The Real Reasons You're Not Succeeding on YouTube
Procrastination
Perfection paralysis kills more YouTube channels than poor content ever could. Overthinking ideas, or obsessing over equipment, rather than simply pressing record.
For more details, I wrote about this in ▶ The Procrastinator's Guide to Consistent YouTube Content.
This overthinking is usually fear in disguise, fear of judgment, criticism, or underperforming. The ones that get over that, are the ones getting results.
Take Full Ownership of Your Results
The shadow ban myth is YouTube's most convenient scapegoat. When videos underperform, it's tempting to blame mysterious algorithmic forces working against you. But really, successful channels know that performance issues almost always trace back to content quality, audience relevance, or execution.
By owning your results completely, you shift from a victim mindset to a creator mindset, analyzing what didn't work, testing new approaches, and continuously improving rather than feeling powerless against an imagined enemy.
Subscribers ≠ Views
Many channel owners become fixated on subscriber count as their primary metric of success, then feel betrayed when their 10,000 subscribers only generate 200 views per video after they "boosted" their subs.
This misunderstanding leads to the wrong approach to how YouTube really works. Subscribers are just a vanity metric, YouTube's algorithm primarily distributes videos based on topic relevance and individual viewer preferences, not subscription status. Focus on creating videos people actually want to watch rather than accumulating subscribers who never engage.
That being said, having a higher sub count can give you some credibility and result in views (until they see you have 86 views with your 12,576 subscribers).
Focus on Value, Not Views
Chasing views often leads you to jump on trends they have no authentic connection to or expertise in. This might generate a viral hit, but it creates a fragmented channel identity that confuses both viewers and the algorithm.
Successful channels prioritize consistent value delivery within their expertise, building a library of content that serves their specific audience. This value-first approach naturally attracts the right viewers and, over time, generates sustainable growth through audience trust and algorithmic favor.
Especially if you are using your YouTube for a business outcome.
Focused on the wrong monetization
Many of you fixate just on AdSense revenue, creating content specifically designed to maximize ad impressions rather than building a true business. The most successful YouTubers understand that the platform is primarily a marketing and audience-building tool, they monetize through multiple streams including courses, consulting, merchandise, affiliate marketing, and direct support platforms like Patreon.
Adsense can be helpful once you get some traction to cover the cost of creating content but shouldn't be your goal.
Make content for your viewers, not yourself
Too many creators make videos they personally find interesting without considering whether anyone else is searching for that content. They build random collections of videos rather than strategic content libraries that serve specific audience needs.
Channels that have success align with their audience's interest, just make sure you don't burn out to satisfy others but you have a different definition of a good video than your audience has.
This viewer-centric approach naturally aligns with YouTube's goal of keeping users engaged on the platform (longer view duration).
And for the love of god (I'm not really religious but I like to say catchphrases), don't use your channel as a video library, dumping testimonials etc.
Create content for ONE AUDIENCE, this means a style and topic that attracts the same people over and over, this will get you momentum.
Commit to Consistency Over Perfection
Many creators fall into the trap of publishing whenever inspiration strikes or when they feel they've created something "perfect."
This consistency builds audience habits, improves algorithmic favor, and forces creators to develop sustainable production systems rather than relying on unsustainable creative bursts.
Quantity is a quality on its own, you need to fail, gather data and learn to be able to improve your videos.
Repurposing content doesn't work
Simply reposting content from other platforms or recycling old videos rarely succeeds on YouTube. The algorithm actively detects repurposed content and typically limits its distribution, as evidenced by channels that attempt to re-upload previously successful videos.
Original content for each specific platform works best, optimize accordingly for success.
External promotion
Many creators waste resources on external promotion (paid ads, social media campaigns, fan pages, ...) that damages their channel's algorithmic performance.
These promotions often bring viewers who aren't genuinely interested in the content, resulting in poor engagement metrics that signal low quality to YouTube's algorithm.
Focus instead on optimizing for YouTube's internal discovery systems, creating searchable content, designing clickable thumbnails, and crafting compelling titles that work within YouTube's algorithm rather than trying to force external traffic that rarely converts to sustainable viewership.
We've seen success with a SaaS client that has a very engaged audience and they did bring the average view duration up significantly, this is what YouTube wants.
Develop Resilience Against Rejection
The YouTube journey inevitably includes videos that flop, negative comments, and periods of minimal growth.
Who take these experiences personally often quit before gaining traction. Successful YouTubers develop thick skin and view setbacks as valuable data points rather than personal failures. They understand that temporary rejection is part of the process, they analyze underperforming content objectively, adjust their approach based on feedback, and persist through difficult periods with the knowledge that consistency eventually gets better results for those resilient enough to keep improving.
Play the Long Game
The "overnight success" on YouTube is not a thing, sudden breakthroughs actually represent years of consistent work finally hitting a tipping point. Many creators get discouraged after a few months without significant results and abandon their channels just before potential breakthrough moments.
The ones who ultimately succeed understand that they're building a valuable asset over time, they focus on steady improvement, audience relationship-building, and content library development rather than expecting immediate viral success.
This long-term perspective allows them to make strategic decisions that might not pay off immediately but create sustainable growth over the years.
As Ali Abdaal says often: "If you post consistently on YouTube for 2 years, your life will change for the better".
I hope you didn't feel like I was talking to you directly..
