🧵 YouTube AdSense is a trap. It feels like free money, but it’s one of the riskiest ways to build a business as a creator. Let me explain why: (thread)

been saying it since day 1

When you become a YouTuber, you'll start to realize that you have to do way more than simply recording videos. There's a lot of things to keep track of, whether it's ideation, outlining, or even team management. That's why we're here, so creators can focus on doing what they do best, creating.

lemme start posting again

new year is basically a cheat code for educational and coaching channels, and most of you don’t even realize it. every january, the entire internet shifts. people suddenly care about productivity, self-improvement, organization, routines, money, learning new skills, fixing their careers, all of it. it happens every year and 2026 is going to be no different (maybe even bigger). this is the one time of the year where demand spikes before supply does. people search more, click more, binge more, and are way more open to trying new creators. if you make educational content, tutorials, self-improvement content, business lessons, niche explainers, or any kind of coaching, this is your peak season. you need to exploit this opportunity to the brim. you should be stacking videos now that directly serve january’s mindset like clarity, improvement, systems, discipline, new skills, better habits, new opportunities. and don’t just post more, post exactly what that version of your audience will be searching for and craving. it’s the easiest month to get new viewers and turn them into long-term followers if you catch the demand early. hit me up in dms and I'll make sure you can make the most of this Jan 2026 new year timeline

anyone who makes realistic (not blatant AI) versions of these will PRINT if you have a way to do this with AI then hit my DMs, we'll blow up one of these together

comments are the best piece of data on YouTube, it’s literally free audience research handed to you comments tell you what confused people, what emotionally hit, what they want next, and what they completely misunderstood. when someone asks a question in your comments, they’re telling you exactly where the curiosity gap is. when multiple people say the same thing in different words, that’s a video idea begging to be made even the lack of comments tells you something if you compare "comments/views" average of your video against your competitors if you want better ideas, the comment section might be the place to be

if your last 10 YouTube videos didn't work, making 20 more of the same thing won't suddenly fix it consistency only works when you're consistently making good decisions. if you're consistently making bad ones, you're just reinforcing failure this is why you see channels stuck at 500 subs after posting for two years. they're hitting upload every week like it's a job, but they never stopped to ask why their videos don't work. they never tested a different format. they never analyzed where people clicked off. they just assumed "more content = more growth" and kept going the uncomfortable truth is that one great video will do more for your channel than 50 average ones. one video that actually connects with an audience, holds retention, and gets recommended will bring you more subs, more watch time, and more momentum than months of mediocre uploads. but making that one great video requires you to slow down and think strategically. posting more only helps when you've already figured out what works. until then, slow down and focus on making each video better than the last

How to repurpose your content (and go viral) 1. Extract the best segments and post them as shorts and reels 2. Turn each main point into a separate LinkedIn/twitter thread with examples you didn't use in the video 3. Create a carousel post on instagram breaking down the framework in your video visually 4. Write an email to your list expanding on one section 5. Turn the comments section questions into a follow-up Q&A video 6. Create an infographic summarizing the key takeaways 7. Use the raw b-roll footage as a "day in the life" style short 8. Use the core concept for a podcast episode

How to know when to pivot your content before it's too late: 1. See if your last 5 videos are getting fewer impressions than your channel average 2. Compare the recent views of your direct competitors against yours 3. Check if your subscriber conversion rate dropped average for those videos 4. See whether new viewers are clicking but leaving faster than returning viewers 5. See if your best traffic source shifted without you changing anything 6. Monitor if your comment sentiment changed (and the number of comments) 7. Compare your current CPM to few months ago, a steep drop means advertiser interest is fading 8. Check if your new audience demographics are different from your intended target 9. Test a slightly different format and see if it outperforms your usual style

how you present your idea through a YouTube video is VERY important a video titled "why morning routines matter" is solving a problem nobody has. but a video titled "why you wake up tired even after 8 hours of sleep" is solving a problem someone is actively googling at 2am (even though the thing you talk about in the video may be the same) the channels that grow fast understand this instinctively. they don't make content about what should matter, they make content about what already matters to their audience right now. they only care about giving solutions to people who already care this doesn't mean you can't make conceptual or philosophical content, but you need to frame it around an immediate problem. for example, instead of "the psychology of productivity", a better title would be "why you can't focus even when you want to" the content of the video is the SAME, but you're just framing it differently to cater to a lot more people (and get a lot more views in return)

the difference between a youtube channel that makes money and one that doesn't has nothing to do with subscriber count, it's about whether they're attracting buyers or normal viewers people only think about optimizing for views because that's what they have been conditioned to chase, but they never think about who's actually watching you can have 100,000 subscribers and make $300 a month because your audience is 15-year-olds with no disposable income watching for entertainment. meanwhile someone with 500 subs in a business or software niche is making $15,000 a month because their audience has money and problems they'll pay to solve this isn't just about RPM (though that's part of it), it's about the intent of the person clicking your video. if someone's watching because they're bored and killing time, they're a browser. if someone's watching because they need to solve a specific problem that's costing them time, money, or results, they're a buyer. browsers might watch your whole video and never think about you again. buyers take notes, check your description for links, and looking for ways to literally give you their money now if you're deep into entertainment niche already, you don't need to abandon entertainment completely, but if you're serious about monetization, you need to shift your content toward solving expensive problems. target people who have budgets, deadlines, and pain points they're willing to pay to fix. make content that positions you as someone who can solve those problems, not just someone who makes interesting videos it doesn't need to be anything huge too, you can just make a paid community or merch like everyone else does. but just know that competition for those products is VERY tough and you're better off thinking of something new

What if dinosaurs are just a prank

wtf is this 😭