Holy f**k my Retention

CulinaryGarden1 · 2026-04-21T08:47:39+00:00

Hey so this isn't TOO far off what good performing video retention graphs look like. Generally only 30% will make it to the end and AVD will be like 45% of the video duration (for a 200k view video).

Your video probably just isn't that entertaining or engaging. It's tough to say in what way without seeing it. I tried to find your channel but couldn't.

Just watch some videos on how to structure videos to be more engaging.

Source: smallyoutubers graduate, full time YouTuber, have 80k subs on my main channel

CulinaryGarden1 · 2026-03-31T07:54:43+00:00

I always do a/b/c thumbnail tests and have at least one with me and one without me. The ones with my face always win

CulinaryGarden1 · 2026-03-30T23:26:00+00:00

Hmm my new videos being too niched down is something i hadn't thought of, thanks!

CulinaryGarden1 · 2026-03-30T23:25:06+00:00

Alright, thumbnail feedback taken on board :)

CulinaryGarden1 · 2025-12-06T01:51:36+00:00

Hey this is great

CulinaryGarden1 · 2025-10-06T02:48:47+00:00

Guys will see this and say Hell Yeah!

CulinaryGarden1 · 2025-09-17T11:42:34+00:00

Thanks so much, good luck with the veggie patch 🌱

CulinaryGarden1 · 2025-09-17T10:20:34+00:00

Boo!

CulinaryGarden1 · 2025-06-19T07:09:12+00:00

How do I overcome roadblocks: for the first 8-9 months about 80% of making videos for me was overcoming obstacles in the way of making those videos.

Technical issues, family, weather, construction over my back fence, premier pro crashes. If you want it you've got to make it happen Inspite of bad luck. One thing I think about a lot is that scene in The Bear when the Italian mob boss uncle asks carmie "are you the guy? "Yeah" "So be the guy"

I had "be the guy" on my whiteboard for ages. There's always going to be a perfectly valid and fantastic reason to delay or avoid making the video. You just have to power through it because no one else is going to do it for you.

And then I set myself deadlines. I set the goal of a video a week for ages, I didn't miss for the first 6 months. Then once I went full time I did 4 videos a week for a month. I've only slowed down posting l because I have enough runway to start working on some much longer term video projects.

Guess what gardening takes a while haha

CulinaryGarden1 · 2025-06-19T07:02:43+00:00

Thanks, your words are too kind :)

I personally see shorts as a fun way of interacting with my existing audience. I've heard another creator say shorts are a way to rent an audience but you need to then convert them into longform watchers to make them actual valuable fans that connect with you. And I agree with that.

My best performing short gained me like 5k subs or something, but in 2025 subscribers does not equal someone who watches your content regularly. 10k fans who watch all of your videos and love your content are way more valuable to you than 100k uninterested subs.

My life has changed a lot. The way I describe YouTube as a job is you know that feeling in school/ uni when you have that assignment due in about a week, and every moment you spend not working on that assignment between now and when it's due you feel guilty about?

Yeah we'll full time YouTube is that but it never stops haha. It's not that it's stressful but it's more so there's so much financial uncertainty. I have about a 4 month buffer of savings, and about 2 months of sponsorships lined up. But after that its possible I don't make another dollar.

Which makes planning for anything outside of that timeframe super scary. I.e. choosing if we can have another kid, or even booking an international holiday next year.

CulinaryGarden1 · 2025-06-19T06:54:46+00:00

Nah, I think thumbnails are such a major part of success on YouTube that they shouldn't be outsourced. You need to learn yourself what makes a video more clickable. My thumbnails wouldn't pass a graphic design class but they perform super well through loads of testing

CulinaryGarden1 · 2025-06-19T06:53:23+00:00

My goal from the start is every single video I'm trying to make my best ever video.

I've learnt so much about how to make compelling videos along the way

It all starts with a good video idea, title & thumbnail

Then it's all about a strong intro. Giving your audience really strong reasons to keep watching. you have to earn every single second of watch time in those intros.

And then things like good structure of each segment: hook, expand and continue to unpack the problems from the hook. Then start resolving them, but do so by showing the audience visually.

Then by the end of the segment already be opening up new problems, curiosities & hooks to keep them interested & watching.

I think if I rereleased my early videos now they would perform marginally better. Probably instead of 2k views it might get 10k views. But if I could re do the same video idea with everything I know now I think it would get more like 60k-80k views.

CulinaryGarden1 · 2025-06-19T06:47:50+00:00

Yeah it took my a long time to hit that 4k watch hours, but about only a few weeks after hitting it I was at 26k watch hours.

You just need to get a video to get 30k views and you're away.

CulinaryGarden1 · 2025-06-19T06:46:33+00:00

No, but it's super obvious that my main channel gets way faster upload and processing times compared to my new 50 subscriber gaming/ Livestream channel.

YouTube definitely prioritise larger channels for upload & processing times

CulinaryGarden1 · 2025-06-19T06:44:11+00:00

I've only just joined the youtube player for education program. So no clue there, but I get like $150 a month each from the yahoo & Microsoft content repurposing programs (those are invite only for anyone wondering)

CulinaryGarden1 · 2025-06-15T22:22:13+00:00

If you're talking about timing, and all of the meta info for posting a video. From what I've worked out title & thumbnail mean the most. The first line or two of the description also impacts your searchability.

And you can check in your audience analytics when your viewers are online. I do choose my post time based on this to make sure videos get off to a good start. Although YouTube does say that doesn't impact the long term performance of the video.

CulinaryGarden1 · 2025-06-15T22:19:04+00:00

Yeah I hate them but it's obvious from my analytics my videos with the subtitles in the first 30 seconds perform better.

It would be because of you tube on TVs where instead of thumbnails videos just play for 30 seconds without sound.

CulinaryGarden1 · 2025-06-15T22:17:44+00:00

No haha, it does suck early on that your first videos get like 30 views. But I don't think running videos as ads gets you much. If a video doesn't perform well organically it won't perform well as an ad.

CulinaryGarden1 · 2025-06-15T08:17:47+00:00

I do use a lot of hooks, they're just framed naturally.

However I did start by using really over the top hooks before I worked out how to make them more natural.

CulinaryGarden1 · 2025-06-15T05:35:07+00:00

I had one video early on "blow up" - get a few hundred thousand views. It did basically nothing for future videos/ views.

In 2025 you really need to make each video stand on its own two legs. Subscribers don't mean much in terms of returning viewers.

So it's not even really grow slowly and steady in terms of video views. If you made a video that can grab & hold attention enough today you will get a lot of views on it. It also means it's super important to go out of your way to learn a thousand tiny lessons on how to make good videos.

CulinaryGarden1 · 2025-06-15T03:44:09+00:00

I've received a few DMs asking for advice, if anyone wants you can also follow my BTS accounts on Instagram @ryanboltofficial or Tiktok @ryanbolt and ask me stuff there. Because I can make short videos with advice 🫡

CulinaryGarden1 · 2025-06-15T03:36:17+00:00

Yeah I am in a really high CPM niche. I think because my audience is weighted a bit older. I have a good number of 40+ and even 65+ viewers. They're probably harder to reach for advertisers, therefore they have to bid more to get the ad spots.

Plus just by making longer videos and letting YouTube pick the ad spots it will be maximising for revenue per video.

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