That's a fair question Steve and I will answer it dispassionately from my perspective. It's not personal - I don't watch your videos except briefly when you post about them on threads such as this, and there is a reason for that. We don't know each other either and my comments were not about you but reflected a growing sense that You Tube has a very clear business model that many contributors don’t appear to understand. There are several strands, not all of which are relevant here, for example a huge one is film clips that are targeted to encourage rental via YT of the entire film. This will make money.
The only way IMO for small contributors to make money from YT is to identify a subject that will interest a LOT of viewers. Skill Builder is an example of this: there is a good supply of content covering topics that many home builders and DIYers and even tradesmen will want to tackle. They get, in short order, circa 80,000 views and build to between 200,000 and 700,000 views over time. They achieve this by giving very clear and accessible advice on many challenges DIY builders face, they deliver credible expertise, and they employ a degree of humour. Content is frequent and production values are well above average.
Contrast this with your content which seems to me to be a niche within a niche. For example, you mentioned I think you have two or three hundred views on your “how to make a horizontal borer drilling machine” over the period of a week or two. This will be of no interest to most woodworkers, as only a very few will have a need to do the thing that your video is aimed at. The woodwork market is itself niche and has a distinct age profile which will be apparent to advertisers. The people in it who want to do horizontal drilling is a tiny subset. You get very few comments, which indicates lack of customer engagement (from an advertiser perspective).
Then there is the crucial “why would this appeal to advertisers” aspect. What is your hook for advertisers? You are not promoting a product, a wide need, a special tool, supplier, wood or anything that provides a useful hook. So even if you had a shed load of views, what advertising would or could be effective? Advertisers cannot see what or who your target market is.
There is no secondary appeal either. So take Rob Cosman for example. He makes stuff, he shows how to do things, he makes and sells tools and he promotes other people’s tools. He is accessible to his market with on-line Q&A sessions, and he mail shots people who subscribe. His secondary market is military veterans, who he tries to provide support to. Love him or hate him, his marketing is slick in his field.
I do watch videos on YT. Mostly about film and music. A lot of wood stuff is noise, nonsense or tedious, so I don’t watch much of it and it has to be something that I want to do. For example, today I have looked for information on lime rendering. If the subject is relevant to me I will tolerate a degree of advertising. For musicians I will like and subscribe if I feel supportive.
The guy building the boat is another good example. He has a story, and he engages with his audience to the extent of having people helping him to fund it and even provide labour. His excellent approach is the story - because it brings people back over and over again. Perfect for advertisers. I watch his channel.
My feeling therefore about YT monetisation is:
Don’t waste time on tiny markets unless you are just doing the videos for yourself
Don’t be surprised if you make no money if you focus on tiny niche interests
You must provide an engagement hook if you want more views quickly – it is essential to show site activity fast, and that means you must know who your target audience is and how to get a response from them
YT is about marketing. You have to sell something (you, product, high appeal tool etc) and get that point over really quickly. This is a big weakness in your videos – for example the drilling jig. You assume (it seems) that people will accept there is a need, but you don’t feed this with examples.
You must tell people what they want and why they want it and you must do that in the first 20 seconds or else they are gone.
Videos follow production trends. Awareness of this is important.
Steve, I wish you well with your videos. But if you want a lot of views, you need to stand back and think “who is my audience, why would they watch, and who will want to sell to them?”.
YT regard you as the product. The other way to succeed is be really pretty and play guitar or try clothes on. The views are in the millions. This is a serious point actually - these people know exactly who their target market is.
Goo luck, Adrian
