Speaker 1: So my YouTube channel just got 375% more views and grew by 50,000 subscribers in less than 28 days. This growth could actually be hurting my YouTube channel. 10 lessons, tips, and warnings about YouTube shorts. It's kind of like the good, the bad, and the ugly. Number one, the YouTube shorts feed is the key to getting massive viral traffic on YouTube. A few shorts really broke out for us at Think Media. And the result was that in the last 28 days, we got 17.4 million views on YouTube shorts. Our most viral video got 11.2 million views, one video, in just the last 28 days. It actually has more than that. That's how many views it got in the last 28 days. It's been out for a long time, but I'm skipping ahead in terms of my points. Which, by the way, is I want to say the most viral video that Think Media has ever seen now. Post YouTube shorts, but then wait. So Sean, you posted this short. Did it go viral right away? It didn't. In fact, check this out. It blew up at day 150. 150 days after it was posted. Commit to the process. Commit to posting and then be patient. Because videos can take off later and they may not take off, you know, instantly. Number three, when it comes to earning money on YouTube, YouTube shorts do not pay very well. So this breakout short, 11.2 million views, earned me $536.74. Let me give you some numbers of what's happening over on our Think Media channel. Traditional YouTube videos and live streams, we get around 4 million views every month. However, that earns the channel a $7.36 RPM. What is RPM? How much do we earn per 1,000 views? $7.36, which equates to nearly $30,000. So the comparison of how much you earn from YouTube shorts versus long form videos is, the delta is shocking. It's like, it's wild. Number four, YouTube shorts can grow your subscribers quickly. And last month, YouTube shorts grew our channel 12,200 subscribers. Number five, though, subscribers don't matter as much as you think they do. And here's what some creators have been saying. Having subscribers is cool, but it doesn't really matter if they don't care about you as a person. Especially in the world of short form content, where your viewers are one swipe away from moving on to someone else. Number six, making mistakes in your video can trigger engagement. The biggest one is me interviewing Patrick Bette David, talking about Mr. Beast being offered a billion dollars. Here's what's funny. The comments are the most entertaining thing I've ever seen. So what PBD does is he goes, hey, let's do some simple math.

Speaker 2: He's got total 17 billion views. 17 billion views divided by 100 million, because that's what Super Bowl claims. So that's 170 times 5 million bucks. His one channel alone has generated a minimum of $850 million, and I'm calculating only one commercial.

Speaker 1: What ended up happening were people like, that was so dumb. Like, that was the wrong way to calculate it, or that was such a bad way of calculating it. But here is the strategy and the tip. Not even that it was a strategy, but it can be. And I got an example. Making mistakes in your video can trigger engagement. So average view duration is maxed out because of the mistake. Number seven is YouTube Shorts viewers are typically a younger audience. And here's why that's important. Even when it comes to CPMs, people go, man, how does CPMs and RPMs, which is the technical terms for how YouTube determines how much to pay you, you know, how do I earn more money on YouTube? What are some of the factors that influence that? Well, some of the things that influence that is, quote unquote, the quality of the audience. Typically, older audiences command higher YouTube revenue. Typically, more affluent audiences, let's just call it professionals. You getting millions of views from people who would never do business with you based on the money plan you create for your YouTube channel, what good is it? Not all views are created equal. That's number eight. Not a lot of ad revenue, but a lot of subscribers. But what are the quality of the subscribers? What my warning would be, this could lead you to maybe make some poor decisions. Abandoning long form because it appears that short form is what's getting the results. Number nine, this is a big one. Ask, whose brand is this video building? That number one video, I start the video on camera, but I am just the interviewer. The thoughtful, grateful, I'm pumped this video is going viral, but it's also Patrick Bedavid's platformed as the expert because he is. I'm interviewing him. And again, we're talking about Mr. Beast and everybody knows Mr. Beast. I'm asking you the question, whose brand is that video building? So here's the second question for you under number nine. What is the bigger brand you're building? If you're going to actually build longevity on YouTube and not just experience 15 minutes of fame, it's a good idea for you to be really thoughtful about what's the bigger vision. What's the bigger brand? Is it about going viral or is it about making an impact and having a clear mission and a clear purpose and a clear definition of what winning looks like? Number 10, community is the key to building lasting success on YouTube. This is not just my opinion. Here's what some industry executives said. The real problem with the shift to short form video is that these new subscribers don't always represent a community. That could be the reason why some short form creators struggle to build loyal fan bases. I would rather have a small, highly engaged audience than millions of random views. Community is the key to building lasting success on YouTube. And new subscribers and viral shorts don't always represent a community and they don't always build loyal fan bases. What's your vision? What are you trying to build? Are you okay with sacrificing ego or vanity metrics or just the desire for as much fame as possible? And I bet if you're listening to this, that's probably not your core desire. It's not like you maybe wanna be famous. However, you've believed the lie that going viral and having a massive following is the only way to create full-time success in the creator economy. This is why YouTube shorts are awesome, but they kinda suck.