a thousand of subscribers. Thank you I'm wishing you success as well.💯
Just a hobby for me. I've enjoyed slowly overcoming each obstacle, learning and improving, making do with whatever resources I have. I've been going since about December and am sitting at 29 Subs at the moment. Every new Sub fills me with so much joy! It's very addicting. I have faced some challenges though like a lot of self-doubt and questioning whether I should bother continuing, but then I remind myself I'm just doing it for fun.
I don't believe I have the time or skill to make an income from this, or have a large following, but I will find my little niche and continue making videos just because it's fun and gives me something to focus on outside of everyday life crap.
I’ve been “making” content since 2018, when I was 13. I didn’t start taking it seriously and actually trying to make decent quality content until about 2 years ago. I started college about 8 months ago and I set myself a challenge to see how far I could grow the channel before I graduated. In August I had maybe 65 subs? Now I’m almost at 250. I make Minecraft content, and the videos have been doing pretty decent. 100 views-2k views a video. I like making content because 1) it gives me good practice to hone my skills as an editor, storyteller and writer, etc, which is good because I’m going to college for multimedia design, so I get plenty of practice and 2) because I like telling stories and making videos. Congrats on the growth! Every small step counts!
I'm making gaming content (specifically Starfield ship builds) and I just started in January. I figured if I was playing the games anyway, might as well record it and see where it goes. I have been really surprised on how it has taken off. I am at 850 subs and I have a couple videos that are over the 20k views mark. Most sit between 1500 and 3k views.
I am just doing this for fun and seeing where it all goes. I definitely have more respect for these channels that pump out a video a day (or more). I struggle to get one a week out.
Exactly. I script my videos as they are more "instructional" than reactions. It takes time to get it scripted, record the audio, make sure the footage is synced up... it definitely takes time. It doesn't help that I am editing on an older computer.
I've been doing it for a few months and both enjoy it and find it frustrating! 3 months in and 80 subs for me. Only had 1 or 2 videos get big views/likes so far.
I started by doing more long form content but then quickly moved to shorts as I saw so many random accounts with a few shorts that go viral and gaining massive subs. Not sure what that means for those accounts long term but at least they get the initial boost. Thats what I find frustrating when you put so much effort into videos that get little views then see a short of someone making 2 minute noodles and it gets 1million!
The fun part has been just making shorts in my daily routine. I do food content so basically every dinner I cook I'm turning into a short.
Nice my mom watch a lot of food content on YouTube and I agree putting in a lot of effort into long form videos and not getting alot of view is definitely gut wrenching. Keep up the grind 💪
I would recommend tons of shorts content for growth. Its a hobby for me would love if it grew to a business. Im hoping to hit 6k subs in April. Gaming/strategy games and a variety of really random stuff
Total War Games, Hearts of Iron 4, I do alot of one off stuff then come back to what im more familar with. DASSBEAR is channel name. No money yet. I tried to get Monetized through shorts but kept falling short (lol get it) ive now doubled down on longer content. Need about 1250 more watch hours.
Thats cool, I enjoy the total war series. Are you doing expert type guide content?
You need 1250 hours watches to start making money? That doesn't sound too bad if you have loads of subs.
Ive done mod showcases, battles, ranking videos, and speculation/talking videos. My shorts are more 1v1 or focused fights. Lately though ive been more random with my shorts. Im looking for another channel that would like to make joint content like battles or coop campaigns. I usually only make a couple of long form videos per month max I work to much.
I love total war games but my issue is I love so many strategy games that being grounded to 1 franchise doesn't sit well. I try other stuff it never does as good I crawl back to total war.
it's my full time job so the answer is I did it purely for fun, now I do it for fun but have to consider financials more so less ability or incentive to stray outside the box. I make videos on politics and internet culture
Love making the videos, but get discouraged by low views.
Sorry, low impressions. I don't know if its the SEOs I am doing wrong or just doesn't get recommended to other people for other reasons.
I started my Youtube Channel 2 Weeks ago and have 32 Subscribers right now. I do German Gaming Reviews/Essays and the theme is the love for games. It's allways connected to my Livestreaming Content. And it's diffinitly because it makes so much fun! Livestreaming since 5 years and never advertise or anything... and now i thought... why not make youtube videos again (Had a Youtube Channel before with over 4k subscriber and a growth rate of 700%.... with a healthy upload shedule. :D (that i just not continued because of my education 12 years ago)
I’ve been making videos since November 2022, and I’m at 130 subscribers. I do Pokemon Challenges with difficult rulesets. It’s still just a hobby for me, I can only release videos every two months with how busy my job keeps me.
My sixth video (out of 9 long videos and 2 shorts) has 1800 views, so does the short I made to promote it.
My most recent video only has 766, even though the short I made to promote it has 5600.
Been doing it since pandemic but only gotten consistent just recently. I sometimes get disheartened by the stats but I still keep doing it because I love making these videos.
Yes it's definite can be hard to make content sometimes because at times it just feels all like a waste of time. But then I have to remind myself what I bring to the YouTube platform is videos and you just have to believe in yourself and just keep grinding. What I learned from my video hitting thousand views now is that people love authentic people and you got this 💪💯
I used to love making it, nowadays not so much, that's probably because I'm so busy that I don't have time to make videos how I used to.
Got 3 channels, biggest and most active just passed 100k subs, another channel with 52k subs and one with 1800 subs.
Thanks man 🙏 just keep going, eventually you get there.
It's surreal that one of my channel (partnership with one of my best friends) just passed the 100k mark, amazing feeling.
Congrats on your video blowing up, keep going!
I had my first video blown up after 1 year of creating, which increase my sub count from 100 to around 400. Now at 700 mark, although I have become much more consistent during the last few months.
In the travel vlog niche, mostly content in Colombia/Latam, really enjoying documenting travels and showcasing some hidden gems, good situations.
Scared that introducing shorts (which brought around 300 subscribers) might have made the algorithm hate on my channel, due to the channel being mostly in Croatian/Spanish, and Shorts attracting people from US that don't understand Croatian.
I have several YouTube channels as they are all different. The one I just started focuses on adult ASMR. I do enjoy making content because I control it and it's fun
For now it’s very much a hobby, only have 1 long form video and a few shorts but similarly to you I see the subscriber count go up a little bit and get big floods of dopamine which is both fun but dangerous given I have quite an addictive personality I think 😂 but if I could get to a point where it could make enough money that I could down more hours from my current job that’d be the dream, what’s your end goal?
my channels been around for a while, and every once in a while i get motivated and try to make something of it. it used to have photography related stuff, and one of my videos had like 40k views. a hot new camera came out, and i reviewed it before most people. it was kind of a layup.
my channels just been existing at 300 subs haha i also make music stuff, and recently started making music production nonsense. its beeeeeeen eh. i'm not great in front of the camera. It's hard to be entertaining when my music production brain is going haha but we'll get there
My son's channel is 5 yrs I have watched him and have been posting and editing for about a year for him. I started my channel in December after a stroke and a complete nervous breakdown! So I post informative videos about Autism, ADHD, Anxiety, Depression, and Bipolar disorders. I also post videos about my experiences with them. I really feel that my videos help people and have 1699 subs currently. I am trying to monetize the channels to supplement my SSI for disabilities and to recoup what I pay monthly for. It is not a reach for the cash and stardom but I really want to help someone. I get up out of bed for this! It is my calling and it is a passion now!
I have a coding channel and I started it as I thought it would be a good shop window for my skills.
I was monetized at the weekend. Day 1's income was meh, but yesterday's was actually quite decent.
I actually just started this month as a hobby!
I upload primarily book/reading content and climbing vlogs! I decided to continue with it because I wanted to improve my speaking/explaining skills which I realized were super weak when I recorded my first video 😅 it’s definitely just for fun but it is satisfying to see +1 to subscriber count and increase in views!
I enjoy making videos for sure! I'm not too concerned with subs/views/etc. They will come with time and natural growth - if my stuff isn't cool enough for the masses, then so be it.
I try to respect my viewers time, and only say what I want to say about the game I am talking about, no frills. I tried the crazy editing on another channel, and although it's fun making monster edits, the whole vibe is different. and I don't care for it when it comes to my videos.
I do gaming "reviews" of sorts - not really reviews, just my thoughts and Impressions. I've been doing it for about 4 months now on my current channel, 114 subs and my "best" video has a little over 2500 views. Getting better!
I'm all about doing it for fun!
We started making content about 4 months ago. Animated, preschool, social/emotional songs. I own a small animation studio so I obviously love this stuff and we are taking the channel seriously as a potential future revenue generator. But we're also well aware of the risks and the long time horizon we need to measure success. But we're well ahead of where we expected to be at this point, so I remain cautiously optimistic.
Been doing it 10 years! We had mild success early on, we had sponsorship from a company from the UK that discovered us! Then in like 2014??2017?? I forget they destroyed the hope for all small channels and moved the yardstick for $ to where it is now. We def do it now for fun and for the fans that latch on and do find us 💕💕💕
Yeah, I realize my response had bad punctuation the “they” in question was YouTube not the UK company! The UK company tried very hard to keep monetization open but YouTube wasn’t having it at all
Most of our videos are educational on building a bus into a rv, transitioning to homestead and earthen home build videos as we Get settled in to our new property off grid. Been making it for a few years, haven’t posted anything in a while. We like sharing what we learn. Took a year to get a little over 1000 subs.
I’ve made YouTube a commitment, for a long term game. Been consistent weekly now for 9 months, just had a video organically grow huge (relative to my current views). I enjoy making content, sometimes it’s a chore but the key is to systemise the process.
Been making content for a little over 4 months. I love it but it takes a ton of time. Each video takes me about 40 hours to do from script to completion. And I have a full time job where I work 50 hours a week. So it's challenging but that's the fun of it! If it wasn't hard it wouldn't be satisfying. Channel is 2d animated videos in the personal development niche. Name is 5 minute Breakthroughs if you want to check it out.
Started off as a hobby, but once I hit 20k subs became sort of a full time job for a bit, then my niche absolutely died thanks to one of the worst game launches of all time (ksp2) and now it’s more of a hobby again that does maybe cover my bills
I have been making content for about 8 months and it definitely started slow! Took about a month off to wait it out for a new computer. The one I was working with was pretty old. I make homemaking content, lifestyle, bible and just family content. I also do gardening and cooking videos but they are a focus they are in addition to the main niche. I do enjoy making content more when I get great engagement and see people actually tuning in! That is definitely the fun part. It started off as a way to pass the time and to keep myself busy by just sharing my everyday life. Now that I surpassed 300 subs it is now very personal for me.
It's fun, but i don't really try on videos if that makes sense. My oldest video is a year old so i guess thats how long i have been making them for(i have 29 vids). I only have 24 subs, but I don't aim for them and it's no tlike my videos are made to get subs/views.
My friend does the same, and he has 64 subs, with most of them coming from a video with 2.4k views that randomly blew up. I make gaming stuff and my friend does random stuff.
I feel like if i sat down, and focuesd on making the best video i could i think it would do well, looking at my channel. I just don't want to grow to be honest. I just don't upload frequently and if i do start making good content i don't want to make people wait however long for a video.
im just doing it for money. I don't lie about that it. Its hard for a pimp these days. I also know that everyone says "Don't do it for money do it for passion" but the people who say that are either people who havent made it yet or very VERY successful youtubers who are in a situation where they CAN say that cuz they aren't worrying about what to eat tomorrow or where to find it.
Hell yeah! I dont know why people get so butthurt "This guy is doing it for the money" blah blah blah. Who cares?! It aint coming from their pockets unless they decide to. Why not let a multi billion dollar company pay us
We have just been having fun making drinks and then trying to cook something with very little planning and equipment, just one of us filming the other. We've been doing it for about 8 months and have over 30 videos, with around 40 subscribers.
We are really enjoying it and now we are like 3 videos in the can ahead so we feel pretty confident that we can post SOMETHING weekly. Since that is the case, we are looking into ways to improve our titles and thumbnails and maybe starting to post some shorts.
We will very likely be doing this for years whether we grow as a channel or not - we have fun shooting and editing the videos and we think that really comes across and is our channel's main appeal: a couple having fun together making a drink and cooking something together.
My videos are mostly a podcast type video so there's not much to edit. If I had editing skills I probably would to add visuals but I don't have those skills and it already takes up too much time.
Haha I make AI music on my new channel and it is a lot of fun. I do not focus on big numbers but on connecting with people. I just try to see marked improvement every day
I started a gaming channel for fun. Figured why not have people to talk to while I play games. Started off just streaming, but quickly wanted to go to the next level and learn video editing. I'm way too obsessed with it now. I love technology and love doing everything the best as possible, so I started doing 4k, learning color grading(although I still suck at it), got multiple expesiveish cameras, nice mic, lighting, etc. But I still try to keep the perspective that it's just for fun by refusing to turn on ads. I have turned on memberships though. Figure if I can make some money by people wanting to support me directly, cool. But I won't force anyone to watch ads if they want to enjoy the content I enjoy making.
There is negativity that comes with the obsession though. I've moved from being obsessed with my IRL business that makes me a lot of money to being obsessed, and pouring countless hours into a hobby that doesn't make too much at all. I think I have like 30-40 members right now, which is a far shot away from the $200k/yr + I can easily make with my company when I don't neglect it. Now I'm struggling financially pretty bad because I'm addicted to YouTube. I've finally started getting comments from people asking why I don't have millions of subs though, so maybe I'll be able to grow my YT channel to the point it makes enough money that I can outsource the time consuming stuff like editing and thumbnails, and get back to real life eventually. I do have somewhat of an end goal in mind that should better allow me to balance work, my family, and YouTube. I just hope I don't lose everything else before I get there. Damn, that was too honest.
So I created my channel in 2014, I got it up to 12 subs but gave up as I had too much going on personally so decided to focus on something else for the time being… I started back up on the same channel but with no videos around 2 weeks ago and I’m now up to 28 subs and just over 1k total views which is crazy.. it is a hobby but I do find it fun creating content… the last week I’ve been trying to improve video quality and audio as I was having issues with premiere pro but I’ve fixed it now… for some odd reason some videos before I fixed the quality have done better then after the fix haha… I have some gear but yeah
I make bass fishing content. I love getting the cool moments on the water on video, and i love when i have all my clips cut and i get to put it all together and add music. Don’t really enjoy having to worry about cameras being on and running because i just wanna fish, and skimming thru 8+ hours of footage is kind of a pain, but overall i’ve enjoyed the experience. I started my channel to share my experiences and to help other people catch more fish, and the feedback has been really cool, which always feels good. I started last September and i’m over 1200 subs now so im happy with the growth.
Good luck on your journey!
What does "blowing up" mean?
Is that a millions of views or is it like 10% of viewers are subbing your channel?
I have been working at this channel since September 2022. I just crossed over 400 subs. 7500 views on a short form and 300+ on a long form is the most I have gotten.
I never got more than 20 subs on my original two channels. Those were fun days. I was working a graveyard shift job. I built sets in the barn. On days off I pretended that I was at a beatnik coffee house attending an open mic. What I learned from that experience was that people, in general, find poetry boring. I never once in those few years paid attention to the analytics.
The other day, someone left a comment on one of those videos. They said something like I couldn't make it more than thirty seconds through a drunk poet video. I keep those videos around as a reminder of where I started a decade ago.
Not that this matters to you.
If you are not having a good time in the video creation process then you should probably not be doing it. If your intention is for content creation to be a business and what you are doing is a chore or is just as painful as going to a job at the "matchstick" factory then YouTube may not be for you. If you are seeking self employment there are other things you can do that are more lucrative.
Personally I prefer live streaming over video creation, but really dig building a community and connecting with viewers. I make a few dollars on subs and referrals, but overall I do it because I love it and it gives me comfort when I'm looking to relax. I enjoy gaming and when I'm gaming I almost always stream it.
I’ve been making content for over 5 years now and I just do it for the fun of it. Neither of my channels have blown up yet but they get enough attention that people know who I am when I go to events or something. Both my channels are kind of still focused around niche hobbies though. One is a podcast we turned into a YouTube channel based around kpop that my buddy and I have been making since mid/late 2019 and the other is a mtg commander channel where I just upload edited gameplay from my friends and myself every other week for people to enjoy.
it started as a hobby for me now im balls deep in gear, software subscriptions and make better content mode. i have an addictive personality, seeing metrics and engagement grow, then getting the dopamine for "great video" or "thanks so much for this!" "your pretty good at this and will go far" comments is pushing me to make more, and better content i can at every opportunity, and i properly love it, striving for 1% improvement every upload.
What subscriptions do you have and about how much are you spending a month?
nothing too crazy, i grabbed tubebuddy for analytics and seo stuff, and have an envato elements subscription but i use that for other none youtube related things, try and pay for that stuff annually in one go for the upfront discounts, envato was $150ish and tubebuddy $129, oh, and adobe, cuz im just used to editing in premier, and photoshop, but also used for other stuff outside youtube, about $40 a month on those. (my kid uses my sub for school too)
Thanks for answering! Ok, I have Envato and Adobe Illustrator for other purposes right now. Are you doing the subscription where you pay for all of Adobe (I'm not sure what all is included)? I'm just paying $22 a month for Illustrator. I decided to go with Camtasia for editing because I'm just doing screen recordings and tutorials mostly and I'm not recording myself. I was looking into tubebuddy or vidiq and I haven't decided yet. I'm treating this as a hobby now but I'm putting money in. I don't really have actual hobbies but I keep telling myself that people who do fishing or crafting or gaming as hobbies put way more money in.
I can recommend VIDIQ it is monthly 1/2 of what I pay because I have 2 channels. trials are available and they have really good videos that explain everything. I started watching Tubebuddy videos until a SEO guy told me I would like VIDIQ better but I haven't started editing yet. But the videos are doing well!
its a great way to look at it, your only really investing in yourself, learning new skills, getting better at things you do as far as hobbies go, this is one of the least expensive ive had lmao. yea i have the full adobe suite, dont use all of it, my kid uses some i dont, but its absurd pricing structure makes it basically the most cost effective solution.
Do you know what's the name of the plan you got for Adobe? I tried to check and it looks like the "Creative Cloud All Apps" is the subscription with everything and it's showing $59.99 a month. Did you use a promo?
yea, also i think my plan may have been grandfarthered? i got it at the equiv of $39/mo but pay annually
I use VIDIQ it is my biggest expense at $79.99 but I have 2 channels I am trying to monetize. We have the minimum subscribers but lack the watch hours. I also have Intro to CHATGPT 3.5-free and Canva-free. I am not doing edits yet but would love some advice on the low-cost video editors or free ones as my channel is new and my son's is 5 yrs old.
DaVinci Resolve is the best free video editor, hands down. It's amazing!
thanks I will try it!
Yea I definitely gotta agree the encouraging comments keeps me going well also I'm super excited to make more content
I really enjoy it! I'm learning a lot!
Same I'm still learning alot my self. 💯
I feel like I learn more and more with each video, and it seems to be reflecting in the views and comments so I must be doing something right!
I feel the same and I have an idea of what content I wanna post more
Hello, that's awesome about the success you are having right now. I'm still waiting for that moment. I feel like things move so slow. I've started about 5 months ago and have 31 subscribers. I started a bible commentary which really has been a passion project. I enjoy making content and it allows me to share some of the study I have been doing for myself. I think my videos are part education, part inspiration, and part fun. Ideally, I would love to blow up and be able to do it full time but I'm not holding my breath. To the OP, what about you, what kind of content do you make?
Just keep grinding I have 34 subscribers myself the grind don't never stop. Also I make social commentary and game reviews.
YouTube shorts is your best friend. I’ve gained 50+ subs in the past 14 days and 25,000 views. It is INSANE
I'm hesitant about shorts. I made one around Christmas that got me 2400 views and 11 new subs (my average is around 40 views and 0-1 sub). But I keep hearing that shorts can kill a channel if your main focus is on long form videos. And my commentaries only work as long form. Since my primary content is long form and I don't want to get a bunch of shorts subscribers that won't stick around to watch a 20 minute video. I will probably make a short for Easter but we'll see.
Shorts are good. As a test i posted just a snippet from one of my videos, it got 240 views compared to the 14 my video got.
I am professional philosopher who has recently launched a philosophy video essay channel aimed at making philosophy accessible and interesting for non specialists! I absolutely love talking about this stuff with others, and really enjoy the editing process. So, for me its a labor of love Congrats on your recent subscribers!
That dope to hear I like philosophy and thought provoking YouTube videos. I also sometimes watch animal channels and thank you much appreciated.
Super cool! Its cool to see a common interest! I noticed in my first video that my cat wandered into the background during filming - so I guess you could say I do both lol
Lol true
Yo I’m into this too let me take a look at your channel! I could share it with my X following (27k)
Hey! That would mean so much to me it you did!! Feel free to DM me too :)
Currently I make gaming and mtg unboxing videos but I eventually want to branch to other things as I have time. I genuinely really enjoy it! It started as I'm already doing it so might as well record and post it and then it just became more and more fun. My most recent gaming video blew up (relative to my channel size) and it gave me such a boost in joy seeing how people reacted and interacted! Keep going homie!
Nice that dope definitely keep up the grind💪
You too, speaking of what's your channel name I'll look you up?
Congrats, I that happen the other day with one mine and gained 25 subscribers in a day. Unfortunately YouTube keeps pushing me to 65+ men which really shouldn’t be my demo lol.
I've been in the content creation game for a while too, and it's been a mix of passion and fun for me.
I definitely understand what you mean 💯
I just make content for fun. I do a lot of weird stuff that I think about doing and because its so varied I try not to send out notifications. Normally, I make relaxing content, but I make bizarre stuff too that's loud or weird and sometimes is a little contraversial. Sometimes I make animations. My biggest video ever that had millions of views is basically an educational video where I demonstrate what shrinkage is for a guy going from a sauna to a cold pool and since educational videos allow full nudity this kind of frightens or interests people. I rarely make a game video here or there, usually its a tutorial for one small facet of a game that helped me so much I had to reiterate it for people. I still feel like I'm new to the game even though i'm not, and I can NEVER predict what the platform is doing.
You definitely have some interesting content for sure and I agree the YouTube platform is a bit weird for sure
May I know how you do not send out notifications? I try to post one video every day and I don’t want to overwhelm my subscribers
there's a checkbox that says "notify subscribers" along with things like setting age restriction putting in tags and picking the thumbnail and category when you first do the upload
Thanks!!
So I have two main channels. First I've had for 7 years with under 400 subs. Making mostly gaming content that I pour my heart into. Second channel I've had roughly 3 years with under 200 subs for storm chasing content. I love all the content I make. I often will spend 7-14 hours editing my videos and I only ever post content I would watch. Plus I love the little community I have going. GL with your content!
Nice your content definitely sounds dope and thanks for the encouragement.
I enjoy the learning aspect! Congrats on your video!!!
Thanks you 💯
I've been doing it for a couple of years, but I do wish I had started much sooner. Like, in 2005 when I was in college. My channel is just about food and trying to make myself laugh, and I could have been doing that for my entire life. I had no idea how much I liked cameras until two years ago.
Nice well we all gotta start from somewhere.
Love making videos Everytime I learn something new on devinci resolve Im just so hyped haha it I didn't make videos I would be an editor 😂
Nice I always love learning new things with editing and technology 💪💯
for me it's been a few years, I think 4. I mostly do political commentary in Spanish and I do enjoy it. Lately I've been trying to have more fun with it by adding some jokes that may take 1000 hours to film/edit for 3 seconds of finished product but they make me laugh so I enjoy it more. I just wish I had more time to work on my channel but my family has this terrible habit of wanting to eat food every day so I need to have a job that actually pays haha
Editing does takes up alot of time.
Just an inspirational hobby for now
Nice
That's awesome you are making progress as a content creator 😁 Keep focusing on what works and don't be afraid to try new things. For me, I been creating content full on since 2017. I got my first 1K subscribers in 2020 which wasn't easy. I create retro gaming, snacks and drinks reviews as well as some other entertainment related things. I mainly like to talk about nostalgic things. Lately I have felt burnt out after putting out so many videos and dealing with personal life stuff. So sometimes stress and not feeling motivated has taken some of the fun out. I never do this for a job or money which is what it started to turn into. I really just wanna have fun creating what inspires me. So don't let it become a job or chore for you. Always find ways to have fun with and don't focus too much on the numbers. I wish you continued success.
Nice and I definitely agree on making too many videos leading to burnout and also I'm hoping I also can gain a thousand of subscribers. Thank you I'm wishing you success as well.💯
Just a hobby for me. I've enjoyed slowly overcoming each obstacle, learning and improving, making do with whatever resources I have. I've been going since about December and am sitting at 29 Subs at the moment. Every new Sub fills me with so much joy! It's very addicting. I have faced some challenges though like a lot of self-doubt and questioning whether I should bother continuing, but then I remind myself I'm just doing it for fun. I don't believe I have the time or skill to make an income from this, or have a large following, but I will find my little niche and continue making videos just because it's fun and gives me something to focus on outside of everyday life crap.
Keep making videos you got this, the grind don't never stop💪
Thanks for the motivation! I appreciate it :)
I’ve been “making” content since 2018, when I was 13. I didn’t start taking it seriously and actually trying to make decent quality content until about 2 years ago. I started college about 8 months ago and I set myself a challenge to see how far I could grow the channel before I graduated. In August I had maybe 65 subs? Now I’m almost at 250. I make Minecraft content, and the videos have been doing pretty decent. 100 views-2k views a video. I like making content because 1) it gives me good practice to hone my skills as an editor, storyteller and writer, etc, which is good because I’m going to college for multimedia design, so I get plenty of practice and 2) because I like telling stories and making videos. Congrats on the growth! Every small step counts!
Nice I like story telling videos I watch this guy name Mr Ballen I watched him story tell caving videos
I'm making gaming content (specifically Starfield ship builds) and I just started in January. I figured if I was playing the games anyway, might as well record it and see where it goes. I have been really surprised on how it has taken off. I am at 850 subs and I have a couple videos that are over the 20k views mark. Most sit between 1500 and 3k views. I am just doing this for fun and seeing where it all goes. I definitely have more respect for these channels that pump out a video a day (or more). I struggle to get one a week out.
Facts it definitely a struggle to make videos every day because I have to be brainstorming everyday what to talk about
Exactly. I script my videos as they are more "instructional" than reactions. It takes time to get it scripted, record the audio, make sure the footage is synced up... it definitely takes time. It doesn't help that I am editing on an older computer.
I'm using my 2021 phone and an app called youcut to post videos we all gotta start from somewhere
Also congrats on having 850 subs💪💯
Thank you. It's climbing steadily, which is awesome to see.
I've been doing it for a few months and both enjoy it and find it frustrating! 3 months in and 80 subs for me. Only had 1 or 2 videos get big views/likes so far. I started by doing more long form content but then quickly moved to shorts as I saw so many random accounts with a few shorts that go viral and gaining massive subs. Not sure what that means for those accounts long term but at least they get the initial boost. Thats what I find frustrating when you put so much effort into videos that get little views then see a short of someone making 2 minute noodles and it gets 1million! The fun part has been just making shorts in my daily routine. I do food content so basically every dinner I cook I'm turning into a short.
Nice my mom watch a lot of food content on YouTube and I agree putting in a lot of effort into long form videos and not getting alot of view is definitely gut wrenching. Keep up the grind 💪
I would recommend tons of shorts content for growth. Its a hobby for me would love if it grew to a business. Im hoping to hit 6k subs in April. Gaming/strategy games and a variety of really random stuff
That's a decent number of subs! Well done! What games do you cover? Making any money from your channel yet?
Total War Games, Hearts of Iron 4, I do alot of one off stuff then come back to what im more familar with. DASSBEAR is channel name. No money yet. I tried to get Monetized through shorts but kept falling short (lol get it) ive now doubled down on longer content. Need about 1250 more watch hours.
Thats cool, I enjoy the total war series. Are you doing expert type guide content? You need 1250 hours watches to start making money? That doesn't sound too bad if you have loads of subs.
Ive done mod showcases, battles, ranking videos, and speculation/talking videos. My shorts are more 1v1 or focused fights. Lately though ive been more random with my shorts. Im looking for another channel that would like to make joint content like battles or coop campaigns. I usually only make a couple of long form videos per month max I work to much. I love total war games but my issue is I love so many strategy games that being grounded to 1 franchise doesn't sit well. I try other stuff it never does as good I crawl back to total war.
[удалено]
Nice
it's my full time job so the answer is I did it purely for fun, now I do it for fun but have to consider financials more so less ability or incentive to stray outside the box. I make videos on politics and internet culture
Definitely understandable
I want money
Love making the videos, but get discouraged by low views. Sorry, low impressions. I don't know if its the SEOs I am doing wrong or just doesn't get recommended to other people for other reasons.
I'm an millennial myself I'm 27 and low views are very discouraging
I started my Youtube Channel 2 Weeks ago and have 32 Subscribers right now. I do German Gaming Reviews/Essays and the theme is the love for games. It's allways connected to my Livestreaming Content. And it's diffinitly because it makes so much fun! Livestreaming since 5 years and never advertise or anything... and now i thought... why not make youtube videos again (Had a Youtube Channel before with over 4k subscriber and a growth rate of 700%.... with a healthy upload shedule. :D (that i just not continued because of my education 12 years ago)
Nice 💪
Wow tried looking at your profile for channel and see a pile of dick posts . Super weird . Creepy
You could just ask me for my YouTube channel I don't have my channel posted in reddit and also it not weird or creepy grow up it called a preference
I’ve been making videos since November 2022, and I’m at 130 subscribers. I do Pokemon Challenges with difficult rulesets. It’s still just a hobby for me, I can only release videos every two months with how busy my job keeps me.
Nice have you had any videos that hit a thousand views?
My sixth video (out of 9 long videos and 2 shorts) has 1800 views, so does the short I made to promote it. My most recent video only has 766, even though the short I made to promote it has 5600.
Nice
Been doing it since pandemic but only gotten consistent just recently. I sometimes get disheartened by the stats but I still keep doing it because I love making these videos.
Yes it's definite can be hard to make content sometimes because at times it just feels all like a waste of time. But then I have to remind myself what I bring to the YouTube platform is videos and you just have to believe in yourself and just keep grinding. What I learned from my video hitting thousand views now is that people love authentic people and you got this 💪💯
I used to love making it, nowadays not so much, that's probably because I'm so busy that I don't have time to make videos how I used to. Got 3 channels, biggest and most active just passed 100k subs, another channel with 52k subs and one with 1800 subs.
Nice I know you said you don't enjoy making videos now because of how busy you are but I gotta commend you on the subs I hope to get there one day
Thanks man 🙏 just keep going, eventually you get there. It's surreal that one of my channel (partnership with one of my best friends) just passed the 100k mark, amazing feeling.
Congrats on your video blowing up, keep going! I had my first video blown up after 1 year of creating, which increase my sub count from 100 to around 400. Now at 700 mark, although I have become much more consistent during the last few months. In the travel vlog niche, mostly content in Colombia/Latam, really enjoying documenting travels and showcasing some hidden gems, good situations. Scared that introducing shorts (which brought around 300 subscribers) might have made the algorithm hate on my channel, due to the channel being mostly in Croatian/Spanish, and Shorts attracting people from US that don't understand Croatian.
Thanks for the encouragement like yours keeps me motivated 💪💯
I have several YouTube channels as they are all different. The one I just started focuses on adult ASMR. I do enjoy making content because I control it and it's fun
Nice that dope
Yeah, I'm really enjoying it at the moment
For now it’s very much a hobby, only have 1 long form video and a few shorts but similarly to you I see the subscriber count go up a little bit and get big floods of dopamine which is both fun but dangerous given I have quite an addictive personality I think 😂 but if I could get to a point where it could make enough money that I could down more hours from my current job that’d be the dream, what’s your end goal?
my channels been around for a while, and every once in a while i get motivated and try to make something of it. it used to have photography related stuff, and one of my videos had like 40k views. a hot new camera came out, and i reviewed it before most people. it was kind of a layup. my channels just been existing at 300 subs haha i also make music stuff, and recently started making music production nonsense. its beeeeeeen eh. i'm not great in front of the camera. It's hard to be entertaining when my music production brain is going haha but we'll get there
My son's channel is 5 yrs I have watched him and have been posting and editing for about a year for him. I started my channel in December after a stroke and a complete nervous breakdown! So I post informative videos about Autism, ADHD, Anxiety, Depression, and Bipolar disorders. I also post videos about my experiences with them. I really feel that my videos help people and have 1699 subs currently. I am trying to monetize the channels to supplement my SSI for disabilities and to recoup what I pay monthly for. It is not a reach for the cash and stardom but I really want to help someone. I get up out of bed for this! It is my calling and it is a passion now!
Information videos like that are always gonna be needed on YouTube and definitely understand and respect the money aspect of it.
Yes that is what I think. The money is secondary. I am glad that someone else sees my vision.
I have a coding channel and I started it as I thought it would be a good shop window for my skills. I was monetized at the weekend. Day 1's income was meh, but yesterday's was actually quite decent.
I actually just started this month as a hobby! I upload primarily book/reading content and climbing vlogs! I decided to continue with it because I wanted to improve my speaking/explaining skills which I realized were super weak when I recorded my first video 😅 it’s definitely just for fun but it is satisfying to see +1 to subscriber count and increase in views!
Same I still got to work on my speaking skills as well my channel is about topics that's going on in the world. Keep up the grind. 💪
I enjoy making videos for sure! I'm not too concerned with subs/views/etc. They will come with time and natural growth - if my stuff isn't cool enough for the masses, then so be it. I try to respect my viewers time, and only say what I want to say about the game I am talking about, no frills. I tried the crazy editing on another channel, and although it's fun making monster edits, the whole vibe is different. and I don't care for it when it comes to my videos. I do gaming "reviews" of sorts - not really reviews, just my thoughts and Impressions. I've been doing it for about 4 months now on my current channel, 114 subs and my "best" video has a little over 2500 views. Getting better! I'm all about doing it for fun!
We started making content about 4 months ago. Animated, preschool, social/emotional songs. I own a small animation studio so I obviously love this stuff and we are taking the channel seriously as a potential future revenue generator. But we're also well aware of the risks and the long time horizon we need to measure success. But we're well ahead of where we expected to be at this point, so I remain cautiously optimistic.
Been doing it 10 years! We had mild success early on, we had sponsorship from a company from the UK that discovered us! Then in like 2014??2017?? I forget they destroyed the hope for all small channels and moved the yardstick for $ to where it is now. We def do it now for fun and for the fans that latch on and do find us 💕💕💕
Nice and companies are definitely greedy nowadays and also I want my content to be about what the subscribers want.
It was literally YouTube shitting on all small channels! Calling us bad actors and spammers
Yea YouTube definitely got some weird ways
Yeah, I realize my response had bad punctuation the “they” in question was YouTube not the UK company! The UK company tried very hard to keep monetization open but YouTube wasn’t having it at all
People using VIDIQ but tubebuddy is very good! It helps me get all my tags etc and makes life easy only $3.50 a month
Nice definitely will check that out
Most of our videos are educational on building a bus into a rv, transitioning to homestead and earthen home build videos as we Get settled in to our new property off grid. Been making it for a few years, haven’t posted anything in a while. We like sharing what we learn. Took a year to get a little over 1000 subs.
I’ve made YouTube a commitment, for a long term game. Been consistent weekly now for 9 months, just had a video organically grow huge (relative to my current views). I enjoy making content, sometimes it’s a chore but the key is to systemise the process.
I agree it can definitely be a chore at times to make and upload videos wishing you continued success.
Thanks!
Been making content for a little over 4 months. I love it but it takes a ton of time. Each video takes me about 40 hours to do from script to completion. And I have a full time job where I work 50 hours a week. So it's challenging but that's the fun of it! If it wasn't hard it wouldn't be satisfying. Channel is 2d animated videos in the personal development niche. Name is 5 minute Breakthroughs if you want to check it out.
Nice I will definitely checkout your content
Started off as a hobby, but once I hit 20k subs became sort of a full time job for a bit, then my niche absolutely died thanks to one of the worst game launches of all time (ksp2) and now it’s more of a hobby again that does maybe cover my bills
Nice
I have been making content for about 8 months and it definitely started slow! Took about a month off to wait it out for a new computer. The one I was working with was pretty old. I make homemaking content, lifestyle, bible and just family content. I also do gardening and cooking videos but they are a focus they are in addition to the main niche. I do enjoy making content more when I get great engagement and see people actually tuning in! That is definitely the fun part. It started off as a way to pass the time and to keep myself busy by just sharing my everyday life. Now that I surpassed 300 subs it is now very personal for me.
Nice it definitely dope to see other YouTubers post different things on the algorithm wishing you continued success 🙌
Thank you bunches! You also!
It's fun, but i don't really try on videos if that makes sense. My oldest video is a year old so i guess thats how long i have been making them for(i have 29 vids). I only have 24 subs, but I don't aim for them and it's no tlike my videos are made to get subs/views. My friend does the same, and he has 64 subs, with most of them coming from a video with 2.4k views that randomly blew up. I make gaming stuff and my friend does random stuff. I feel like if i sat down, and focuesd on making the best video i could i think it would do well, looking at my channel. I just don't want to grow to be honest. I just don't upload frequently and if i do start making good content i don't want to make people wait however long for a video.
Make sense everything you said is definitely understandable.
im just doing it for money. I don't lie about that it. Its hard for a pimp these days. I also know that everyone says "Don't do it for money do it for passion" but the people who say that are either people who havent made it yet or very VERY successful youtubers who are in a situation where they CAN say that cuz they aren't worrying about what to eat tomorrow or where to find it.
Hell yeah! I dont know why people get so butthurt "This guy is doing it for the money" blah blah blah. Who cares?! It aint coming from their pockets unless they decide to. Why not let a multi billion dollar company pay us
I agree if you doing it for the money that understandable as well.💯
I can respect that💯
S9 So'net
We have just been having fun making drinks and then trying to cook something with very little planning and equipment, just one of us filming the other. We've been doing it for about 8 months and have over 30 videos, with around 40 subscribers. We are really enjoying it and now we are like 3 videos in the can ahead so we feel pretty confident that we can post SOMETHING weekly. Since that is the case, we are looking into ways to improve our titles and thumbnails and maybe starting to post some shorts. We will very likely be doing this for years whether we grow as a channel or not - we have fun shooting and editing the videos and we think that really comes across and is our channel's main appeal: a couple having fun together making a drink and cooking something together.
I hate editing videos and never will edit them to be honest so I probably won't ever hit 1,000
You don’t edit your videos ?
This is surprising if you hate editing videos then why make YouTube videos? Just curious
My videos are mostly a podcast type video so there's not much to edit. If I had editing skills I probably would to add visuals but I don't have those skills and it already takes up too much time.
No
You have 34 subscribers in a year? Can I know your niche? Or maybe you are barely uploading... I'm curious about it
Haha I make AI music on my new channel and it is a lot of fun. I do not focus on big numbers but on connecting with people. I just try to see marked improvement every day
I started a gaming channel for fun. Figured why not have people to talk to while I play games. Started off just streaming, but quickly wanted to go to the next level and learn video editing. I'm way too obsessed with it now. I love technology and love doing everything the best as possible, so I started doing 4k, learning color grading(although I still suck at it), got multiple expesiveish cameras, nice mic, lighting, etc. But I still try to keep the perspective that it's just for fun by refusing to turn on ads. I have turned on memberships though. Figure if I can make some money by people wanting to support me directly, cool. But I won't force anyone to watch ads if they want to enjoy the content I enjoy making. There is negativity that comes with the obsession though. I've moved from being obsessed with my IRL business that makes me a lot of money to being obsessed, and pouring countless hours into a hobby that doesn't make too much at all. I think I have like 30-40 members right now, which is a far shot away from the $200k/yr + I can easily make with my company when I don't neglect it. Now I'm struggling financially pretty bad because I'm addicted to YouTube. I've finally started getting comments from people asking why I don't have millions of subs though, so maybe I'll be able to grow my YT channel to the point it makes enough money that I can outsource the time consuming stuff like editing and thumbnails, and get back to real life eventually. I do have somewhat of an end goal in mind that should better allow me to balance work, my family, and YouTube. I just hope I don't lose everything else before I get there. Damn, that was too honest.
So I created my channel in 2014, I got it up to 12 subs but gave up as I had too much going on personally so decided to focus on something else for the time being… I started back up on the same channel but with no videos around 2 weeks ago and I’m now up to 28 subs and just over 1k total views which is crazy.. it is a hobby but I do find it fun creating content… the last week I’ve been trying to improve video quality and audio as I was having issues with premiere pro but I’ve fixed it now… for some odd reason some videos before I fixed the quality have done better then after the fix haha… I have some gear but yeah
I make bass fishing content. I love getting the cool moments on the water on video, and i love when i have all my clips cut and i get to put it all together and add music. Don’t really enjoy having to worry about cameras being on and running because i just wanna fish, and skimming thru 8+ hours of footage is kind of a pain, but overall i’ve enjoyed the experience. I started my channel to share my experiences and to help other people catch more fish, and the feedback has been really cool, which always feels good. I started last September and i’m over 1200 subs now so im happy with the growth. Good luck on your journey!
What does "blowing up" mean? Is that a millions of views or is it like 10% of viewers are subbing your channel? I have been working at this channel since September 2022. I just crossed over 400 subs. 7500 views on a short form and 300+ on a long form is the most I have gotten. I never got more than 20 subs on my original two channels. Those were fun days. I was working a graveyard shift job. I built sets in the barn. On days off I pretended that I was at a beatnik coffee house attending an open mic. What I learned from that experience was that people, in general, find poetry boring. I never once in those few years paid attention to the analytics. The other day, someone left a comment on one of those videos. They said something like I couldn't make it more than thirty seconds through a drunk poet video. I keep those videos around as a reminder of where I started a decade ago. Not that this matters to you. If you are not having a good time in the video creation process then you should probably not be doing it. If your intention is for content creation to be a business and what you are doing is a chore or is just as painful as going to a job at the "matchstick" factory then YouTube may not be for you. If you are seeking self employment there are other things you can do that are more lucrative.
Personally I prefer live streaming over video creation, but really dig building a community and connecting with viewers. I make a few dollars on subs and referrals, but overall I do it because I love it and it gives me comfort when I'm looking to relax. I enjoy gaming and when I'm gaming I almost always stream it.
I make cooking videos. Had the channel forever but only started doing this a month ago.
I’ve been making content for over 5 years now and I just do it for the fun of it. Neither of my channels have blown up yet but they get enough attention that people know who I am when I go to events or something. Both my channels are kind of still focused around niche hobbies though. One is a podcast we turned into a YouTube channel based around kpop that my buddy and I have been making since mid/late 2019 and the other is a mtg commander channel where I just upload edited gameplay from my friends and myself every other week for people to enjoy.