Is it Too Late to Start YouTube in 2022?
YouTube is oversaturated – or is it? I’m sure you know that there are millions of creators and even more videos published on YouTube, which means you may be having feelings that the platform is oversaturated, and there isn’t room for more channels. Maybe you’ve asked yourself these questions:
Is it too late to start a channel?
Will I just be wasting my time?
How will my videos ever get noticed?
How do I know my channel topic will be popular enough?
How do I gain a subscriber base and get enough views?
Has YouTube become too competitive?
How do I stand out from my competition on YouTube?
Can I actually make money with ads on YouTube?
You have all these hesitations keeping you from starting a channel, and the number one reason being that you think you missed the boat, but is YouTube really oversaturated? Or, is it still worth starting a YouTube channel with the amazing idea you have in mind?
Why There Will Always Be Room for New Creators
YouTube is a platform that builds thriving communities, which means there will always be room for new creators. While growing your channel, you are essentially building your tribe, a community of like-minded people who want to learn from you, be entertained by you, and engage with you.
Most creators gain a majority of their views from YouTube suggestions, and as the company perfects the algorithm, it is making it easier and easier for the right people to find you and follow along with your content.
New channels begin and old channels die away
Yes, there are millions of creators and videos on YouTube, but did you know that there aren’t many channels with quality and consistent content? Just as new channels start every day, old channels fade. Why? Past creators stop producing videos of their own because they lose passion, change directions, or subscribers have lost interest in their video content. There are a number of reasons creators stop producing. This is good news for you!
Viewers’ interests are ever-changing
Think about something you were interested in a few years ago. Maybe it was a hobby, a TV show, or a musical group. Have those interests changed and evolved? Are you still working on that car you’ve been trying to fix up? Are you still watching the same drama series on television?
Most likely you’re watching a new drama on television, or you’ve become more advanced in your hobby and need more advanced learning material, or you’ve changed directions altogether. This is what happens in the YouTube space as well.
YouTube will never really become saturated with creators because of our ever-evolving interests. What does this mean? You haven’t missed the boat!
You can differentiate yourself from the crowd
You are an individual with your own thoughts, your own interests, and your own personality. Because of this, your videos don’t have to be just like everyone else’s. They can be unique and stand out among everything else out there. Here are just a few ways you will naturally differentiate yourself:
Your specific topic – Not everyone is talking about the topic you are talking about, and if any are, they’re not talking about it the exact same way as you are (life experiences tend to bring variation).
Your angle on the topic – How you approach the topic, your spin or opinion on it, will most likely be slightly different than another creator’s. Use this to your advantage.
Your personality – No one else has your personality, and you can make the most of that! The right viewers will naturally be drawn to your personality. Let it shine!
Why You DON’T Need to be Afraid of Your Competition
There is less competition than you think there is, so you do not have to be afraid of it! Building a successful YouTube channel takes a good amount of effort and time, you can make the algorithm work for you, and your passion can keep you going.
How challenging is YouTube?
Can I be honest for a moment? Building a successful YouTube channel is not going to be easy peasy lemon squeezy. However, this can actually work to your advantage!
Creating quality videos takes a whole lot of effort, dedication, commitment, planning, creativity, and passion. And, since we’re being honest with each other, can I tell you something else? You won’t stick with it without the passion – more on that in a minute.
What I’m trying to say is that YouTube is difficult enough to weed out those who aren’t serious about making it work. It is challenging enough to mean many channels don’t put out the quality videos that get noticed. But this is a good thing, and that doesn’t have to be you!
The algorithm is not your enemy
Did you hear that? I’ll say it again. The algorithm is not your enemy. It is actually put into place to help you – if you know how to work it, that is. These days it’s relatively easy to grow a successful channel on YouTube and to predict your channel’s growth!
If the videos you create are quality videos and better than your competition’s, YouTube will recognize that and push your videos to the top. Suggested videos are one of the best ways to get noticed, and you don’t have to do all the promotion work. The algorithm will help you to get seen, and it keeps getting better over time at pushing the best videos to the top. The algorithm is predictable, and you can actually understand how it works if you take the time to do so.
In order to create those quality videos that get noticed by the algorithm, you do want to ensure that they are in an area of your interest so that you will create the quality the company is looking to promote.
Passion alone can help you build a successful channel
When you care enough about something, you’ll take the time to ensure it’s quality. The more you care about your topic, the easier producing videos will be. Caring about your videos ensures three things that can help your channel growth:
You’ll work on video quality – if you’re passionate about your channel topic, you will want to make sure you are producing quality videos because you’ll take more pride in what you’re doing.
You’ll figure out ways to make your videos more interesting – if you’re not passionate about what you’re doing, you’ll probably just try hard to get through your material to produce your videos. However, if your topic actually interests you, you’ll be more apt to make your videos more appealing by adding in additional graphics or features (or even by just adding more of a personality to them – more passion means more of your personality will come out). When you’re excited about something, it’s hard for others not to be.
You’ll want to be consistent – consistency matters to the algorithm and your channel’s growth, and if you’re passionate about what you’re doing, consistency will come more naturally. If you’re going to have a channel, you may as well enjoy producing it!
On the other hand, the less you care about your topic, the more difficult it will be because you will be less motivated to produce quality content, make your videos interesting, or be consistent. Passion is contagious!
Why is My Channel Growing So Slowly?
FAIR WARNING! As you get going, you’ll have all the excitement in the world, but it may feel like your channel isn’t growing. That’s hard. In this world of microwave mentality where everything is fast-paced and we have everything at our fingertips, slow growth can seem unbearable. We want to be successful yesterday.
YouTube is a long game. What does that mean? It takes time for the algorithm to figure out exactly what your channel is about and who would benefit from your videos. Until the algorithm figures that out, your videos will go unsuggested. But don’t fret! Once YouTube figures out the patterns of your videos and begins suggesting them to the right audience, your channel will take off.
I’ve had many videos that didn’t get much attention when I first published them, but some time later, they went viral! I would have never really imagined that this would be the case. I thought that if a video didn’t see the initial growth, then I did something wrong. That’s not the case, however. My past videos went viral because, once the algorithm figured out what they were about, it began suggesting them to the right people who wanted to see them.
My #1 Tip For Standing Out on YouTube
How can you stand out on YouTube?
You need to be crystal clear about the format of your videos.
This is a great way to get an edge up over your competitors. Here’s why…
When I’m talking about format, I’m talking about the eight different types of videos creators primarily produce:
Listicle
Explainer
Commentary
Interviews
Music
Challenges
Reaction
Narrative
You will increase your watchtime
When you create a recognizable format, viewers are more likely to stay on your video and watch until the end. Think about it like this: Consider your favorite movie. Why does it have such an appeal? Most likely it’s because there is a hero, a problem, a climax, and a resolution.
This is the format for most successful movies. The hero is introduced, you tend to relate to him or want to cheer him on, then a problem occurs that looks bad for said hero, it gets to a point where there is a climatic situation, a fork in the road if you will, and the hero has to fight to the finish to find that resolution. It makes the movie exciting, and even though it’s predictable, we are drawn in and want to see what happens!
You will differentiate yourself from your competition
Why try to reinvent the wheel? Use the formats for your advantage. Not many people are using this strategy right now, so if you do, you will stand out among your competition.
One thing that happens when you create a format for yourself, is that you have a predictable flow to your videos. Your viewers will know what to expect, and they’ll know what they have to lose if they don’t stick around until the end.
Why formats work for YouTube
Let’s say you want to share about the “7 YouTube settings you should know about.” This listicle format helps your audience know how many settings you’ll talk about, and most likely, you’ll leave the best for last. In order to get the most from this video, viewers need to stay until near the end to hear the seventh most valuable YouTube setting.
If you were to share about “YouTube settings you should know about” without upfront giving the viewers the number of settings you were going to talk about, they would lose interest in the topic faster because they had no idea what to expect. You want to guide them into the experience you are hoping to provide.
Formats help people watch your videos longer, which, in turn, helps you rank better and get more views on YouTube. Views and watch hours are your long-term goal. So make sure to be crystal clear about the format of your videos, and stick with it!
Conclusion? Are you too late? Did you miss the boat?
You haven’t. You have NOT missed the boat for YouTube if you want to become a creator! You still have a huge opportunity waiting for you, and as YouTube continues to improve its algorithm, your chances are even better for becoming a successful YouTube creator and having a thriving channel.
3 SECRETS TO REACH 1,000 SUBSCRIBERS AND GET MONETIZED IN JUST 3 MONTHS
Do you want to learn more about how to reach 1,000 subscribers and get monetized?
Join me in my free YouTube training where I walk you through the most important factor for racking up watch hours as quickly as possible and how to maximize every view that finds your channel.
