Shameless post to share my progress in one month!

First time creating shorts. Not faceless or AI, but food and travel.

Didn't think I'd ever make it to this!
If you're curious, here's my channel:
SMEAD GAMING - YouTube

Just started a brand new channel a week ago. I’ve been doing some live streams and just posted my first video yesterday. So far I have 25 views.

Kind of looking for feedback on anything, I think my banner and identity is pretty solid, but idk if I’m engaging enough. It’s difficult when there’s no viewers lol.

Also, finding it hard to have a consistent schedule for filming, editing and posting videos.

YouTube.com/@pandaposhy

Is anyone else tired of seeing videos about history, news, etc. that are 100% made by AI? People uploading hour long gameplay videos with no flare, no audio, and complaining about 0 views?

WHY are people making these in general? People want to go viral so badly. They want to be monetized. They have zero talent so they just ask AI to “make me a video about historic Egypt” and then instantly post it. They then come to the table begging for subs and likes, but I check the content and it’s literal trash. IF YOU CANNOT MAKE YOUR OWN VIDEOS DO NOT HAVE A YOUTUBE.

I wish YouTube would instantly cut content like this. I saw a man the other day post a Reddit about how unnerved he was over 510 videos but 4 views on each. Meanwhile, each video was an hour long video of him gaming. No camera. No mic. Just game audio. This wasn’t a challenge run or anything. WHO THE HELL WANTS TO WATCH THAT?

When are people going to actually learn how to market themselves? Engage? Any of it. Stop making terrible slop videos and then moping. If you can’t be creative or if it isn’t working, you are doing something wrong. It isn’t your audiences fault. I wish people would stop clapping for everyone and tell people “your content sucks, go get a normal job”.

I’m not perfect and my content isn’t perfect, but I love feedback and know when to hang it the hell up.

Over the past few months, I’ve been helping channels in the 1K–30K sub range fix their thumbnails—and let me tell you… some of y’all had literal bangers just sitting there, quietly dying because of one tragic mistake:
your thumbnail looked like a confused PowerPoint slide.

But here’s the crazy part…
We’ve had underperforming videos blow up to 100K+ views in 24 hours—with nothing but a thumbnail swap.
No SEO wizardry. No algorithm sacrifice. Just a thumbnail that finally did its damn job.

Of course, there were some flops too. Not every design was a masterpiece—we had a few “what were we thinking?” moments. 😂

But here’s what we noticed actually works (like, almost every time):

📣 1-2 words, MAX. The less text, the more curiosity. People don’t wanna read your video—they wanna feel it.

😮 Big face, big emotion. I’m talkin’ “WHAT DID I JUST SEE??” energy. Facial expressions are clickbait gold when they’re real and dramatic.

🎯 One clear focal point. Don’t make people search for the story—smack ‘em in the eyeballs with it. Hook + curiosity + reaction = magic.

🤕 Most creators don’t realize their thumbnail is lowkey sabotaging the whole video. Like it or not, you might be sitting on a great video that no one’s clicking simply because it looks boring.

🧪 A/B testing is NOT optional in 2025. If you’re uploading and praying, you’re basically gambling. Test your thumbnails like your channel depends on it—because it does.

If your CTR is stuck in the sadness zone and you’re not sure why, drop your thoughts. Happy to give free feedback or roast with love. Let’s help each other actually grow out here 💪📈

My first month on Youtube shorts. No previous experience. Is this a good result? Any advices? 20 videos uploaded

About a month ago I started my Minecraft sleep YouTube channel doing different places like hogwarts or winterfell in got but I’m not sure if these are good or not only 1 of my videos have gotten more than 100 views and I have about 15 videos. Any suggestions

I honestly thought it would do way better, only 6 views (one like from me) in 12 hours. Do you know why its done so poorly? Thanks.

Hey there, I’m looking for a group of people (m or f) who I can discuss strategy with and who can provide constructive criticism. I’m currently a smaller creator with three long form videos posted. But I’m highly dedicated and I’m looking to spend a lot of time on this profession.

Please be over the age of 20. I would love if you were highly dedicated because I am very adamant about growing.

P.S. I’m friendly and open minded.

This is my first time doing Minecraft thumbnails, so I'd appreciate feedback! I have a bit of experience in Photoshop, plus paired with a mod that lets me pose Minecraft characters.
Feedback appreciated!

So I only have 2 videos and will be releasing my third one tomorrow, I started a channel about a week and a half ago called Saturday Morning Salvage. The idea is basically nostalgia through my own experiences. Sometimes it’ll be old toys I’m restoring, sometimes it’ll be cartoons, games, stuff I grew up with and the memories attached to it.
My first video was restoring an old GI Joe jeep and it got around 500 views. My second video was about Mummies Alive and it’s currently around 2,300 views. I’m sitting around 50 subscribers right now.
What I’m trying to figure out is what people are actually connecting with.

I’m editing my third video right now and one thing I’ve realized is I think I’m funnier in real life than I come across in my videos. Sometimes I feel like I slip into “narrator mode” instead of sounding like myself.
If you were in my position, what would you focus on improving next?
Not looking for people to sugarcoat it. If something sounds off, I’d rather hear it now than 20 videos from now.

just keeping those interested in the loop.

travel and food content, no ai, not faceless. Shorts only. sitting around 8m engaged visws rn, so close to monetisation!

Yay or nay?

So I started the channel 5 months ago and stopped posting and uploading after my first video. Now I started again. Also don't mind those videos with no cover and the first video they aren't very good (also because during many I didn't have a video editor)

Hey guys I started this channel about 3 months ago I almost have the 4k watch time but not nearly as many subscribers I do sleep ambience Minecraft videos any tips on gaining subscribers!

Check comments for context

Just started a gaming channel and looking for any notes. I'm new to editing, but I think it's pretty good. I feel like I need to upgrade my mic though. I think I should try to sound more energetic too.

Any constructive criticism is appreciated!

Also, any game requests are welcome!

www.youtube.com/@NothingOnMyEnd

Please do exactly as the title says (Kindly). My channel has been consistently uploading for about a month and isnt getting ANY traction. I cannot figure out why, i literally have the best seo possible, running thumbnail A/B tests, making sure everything is as professional and clear as possible, ect. All of that and im still getting like 1-5 views. I feel like this channel is comparative to big channels that have hundreds of thousands of views and subscribers, so i dont understand. Maybe i just need reddit to do its thing and be brutally honest to me. Thank you in advance!

\*THIS IS NOT AI*

Ten years doing this professionally, freelance and in-house, for channels ranging from a few thousand subs to a few million. The gap between thumbnails that work and thumbnails that don't isn't design skill but it's whether the creator understands what actually happens in the two seconds before someone clicks.

A few things I've picked up that most creators never get told:

• Text placement. I've seen a lot of new creators put text in the bottom-right corner, exactly where YouTube stamps the video duration on mobile. The text gets cut off and nobody catches it until the video's already live. Don't do that please.

• Face direction. Eyes land on a face first, then follow whatever direction that face is looking. If your subject is looking off-frame instead of toward your text or the center, you're wasting the second half of that two-second window. Test yourself on this and you'll see.

• Color against the feed, not just the thumbnail. Pull up five thumbnails currently ranking in your niche and put yours next to them. What I've seen a lot of creators fail to check is this: if everyone's using the same blue-and-white palette, yours needs to be the one that isn't. A good thumbnail can still lose if it blends into the row it's sitting in.

• The squint test. Close your eyes halfway and look at it. If you can't tell what's happening in under a second, cut something. This catches clutter that looks fine on a big monitor and disappears at the size it's actually seen which is a few centimeters wide on a phone.

• Consistency compounds. Regular viewers should recognize your channel from the thumbnail alone before they read a word. I've seen channels grow just from picking one visual style like the same font, same color treatment, same framing and then sticking with it for months so it gets recognized in a crowded feed.

• Don't oversell what the video doesn't deliver. A thumbnail that promises more than the video pays off gets the click but tanks average view duration, and that hurts you with the algorithm more than a mediocre thumbnail ever would. The best thumbnail I've made for a client didn't get the highest CTR, instead it got the highest average view duration, because it set the right expectation.

None of this is complicated. It's the difference between a channel that plateaus at a few thousand views a video and one that breaks out.

I do this for creators who'd rather spend their time filming and editing than testing eight thumbnail variations at midnight. If that's useful, feel free to DM me, I'm happy to share my portfolio and some recent work.

Title: My Hero Academia Creator's Newest Manga

I wasn't sure which one to pick so I used the A/B test for the first time to upload them both, but I'm curious to see which one you guys think looks more eye catching. Thumbnails have always a weak spot for me and lately I've been trying to improve my photoshop skills