YouTube Question NICHE DOWN

[nate polmateer]

I have a finance channel and cover personal finance, investing and crypto. I see other channels in my area that are larger, and yes I know I shouldn't compare. But, they balance these topics well. And I am trying to balance them but just trying to get traction seems to be difficult. Is there a lightbulb moment where one of your videos explodes and then you get more traction? I thought it may be because I have not "Niched down" enough. But thinking if these channels don't niche down and they are doing well why wouldn't I do just as well? Am I setting expectations a bit high?

 

[Super Cooper Hobbies]

How do you interconnect them? They should be at least somewhat related. What happens, (and I've been through this) is that viewers will like one of your videos on one of your topics, so they'll subscribe for that. However, later you'll post a video on a different topic, and they might not be interested in that video, so they won't click on it. When this happens a lot, YouTube just won't recommend your videos as much, not even to your own viewers. You probably either want to make sure that they're really related or niche down a bit.

Trying to get traction is very hard as a small creator. For example, its common for me to not get more than 20 views on my videos. Maybe instead of comparing your views to their views, compare your views to your views. See how well your newer videos do against your older views. Try to outdo yourself. You're on a smaller playing field. You're new to youtube, the recommendation system doesn't have as much info on you, it hasn't found quite found the audience for you. But do also remember that its looking for the right video for the viewer, not the viewer for the video.

Good luck! Your topics do sound a little more related than mine were, so hopefully you'll have an easier time at this!

 

[MattCommand1]

I have a finance channel and cover personal finance, investing and crypto. I see other channels in my area that are larger, and yes I know I shouldn't compare. But, they balance these topics well. And I am trying to balance them but just trying to get traction seems to be difficult. Is there a lightbulb moment where one of your videos explodes and then you get more traction? I thought it may be because I have not "Niched down" enough. But thinking if these channels don't niche down and they are doing well why wouldn't I do just as well? Am I setting expectations a bit high?

You seem to be doing better subscriber-wise than I am so take what I say with a grain of salt. However, my view times are proportionally ahead of my subscriber counts.

My short answer is to keep exploring and trying different things surrounding your personal finance area. You will get clues even if there no outright breakthroughs.

Broadly speaking, my channel is about real estate. However, I don't regiment myself to exclusively real estate. I will post related topics as you have done. For example, I've kicked around the idea of doing one "real estate vs. crypto" video.

It is my understanding that business & finance have higher ad rates. Thinking down the line, I allow myself to go up and down the spectrum in personal finance, investment, online banking, estate planning, homeowner, and loosely related topics. In my mind, I am seeking a certain type of viewer. And they care about a variety of financial topics, not just exclusively real estate which is the bulk of my professional background.

For example, I generally won't make videos that cater to renters and tenants although I am sure some of them will view some of my videos. I make videos for homeowners and asset owners. I won't make videos about improving credit because I am not seeking that audience. I do seek out online banking fans and people who are tech friendly. But they may well be renters and people who have less than ideal credit. I don't make videos that cater to viewers under 40 although I know I get a good number of people in their 30's who do watch my videos. I am constantly honing on my ideal avatar. It is a work in progress.

Interestingly, my best-performing videos have been tangential ones, not those focusing exclusively real estate. I got stinkers and don't like them but I consider it a lesson learned and go to the next video.

There are some videos that I know will be lower count but I seek to "own" that niche as an authority figure. Right now, I am experiencing a small surge in views, watch time, and subscribers due to a couple of videos. I like what I am seeing. Because of this, I plan on following up on them even if my channel becomes more imbalanced.

Now whether you should follow my path? I would not recommend it. But I do gain a lot of insights with my somewhat scattershot approach. It is a price I am willing to pay.

 

[BraveStar]

I have a finance channel and cover personal finance, investing and crypto. I see other channels in my area that are larger, and yes I know I shouldn't compare. But, they balance these topics well. And I am trying to balance them but just trying to get traction seems to be difficult. Is there a lightbulb moment where one of your videos explodes and then you get more traction? I thought it may be because I have not "Niched down" enough. But thinking if these channels don't niche down and they are doing well why wouldn't I do just as well? Am I setting expectations a bit high?

OK, so I took a look at your channel because I like to check certain things before I give my opinion for these kinds of questions. Here are my thoughts.

First, you already made your first mistake which was to do exactly what you were advised not to do. You compared yourself to the success to other channels. The most important thing for a content creator is to stay focused and believe they can be successful. By comparing yourself to others you create an imaginary bar where you already gave the competition a leg up on you and in the process diminished your own accomplishments and depressed yourself. You can't do that to yourself because you end up questioning what is potentially a good strategy for your channel that simply hasn't gotten traction yet.

This leads me to my second thing. You've only been uploading for about 11 months, around 95 videos. 1/3 of them Shorts. Most YouTube pros will tell you to upload at least 100 to 150 videos for about 2 years before you start being concerned with YouTube not sharing your videos. this gives the Youtube algorithm enough time and enough content to determine what kind of content your channel is about and who's the audience you are targeting. It will also allow the algorithm to determine if your content is better than others within the same genre and thus whether it will share yours to a bigger audience first or more often. Right now you've managed to get some decent traction in a short amount of time with less than 100 videos, which is more than most of the millions of content creators who upload daily get. The idea is to learn to read your analytics for each video and figure out what viewers like about your content and where you're views are dropping off. This will help you improve your videos by eliminating or change that which your audience is not interested in and to do more of what they like.

My last thing is about niching down (is niching a word?) These days it's easier to become a successful channel if your content is more niched down to very specific topics. I don't know enough about crypto, finance and investing to know if these work better individually versus all on the same channel so that's a decision you need to make on your own. However, it's not to say that a channel with multiple topics that are closely related can't be successful. It just makes it a bit harder to find the right balance to grow your audience these days. In essence you'll have to focus more on making yourself the main attraction of your content so that when people come looking for videos related to financing, investment and crypto they can link your face to good content even when they may only be looking for 2 out of the 3 topics you discuss in your videos. Back in the days it was much easier to be the main focus of a channel. That's how YouTubers like Markiplier, MKBHD and Roberto Blake got so popular. Their faces became their brand. People watched their videos mostly because of them regardless of the content.

The best advice I can give you is to have patience. I tell this to everyone. Without patience you'll exhaust yourself and you'll get frustrated and stop creating content. Treat YouTube like a marathon, not a sprint. Play the long game. It's how YouTube likes it anyways.

Best of luck.

 

[nate polmateer]

OK, so I took a look at your channel because I like to check certain things before I give my opinion for these kinds of questions. Here are my thoughts.

First, you already made your first mistake which was to do exactly what you were advised not to do. You compared yourself to the success to other channels. The most important thing for a content creator is to stay focused and believe they can be successful. By comparing yourself to others you create an imaginary bar where you already gave the competition a leg up on you and in the process diminished your own accomplishments and depressed yourself. You can't do that to yourself because you end up questioning what is potentially a good strategy for your channel that simply hasn't gotten traction yet.

This leads me to my second thing. You've only been uploading for about 11 months, around 95 videos. 1/3 of them Shorts. Most YouTube pros will tell you to upload at least 100 to 150 videos for about 2 years before you start being concerned with YouTube not sharing your videos. this gives the Youtube algorithm enough time and enough content to determine what kind of content your channel is about and who's the audience you are targeting. It will also allow the algorithm to determine if your content is better than others within the same genre and thus whether it will share yours to a bigger audience first or more often. Right now you've managed to get some decent traction in a short amount of time with less than 100 videos, which is more than most of the millions of content creators who upload daily get. The idea is to learn to read your analytics for each video and figure out what viewers like about your content and where you're views are dropping off. This will help you improve your videos by eliminating or change that which your audience is not interested in and to do more of what they like.

My last thing is about niching down (is niching a word?) These days it's easier to become a successful channel if your content is more niched down to very specific topics. I don't know enough about crypto, finance and investing to know if these work better individually versus all on the same channel so that's a decision you need to make on your own. However, it's not to say that a channel with multiple topics that are closely related can't be successful. It just makes it a bit harder to find the right balance to grow your audience these days. In essence you'll have to focus more on making yourself the main attraction of your content so that when people come looking for videos related to financing, investment and crypto they can link your face to good content even when they may only be looking for 2 out of the 3 topics you discuss in your videos. Back in the days it was much easier to be the main focus of a channel. That's how YouTubers like Markiplier, MKBHD and Roberto Blake got so popular. Their faces became their brand. People watched their videos mostly because of them regardless of the content.

The best advice I can give you is to have patience. I tell this to everyone. Without patience you'll exhaust yourself and you'll get frustrated and stop creating content. Treat YouTube like a marathon, not a sprint. Play the long game. It's how YouTube likes it anyways.

Best of luck.

I have to say this is the best thought-out response I have gotten to this question! Thank you so much for taking the time to write this out. And thank you for pointing out what I should know right? I shouldn't compare myself and I should be patient with the process. Thanks again for bringing perspective. The marathon is real!

 

[nate polmateer]

How do you interconnect them? They should be at least somewhat related. What happens, (and I've been through this) is that viewers will like one of your videos on one of your topics, so they'll subscribe for that. However, later you'll post a video on a different topic, and they might not be interested in that video, so they won't click on it. When this happens a lot, YouTube just won't recommend your videos as much, not even to your own viewers. You probably either want to make sure that they're really related or niche down a bit.

Trying to get traction is very hard as a small creator. For example, its common for me to not get more than 20 views on my videos. Maybe instead of comparing your views to their views, compare your views to your views. See how well your newer videos do against your older views. Try to outdo yourself. You're on a smaller playing field. You're new to youtube, the recommendation system doesn't have as much info on you, it hasn't found quite found the audience for you. But do also remember that its looking for the right video for the viewer, not the viewer for the video.

Good luck! Your topics do sound a little more related than mine were, so hopefully you'll have an easier time at this!

Thanks for the response super helpful!

 

[nate polmateer]

You seem to be doing better subscriber-wise than I am so take what I say with a grain of salt. However, my view times are proportionally ahead of my subscriber counts.

My short answer is to keep exploring and trying different things surrounding your personal finance area. You will get clues even if there no outright breakthroughs.

Broadly speaking, my channel is about real estate. However, I don't regiment myself to exclusively real estate. I will post related topics as you have done. For example, I've kicked around the idea of doing one "real estate vs. crypto" video.

It is my understanding that business & finance have higher ad rates. Thinking down the line, I allow myself to go up and down the spectrum in personal finance, investment, online banking, estate planning, homeowner, and loosely related topics. In my mind, I am seeking a certain type of viewer. And they care about a variety of financial topics, not just exclusively real estate which is the bulk of my professional background.

For example, I generally won't make videos that cater to renters and tenants although I am sure some of them will view some of my videos. I make videos for homeowners and asset owners. I won't make videos about improving credit because I am not seeking that audience. I do seek out online banking fans and people who are tech friendly. But they may well be renters and people who have less than ideal credit. I don't make videos that cater to viewers under 40 although I know I get a good number of people in their 30's who do watch my videos. I am constantly honing on my ideal avatar. It is a work in progress.

Interestingly, my best-performing videos have been tangential ones, not those focusing exclusively real estate. I got stinkers and don't like them but I consider it a lesson learned and go to the next video.

There are some videos that I know will be lower count but I seek to "own" that niche as an authority figure. Right now, I am experiencing a small surge in views, watch time, and subscribers due to a couple of videos. I like what I am seeing. Because of this, I plan on following up on them even if my channel becomes more imbalanced.

Now whether you should follow my path? I would not recommend it. But I do gain a lot of insights with my somewhat scattershot approach. It is a price I am willing to pay.

Yeah I totally see what you are saying. I am trying to balance this between what my ideal viewer wants and what I would like to create. I enjoy making videos I was just struggling with niche. But I think I may have gotten in my head that doing one specific thing will help launch my channel quicker. Thank you for the encouragement!

 

[KS Moto Cafe]

I have a finance channel and cover personal finance, investing and crypto. I see other channels in my area that are larger, and yes I know I shouldn't compare. But, they balance these topics well. And I am trying to balance them but just trying to get traction seems to be difficult. Is there a lightbulb moment where one of your videos explodes and then you get more traction? I thought it may be because I have not "Niched down" enough. But thinking if these channels don't niche down and they are doing well why wouldn't I do just as well? Am I setting expectations a bit high?

I think based on how long you have been doing this and the number of views/subs you have received from your work, you are in the path of success. I don't know why people believe they should not compare with other channels in their sector but for me, I like to study and research other successful channels and see what makes them so good. In return, it helps me understand the nature of the viewers in my niche and allows me to figure out what I need to do to grow my channel. To me, it is all about "how can I improve my videos so I can better grow my viewership" rather than "why isn't my videos as successful as theirs?". I always find the "How" more constructive and productive than asking "Why". Having a competitive mindset is healthy because it keeps you on your toes and gives you some goals during your journey to stardom but this only works as long as it is a healthy amount of competitive edge. Too much of it, you will go down the path of envy, jealousy, and paranoia.

If your niche is super saturated and you plan on making similar video topics as those already made on established channels, then it will be very difficult or near impossible to penetrate that market because the viewers will most likely always choose to watch from the recognizable channels. BUT if you put a very specific spin to the topic (ie target a specific group of viewers either by gender, nationality, skill level, etc), then you have a chance at growing and gaining new interests.

Anyways, good to see another Canadian tuber making their way on the web! Best of luck

Cheers man

 

[MattCommand1]

I think based on how long you have been doing this and the number of views/subs you have received from your work, you are in the path of success. I don't know why people believe they should not compare with other channels in their sector but for me, I like to study and research other successful channels and see what makes them so good. In return, it helps me understand the nature of the viewers in my niche and allows me to figure out what I need to do to grow my channel. To me, it is all about "how can I improve my videos so I can better grow my viewership" rather than "why isn't my videos as successful as theirs?". I always find the "How" more constructive and productive than asking "Why". Having a competitive mindset is healthy because it keeps you on your toes and gives you some goals during your journey to stardom but this only works as long as it is a healthy amount of competitive edge. Too much of it, you will go down the path of envy, jealousy, and paranoia.

Hi KS,

Count me in as a competitive guy who checks out "competitors. I track them both in VidIQ and TB. I pay attention to those creators doing better than me, not the ones doing worse. I am quietly trying to surpass them by doing non-traditional things and mixing it up vs emulating them. I know on YT, you can be on the bottom, then suddenly something happens with your channel, and you shoot to another level. I want to give plenty of opportunities for me to hit upon something new so I can leapfrog ahead.

In my mind with the story I am creating, I am the underdog trying to catch the senior, more established bigger dogs. Once I pass a couple of them, I am going to remove them from my private competitor list and put up a couple more that is doing better than I. It gives me something to go after.

I don't beat myself up as much as I did earlier on now that I am getting some traction and getting more confidence. Like anything in life, there is a healthy and unhealthy way to approach the same thing.

 

[Super Cooper Hobbies]

I track them both in VidIQ and TB.

Ah, so I'm not the only one who uses both.

 

[MattCommand1]

Ah, so I'm not the only one who uses both.

I don't use them on the same browser. Too much of a performance hit to pile both extensions on one browser. TB is my primary tool which sits on the Brave browser and VidIQ on the Firefox browser to monitor my Achievements.