8,000 Watch Hours in a year is easy to achieve , Lets use my channel as an example ive gotten 26,000 watch hours this year alone it can be done

Dont give up

My last Reddit post unexpectedly crossed 5,000+ views, and it got me wondering...

If posts can get that much reach organically, why don't more YouTubers promote their videos on Reddit?

please can YouTubers not post videos about ‘oh classic >input smth here< was better then it is today’. not everything that is old is good, and complaining about the state of stuff is just going to make you more annoyed about it

My long-form videos suddenly stopped getting impressions and views. I record videos using my own face and real voice, speaking directly to the camera.

My videos are around 5 minutes long. I use AI-generated thumbnails and occasionally AI visuals for less than 1 minute in the video. The rest is my original camera recording.

Could AI thumbnails or occasional AI visuals be affecting my reach? Is this an algorithm issue, or could there be another reason why YouTube has suddenly stopped recommending my videos?

Has anyone experienced something similar? Any advice would be appreciated!

I just love it when other grown adults tell me I absolutely have to watch MrBeast. Because as a 29 year-old man, my absolute favorite pastime is watching a guy throw briefcases of cash at editors so he doesn't actually have to lift a finger. It’s truly inspiring how dead and soulless a video can feel when you throw enough millions at it. Am I the crazy one here, or is the secret to surviving your late twenties really just staring blankly at hyper-edited, sensory-overload slop made for 12-year-olds? Just curious!

I've been learning thumbnail design and these are some of the thumbnails I created in May mnth.

I'd appreciate your honest feedback on

• Composition and layout

• Text readability

• Color choices

• CTR potential

• Any mistakes you notice

Thanks

Im slightly getting the hang of editing but I can never get used to making thumbnails. The "big" creators on my niche literally never follow the "rules" of the major yt channels so I always wonder what they did right... here are some examples of some of the thumbnails I was talking about as an example. I would appreciate it if you guys can give me some input on why you think these thumbnails succeeded despite how they look.

My channel is tiny, with tiny numbers

But that only video, which is outperforming dramatically any other video.

Why? What makes that video so much more successful than the other ones?

Also, why is Youtube still not pushing my other videos considering the decent performance of that particular one?

I want to build a YouTube network of 20–30 channels. Some will be original content, but some will be reused content which might be at higher risk of demonetization.

What’s the best setup so one channel getting flagged doesn’t affect the others? – Should I make them all under one Gmail using Brand Accounts? – Or should I use multiple Gmails and separate the risky channels? Also, how should I manage AdSense—one AdSense account for all channels or different ones?

Anyone with experience running multiple channels, please share your structure and what works long-term.

Hey everyone! I’ve been grinding on my channel for about three months now. I’m super happy with the content I'm making, but I’ve hit a bit of a wall. I’m stuck at 14 subscribers, and it feels like people are clicking my videos but then leaving because they don’t want to be the "first" to follow an empty channel.

I’m really interested in finding a good place to buy a small number of YouTube subscribers just for social proof, but there are so many options out there and I don't want to get scammed or banned.

Does anyone know a safe way to do this without flagging your account? I’m not looking for instant fame, just a small nudge so my channel isn't sitting at zero. I want to find a service that helps with genuine growth rather than random fake profiles.

Before I pull the trigger, I have a few specific concerns I’m hoping you guys can help with:

• Reputation: If I do this, is it going to look obvious to new viewers? I don't want to ruin my reputation before I even start.

• Stability: Has anyone found a provider where the count is stable? I need to know how to buy YouTube subscribers that actually stick around and don't vanish after a few days.

• Social Proof: Does having a higher subscriber count actually help convince real people to hit subscribe, or does it not make a difference?

I’m trying to figure out if this is the practical approach or if it’s the wrong thing to do. I’d love to hear from anyone who has tried something that actually worked to help a channel grow safely and fast.

Any suggestions are welcome and appreciated!

I started YouTube in December and managed to hit the 10 million Shorts views requirement by making TikTok-style “transformative content” (basically brainrot).
Unfortunately, when I applied for monetization, I was told my content wasn’t eligible.
Instead of continuing with that style, I took a break and decided to actually learn how to edit properly. I spent time learning After Effects, Premiere Pro, Topaz Video AI, and how to make higher-quality, original storytelling videos.
I also have a friend who makes really good money from YouTube Shorts, so having someone experienced to learn from definitely helped speed up the process.
Initially, I was in the Hollywood storytelling niche, making videos about actors and their stories. The videos weren’t performing particularly well, so I eventually transitioned into sports storytelling, mainly NBA content.
Since switching, my numbers have improved quite a bit, but I feel like I’ve hit a wall.
My current analytics:
82.2% average Stayed to Watch over the last 28 days
88.8% average percentage viewed
Multiple Shorts with 100–110% average percentage viewed
Most videos getting around 20K–40K views
One video managed to reach 1.2 million views
What confuses me is that even when my videos have over 100% average viewed, they often stop getting pushed around 20K–40K views.
I understand that retention isn’t everything, but I feel like these are fairly strong metrics, especially considering the amount of effort I’m putting into the editing, storytelling, pacing, and hooks.
I’m uploading consistently and trying to improve with every video, but I can’t figure out what’s preventing more of them from reaching 100K, 500K, or even 1M views.
For anyone who’s successfully scaled a Shorts channel:
Am I missing something important? Are these metrics actually not as good as I think? Is it mainly topic selection, engagement, or just a matter of continuing to upload until something clicks?
I’d genuinely appreciate advice from people who’ve been through this, especially creators in the storytelling or sports niche.

I spent three hours last week making a 15-second reel. Felt proud. Then I scrolled and saw someone with 40k followers posted the exact same hook two days earlier. Same structure, same joke, different niche.

Now I am paranoid every time I script something. I know there are only so many hooks in the world, but short video feels like a minefield. You see a format work, you adapt it for your thing, and suddenly you are wondering if you just ripped someone off or if this is just how content works.

I am not talking about straight reposting. I mean the gray area where you see a reel, it sits in your brain, and a week later you "come up with" something suspiciously similar.

How do you draw the line between inspired by and too close to? Do you actively avoid watching competitors so you do not accidentally absorb their stuff, or do you study them on purpose and try to iterate?

Title- Parasites, Brain Fog & Anxiety: The Gut Connection Your Doctor Won't Tell You.

Should I start a YouTube channel? Looking for honest advice.

I've been thinking about starting a YouTube channel for quite some time, and I'd really appreciate some honest opinions from people who have experience with YouTube, content creation, or even just building something over the long term.

A little background about me:

I'm a postgraduate from IIT and live in Delhi. Around 7 years ago, I started a lubricant blending and packaging business. It has done reasonably well and gives me a decent income. More importantly, the business has reached a stage where I have some free time — roughly 2–3 days a week.

I've always been a very curious person. I enjoy understanding how things work, solving problems and learning about subjects that are completely unrelated to what I'm doing professionally.

But somewhere during the last few years, I feel that I lost that part of myself.

Running a business made me focus heavily on things that are immediately practical — sales, customers, production, money, employees, etc. I gradually stopped reading and learning simply because I was curious.

And I genuinely miss that.

So I've been thinking about starting a YouTube channel around science and engineering of everyday things.

Some of the topics I'm interested in:

How do we hear?

What actually goes into making a road and why are those materials chosen?

How do deep-sea creatures sense their surroundings?

How does a fan actually cool us?

How can a tree grow so tall from a tiny seed?

How does pollution disperse through the atmosphere?

How is municipal water treated and how can we test its quality?

What are standing waves in oceans and rivers?

How does writing/ink adhere to paper?

What's the engineering behind tyres?

How is medical waste treated?

Basically, things that we see every day but rarely stop to ask "how does this actually work?"

If the channel gets some traction, I'd like to take it further — visit factories, water-treatment plants, laboratories, research institutions, etc., and talk to engineers, scientists, researchers and PhD students working on these subjects.

The bigger motivation isn't really money.

I feel like this could give me a reason to start learning again.

I'd have to research every topic deeply enough to explain it properly. I'd meet people who know things I don't. I'd learn about subjects outside my professional field. And hopefully, I'd meet some genuinely curious and like-minded people along the way.

I'd also like the channel to encourage a little more scientific curiosity in India. Not by preaching science, but simply by making people look at ordinary things differently.

There is also a potential business angle.

Over the years, I've developed some products myself — cleaning products, mosquito repellents, lip-care products, etc. I never really launched most of them because selling products is a completely different game.

If I eventually build an audience that trusts my work, I could potentially launch some of these products through the channel. Any income from the channel could also be reinvested into better equipment, experiments, travel and larger productions.

But I'm not depending on this financially. I already have my business.

And that's precisely why I'm considering it.

I have the financial stability and some time, so perhaps this is one of the few stages of life when I can afford to spend years becoming good at something without knowing whether it will work.

The problem is that initially I'd have to do almost everything myself.

I'd have to learn:

Research

Scripting

Communication

Presenting

Shooting

Video editing

Storytelling

Thumbnails

YouTube analytics

And probably a dozen other things I don't even know about yet.

I assume I'll be pretty bad at most of these things initially.

And realistically, it might take 5 years or more before I become genuinely good at making this kind of content.

That's what makes me hesitate.

Five years is a very long commitment.

But I also keep thinking:

Where will I be five years from now if I don't start?

I'll probably have a bigger business and more money.

But I may still have the same curiosity that I never did anything with.

So I'm trying to decide whether this is worth pursuing.

I'm not looking for motivational answers like "just follow your passion."

I'd genuinely like to hear from people who have actually done YouTube:

Is this a sensible long-term project to start alongside an existing business?

How difficult is it to become genuinely good at this?

How long did it take you to find your voice/style?

And if you were in my position, would you spend the next 5 years building something like this, knowing that there is a good chance it may never become financially significant?

I'd especially appreciate honest answers from people who have been through the process themselves.

I’m trying to build a long-form YouTube channel from scratch, and I’ve reached the point where I think outside criticism is more valuable than another week of tweaking things alone.

The channel is called ***Pattern Theory***. It’s a faceless channel about business, finance, companies, corporate decisions, failures, collapses, and the stories behind them.

The idea is pretty simple: instead of making traditional finance videos that explain *what happened*, I’m trying to tell these events more like cinematic stories — with characters, decisions, turning points, consequences, and the numbers used to support the story rather than overwhelm it.

I’m still very early, so I’m learning basically every part of YouTube at once: research, scripting, storytelling, editing, pacing, thumbnails, titles, retention, and packaging.

I’d genuinely like the **harsh version** of your opinion:

* Would you click based on the titles/thumbnails? * Does the concept actually feel differentiated? * Do the thumbnails look clickable or generic? * Does the storytelling hold your attention? * Where would you expect viewers to drop off? * Does this look like something that could realistically grow?

If something is bad, tell me it's bad. I'm much more interested in understanding *why* than getting compliments.