Something strange is happening on YouTube. They just made a big update on their algorithm and I've never seen anything like this in my 10 years on YouTube. So if you've been thinking about starting a YouTube channel, you gotta listen carefully.
Because if you take advantage of this now, it's gonna make you more money than you thought possible. Now, you're not gonna see opportunities like this very often on YouTube and the people who start now are gonna have a massive advantage. So today I'm gonna show you what that big update is and I'm also gonna show you three specific video formats that work best for 2025. And I'm also going to show you what smart creators are doing to make six figures even with a small audience. So here's what's happening.
Have you guys been seeing small channels being promoted on your YouTube home feed? In the past few weeks, I've been seeing very small channels, you know, channels that are under 500 subscribers, 200 subscribers. They're all showing up in my home feed. And they're actually showing up right next to big creators with millions of subscribers.
Like this channel here who has about just 600 subscribers. And this one's got 200 subscribers. And it's not just me. You know, everybody's seeing this as well. Everyone's starting to see videos from smaller channels getting pushed by YouTube on our home feeds.
And because they're being recommended by YouTube, they're getting views very quickly. Just look at these videos here. They're getting massive views, even though they just have a tiny audience. And this is happening because YouTube has made an update to their algorithm.
And they're intentionally promoting new channels. In fact, Todd Burpre, one of the YouTube top guys, actually confirmed this publicly. He said that they have a dedicated team whose only job is to help small creators get discovered.
Now, this is the first time in YouTube's history that they've put so much focus on growing new channels. And if you think about this, this actually makes a lot of sense because YouTube makes money from ads, right? So the more creators there are making good videos, the more ads they run, the more money YouTube makes.
But now the question is, why help small creators? Because you see, when a small creator starts getting views, they're more likely to keep making videos. And when their audience grows, YouTube can now show even more ads.
So it is a snowball effect and it's a win-win for everybody. So when people say YouTube is saturated, it's too crowded, that would be false. YouTube is giving the opportunity for small channels to be discovered. And all I just need is that opportunity and take advantage of it. Now, the next question is what type of content works best on YouTube today?
So you don't want to create just random videos and hope something will stick. I spent many years studying what's working on the platform. And I've noticed that there are three main types of content that are absolutely crushing it right now.
And this will continue to perform in 2025. And when I say crushing it, I mean these videos are getting views consistently and they're actually making money. Before I get to it, let me tell you about today's sponsor, Zen Business. So if you're thinking about starting a business, this is super important.
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Now the first one here is what I call journey videos. So these creators simply document their daily lives. They're showing people what they're working on without any editing or fancy animations.
So this format has been blowing up lately. Now a good example of this is Sam Sulek. He just takes his phone to the gym, he plays the camera somewhere, and films his workouts.
He doesn't do any of the fancy lighting setup, there's no professional camera, and half the time you can barely hear him over the background music. And sometimes the lighting is terrible, and that's exactly why it works. His videos get millions of views because people can tell that it's real.
And there are so many creators that are doing this format now, basically just picking up a camera, going for a walk, while just talking without a script, and... it works, right? Because people are tired of this perfect overproduced videos with fancy graphics, perfect lighting, and it all makes sense because people want to see something real and authentic.
Now, of course, in saying that, you still have to know how to do your thumbnails, how to... structure your content of your videos to make it engaging. But the key here is that people want to see the mess, the real process of someone building something or learning something new. That's why these journey videos are so powerful right now because they show everything and not just the perfect results.
Now the second type of video format is what I call building in public videos. And this is exactly what it sounds like. You share everything as you build something or learn something new.
The good, the bad, everything. So if you feel like you're not an expert, but you're learning a new skill or you're building a side business, this is a format that works very well, right? You're simply documenting your journey and you're sharing that with other people.
So a good example of this is Daniel Dalen, who is absolutely crushing this format right now. So he films himself building his business while traveling and he shares every single step of his journey. So there's no hiding behind fancy editing or a teleprompter. When he wins, he shows that.
And when he fails at something, he shows that too, right? And what makes his content so powerful is this POV style videos because you're literally seeing everything through his eyes, right? So when he's struggling with something, you see it. So it's like you're sitting right next to him.
You're learning everything firsthand. And big reason why this type of content works right now is because people are tired of just seeing the success stories because they want to see how things are being built. You know, they want to see the mistakes, all the setbacks, and the moment where everything goes wrong because that's real life, right? That's how people actually learn and grow. Now, the third format here is...
expert-based content. So this is about creating videos to solve problems with you as the expert. Now, this is my favorite type of content because it's been working very well on YouTube at the moment, and it's actually what I do. Now, I'm going to give you an example here. Look at Charlie Morgan.
He's not just creating generic videos about everything, but he's teaching something specific, right? He's teaching people on how to start and grow their agency business. He's not trying to reach everybody, but he's focusing on reaching people who want to build an agency, and he's giving them exactly what they need. Now here's what's fascinating about Charlie's videos.
So his videos are as simple as it gets. There's no fancy production, as you can see here. No expensive setup. It's just him, a whiteboard, and he's just giving out solutions to real problems.
And guess what? He's making a million dollars a month doing this. Not a year, but a month.
Or take this other creator here, Cardinal Mason. His whole channel is focused on one thing. That is teaching people on how to become professional copywriters.
But here's the really important part, and this is what most people miss. You don't need to be the top expert in your field. You don't need a PhD or 20 years of experience, but you just need to know more than the people that you're trying to help. So if you know 20% more than someone else about a certain topic, that knowledge is valuable to them.
So think of something that you're good at. Maybe it's creating spreadsheet templates. Maybe it's writing a sales copy. Maybe it's managing social media accounts.
Whatever it is, I guarantee that there are people out there struggling with exactly what comes naturally to you. Your basic knowledge could be game-changing for someone else. And this is exactly what YouTube is rewarding right now.
Real people sharing real solutions to real problems. Not perfectly edited videos that look great, but they teach you nothing. Or some generic advice that sounds good in theory, but solutions to people's problems.
So focus less on editing, but more on authentic and practical content that really helps people. Now let's talk about making money on YouTube, because this has completely changed too. I'm seeing a lot of small channels. that are making six figures on YouTube. No, you don't need millions of subscribers to make a full-time income on YouTube because I've been seeing small channels with 4,000, 5,000 subscribers pulling in six figures in their first year.
And I'm not just saying this because I've actually done this myself. My channel was able to hit 10K per month on just my fourth month with less than 5K subscribers. And to be honest, I'm still quite blown away when I realized that you actually can make more money than most full-time jobs by just speaking in front of a camera.
Now, to make this happen, you gotta understand something. Don't focus on YouTube ad revenue, right? This is what most creators go wrong.
They focus too much on views and AdSense revenue. Because way in the beginning, I was focusing on all the wrong things, like how to go viral, how to get more subscribers. I mean, of course, those things are important, but not everything, right?
Because views on YouTube can go up and down, and you have no control over that, right? So if you want to build something that is sustainable, something that actually pays your bills every month, there are so many better ways to monetize your channel. But here's the key.
your videos need to actually help people, right? Not just random content, not just entertainment. You've got to be solving real problems because when you're genuinely helping people in your videos, you can create products and services to help those people even more, right? You can sell consulting calls, digital products, you can sell digital courses, eBooks, and even ad space for brand deals, which pays you way more than AdSense, right?
And that's exactly what I'm doing. So once I figured this out, that's when I saw that huge growth in my revenue. And you know what?
AdSense is just now 5%, 10% of my total income. I think of it just as a nice bonus. If you guys want to know how my channel makes money, I break down everything in my school community.
It is completely free. You'll see exactly how I structure my content, how I think about monetization, and all the systems that I use to hit six figures in just four months. And you also get weekly tips and strategies from me that I don't share on the channel.
And all of this is... It's free in the community. Now, here's what I think is really important. And I honestly wish someone had told me this when I first started. And you don't need to overthink this.
Because I see so many people waiting for that perfect moment. They're waiting for the perfect camera, waiting for them to feel completely ready. But I think that perfect moment will never come. There's never going to be a time when you feel 100% ready.
When I first started my channel, I was terrified to put myself in front of a camera. I'd worry about every single thing. You know, my hair, my background, whether people will judge me.
What if nobody watched? What if people write hateful comments, but you know what? Nobody actually cares about you. And I mean that in the best possible way, because nobody's sitting there looking at your hair or thinking about your lighting or your accent, but you know what they care about?
Whether you're teaching them something valuable and whether or not you're helping them get from point A to point B. So think about it this way. When you're searching for help with something on YouTube, do you care if that person looks good or do you care if they say, um, a few times?
Probably not, you care if they're giving you the information that you need, right? So you got to stop focusing on yourself and start thinking about that person on the other side of the screen desperately needs what you know right and here's something else that really surprised me about youtube it is so much bigger than just for making money i mean yes the money can be great and it can make way more than your full-time income but i think the real value is in the connections that you make now since i started my channel i've met some great friends through youtube i found business partners that i never would have met otherwise and i was able to connect with people all over the world who kind of share the same passion as I do, right? And honestly, I've learned way more from making videos than I ever did by going to school.
So here's my challenge to you. If you've been thinking about starting a YouTube channel, start this month. So we've got about a month until the end of the year, and I think you can do a lot in 30 days. Don't let another year go by thinking, what if? Don't watch other people build their channels while you sit thinking about it.
So take that first step, make that first video, and you guys can join my free school community. And you know what? DM me and tell me what your first video will be about. because I read every single message and I make it a point to respond to as many as I can.
I want to see what you're planning to create and maybe I can help you get started. So thanks for watching guys and I will see you in the next one.