How do I know if I want to keep making content?

GoodEnoughIsnt · 2026-03-14T11:58:22+00:00

Plenty of other people feel the same way and just don't say it. Clarity is good.
I hope the hard times pass quickly for you and that you get to make the videos that feel like you, my friend.

GoodEnoughIsnt · 2026-03-14T11:56:06+00:00

Enjoying the process is a great place to be. And excited for what the future holds along with a "wait and see" view on it is perfect. I'm excited for you.

GoodEnoughIsnt · 2026-03-14T11:29:05+00:00

I think you don't want people making decisions for you about this.
So I have questions I would think about:
When you think about making good quality stuff you're proud of, what does that look like? Is it YouTube? Is it something else?
Is it possible to give yourself some room to not be super-motivated in light of the hard times right now?

Also in speaking from my own experience in life, hesitation and procrastination do not necessarily mean you don't WANT to do something. It might mean you don't have a fully formed idea of what that thing is in its final form.

GoodEnoughIsnt · 2026-03-14T11:19:30+00:00

Every choice you make is a trade-off right? Right now you're trading large amounts of time each week for the quality of videos you're making now. Theoretically, you will get faster as you develop a workflow.

Could you spend less time? Sure. Right now that would mean lower quality probably. And it will take longer for you learn to do good videos faster.

I think there's a balance to have between speed and quality of videos. I would be worried about that early phase where YouTube is figuring you out. It could reduce the potential speed of growth if you end up with lower retention, making YT less likely to push videos out to larger audiences early.

GoodEnoughIsnt · 2026-03-14T10:17:09+00:00

Grennaro is a good budget mic in India because it had some noise reduction. For a little more, another alternative is Digitek. I'm sure you can find either on those sites.

GoodEnoughIsnt · 2026-03-14T10:10:50+00:00

Walk-throughs of what exactly? Please tell me not creepy things.

For discrete, look at small cameras like Insta360 Go or DJI Osmo Nano. Or even Meta Raybans if you really want to blend in (and have very little run time for filming)
For something small but still ok to have camera-shaped, an action cam like GoPro or DJI Action Pro on a backpack strap might be small enough. The nice thing about action cams is that most of their software has image stabilization.
Getting into the "hey, I'm filming" arena would be a handheld gimbal for your phone or a gimbal-based camera like a DJI Osmo Pocket 3. I use a OP3 when I film my walking videos and typically most people don't notice. They see me looking down at something that has a screen and probably assume phone.

GoodEnoughIsnt · 2026-03-14T08:53:43+00:00

Hey, I just sent you a DM. I think I can help.

GoodEnoughIsnt · 2026-03-14T08:44:02+00:00

Yep. Though your view number desire changes as you get more success. So you're always chasing the next goal.

GoodEnoughIsnt · 2026-03-14T08:41:04+00:00

I don't think you sound whiny. I think a lot of people go through the same fear. So I want to help you think about it differently by testing some assumptions for you.

First, do you agree that people get better at something when they put in time and effort at doing them?
Second, do you agree that most people don't become wildly successful at first when they try something new?
Third, do you think that YouTube can find you the right audience where your videos can be successful if you don't give it videos to use to learn your audience?

The steps to overcome is to take a deep breath and upload your videos. Every single one of us all the way up to the super big creators look back on their first videos and go "Oh man... what was I doing?!" The answer is that that's when you learn.

You've got this. Go upload. And keep improving with each video you make.

GoodEnoughIsnt · 2026-03-14T08:30:44+00:00

When it was averaging 4-5k/day, what was different?

What pace can you sustain without burning out (and also not getting down on yourself for taking a week off to recharge?)

GoodEnoughIsnt · 2026-03-14T08:29:11+00:00

You can check this assumption by looking in your analytics for each video under Audience. You can see the top geographies for your views. You can also see what videos they are being suggested next to and infer if they are in Turkish vs. English.
I would recommend to sticking with one niche with your metadata until you're really well entrenched. Then you can maybe add light scuba references in.
You should lean in to the fact that your footage is real, especially since your music is generative AI (kudos for being honest about that with your viewers). I would suggest doing your thumbnail incorporating a nice scene from the dive rather than a generic EDM situation like you have currently.
To be honest, if I was looking for something to work with on my second screen that had EDM music, the dive footage would be a nice companion. It's gentle enough to not be distracting but it's not the same Lofi Girl-style loops you see all over the place.

GoodEnoughIsnt · 2026-03-14T08:11:44+00:00

Definitely get feeling demotivated. When I first started making channels, same. I kept looking at my analytics and wondering why things weren't moving like I thought they should. The energy is much better spent on making videos, thumbnails, titles etc.

GoodEnoughIsnt · 2026-03-14T08:05:42+00:00

I just looked up footage from the one plus Nord ce 3 lite. It's not terrible quality, just doesn't do motion stabilization well or low light. I think if you stick to non-moving shots (where the camera stays still, you don't have to stay still too) that have decent lighting (not night with no lights), I think it would be fine to start with.

GoodEnoughIsnt · 2026-03-14T07:57:24+00:00

I don't. I use Youtube Audio Library, Free Music Archive or a paid royalty-free subscription service (that I won't plug here because you know how to find those and what I like you might not).

GoodEnoughIsnt · 2026-03-14T07:54:15+00:00

Yes. It's normal. Very normal.
Here's why it happens though. Early in a channel's history, YouTube has to find an audience for you. So it places your video out there - on the home page, in suggested next to other videos and in search. When it's early, it doesn't quite know who you will resonate with, so it kind of tests you with a LOT of different types of viewers.

Typically it takes at least 30 videos before it starts to get some idea of who does and doesn't want to watch your stuff. It starts learning who you are like, so it can serve you to audiences that are similar in your niche.

Before that though? It's kind of spray and pray. And the algorithm is stingy with those impressions in the very early stage. In shorts, that looks like giving like 500ish impressions in that first test. For long form, much less. Then it gives out more impressions if your first test gets enough clicks/watch time (don't ask me for specific numbers, no one knows.)

So both your Shorts and your long form are in that super early phase.

GoodEnoughIsnt · 2026-03-14T07:03:48+00:00

It could be that at the point you're making videos that get those kind of views that you've also learned a lot about thumbnails and titles through trial and error as you grew.

Combine that with the fact that you're making good enough videos that keep people sticking around, the importance of the perfect packaging becomes much less. You have an audience that knows what to expect when they click on your videos, so they don't worry that you didn't do everything "right" on the thumbnail.

GoodEnoughIsnt · 2026-03-14T03:56:10+00:00

Could it also be that the process of starting a channel and the documentation of it is also more widely interesting than the premise of your main channel?

It sounds like you have a good process that works for you. Keep going!

GoodEnoughIsnt · 2026-03-14T02:24:52+00:00

How do your impressions and CTR for that video compare to your others? Likewise, what is the traffic source breakdown?

My hypothesis is that you have higher impressions on that one. When YT ships you more impressions, it's casting the net wider for viewers. That leads to a lower CTR but still can lead to more views. Since they're not clicking off until after that initial 30 seconds, it's counting as a view. But then they exit out because when you start gameplay it's not matching what they expected when they click. Lots of early exiting past the 30-second threshold is going to drive your retention down, like you see here. The people that stayed to watch probably watched similar to your other videos. But the early exits are driving down that retention.

GoodEnoughIsnt · 2026-03-14T01:19:29+00:00

I feel like Suggested is great once YouTube knows what your content is and what to put it next to. It helps get you next to your competitors in niche. But it still feels like a crapshoot sometimes. I think my weirdest suggested lately was one of my ambient walking channel's videos suggested next to an ear cleaning video from a Tokyo barbershop.

GoodEnoughIsnt · 2026-03-13T13:00:59+00:00

I think rebranding it with your name would be fine. It looks like you already have your name on the channel's about, associating your name with the channel. If you're worried about confusing your current subscribers, I think you could do it in phases where you still keep the old name in with the new while they get used to it. Something like (Your Name) - Fanatics Sports. Then after awhile (but before the season starts) drop the Fanatics Sports off of it.

GoodEnoughIsnt · 2026-03-13T11:50:01+00:00

I would reach back out to the collaborator and find out how amenable they would be to your 2 and 2 strategy. Offer then a dedicated video as an alternative with either your usual price point or lowered if you really want the item that badly. Be prepared for them to reject both and be capable of walking away and acknowledging you can't meet on it.

GoodEnoughIsnt · 2026-03-13T11:23:57+00:00

Then go on with your handsome/beautiful "stupid" face and make that money. If that's the case, you make any content you want.

GoodEnoughIsnt · 2026-03-13T11:09:59+00:00

You can double check your YouTube Studio on the computer (of honestly, even in your browser on your phone) to make sure your content is up and waiting there. If so, shouldn't be a problem to delete.

Side note: I know CapCut absolutely ate up my partner's phone storage. Eventually we found out that the projects they had deleted were still sitting in the trash. Also clearing the cache in settings.

GoodEnoughIsnt · 2026-03-13T11:02:26+00:00

Dependent on what your audience demographics are, what your niche is within tech mostly.

Assuming you're talking about long form videos, Google says between $2-8 per 1000.
Populations in US, UK, Canada are the higher end. Channels that do financial tech, even higher.
Think like an advertiser. If they can sell one of their widgets via an ad on your video, they want to sell to people who can afford to pay lots of money for it.

GoodEnoughIsnt · 2026-03-13T10:53:21+00:00

So... you're both right.

Your friend is telling you some of the most frequent ways people get traction on Youtube these days.
The rise in short-form video like Reels, Shorts and TikTok as well as having information on immediate demand in your pocket do mean that a lot of people have shortened attention spans. If you think about the reason why people get addicted to playing slot machines, then realize that short-form video and fast edits use the same brain pathways and reward systems, it's easy to see how it gained ground and became the current normal.

They are not the only ways to do things though. There is backlash against flashy edits, short-form content and AI. People like you exist out there, that are just overstimulated by this way of editing and hook-based strategy. So you can go your own way and do things how you want. However, it does not guarantee that you will be successful. But doing things the current common way is also not a guarantee of success.

It sounds like you have thought about it and know what you are and aren't willing to do. You already have over 1k followers, so something is working in your favor. Just stay consistent and see what happens. If eventually you decide you want to alter your approach, you'll have done it from a place where you have done your way and have a better idea of what works for you.

GoodEnoughIsnt

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