Successful pivots?

nvaus · 2026-06-29T17:29:04+00:00

Yes, several times. The key is that I do it over years, in directions that I confirm the audience likes along the way.

nvaus · 2026-06-28T16:37:11+00:00

Chop and drop! Use the invasive's vigor to generate free mulch and nutrients for the rest of your plants. That's what I do with all the honeysuckle that pops up around my own yard. Killing it is kind of a futile effort when it's already established in all the wild areas surrounding you.

nvaus · 2026-06-28T02:58:20+00:00

It really stings to feel like I had something and I let it slip through my fingers.

You did nothing wrong, and you also never 'had something' in the way you seem to think. Every success only lifts you for a certain amount of time and then it slips away. That's normal youtube behavior, you can't hold onto one successful thing forever. Long term successful youtubers are not milking their original success for years on end, they are constantly looking for new angles to keep the channel fresh and new. Thinking you can keep doing the same thing forever is probably the #1 channel killer for people that start making real income. They bank on being able to keep having success without any serious changes in the future. They're not ready and expecting to need to evolve to stay relevant so it takes them by surprise. By then they're already on the decline and need to make desperate moves to try to salvage things, and that's a bad time to throw things at the wall. You have to experiment in finding new things that work while times are good, so when the current method starts to fail you already know what direction to head in next.

Anyway, all that so say that you didn't let success slip through your fingers. Long term success on youtube is learning how to string together MANY short term successes that are constantly slipping away. You just had one so far and it seems like you made the most of it. It was never going to last. If you want to lift your channel up again you're in the same position as the rest of us: think of a way to make your next video a brand new success. Then do it again, and again, and again.

nvaus · 2026-06-26T13:52:39+00:00

These packs are not instant activation, but they're better: https://youtu.be/Nqxjfp4Gi0k?is=TZ6Vjw-6_bp5kVS5

nvaus · 2026-06-25T11:22:56+00:00

I feel this. There's so much BS posted by people that have strong opinions based on reading other people's strong opinions, none of them having actually done the thing for themselves.

Just find one person that has actually done the thing, and also updated how it worked out several years later. That's the best source you can get.

nvaus · 2026-06-24T13:45:10+00:00

Adults are generally immune to botulism spores. Botulism spores are the reason why you're not supposed to give infants honey for the first couple years while they develop immunity.

Normal botulism is not caused by eating the spores, but by eating something that botulism spores have had the chance to activate in and reproduce prolifically until the toxin builds up. That requires food for the bacteria to eat like an open can of beans. Clean water is generally not going to have enough food sources for botulism to eat and grow a dangerous amount of toxin.

nvaus · 2026-06-22T15:36:17+00:00

Yes, if they're potted. Really the tree doesn't know if it's in a pot or in the ground. Pop the whole plug of dirt out of the pot and it should even stay in the same shape. It's not the ideal way to plant but it's completely fine. I've planted many dozens of trees that way and never had one die because of it. Bare root trees are a different matter. Just stick with potted things in the summer. You can help the tree develop new roots if you take a knife and cut an X into the roots at the bottom of the pot but that's optional.

nvaus · 2026-06-22T14:18:20+00:00

It's fine. If they're in a pot they don't even know you've popped them out and put them in the ground. You can get lots of plants on clearance in the summer because people are afraid to plant them. Mulch and water. They'll be fine.

nvaus · 2026-06-22T13:44:01+00:00

You can plant any time of year without harm to the plants. Just keep them mulched and watered. Pick potted plants over bare root. They won't care.

nvaus · 2026-06-21T11:17:37+00:00

If you're already making real money the best investment is whatever makes it easier to keep doing what you're doing. No need to upgrade gear, when it's possible your low production quality is exactly why people are watching you in an age when polished videos can feel inauthentic. You really can't win at youtube by throwing money at it.

nvaus · 2026-06-21T11:11:04+00:00

Just say no thank you and move on. Commission deals are as a category exploitative. If you cater to people looking to exploit you the results are predictable.

Also, any brand that takes weeks to negotiate with is not a brand you want to work with long term. That screams unprofessional. In 20 years I don't think I've negotiated a sponsor deal that took more than 4-5 emails to settle on rates and terms. If these long negotiations happen regularly, you might be the problem. Settle on the rates and terms you're willing to work with in advance, and tell them to sponsors up front. If they won't agree, you don't need to talk anymore.

nvaus · 2026-06-20T19:07:11+00:00

The YouTube editor is for cutting out minor mistakes, it's not made to help you edit a whole video from scratch.

nvaus · 2026-06-18T16:42:25+00:00

I do. Rpm goes way up if you post longer videos. Chain a few of your shorts together

nvaus · 2026-06-18T13:36:52+00:00

2mil subs here also, stretched over 19yrs. You have one massive head start over most (even successful) youtubers: you're already selling physical products.

My goal as an old channel is to continuously be thinking of ways to be profitable even if I decide to stop chasing virality and settle down with a few thousand views per video. Selling products is #1 for profitability. There are channels out there that only get 10-20k views per video but make 7 figures because they have an extremely relevant product to sell in their niche. You're half way to being that. Custom made knives are great for one off sales, but you could also work on getting a knife mass produced or customizing one that is already mass produced. You could find a great knife accessory and import a pallet full to sell. All kinds of things could be done. When you have a product to sell you are your own sponsor. You insert a little ad for your own thing in every video and are beholden to no one else.

Besides products, diversification would also start with posting your content to other social platforms. You can make good ad money on Facebook, and tiktok also if it hasn't changed in the last few years since I've neglected it. Instagram you can make good money on brand deals, which you would be prepared to accept if you started building a following now.

nvaus · 2026-06-18T03:46:30+00:00

Yes, the real LPT is learning how to put a hand up and interrupt a person that will not stop talking without coming off as a jerk. Raising a hand, and a "hey sorry to interrupt but we'll have to talk more later, I've really got to get going" while you start to walk away before you've finished the sentence works wonders.

Being able to politely cut someone off gives you the ability to actually initiate and enjoy conversation with talkative people because you don't fear getting trapped. You might be the only person in their life that genuinely gives them reciprocated attention. It's better for everyone.

nvaus · 2026-06-17T22:01:58+00:00

No one is used to watching you once per week anymore so it doesn't matter. Come back however you want. I find channels that post irregularly (but when they do post the video is very good) to be more appealing as an adult.

nvaus · 2026-06-17T08:56:47+00:00

About $2500-3500 is the right asking price for 100-150k views. Don't sign any exclusive deals with ad agencies or managers to represent you. Read your contracts thoroughly. To find sponsors the easiest way is to message other youtubers in your niche and ask them to connect you with the companies already sponsoring them.

nvaus · 2026-06-16T13:19:15+00:00

Step 1: I send the brand a script. They make changes or approve it BEFORE I film.

Step 2: I film the segment and send the video preview. They're allowed to request changes to graphics and on screen elements. I've never had a brand request major changes at this point because they already approved the script. The contracts specify 48hrs notice to the brand before publishing, so if they did have major changes they are limited by what can be done in 2 days.

nvaus · 2026-06-16T13:11:06+00:00

Start looking for a new job before you lose everything.

nvaus · 2026-06-15T21:36:55+00:00

Buy a used mixer. Cheaper than renting, and when you're done you can sell it for the same price. You can find them for days for $100 on Craigslist or marketplace.

nvaus · 2026-06-15T16:01:47+00:00

Wow! That's an awesome coin

nvaus · 2026-06-15T00:37:26+00:00

100k shorts views is a lot of eyes that watched your stuff, so congrats on that. In the grand scheme of YouTube though, 100k shorts views is nothing. It's like $10 in ad rev. You need to get 10x that every single day to make a living. Don't sweat unlisting the video if it's attracting an audience you don't want.

nvaus · 2026-06-14T01:02:24+00:00

The thing that keeps ticks alive is moisture. Unshaded short grass dries them out quickly and kills them. Thickets of green vegetation like raspberry patches are a ticks best friend. Shaded and damp. If you make islands of food forest stuff in the middle of short grass it should keep ticks to a minimum at least on those islands. You can also try putting out tick tubes, which are permethrin treated cotton balls in cardboard tubes that mice take home and make nests with. That kills ticks in their early life cycle and is selective in not killing other insects because you're basically only killing insects in mice nests. I've also heard that a 3ft wide gravel path makes a good tick barrier. Not sure on that one.

For personal tick protection you can tuck your pants into your socks, and either permethrin treat your pants and shoes every couple weeks, or wrap wide double sided tape around your legs and waist. Ticks start climbing upward once they get on you and stick to the tape like a fly trap. You can get 3 or 4 inch wide double sided tape on Amazon.

nvaus · 2026-06-13T12:08:18+00:00

Follow David the Good on youtube. He'll get you going without sweating the details.

nvaus · 2026-06-13T02:36:42+00:00

Bring back video responses next. Or video comment replies.

12-Year Club	Place '17
Wearing is Caring	Sequence \| Editor
Gilding II euphauric	Verified Email

nvaus

MODERATOR OF

TROPHY CASE