**The Grind is Fun: My Journey to Monetizing on YouTube**

I still remember the day I reached my first 1,000 subscribers after four months of starting my channel. It was a huge milestone for me, and I felt like I was on top of the world. However, it wasn't long before I realized that this was just the beginning of my journey.

Fast forward to today, and I've recently hit another major milestone – 5,000 subscribers. This time, however, I wanted to take a step back and reflect on how I got here and the strategy that led me to success.

First and foremost, it's essential to understand that YouTube is not an easy platform to grow on. You need to put in the effort and be patient, as growth doesn't happen overnight. Many people online may tell you that YouTube is saturated, but I disagree with this notion. While there were fewer creators back in the day, the quality required to stand out has increased significantly.

Technology has advanced, and so have our access to better cameras, editing software, and other resources. This means that the bar for creating high-quality content has been raised, but it also presents an opportunity for those who are willing to invest time and effort into improving their craft.

I've created several YouTube channels in the past, and while I did put in a lot of work, my views were mostly negligible unless I was creating tutorial videos on how to illegally download popular games or expensive software. This experience taught me that it's not about being one of the first ones in the door; rather, it's about consistently producing quality content.

One crucial aspect of success on YouTube is education. You need to take the time to learn about the platform, its algorithms, and what works best for your niche. The algorithm is excellent at recognizing quality content, which means that if you produce high-quality videos, you're more likely to get noticed.

The key to standing out in this crowded space is access to information. There's a wealth of resources available online that can help you learn the YouTube game and stay ahead of the competition. However, it's not enough just to consume this information; you need to put it into practice and use it to your advantage.

What sets me apart from others is my willingness to take calculated risks and try new things. I'm not afraid to experiment with different formats, styles, and strategies until I find what works best for my channel. This mindset has allowed me to stay ahead of the curve and continue growing my audience.

In conclusion, YouTube may seem daunting at first, but it's not impossible to succeed on. With the right mindset, a willingness to learn, and a focus on producing high-quality content, you can overcome any obstacle and achieve your goals.

**Note:** The original text has been reorganized into paragraphs while maintaining the original words and sentences.

WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: en- It took me four months to go fromzero subscribers to 1,000,and now another four monthslater, I reached 5,000.Today I wanted to record a video for youto explain my story of how I got monetizedand the strategy and thought processthat went into reaching this goal.Now, the important thing I want youto know is that YouTube is a grind.You need to understand that.But the grind is fun, it's rewarding,and unlike what mostpeople online are saying,YouTube is not stopping you from growing.It's actually the perfectplatform to grow on.Something you hear a lot is people sayingthat YouTube used to be easy,and now it's saturated, and blah blah,and well, I disagree, to an extent.Yes, there were far lesscreators back in the dayand the quality you need right nowto have a chance is insane comparedto what you needed back in the day.But mostly, that's justbecause technology has advancedand people have betteraccess to good camerasand more resources tolearn editing, et cetera.I made a lot of YouTubechannels in the past.I did put in a lot of work,but unless I made tutorialson how to illegallydownload a popular game,or some expensive software,the views I was getting were negligible.So, I don't really believethat it was easier back then.If you didn't have aclue what you were doing,you didn't get any views,that was the same back thenas it is right now.If you take the time toactually educate yourselfon being a YouTuber, and you'reactively trying to improve,I think you have a biggerchance right now than you hadlike six years ago.Right now, the algorithm is really goodat recognizing quality content,which I will come back to,and there is so muchinformation available onlinethat allows you to learn the YouTube game,and have an edge over someone else.However, because thisinformation is availablefor everyone, you need to use it.Because you won't be ableto compete against people whoare using all the informationand YouTube strategies thatpeople are teaching online.And now you might say,"Hey, if everyone isusing these strategies,then they aren't giving me an edge,it's just leveling the playing field."And while a big majority ofthe people who are tryingto grow on YouTube are way too lazyto actually educate themselves on it.So, if you do it, you willhave a big head-start.Now, YouTube is a lot different in termsof getting discovered,to, for example, Twitch.My channel's mostly aboutgrowing an online presenceas a gamer, and Twitch is as big playerin the online gaming world.But the platform is terriblein terms of discovery.Streamers on Twitch aresimply ranking accordingto their concurrent viewer count.Big streamers get bigger,and small streamers, well,disappear on the bottom of the list,and have almost no chance on growing.And that's why I'm advisingeveryone who's trying to growon Twitch, to actually buildan audience somewhere else,and then bring that audience to Twitch.And one of the best platformsfor that initial growth is YouTube.Let me get a coffee real quick.(cup scraping)(creamer rattling)(spook clanking)(cup scraping)So why is YouTube oneof the best platformsto build your audience from the ground up?Well, it's amazing for discovery.I have a separate videoon the YouTube algorithm,so you can check itout, but I will give youa quick and clearexplanation of why you canactually rank on YouTubeas a small creator.So, you're working on avideo, and you're tryingto implement all thelittle tips and tricksyou learned online, andyou're ready to publish.If you haven't done italready, you do your keywordresearch with TubeBuddy,which I will link below,and talk about in thisvideo later, and you come upwith a good keyword phrase to target.Now, what happens whenyou upload your video?YouTube will test it tosee how it's performing.Most of the time, thealgorithm will give your videosome impressions by making it rankon the first page for your chosen keyword.Then, the algorithm will checkhow your video is performing.Did your thumbnail get clicked?If it did, how long were people watching?Did they leave after 30 seconds?Well, that's bad.Did they stay for four or five minutes?That's amazing.Did they leave the platformafter watching your video,or did your video inspirethem to watch five moreof your other videos afterwards?That's also a big and important factor.If your video was performing wellduring this little test period,then, the algorithm will pushyour video to more people.It will show up in more search results.Maybe get some impressionsas a recommended video,and like that the testing continues.This is all because YouTubetries to keep peopleon the platform for as long as possible,to make sure that they are watchingas much advertising as possible.And this constant performancechecking that YouTubeis doing to videos thatare on the platformis the reason that somechannels are popping upon their first or second video.They know exactly what they are doing,and they know how to please the algorithm.And this brings me tothe single best strategyI used to grow my channel.And I strongly believethat this is the reasonwhy I was able to build astrong foundation for my channeland then make it snowball from there.Here it comes.Make content in groups and use playlists.Look, I was making somevideos as you see right hereon the graph, but theydidn't truly start anything.They got some views, and they didn't diebut they also didn't startany particular growthon my channel.Until I thought of something.I wanted people to domore than just stumblingupon of one of my videos,and watching a few minutesbefore leaving.I wanted them to becomeengaged in my content,so because of that, Icreated these StreamlabsOBS master course.Which is a playlistthat I'm still updatingand expanding today.It's a playlist that explains everythinga streamer needs to know,when using the StreamlabsOBS program.In every video I was saying"Welcome to the StramlabsOBS master course. In today'svideo, we are going to."And because of this,people immediately knowthat there was more than this.That the content was well thought out.This made them watchlonger, plus it broughtthem to other videos in my playlist.Some people react that theyare watching the whole playlistand because of this allof my individual videosin the playlist are startingto rank better and betterbecause they are all sendingpeople back and forth,and keeping them on the platform,while generating morewatch time for my channel.So before creating thefirst video in the playlistI already had a list of 10 video subjectsI wanted to talk about.What did all that planning accomplish?Well, from the first video on,I was linking people to everywhere.I didn't need to waitlike six or seven videosbefore I could refer peopleto video one or threebecause it resonated with the content.No, I immediately know which videosI was going to link togetherand I could immediately just say"Hey, I will link it in the cards."Even if it wasn't finishedyet because I knewI would be creating itlike two weeks from now.And then promoting thatplaylist in all my videosby putting a link on top of my descriptionthat links peopleto the Streamlabs OBSmaster course playlist.And it gets clicked 3,000times each month alreadyand that brings in a lot of viewsbecause people got into the playlist,and they start watchingall the helpful videos.And by the way, while we aretalking about placing linksdon't waste your time on promotingyour first video all over the place.Just create more videos,focus on improving,and then maybe after 10 videosyou can start to tryand get some people in.I'm telling you to wait tillafter you have more videosbecause then promotingone out of the 10 videoson your channel or in your playlistwill result in more watch timethan if you only had onevideo on your channeland you were promoting it everywhere.In general, it's importantto not rush anythingwhen trying to grow your YouTube channel,and this also counts forgetting monetized in particular.It's not about rushing to 1k subscribersor to 4,000 dollars of watch timebecause getting those4,000 hours of watch timeis not easy, and the onlyway you will get thereis if you keep improving your videos.Every next video shouldbe a little differentand a little better than the previous one.I'm trying stuff all the time in my videosRight now I'm testing a big thing.Usually I'm recording myscript in one take in my studioand for this video, I'mtrying to switch the sceneevery now and then, tosee if it will give memore watch time or not.So, keep improving your videosand eventually you will getthat 4,000 dollars of watch timeand it will only get better after that.And by the way, you donot need to be monetizedto start earning money on your channel,since that's a big goalfor most people I see.Since the beginning, I'mearning more each monthwith affiliate marketingcompared to my Google AdSense earnings.You should look for affiliate productsthat your viewers will be interested inand then try to talk aboutthose products in your videos.Another way is listing usefullinks in your description.For example, all of myviewers are streamers,so I have a link in my descriptionfor people who want tobuy streaming graphics.When they buy, I get 30% of the sale.And you can start doingthat from the beginningbut really try in not to be a sellout.It's perfectly okay to promoteproducts to your viewersbecause everyone who isearning money on YouTubeis doing it.But weave it into your contentand only promote productsthat will actually benefit your viewersand are within their interests.Now, if you're investing somuch time in making a good videoI'm sure you wanted tohave the best chanceat getting views right?And this is where thekeyword research comes inand it's extremely important,especially when starting out.For bigger channels, thisdoesn't matter that much.YouTube knows the channel'saudience, and the algorithmwill push their videosto the right people.When those people are enjoying the video,it will start snowballing from there,and it will be pushedto more and more people.But as a beginning creator,you will need to helpthe algorithm with understandingwhere to show your video,with understanding whatyour video is about.And easily, the biggestreason I'm growing pretty fastis because I'm using TubeBuddy.I will link it in the description,so you can check it outbut basically what it is,is a tool for YouTubersthat does a lot of things for you.I can't outline them all right now,but there are three featuresthat really make me growsignificantly faster.The most useful one out of the threeis the Keyword Explorer,which I was just talking aboutits keyword research and it's free to use.It allows you to find video titlesthat are actually beingtyped in the search barby people, but are not that competitive.I have a tutorial on that, andI will link it in the cardsso you can check it outand learn everythingabout keyword researchbecause it's really important.And now the second featureis the Bulk, Find and Replace tool,and it allows you to replace some textin all your video descriptions,all at once, just in a few clicks.My most popular video ismy StreamLabs OBS tutorialfor 2019.I'm currently making a 2020 version,and when it's finished Iwill replace all the linksthat are pointing to that 2019 version,and I will replace them withthe link to my 2020 version.And I will be able to dothat, all in a few clicks.And long term, this willsave you a lot of time.And even the biggestreason why it's so goodis that sometimes youwill know that replacinga certain link in all your descriptionswould be good for your channel,but you really don't feel likereplacing a link in 50 of your videos.This is where the Bulk, Findand Replace tool comes in.You just say "Okay, I'm going to do it."You go to the tool, you replace the link,you select all yourvideos, you hit replace,and boom all your videos are being updatedand the link will bereplaced in all the videos.It's really that simple.The third feature is also amazing,and not because it's aquality of life featurebut because it's one that will straight upgive you more views.It's the A/B testing feature of TubeBuddyand, sadly it only comeswit the legend subscriptionbut if you're serious about YouTubeand you're starting to grow,I really believe thatis worth the investment.But that's up to you, letme explain you what it does.What the A/B testing is doing for youis testing two thumbnailsagainst each other.So click-through rate isvery important these daysand finding a better thumbnailwill get you more clicks.Which then will result in more views,which will make your video rank higher,and then it will get even more views,so it's just a snowball effect.You just have to select one of your videosin TubeBuddy and thenupload a second thumbnail.Then TubeBuddy will switchbetween these thumbnailseveryday, and after one or two weeks,you will have a clearoverview of the performanceof both thumbnails.And this allowed mySpotify tutorial to go from400 views a day to 700 views a day.Just by finding a better thumbnail.Imagine the power of doingthis for all your videos.I'm testing stuff all the time,finding better thumbnails.Sometimes the secondthumbnail I'm uploadingperforms worse thanthe original thumbnail,so then I just don't change itand I make another version of a thumbnailand I keep testing them,to keep finding thumbnailsthat got me more clicks.And that's a really powerfulway to get more viewsin the long run and growyour channel faster.Now I know that I'm promotingTubeBuddy really hard.I'm not sponsored, however,it is an affiliate link.You do not have to use it,you can search for TubeBuddyon Google if you want.It's just that TubeBuddy is so powerfuland I really need youto take a look at it.Because it will make you grow faster,and you can check it, mostbig YouTubers are using itfor the Bulk processing tools,and the A/B tests,and a whole bunch of other features.Just check it out, use mylink, don't use my link,I don't care, make sure you check it out.And something else you should check outis my guide on growing a gaming channelon YouTube in 2020.It's part of the YouTubefor gamers playlist,and there is a lot ofhelpful information in there.If you have any morequestion on this topicor anything else, join ourTV and community discord.Please like this videoto help me rank higherin the algorithm, and Iwill see you in that video.Have a good day.