I'm an 80 year old amateur photographer who has thoroughly enjoyed and learned a great deal from your videos over the last ten years. Keep up the good work.
It is so hard to find things now on youtube because they just push junk and shorts. Even videos that I know exist I can't find without doing a search via a search engine because they never come up in a youtube search.
It's less yt and more with the general public. We like to say corporations are greedy but individuals are worse. If some person is offered $$$ to push a product they'll do it regardless of what it is. Those people are the ones flooding yt with terrible videos like AI generated readings off of someone's website. Top 10 list of random stuff with zero facts, conspiracy knuckleheads and sensational news. Let's also not shy away from us, who can't even read more than 3 sentences at a time or spend more than a minute to watch a video
That's true. I've been watching a Hungarian debate show from classic TV here on TH-cam for a year now. As it's released once a week I used to get it in my feed as soon as it was published. Now I can't find it even if I search for it. I ALWAYS need to use the filters and rank the videos by most recent to by able to find something that TH-cam used to just recommend me right in my feed. They know I want to watch it, yet they now expressly hide it.
@@peterhunorI do have exactly the the same problem. I’ve been trying to find videos which I did watched 10 years ago( some of them have lots of views) and I couldn’t find them
I agree with this so much, its getting harder and harder to find quality content, I aggressively use the "do not recommend this channel" feature because youtube is constantly pushing garbage I have no interest in. I'm also at a point where I'm afraid of clicking on something I'm kinda curious about but know I would never watch more than one video of because if I do, suddenly that topic will be all over my feed for the next month.
It seems the better our videos get, the fewer views they get. 4 years and we're making less than when we first were monetized. But, we love photography. We're passionate about creating beautiful videos as we travel in our van, so we're going to keep going (letting go of the pressure) and make videos for the joy of it. (It's a privileged place to be.)
My tip is spend less time on the videos. I believe this is going to become a “genre”. It’s the difference between being a youtuber, which I define as people doing things and going places to make a yt video. And being a person passionate about something, and they just so happen to have a camera also and are capturing a few of the moments along the way, with much less editing etc. I think that’s the future because it’s less fake and you get more actual experts showing you things. I hope I made sense
I have a small landscape photography based channel with less than 2k subs. There was a comment you made about the platform pushing new creators for a short while and then backing away, and that kind of happened to me for a time. I had one video that just rose above the rest of my content and my subs grew - then suddenly it stopped! And it has never picked up. I've followed Tony's advice though, to just carry on being me and making videos about aspects of landscape photography that I enjoy. I was told that the average life of a channel is about 5 years - I've been publishing regularly since 1st Jan'2021 so I've got a few more years to go to beat that average, and that is my first goal; to get to 1st January 2026 and celebrate my 5 years anniversary on TH-cam :)
This was a lot of good info! I started my channel for fun but decided I wanted more growth and now that I've had the growth in subs (from some viral shorts) I really need more growth in views for my long videos. It really is hard and it's been a little down for me lately which is frustrating.
I've watched a fair number of your videos over the last 6 years, and they were very helpful as a beginning photographer. I still watch a lot of videos about photography and I've noticed that videos from your channel are never recommended to be anymore. I do get tons of recommendations for photography videos from other creators. I'm not sure why this would be the case, but since you're talking about these things I thought I would let you know. A few weeks back I was wondering if y'all were still making videos because I hadn't seen one in several years. Glad to see you're still at it! Thanks for all the help!
It's all money. That's why I like those smaller channels. Big channels don't even bother to reply to your comments any more. If you don't feel you are part of the community what's the point of participating.
In a way it's kinda sad that it's the expected way of things - small channel starts out with zero audience, interacts with the few, starts gathering mass, they can only reply to the first/top few comments, then they become more successful and even bigger, and by then they can only reply to one or two comments or none at all. as much as I'd like for those now bigger channels to continue interacting with me, I know they just can't. also if you find a cool channel and they're already big, there's no way you'll be able to build a relationship with them the same way the people who followed them since they were a smaller channel would. it's unfortunate but natural. that's why sometimes I prefer watching smaller channels since it feels more personal when they take the time to read and reply to comments. but I also want them to succeed so...
@@KyrosX27I still respond to some comments. I do it less than when I started because the comments were so toxic for a while. I think TH-cam has gotten better at filtering them because they aren’t as bad anymore
@@chelseanorthrup8787i suggest that you guys should reply with main channel id and personal initials or something. You're both very good at replying to comments but most people will probably think you're bots 😅
2023 India’s population was 1,425,775,850 which is 138 billion people more than the US & they’re churning out content like you wouldn’t believe. The point is many Americans think TH-cam is theirs. Fact is it’s not & US content will diminish as access to social media & affordable cameras & devices permeate developing & 3rd world countries. As a regular traveler to Asia I’ve seen people in very poor countries using inexpensive smartphones to make content. You have the general breakdown of numbers of content creator but not the demographics. They would be interesting & perhaps more revealing.
This is very helpful to hear. As a content creator who has been on TH-cam since 2010, I find my numbers are much lower and haven't been able to figure out why. I'm glad in one hand that I'm not the only one, but I'm saddened on the other because we all have so much we can provide. I'm fortunate that 98% of my revenue comes from courses and subscriptions; for those who are using ads and affiliate marketing; phew, it's tough when the views are low. I hope this algorithm changes soon for everyone.
I have been taking pictures for 66 years and I am very much an amateur (I am retired now and was an engineer/scientist). I have always loved photography as it is the junction between art and science, so I am very glad you have the patience to continue to provide the high quality information that a lot of us crave and have not let the chronically critical viewers destroy your willingness to continue to try and help us all and share in your experiences. I have watched many of your YT videos and have always found them to be instructive, agnostic (no obvious affiliations) and, most of all, helpful. This video confirms what we were all suspecting and we just hope you will continue to produce them and above all "be yourselves'.
Excellent advice! As a 63 yo physician and amateur photographer Covid took the breathe out of my passion and joy in my job … photography was my savior and after three years of intense learning and life changing trips I’ve combined my passion for medicine and love for photography into a new TH-cam channel “ Healing through Art - A Doctor’s Photographic journey for Hope “ I only have 131 followers but it is an outlet for my passion and IF I ever get traction all proceeds will go to my wife’s Cancer Pt Charity and if not what fun I’m having growing in this amazing world of photography and videography …a win -win 😍
There are very few channels that I watch every video that they put out. Yours is one and making a living on TH-cam is very tough. Love you guys. Keep cranking them out and I’ll keep watching.
“Be yourself” is a major reason I’m one of your long time subscribers. It NEVER feels like you’re trying to win me over to make me like you. I DO like you for that, as well as for both being genuine, honest, and willing to share useful info in the photo / video space. My DSLR education in 2012 with my Canon 60D was here (and your book). My Mavic Air education was here - and much more along the way. Here you are again sharing honest, real world info about life in the TH-cam space, which will be useful to any “creators” who see it - hopefully a lot, but you’ve done it regardless which is the point. Thanks to you both! 👍
Thanks so much for this video Tony & Chelsea. No disrespect but you guys are like the Mom and Dad of TH-cam. You both provide a lot of wisdom and guidance yet displaying tons of confidence and patience in guiding folks doing the best they can at making it in this TH-cam thing. Thanks for being the voices of reason, beacons of light, and encouragement for so many years on this platform. I absolutely love you guys! ❤
Especially in the last two years somehow tony and chelsea have elevated their game and videos are even more appealing to watch with an unseen level of honesty. Love them❤️
That short attention span is so true. You both seem to get the pace perfect actually. I don’t even feel like you’re rambling cause everything you say is educational. (relevant to your title). (Probably because of your depth of experience.) In contrast, alot of creators just use a catchy title and thumbnail and then ramble for minutes then only like 5% of that video addresses that catfish title. and on the other hand many creators on social media especially , just chop/chop/chop to only impress but you didn’t get to really learn what that was about. Thanks for keeping to your good qualities. 🙌
That was true, over the last 6 months I have noticed a change in the TH-cam way of doing things. Small channels like mine suddenly get featured in browse a lot once you publish an episode. I used to have a 1000 views after a month now in 2days and I am not alone. Seems yt is actively reassessing the monopoly of bigger channels
TH-cam grew up just like those smaller creators did. But their ethos is still the same as it always was, a platform to connect people with content they want to see. There's a reason those big creators are big.
There are also a lot of channels which are basically just computer-generated YT channels, at least in the space of science/education videos. Look at some of Kyle Hill's videos, such as the one for _"TH-cam’s Science Scam Crisis"._ I'm a person who watches YT videos, and there's another problem which I've noticed on some of the channels. It seems that as the money from ads shrinks, some creators try to make longer videos so their videos will get more ads. But I can't spend 12-24 hours a day watching videos. And as some videos get longer without being more-useful, I decide to drop watching some channels.
Thank you Chelsea, Tony, your video made me feel so good. I have a small channel that is 4 years old now, and up to 2 years ago it has been slowly but steadily growing subscribers and views. I have not monetized it, but started BMOC. It never got to the point where it contributes a significant part of my income, just something to help justify the crazy amount of time I put into the channel. Then, even though the subscribers keep on growing steadily, the views have steadily declined from 2 years ago, I am getting the fraction of the views despite now I have a lot more followers. There was a point where I wanted to stop, but I just stopped looking at the subscriber count and view count altogether and it became far less depressing. I also stopped dealing with negative comments, and that also made a huge difference in how it feels to have the channel. Keep up your channel, I am glad you are still here! Cheers, Janos
I am just starting out and I have noticed that TH-cam used to be a great place to learn and now it has become a big commercial for photography gear. I hate and love it at the same time. I just wish that it would go back to being a place where you could support the person by watching his or her videos.
I don't think I can let this vid pass without a few remarks . the first thing that came to mind for me was the recent U-Tube vs. the AdBlocker xit-fight. to understand this we need to look at minutes as currency . if the video forces me to watch ads as in "video will play after this ad" -- or -- skip ad option -- these distractions deprecate the value of the entire video, and predictably tempt the cancel option as the value of the video becomes less than the value of the minutes required. further reflection though leads to a deeper question, that being should we look at the video as being the advert rather than as a vehicle for pushing adverts onto the viewer's system ? some videos that are being produced now will offer a "trailer" -- which is actually an advert for a full subject presentation . this could be via online/stream or DVD purchase ... any way we bake the cookies here I think it's likely that the role of U-Tube, or "how we use U-Tube" -- is very likely changing . to survive we need to adapt as our enviroment changes , ... /GW
To be honest, I've grown tired of TH-cam. Not only TH-cam, but in fact the internet as a whole. Jaded. With respect to TH-cam, it's become too slick. Too many ads. I don't watch it for entertainment any longer, but rather for information, reviews or instructions on how to do something. The good stuff on TH-cam is crowded out by all the rubbish. As far as AI goes, I have absolutely no time for it. No time for anything that is fake. Tony and Chelsea, I do like your videos very much and appreciate how you are so honest, down-to-earth and real, and relate well to many things you cover.
Get a good ad-blocker. Funny thing was, when youtube found a way around my ad-blocker, all the ads that got through were for adblockers :o) Own goal! I use Adblock. Currently blocking 100%
I totally agree and I am sick of youtubers complaining about how hard their lives are. Get a life! I think its also that during and after Covid, youtube peaked. Then suddenly there was increase in wanna-be equipment reviewers.Long form content seems to be doing better than short form but Its still mainly boring.
With regard to attention span, I would argue that one of the reasons that attention span is shrinking is that fewer people are communicating meaningfully and intentionally, and it's off-putting to those of us who want to know that the time we spend comsuming that content is going to be beneficial to us in some way. Whether it's print media or broadcast media, there seems to be a lack of ability to structure communication to draw people in. Either writers and creators haven't been taught how to instantly draw people in, or they are ignoring what they've been taught. What I've observed in print and broadcast media is this unnecessarily long tease of what the content is going to be about, assuming it's about anything at all. We're talking basics here - an introduction with a preview or brief synopsis of what's going to be covered, then getting into it in an ordered and cohesive format, followed by a conclusion or wrap-up. Instead, especially on TH-cam, what I encounter all too often is a minute or two of yammering on without any discernable purpose, followed by 10-15 minutes of random thoughts that have no particular direction. What scares me is that I suspect that TH-cam's own artificially manipulated algorithms might be driving the trend. Quite frankly, it pisses me off. If they can't immediately indicate to me that they've thoughtfully created content that's going to benefit me in some way, I move on. Conversely, I'll read an article that's pages long or watch a video that's 30+ minutes if the writer or creator did their damn job and gave me a compelling reason to continue reading or watching. I'd sooner watch a 25-minute video from Tony and Chelsea than a 5-minute video from some of the others out there. So, my observations and response to attention span metrics is that they are being affected by poorly crafted content, content that's just vomited up with less planning and purpose than you would use to make a PB&J sandwich. We're really going to start seeing the creme rise to the top soon, in all media, because there's such a deluge of crap that people are losing interest.
I created my videos with key points right at the beginning and go deeper into the analysis as I go on. Some complain about the length, but I'm not writing content to the 3 minute mark. Its as long as it needs to be to convey the message.
Thank you so very much for sharing some straight talk with the TH-cam creator community. As a small (very, very small) channel, I've often found the world of TH-cam frustrating and demoralizing, but those feelings always come up when I pay too much attention to growing on TH-cam and not enough attention to my own creative energy and the fulfillment of my personal vision. Your video could not have come to me at a better time, and you've reaffirmed what I've known all along: The greatest rewards that creatives can hope for are the rewards that have no monetary value. Making money is not always fun, but creativity is. Thanks again.
I learned photography through this and few other channels, but throughout years I keep watching less photography channels . To this one I welcome back . Keep up
As a small creator, I tried going the route TH-cam keeps pushing and it was honestly soul sucking. I’ve lost a ton of subscribers and views but I’m finally doing something that I enjoy. It’s been frustrating and have noticed it’s so much harder to push new types of content
I stopped caring about the number of subscribers, just keep pushing better content, trying different things. I have a core that loves it and appreciate the value I bring. I get tired sometimes and burned out, but it's not easy doing two different careers. I wish you well and glad you found your groove.
I know how you feel, I don't do YT for the money and 3.3k subs I get a steady monthly amount but it doesn't really cover costs of making the content. But still, it's hard not to get sucked into focusing on the view counts. I think all discussions about being a TH-cam creator should be divided into people doing it for fun and those trying to make some kind of living. The best advice for each is quite different.
From the creation of our channel, my goal has been to share information through our videos and to drive business to our website. It has been fun, but very expensive. So far, it does not pay. And TH-cam makes me crazy!
I had thought about doing TH-cam for years, never took the plunge as I was camera shy and didn’t know how to edit video… I feel a level of regret not trying sooner, but it is what it is… I’ve started posting now mostly because I realised all the closest people in my life don’t actually care about tech as much as I do… So I will use as an outlet to voice opinions and if any successes come from it, great! If not… it’s so far been fun talking to people in the comments section and learning
Don't worry about anyone seeing your content. Your friends won't find you - it's just how the formula works. Once I realized this, I became relaxed. Just play around, try new things and learn. Set some goals and objectives and revisit your vision from time to time. When you do get big enough for people to find out, your content won't be embarrassing from your viewpoint. But the best part, is learning something new all the time - it's a great hobby, and when you do get monetized, no matter how little, your hobby starts paying for itself.
@@OrdinaryFilmmaker thanks for the words of encouragement - Tbf, I’m over the idea of people I know finding my content, if anything it could help views lol… I notice in my life, depending on who I’m talking too my speaking subtly changes. If I’m talking to the guys, a little more bass in my voice might come out… if I’m talking to someone shy, I might sound a little more enthusiastic to help relax them a bit etc… talking to a camera? Zero feedback and I’ve been a little inconsistent in my videos. Just had a scroll through your page, you’ve had some great success at 50k subs… will check out some of your videos on my way into work shortly…
I am retired and do not need to make money at TH-cam. I have had fun with it and earned enough money to buy better cameras. Because of TH-cam I have been asked to work on projects for the local Historic Society. It also helped me get a grant to make displays and videos for a local historic site. Being a TH-camr is just fun and I do not feel any pressure.
I saw your entire video. Yes, I do TH-cam for fun. To me, TH-cam is as a platform that hopefully, if I live long enough, I can reflect or reminisce on the times when I was younger and the places that I went to. It's great that I'm able to share with people on the internet. It brings me joy.
i've been on youtube ever since the beginning(2005) but only as consumer, only in the last few years(mainly due to the *global incident that shall not be named) that i decided to get into it.. somewhat. i never stop watching you guys, and being watching you guys since almost the beginning of the channel(also), your transition into not only a camera channel is refreshing.
I've been subscribed for years, but I wasn't watching any photo-related YT content for a long time while I was in grad school. I recently was looking into upgrading my camera, and realized that I hadn't seen a video from y'all hit my sub box in at least a couple of years. After searching for and watching your review of the a7r ii I was looking to buy, I've since seen all of your new content in my sub box. The algorithm is tricky, and I wonder if it's more "all or nothing" with niche content like this.
I've been subscribed to you guys for about 7 years, with notifications enabled. Yet, for some reason, TH-cam started to show less and less videos from you in my feed, to the point where I had forgotten about the channel until today, when I saw this video in my feed. I think the last time I saw one of your videos in my feed was about 6 months ago, or maybe more. Subscriptions and notifications mean shit to TH-cam these days. They will show you whatever the algorithm thinks will engage you.
I think this is an incredibly important topic right now, with more and more people trying (and failing) to make it on social media. So thanks for doing a deep dive and actually getting the data, etc., this was an interesting video. Especially getting to hear your perspectives as people who've been on the platform and creating for so long.
As a photography enthusiast, I have been following your channel for ~ 10Y. Primarily - thanks guys for doing this. As a footnote, I have a broad spectrum of interest, and a short attention span, so I watch almost all instructional videos in double speed mode. As long as I can follow the speech, that's fine by me.
Me and my wife started a podcast for fun. No money coming from it haha I already do my church’s livestream on TH-cam with my cameras so decided to use them during the week for a podcast. Literally just feels like we’re just talking and catching up and just spending time together. So knowing we aren’t making money takes away any pressure on “making it” lol
I think your channel is excellent. When I moved to the Hasselblad X2D system, your channel was one of the main ones I consulted/watched. I was not 100% sure I was doing the right thing - but your views and opinions clarified in my own mind that the X2D was right for me and my landscape & travel photography. Long may you be successful on youtube. Thanks
Great video! I learned the basics of photography from you and your book and am loving the journey of continuing to learn how to create content that produces real value. Because I’m an educator, I’m lucky to not depend on any income from TH-cam but am so happy there is this place for me to create and access an audience.
This was my first time watching you guys and I must say, really great conversation. You hit the nail on the head with multiple things. I love the fact that you mentioned that you are not willing to create something for someone whose only interested in you getting to the point in 10 seconds or less because I feel the SAME WAY! I have chosen to focus on viewers who are interested in watching long-form content and want the MEAT so that they can actually implement what they learned.
You can’t put it in the bank, but don’t forget your “psychic income “. I am one of many who count you both as teachers and mentors. Your work has guided my development in the hobby I love. You have produced joy and satisfaction and you have contributed to my steadily growing creative success. Although you will never put that on a deposit slip, it’s still “money” in the bank. Thanks for all you do.
TH-cam never suggests this channel anymore. When I search camera topics I have to actually add Tony and Chelsea to the search. I have been subscribed since the beginning of the channel.
I agree. Its very annoying. This channel and a lot of other channels I have followed for years seem to be getting replaced with things Im less interested in. Also the algorithm is hopeless. I may look for instructional videos on something like fixing a tap and then for ages after watching that video Im bombarded with numerous DIY videos about tap fixing! It doesn't seem able to differentiate between long term interest and one offs.
@@chelseanorthrup8787 I’m all for giving new channels a little help but some of them have a ridiculous amount of views with minimal effort in their content. The algorithm has gone off the rails. This is still my favorite photo channel. I’ll just keep checking in to make sure I don’t miss out on anything 😂
I’m not a TH-camr. I just follow the two of you and watch the videos. My family used to own a camera store and photo lab in southeastern CT, so I grew up in the business. I enjoy photography as hobby and have learned a lot watching your videos and buying your books. I don’t know anything about the TH-cam business model. However, I do know that in any career you can only be successful by being yourself and doing your job because you love it. There are few people that are successful in any career they don’t love. Please continue doing the videos you love to do and not the ones you think you have to do just to get a few more followers and likes. I know that’s easy for me to say, but I think that’s the best model to survive in a very competitive marketplace where everything you do gets viewed under a microscope by someone that just wants to complain. I personally enjoy your videos and hope you continue to create and publish content.
Great video guys. Honestly, this doesn't even bother me because I'm a performing guitarist, been playing live for about 40 years now, but I have been on TH-cam for about 18 years, my 1st video upload was October 2006, and TH-cam was WAY different back then. My primary purpose of TH-cam was to spotlight my music, & how we ( my wife & I ) money was clients would see what I do & then hire us, so we made money through TH-cam by people hirings us, so all this worrying about money on TH-cam doesn't even phase us. I have heard of whole groups of people turning their backs on all social media in favor of just living a stress free life. The good thing about being a Baby Boomer is we don't need social media because we've always socialized in real life, now THAT'S LIVING!!! GREAT advice guys, you ROCK!!! Stay Creative, Live Life, Rock On & God Bless.
We absolutely live in a "instant gratification" era. I remember growing up and being annoyed that I would have to wait a week to watch the next episode of my favorite television shows, now I get annoyed when I see a news article and the information I'm looking for is not at the very top of the page. When I see an article saying "Blah Blah Item now down to lowest price ever", I want to open the page and see the article. I don't need a review or history of that product. And heaven forbid if the price isn't there at all but instead a link to see the price. I'll block those channels and pages immediately. When it comes to channels that I know have information that will be useful for me, I don't mind turning it on and sitting through an hour or more, one of reason I enjoy this channel. There's always news, opinion, comparisons that aid me in the choices I make later on. I had to edit this to add that I've heard the name Mr. Beast before but honestly, I have no idea who that is, what they do or why they are important, celebrity or popular.
I'm curious how many viewers who don't feel overwhelmed and skip your comment because it's more than a couple of sentences. How many will actually read your comment in entirety.
You guys hit the nail right on the head. I've just started but I've noticed a video will get some traction and suddenly it just cuts off like YT just stops showing it even though it was trending compared to all my others.
As a photographer who is working on creating a channel about my photographic art (capture and editing), I am still optimistic about doing it. Even though I know it is a saturated area, I think I have some unique approaches to teach it on You Tube (mostly in creative editing). Time will tell how it goes. This channel helps motivate me and I watched it for years. Whether I am part time now or full time in the future that is fine for now. I will add e-courses and affiliate product reviews.
It's interesting hearing your perspective. Being old myself, I stayed to the end. I started my channel to learn new skills and hope to save a few hundred a month for my next camera. I never expected to turn it into a real business, but did that last year incorporating. I want this to be my retirement gig, but love doing it and want to keep doing it, trying new things If I am not very popular, that's fine. I need this to be fun, building a community. Thanks for your perspective - all good and healthy advise. I just need more sleep. Doing this and a day job is a challenge, but its building to 2029 retirement date ;)
Well the bigger channels might be down in their stats, my small channel, like many other small channels are up in their stats... So youtube and its audience seemed to have switched focus.
Great commentary on the state of TH-cam. The insight you guys have on this topic is really interesting. I don’t feel sad I didn’t become successful on TH-cam personally. It’s still fun to make a vid now and then regardless.
A lot of people are saying how hard it is to find their favorite creators on TH-cam. I subscribe to the creators I want to see and then just click on the Subscriptions menu on the side and watch everyone I like and I don't miss any. That way it doesn't matter what TH-cam is recommending, I get the creators I want, especially Tony and Chelsea (shameless plug).
A problem is that here are too any creators, many of whom make poor presentations - not very informative or not presented well. It seems to me that there are many copy cat presenters who see something that they think they can do, but do a bad job of it. I have several interests that I view on TH-cam, including photography, politics, and drawing. I have narrowed down my preferred presenters to just a few for each interests. But of course, occasionally a new good one will pop up. I don’t have the time to explore the new ones.
Niche is the best! It's like a "small town feel." Lots of polite interaction from people who are passionate about your interests. I watched Mr Beast once. Once. I regretted it immediately. It was obvious that that channel and I have nothing in common. Your channel is the best balance. Keep up the great work!
Add my channel to the list of channels experiencing a downturn in revenue and watch time, while still growing in subscribers, but at a slower rate. In my case, I think the pandemic lockdown was ultimately good for views and subs, and helped push us over 100k about a year later. Yes, I agree I cannot be somebody else to gain viewers. While paying attention to what my crowd likes and wants, I have to make content I like and want, and figure it will get discovered by those who appreciate it. For awhile, I thought the most important thing I could do was create a lot of content to get my total number of videos up. Now, with way over 2,000 videos, I am seeing which styles attract more viewers and subs, and I am cutting back on some types of videos that used to get more views than they do now. The wants of viewers are changing. And, yes, it galls me to see AI-generated fluff and garbage that gets a ton of views, but I will credit some channels for smartly using at least CGI to tell a legitimate story. And kudos to the way you both come across, sitting there chatting with us. Inspires me to want to do better on camera. Every once in awhile, I throw in a camera/lens review on my channel since photography and videography are at the heart of much of my work. Even if those videos do not generate the most views, i always hear form some interested viewers who appreciate learning about the gear. So -- gotta stop now and watch your Advanced Wildlife & Bird Photography video, since some of the same equipment and practices pertain to my own air show and aviation photography needs.
Thanks for your insights, T&C! One aspect you touched on but didn't explore deeper was the percent of the money that goes to the creator. Besides the middlemen taking most of the payment, there's google itself. Google used to pay more per view, more per ad, etc. I don't have the figures, although I assume you know it, but my sense is that google has been reducing their payments year by year so that they keep most of the advertising money.
I have had a camera in my hand since the age of 14; I am now 75. I am still an amateur who is still learning. Your channel is the first I turn to when I am in doubt. Thank you for all you taught me. Keep doing what you are doing because it works.
For some reason my youtube started to auto populate to your intro video and it was driving me up a f*cking wall. Finally after a few weeks I decided to watch one of your videos and seriously, I'm really glad this happened. I love all that you guys do, love your personalities and the qualtiy of your content. Thankyou for doing you.
We can always count on you guys to tell it as it is. I am one of those channels that just passed the 10K mark. Yes there is stress, highs and lows, but overall learning and a lot and that is motivating, specially when I can share with an audience and hear that what I am sharing is helping. Now If we can go from motivation to a little cash, then I'll be set 😅
There's something you're overlooking in your analysis about attention spans: the increasing amount of ads that TH-cam has jammed into videos over that same timeframe. It really breaks my concentration, irritates me, and makes me far more likely to give up on the video when I get fed ad after ad, often including more instances of the same horrid ads that have already been served to me four times that day. Increasingly I also accidentally click ads that are plastering the bottom part of my phone screen when my fingers brush against them. The amount of sheer TH-cam greed with the amount of advertising is just off the charts now. It keeps me in a state of annoyance that makes it not only harder to concentrate on the content but more likely to click away when anything in the content bores or annoys me.
Google itself is struggling. The internet started out as a great new landscape, but now that large $billion dollar corporations have taken over, and most companies have merged and consolidated. Remember the before times when google didn't own TH-cam?
Yeah. Corporations ruining everything. Ig was amazing now trash. TH-cam - hard to tell I am not yt creator and i am constantly finding great content here as user. But yeah. More and more creators definitely means lower overall reach
A fascinating insight into Youtubing. I think that you are spot-on with the attention span reducing. This could be for various resaons. One because most younger generations want everything immediately. They are not prepared or using to waiting/gaining knowledge, infoe, results etc, and because with youTube, it's tied to how many hits you can achieve. The surging popularity of TH-cam shorts could also account for reduction of attention span, vs a full blown video of say 45 minutes. also agree about your comment onsponsored v non-sponsored chanells.
I started my channel at 49...still plugging away...it was to learn how to do video initially...now I'm just loving making things. Got my 1K now I need my watch hours, they'll come, eventually. Great video!
You two remind me of myself and Trudie my lovely wife we are only on the 150 thousand level with a completely different niche to yourselves and I love what I do trudie fits in with what I’m working on and she helps with all the media and photographs, sometimes I think the content just hits a wall and I never understand why I try to produce BBC quality productions sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t I agree there’s lots of competition but if you love what you do, it’s not always about the money, of course that’s if you’re not relying on it keep it up guys. I love your armchair chats 🤠🙋♀️
@@chelseanorthrup8787 LOL! I always see Tony in my mind reading something like this and being like, Whatever... next. But you are a great balance to Tony, because you help him to see that it is the people that are really the most important. Without Chelsea, Tony would be less. Probably likely the same vice-versa too; but it's so nice to see that women help men throughout life. Maybe not so much in their 20's and 30's, but women find out how to assert themselves to men in a way that makes them more equal at that age range than otherwise. Don't get me wrong, I think women's beauty is a ACE, but in terms of just mental-emotional balance and support; I think women help men far more than men help women. My mental health would be terrible crazy bonkers without my Trudie/Chelsea.
@@chelseanorthrup8787 by the way, I forgot to ask who does the editing of your chats because it’s really excellent and I know how much time that takes🤠
I’m own a TH-cam channel with 290K subscribers. I believe the main problem is the TH-cam algorithm. I used to have lots of views on my channel but not anymore. Now these days my new upload barely reach 2k views in one week it used to be over 300k few years in the past. I think TH-cam stopped recommending my videos to the right people to people who is interesting in the type of content I’ve been making for over 12 years. I came to a point where I started thinking that my content is not interesting anymore but few weeks ago one of my videos which is 2 years old with few hundred views suddenly started getting views and reached over 1,5 million views in 3 days. Thousands comments under that video and it seems people are genuinely interesting and love to watch it . That was a proof for me that I’ve been creating a right content. The problem is TH-cam still can’t deliver it to the right audience.
I was never able to find a "niche". I just enjoyed working with cameras, filming and coming up with content. My channel is all over the place, but I'm not in it for the money, just for the fun. Some videos do well, some just bomb. Started my channel at the time of the pandemic and needed something to do to pass the time in isolation. When its no longer fun to do then its time to move on.
My wife and I are 2.5 years into our small TH-cam channel. We are passionate about our niche, "history" but it has been a struggle to get views and subscribers. I will be honest, in the beginning our delivery was poor but I think we are slowly getting better at it. We endeavor to persevere! Hopefully one day we will figure it out. 🙂
I found that when I looked back on videos I created a month ago, I would cringe a little - this was a positive sign that I had improved over the time. Your eagerness to improve and teach while you learn can be intoxicating. Never lose the goal of having fun. Perhaps I should check you out - I love history myself.
@@OrdinaryFilmmaker For my day job (how I pay the bills), I am a professional archaeologist and historian. My wife and I are very passionate about historic-historical places. Our goal is to attempt to capture what we do for fun and that is go out every weekend and find history. Of course, we soon found this idea to be more difficult than easy. Feeling awkward in front of the camera... Forgetting what we wanted to say as soon as the record button was pressed... Then getting home and realizing that the audio quality was terrible, the video quality was sub-par. Then the daunting journey of learning video editing. The first time I loaded up Davinci Resolve, was like 'oh boy' where do I even start? We definitely started out thinking, well we managed to capture a perfect "fun with flags" vibe. I would like to think we are slowly getting better at it. It is baby steps. While it can be disheartening, we are definitely open to friendly criticism.
I dove into TH-cam without knowing what I was really getting into. Needless to say my channel failed. I chose the wrong niche, I didn't have anything to sell, didn't know how to get sponsors, and the audience for the niche I chose don't accept the concept of things like Buy Me A Coffee, Patreon etc. The time to jump on youTube was back in 2004 to 2006. After that it keeps getting more commercial and harder.
Great video guys. As a fellow TH-cam creator, I resonate with so much of what you say in this video. I have been frustrated recently with every video I make getting hundreds of views and then stalling. It feels like something has changed. My subscribers continue to grow but my views are not. It blows my mind! WHY subscribe and then NOT watch future videos?! It's crazy. P.S. My attention span lasted for the entire video! 😀👍
I'm an 80 year old amateur photographer who has thoroughly enjoyed and learned a great deal from your videos over the last ten years. Keep up the good work.
👍😉
Thanks!
It is so hard to find things now on youtube because they just push junk and shorts. Even videos that I know exist I can't find without doing a search via a search engine because they never come up in a youtube search.
Same on instagram. It’s unusable. As long as there are people mindlessly scrolling and viewing whatever they feed them, we will be paying the price
It's less yt and more with the general public. We like to say corporations are greedy but individuals are worse. If some person is offered $$$ to push a product they'll do it regardless of what it is. Those people are the ones flooding yt with terrible videos like AI generated readings off of someone's website. Top 10 list of random stuff with zero facts, conspiracy knuckleheads and sensational news. Let's also not shy away from us, who can't even read more than 3 sentences at a time or spend more than a minute to watch a video
That's true. I've been watching a Hungarian debate show from classic TV here on TH-cam for a year now. As it's released once a week I used to get it in my feed as soon as it was published. Now I can't find it even if I search for it. I ALWAYS need to use the filters and rank the videos by most recent to by able to find something that TH-cam used to just recommend me right in my feed. They know I want to watch it, yet they now expressly hide it.
@@peterhunorI do have exactly the the same problem. I’ve been trying to find videos which I did watched 10 years ago( some of them have lots of views) and I couldn’t find them
I agree with this so much, its getting harder and harder to find quality content, I aggressively use the "do not recommend this channel" feature because youtube is constantly pushing garbage I have no interest in. I'm also at a point where I'm afraid of clicking on something I'm kinda curious about but know I would never watch more than one video of because if I do, suddenly that topic will be all over my feed for the next month.
Thanks!
It seems the better our videos get, the fewer views they get. 4 years and we're making less than when we first were monetized. But, we love photography. We're passionate about creating beautiful videos as we travel in our van, so we're going to keep going (letting go of the pressure) and make videos for the joy of it. (It's a privileged place to be.)
My tip is spend less time on the videos. I believe this is going to become a “genre”. It’s the difference between being a youtuber, which I define as people doing things and going places to make a yt video. And being a person passionate about something, and they just so happen to have a camera also and are capturing a few of the moments along the way, with much less editing etc. I think that’s the future because it’s less fake and you get more actual experts showing you things. I hope I made sense
“Be yourself repeatedly and passionately.” 100%
I have a small landscape photography based channel with less than 2k subs. There was a comment you made about the platform pushing new creators for a short while and then backing away, and that kind of happened to me for a time. I had one video that just rose above the rest of my content and my subs grew - then suddenly it stopped! And it has never picked up. I've followed Tony's advice though, to just carry on being me and making videos about aspects of landscape photography that I enjoy. I was told that the average life of a channel is about 5 years - I've been publishing regularly since 1st Jan'2021 so I've got a few more years to go to beat that average, and that is my first goal; to get to 1st January 2026 and celebrate my 5 years anniversary on TH-cam :)
This was a lot of good info! I started my channel for fun but decided I wanted more growth and now that I've had the growth in subs (from some viral shorts) I really need more growth in views for my long videos. It really is hard and it's been a little down for me lately which is frustrating.
I've watched a fair number of your videos over the last 6 years, and they were very helpful as a beginning photographer. I still watch a lot of videos about photography and I've noticed that videos from your channel are never recommended to be anymore. I do get tons of recommendations for photography videos from other creators. I'm not sure why this would be the case, but since you're talking about these things I thought I would let you know. A few weeks back I was wondering if y'all were still making videos because I hadn't seen one in several years. Glad to see you're still at it! Thanks for all the help!
It's all money. That's why I like those smaller channels. Big channels don't even bother to reply to your comments any more. If you don't feel you are part of the community what's the point of participating.
In a way it's kinda sad that it's the expected way of things - small channel starts out with zero audience, interacts with the few, starts gathering mass, they can only reply to the first/top few comments, then they become more successful and even bigger, and by then they can only reply to one or two comments or none at all. as much as I'd like for those now bigger channels to continue interacting with me, I know they just can't. also if you find a cool channel and they're already big, there's no way you'll be able to build a relationship with them the same way the people who followed them since they were a smaller channel would. it's unfortunate but natural. that's why sometimes I prefer watching smaller channels since it feels more personal when they take the time to read and reply to comments. but I also want them to succeed so...
@@KyrosX27I still respond to some comments. I do it less than when I started because the comments were so toxic for a while. I think TH-cam has gotten better at filtering them because they aren’t as bad anymore
@@chelseanorthrup8787i suggest that you guys should reply with main channel id and personal initials or something. You're both very good at replying to comments but most people will probably think you're bots 😅
2023 India’s population was 1,425,775,850 which is 138 billion people more than the US & they’re churning out content like you wouldn’t believe. The point is many Americans think TH-cam is theirs. Fact is it’s not & US content will diminish as access to social media & affordable cameras & devices permeate developing & 3rd world countries. As a regular traveler to Asia I’ve seen people in very poor countries using inexpensive smartphones to make content. You have the general breakdown of numbers of content creator but not the demographics. They would be interesting & perhaps more revealing.
@@BusterMcFlea How bad is your math? India's population is not 138 billion people more than the US, how big do you think India is?
I knew I will never make a penny off of YT, but I never imagined how hard would be to gain subs.
subs mean nothing, yt isnt twitch
This is one of the most honest and sincere videos I have watched on the TH-cam Journey!
This is very helpful to hear. As a content creator who has been on TH-cam since 2010, I find my numbers are much lower and haven't been able to figure out why. I'm glad in one hand that I'm not the only one, but I'm saddened on the other because we all have so much we can provide. I'm fortunate that 98% of my revenue comes from courses and subscriptions; for those who are using ads and affiliate marketing; phew, it's tough when the views are low. I hope this algorithm changes soon for everyone.
I have been taking pictures for 66 years and I am very much an amateur (I am retired now and was an engineer/scientist). I have always loved photography as it is the junction between art and science, so I am very glad you have the patience to continue to provide the high quality information that a lot of us crave and have not let the chronically critical viewers destroy your willingness to continue to try and help us all and share in your experiences. I have watched many of your YT videos and have always found them to be instructive, agnostic (no obvious affiliations) and, most of all, helpful. This video confirms what we were all suspecting and we just hope you will continue to produce them and above all "be yourselves'.
The problem is TH-cam is all enshittified with too many ads now. It is misery for the viewer.
Excellent advice! As a 63 yo physician and amateur photographer Covid took the breathe out of my passion and joy in my job … photography was my savior and after three years of intense learning and life changing trips I’ve combined my passion for medicine and love for photography into a new TH-cam channel “ Healing through Art - A Doctor’s Photographic journey for Hope “ I only have 131 followers but it is an outlet for my passion and IF I ever get traction all proceeds will go to my wife’s Cancer Pt Charity and if not what fun I’m having growing in this amazing world of photography and videography …a win -win 😍
There are very few channels that I watch every video that they put out. Yours is one and making a living on TH-cam is very tough. Love you guys. Keep cranking them out and I’ll keep watching.
Thank you!
You guys I’ve been watching you for years and I DO pay attention. Thank you for your integrity.
Thank you for watching!
“Be yourself” is a major reason I’m one of your long time subscribers. It NEVER feels like you’re trying to win me over to make me like you. I DO like you for that, as well as for both being genuine, honest, and willing to share useful info in the photo / video space. My DSLR education in 2012 with my Canon 60D was here (and your book). My Mavic Air education was here - and much more along the way. Here you are again sharing honest, real world info about life in the TH-cam space, which will be useful to any “creators” who see it - hopefully a lot, but you’ve done it regardless which is the point. Thanks to you both! 👍
Thanks so much for this video Tony & Chelsea. No disrespect but you guys are like the Mom and Dad of TH-cam. You both provide a lot of wisdom and guidance yet displaying tons of confidence and patience in guiding folks doing the best they can at making it in this TH-cam thing. Thanks for being the voices of reason, beacons of light, and encouragement for so many years on this platform. I absolutely love you guys! ❤
Awww thank you for the kind words ❤
Thank you so much!
Especially in the last two years somehow tony and chelsea have elevated their game and videos are even more appealing to watch with an unseen level of honesty. Love them❤️
I now have a Square Space site!
That short attention span is so true.
You both seem to get the pace perfect actually. I don’t even feel like you’re rambling cause everything you say is educational. (relevant to your title).
(Probably because of your depth of experience.)
In contrast, alot of creators just use a catchy title and thumbnail and then ramble for minutes then only like 5% of that video addresses that catfish title.
and on the other hand
many creators on social media especially , just chop/chop/chop to only impress but you didn’t get to really learn what that was about.
Thanks for keeping to your good qualities. 🙌
TH-cam used to be more social and about the smaller creators.
Still can be, you just need to find it.
Way back when TH-cam UK did an in depth documentary on lighting and positioning for small creators. Long gone now.
That was true, over the last 6 months I have noticed a change in the TH-cam way of doing things. Small channels like mine suddenly get featured in browse a lot once you publish an episode. I used to have a 1000 views after a month now in 2days and I am not alone. Seems yt is actively reassessing the monopoly of bigger channels
@@PaulTakesPhotos I remember the days when you could change the color of your channel and add friends lol.
TH-cam grew up just like those smaller creators did. But their ethos is still the same as it always was, a platform to connect people with content they want to see. There's a reason those big creators are big.
Thanks for this video. Its good to know that my experience that things are changing and harder is validated and I'm not just hallucinating :)
There are also a lot of channels which are basically just computer-generated YT channels, at least in the space of science/education videos. Look at some of Kyle Hill's videos, such as the one for _"TH-cam’s Science Scam Crisis"._
I'm a person who watches YT videos, and there's another problem which I've noticed on some of the channels. It seems that as the money from ads shrinks, some creators try to make longer videos so their videos will get more ads. But I can't spend 12-24 hours a day watching videos. And as some videos get longer without being more-useful, I decide to drop watching some channels.
Very good perspective and well presented with true facts. Let's see where this road will lead us to.
Much love 💕
Matthias 👋
Thank you Chelsea, Tony, your video made me feel so good. I have a small channel that is 4 years old now, and up to 2 years ago it has been slowly but steadily growing subscribers and views. I have not monetized it, but started BMOC. It never got to the point where it contributes a significant part of my income, just something to help justify the crazy amount of time I put into the channel. Then, even though the subscribers keep on growing steadily, the views have steadily declined from 2 years ago, I am getting the fraction of the views despite now I have a lot more followers.
There was a point where I wanted to stop, but I just stopped looking at the subscriber count and view count altogether and it became far less depressing. I also stopped dealing with negative comments, and that also made a huge difference in how it feels to have the channel.
Keep up your channel, I am glad you are still here! Cheers, Janos
I am just starting out and I have noticed that TH-cam used to be a great place to learn and now it has become a big commercial for photography gear. I hate and love it at the same time. I just wish that it would go back to being a place where you could support the person by watching his or her videos.
I don't think I can let this vid pass without a few remarks .
the first thing that came to mind for me was the recent U-Tube vs. the AdBlocker xit-fight. to understand this we need to look at minutes as currency . if the video forces me to watch ads as in "video will play after this ad" -- or -- skip ad option -- these distractions deprecate the value of the entire video, and predictably tempt the cancel option as the value of the video becomes less than the value of the minutes required.
further reflection though leads to a deeper question, that being should we look at the video as being the advert rather than as a vehicle for pushing adverts onto the viewer's system ? some videos that are being produced now will offer a "trailer" -- which is actually an advert for a full subject presentation . this could be via online/stream or DVD purchase ...
any way we bake the cookies here I think it's likely that the role of U-Tube, or "how we use U-Tube" -- is very likely changing . to survive we need to adapt as our enviroment changes , ...
/GW
To be honest, I've grown tired of TH-cam. Not only TH-cam, but in fact the internet as a whole. Jaded. With respect to TH-cam, it's become too slick. Too many ads. I don't watch it for entertainment any longer, but rather for information, reviews or instructions on how to do something. The good stuff on TH-cam is crowded out by all the rubbish. As far as AI goes, I have absolutely no time for it. No time for anything that is fake. Tony and Chelsea, I do like your videos very much and appreciate how you are so honest, down-to-earth and real, and relate well to many things you cover.
Honestly, I feel the same way. The internet used to be more fun.
Get a good ad-blocker. Funny thing was, when youtube found a way around my ad-blocker, all the ads that got through were for adblockers :o) Own goal!
I use Adblock. Currently blocking 100%
I totally agree and I am sick of youtubers complaining about how hard their lives are. Get a life! I think its also that during and after Covid, youtube peaked. Then suddenly there was increase in wanna-be equipment reviewers.Long form content seems to be doing better than short form but Its still mainly boring.
With regard to attention span, I would argue that one of the reasons that attention span is shrinking is that fewer people are communicating meaningfully and intentionally, and it's off-putting to those of us who want to know that the time we spend comsuming that content is going to be beneficial to us in some way.
Whether it's print media or broadcast media, there seems to be a lack of ability to structure communication to draw people in. Either writers and creators haven't been taught how to instantly draw people in, or they are ignoring what they've been taught.
What I've observed in print and broadcast media is this unnecessarily long tease of what the content is going to be about, assuming it's about anything at all. We're talking basics here - an introduction with a preview or brief synopsis of what's going to be covered, then getting into it in an ordered and cohesive format, followed by a conclusion or wrap-up.
Instead, especially on TH-cam, what I encounter all too often is a minute or two of yammering on without any discernable purpose, followed by 10-15 minutes of random thoughts that have no particular direction. What scares me is that I suspect that TH-cam's own artificially manipulated algorithms might be driving the trend. Quite frankly, it pisses me off. If they can't immediately indicate to me that they've thoughtfully created content that's going to benefit me in some way, I move on.
Conversely, I'll read an article that's pages long or watch a video that's 30+ minutes if the writer or creator did their damn job and gave me a compelling reason to continue reading or watching. I'd sooner watch a 25-minute video from Tony and Chelsea than a 5-minute video from some of the others out there.
So, my observations and response to attention span metrics is that they are being affected by poorly crafted content, content that's just vomited up with less planning and purpose than you would use to make a PB&J sandwich. We're really going to start seeing the creme rise to the top soon, in all media, because there's such a deluge of crap that people are losing interest.
I created my videos with key points right at the beginning and go deeper into the analysis as I go on. Some complain about the length, but I'm not writing content to the 3 minute mark. Its as long as it needs to be to convey the message.
Thank you so very much for sharing some straight talk with the TH-cam creator community. As a small (very, very small) channel, I've often found the world of TH-cam frustrating and demoralizing, but those feelings always come up when I pay too much attention to growing on TH-cam and not enough attention to my own creative energy and the fulfillment of my personal vision. Your video could not have come to me at a better time, and you've reaffirmed what I've known all along: The greatest rewards that creatives can hope for are the rewards that have no monetary value. Making money is not always fun, but creativity is. Thanks again.
I learned photography through this and few other channels, but throughout years I keep watching less photography channels . To this one I welcome back . Keep up
"Most people have dropped off by now." That got a smile out of me!
As a small creator, I tried going the route TH-cam keeps pushing and it was honestly soul sucking. I’ve lost a ton of subscribers and views but I’m finally doing something that I enjoy. It’s been frustrating and have noticed it’s so much harder to push new types of content
I stopped caring about the number of subscribers, just keep pushing better content, trying different things. I have a core that loves it and appreciate the value I bring. I get tired sometimes and burned out, but it's not easy doing two different careers. I wish you well and glad you found your groove.
I know how you feel, I don't do YT for the money and 3.3k subs I get a steady monthly amount but it doesn't really cover costs of making the content. But still, it's hard not to get sucked into focusing on the view counts.
I think all discussions about being a TH-cam creator should be divided into people doing it for fun and those trying to make some kind of living. The best advice for each is quite different.
From the creation of our channel, my goal has been to share information through our videos and to drive business to our website. It has been fun, but very expensive. So far, it does not pay. And TH-cam makes me crazy!
Thanks for this inspirational and comforting talk. I feel my channel is moving at Andy's tunnel pace, just hope it won't take 19 years 🙂
I had thought about doing TH-cam for years, never took the plunge as I was camera shy and didn’t know how to edit video…
I feel a level of regret not trying sooner, but it is what it is…
I’ve started posting now mostly because I realised all the closest people in my life don’t actually care about tech as much as I do…
So I will use as an outlet to voice opinions and if any successes come from it, great! If not… it’s so far been fun talking to people in the comments section and learning
Don't worry about anyone seeing your content. Your friends won't find you - it's just how the formula works. Once I realized this, I became relaxed. Just play around, try new things and learn. Set some goals and objectives and revisit your vision from time to time.
When you do get big enough for people to find out, your content won't be embarrassing from your viewpoint. But the best part, is learning something new all the time - it's a great hobby, and when you do get monetized, no matter how little, your hobby starts paying for itself.
@@OrdinaryFilmmaker thanks for the words of encouragement - Tbf, I’m over the idea of people I know finding my content, if anything it could help views lol…
I notice in my life, depending on who I’m talking too my speaking subtly changes.
If I’m talking to the guys, a little more bass in my voice might come out… if I’m talking to someone shy, I might sound a little more enthusiastic to help relax them a bit etc… talking to a camera? Zero feedback and I’ve been a little inconsistent in my videos.
Just had a scroll through your page, you’ve had some great success at 50k subs… will check out some of your videos on my way into work shortly…
I am retired and do not need to make money at TH-cam. I have had fun with it and earned enough money to buy better cameras. Because of TH-cam I have been asked to work on projects for the local Historic Society. It also helped me get a grant to make displays and videos for a local historic site. Being a TH-camr is just fun and I do not feel any pressure.
I saw your entire video. Yes, I do TH-cam for fun. To me, TH-cam is as a platform that hopefully, if I live long enough, I can reflect or reminisce on the times when I was younger and the places that I went to. It's great that I'm able to share with people on the internet. It brings me joy.
i've been on youtube ever since the beginning(2005) but only as consumer, only in the last few years(mainly due to the *global incident that shall not be named) that i decided to get into it.. somewhat. i never stop watching you guys, and being watching you guys since almost the beginning of the channel(also), your transition into not only a camera channel is refreshing.
Apart from your knowledge about everything photography your strongest point is that you are nice, honest and open-minded people.
I've been subscribed for years, but I wasn't watching any photo-related YT content for a long time while I was in grad school. I recently was looking into upgrading my camera, and realized that I hadn't seen a video from y'all hit my sub box in at least a couple of years. After searching for and watching your review of the a7r ii I was looking to buy, I've since seen all of your new content in my sub box. The algorithm is tricky, and I wonder if it's more "all or nothing" with niche content like this.
Same for Instagram. Corporations doing their algorithm hell and it causes that everything is worse for everyone. We can’t win.
I'm in the UK and I love your YT content. You've helped me to get the right settings etc. Keep up the good work.
I've been subscribed to you guys for about 7 years, with notifications enabled. Yet, for some reason, TH-cam started to show less and less videos from you in my feed, to the point where I had forgotten about the channel until today, when I saw this video in my feed. I think the last time I saw one of your videos in my feed was about 6 months ago, or maybe more. Subscriptions and notifications mean shit to TH-cam these days. They will show you whatever the algorithm thinks will engage you.
I’ve heard from a lot of people that they stop getting notifications about our videos
I think this is an incredibly important topic right now, with more and more people trying (and failing) to make it on social media. So thanks for doing a deep dive and actually getting the data, etc., this was an interesting video. Especially getting to hear your perspectives as people who've been on the platform and creating for so long.
I really liked the graphs too.
You two are a great double act - have been subscribed to you for years and very much appreciate the content you create
I am down around 20% every month since about November.
Oof I’m sorry. It’s definitely tough and being able to see a downward trend is hard to watch.
Thanks. This is a great video. So many excellent points. A lot of this resonates with my experience in recent months. Something is clearly changing.
Anything that is saturated is hard.
That s what she said
💯
As a photography enthusiast, I have been following your channel for ~ 10Y. Primarily - thanks guys for doing this. As a footnote, I have a broad spectrum of interest, and a short attention span, so I watch almost all instructional videos in double speed mode. As long as I can follow the speech, that's fine by me.
Interesting, still following your channel, not sure how many years it has been now but still enjoying it.
Me and my wife started a podcast for fun. No money coming from it haha I already do my church’s livestream on TH-cam with my cameras so decided to use them during the week for a podcast. Literally just feels like we’re just talking and catching up and just spending time together. So knowing we aren’t making money takes away any pressure on “making it” lol
Whatever lens you’re using here is extremely sharp. Looks great!
Been following for many years and enjoy your NO affiliation and sincere opinions
I think your channel is excellent. When I moved to the Hasselblad X2D system, your channel was one of the main ones I consulted/watched. I was not 100% sure I was doing the right thing - but your views and opinions clarified in my own mind that the X2D was right for me and my landscape & travel photography. Long may you be successful on youtube. Thanks
Thank you Tony and Chelsea for this video. I needed your tips.
Great video! I learned the basics of photography from you and your book and am loving the journey of continuing to learn how to create content that produces real value. Because I’m an educator, I’m lucky to not depend on any income from TH-cam but am so happy there is this place for me to create and access an audience.
This was my first time watching you guys and I must say, really great conversation. You hit the nail on the head with multiple things. I love the fact that you mentioned that you are not willing to create something for someone whose only interested in you getting to the point in 10 seconds or less because I feel the SAME WAY!
I have chosen to focus on viewers who are interested in watching long-form content and want the MEAT so that they can actually implement what they learned.
You can’t put it in the bank, but don’t forget your “psychic income “. I am one of many who count you both as teachers and mentors. Your work has guided my development in the hobby I love. You have produced joy and satisfaction and you have contributed to my steadily growing creative success. Although you will never put that on a deposit slip, it’s still “money” in the bank. Thanks for all you do.
That’s so nice to hear! We’re teachers first and it makes us so happy when we hear our work is helping people.
TH-cam never suggests this channel anymore. When I search camera topics I have to actually add Tony and Chelsea to the search. I have been subscribed since the beginning of the channel.
I agree. Its very annoying. This channel and a lot of other channels I have followed for years seem to be getting replaced with things Im less interested in. Also the algorithm is hopeless. I may look for instructional videos on something like fixing a tap and then for ages after watching that video Im bombarded with numerous DIY videos about tap fixing! It doesn't seem able to differentiate between long term interest and one offs.
That happens to me with creators I follow, too. I try to tell the algorithm I’m interested but they keep showing me new people.
@@chelseanorthrup8787 I’m all for giving new channels a little help but some of them have a ridiculous amount of views with minimal effort in their content. The algorithm has gone off the rails. This is still my favorite photo channel. I’ll just keep checking in to make sure I don’t miss out on anything 😂
Solid content. The experience of 15 years is invaluable, honestly.
I’m not a TH-camr. I just follow the two of you and watch the videos. My family used to own a camera store and photo lab in southeastern CT, so I grew up in the business. I enjoy photography as hobby and have learned a lot watching your videos and buying your books. I don’t know anything about the TH-cam business model. However, I do know that in any career you can only be successful by being yourself and doing your job because you love it. There are few people that are successful in any career they don’t love. Please continue doing the videos you love to do and not the ones you think you have to do just to get a few more followers and likes. I know that’s easy for me to say, but I think that’s the best model to survive in a very competitive marketplace where everything you do gets viewed under a microscope by someone that just wants to complain. I personally enjoy your videos and hope you continue to create and publish content.
Great video guys. Honestly, this doesn't even bother me because I'm a performing guitarist, been playing live for about 40 years now, but I have been on TH-cam for about 18 years, my 1st video upload was October 2006, and TH-cam was WAY different back then. My primary purpose of TH-cam was to spotlight my music, & how we ( my wife & I ) money was clients would see what I do & then hire us, so we made money through TH-cam by people hirings us, so all this worrying about money on TH-cam doesn't even phase us. I have heard of whole groups of people turning their backs on all social media in favor of just living a stress free life. The good thing about being a Baby Boomer is we don't need social media because we've always socialized in real life, now THAT'S LIVING!!! GREAT advice guys, you ROCK!!! Stay Creative, Live Life, Rock On & God Bless.
We absolutely live in a "instant gratification" era. I remember growing up and being annoyed that I would have to wait a week to watch the next episode of my favorite television shows, now I get annoyed when I see a news article and the information I'm looking for is not at the very top of the page. When I see an article saying "Blah Blah Item now down to lowest price ever", I want to open the page and see the article. I don't need a review or history of that product. And heaven forbid if the price isn't there at all but instead a link to see the price. I'll block those channels and pages immediately. When it comes to channels that I know have information that will be useful for me, I don't mind turning it on and sitting through an hour or more, one of reason I enjoy this channel. There's always news, opinion, comparisons that aid me in the choices I make later on.
I had to edit this to add that I've heard the name Mr. Beast before but honestly, I have no idea who that is, what they do or why they are important, celebrity or popular.
I'm curious how many viewers who don't feel overwhelmed and skip your comment because it's more than a couple of sentences. How many will actually read your comment in entirety.
@@TransConBrilliance good point!
You guys hit the nail right on the head. I've just started but I've noticed a video will get some traction and suddenly it just cuts off like YT just stops showing it even though it was trending compared to all my others.
Chelsea & Tony - interesting and unique video - loved it!
Would you please post a link to the referenced stats?
Yes we added a link to where I got most of the info
As a photographer who is working on creating a channel about my photographic art (capture and editing), I am still optimistic about doing it. Even though I know it is a saturated area, I think I have some unique approaches to teach it on You Tube (mostly in creative editing). Time will tell how it goes. This channel helps motivate me and I watched it for years. Whether I am part time now or full time in the future that is fine for now. I will add e-courses and affiliate product reviews.
I have learned and continue to learn a ton from watching your channel. Thank you for all of the great content, y’all are the best!
It's interesting hearing your perspective. Being old myself, I stayed to the end. I started my channel to learn new skills and hope to save a few hundred a month for my next camera. I never expected to turn it into a real business, but did that last year incorporating. I want this to be my retirement gig, but love doing it and want to keep doing it, trying new things If I am not very popular, that's fine. I need this to be fun, building a community. Thanks for your perspective - all good and healthy advise. I just need more sleep. Doing this and a day job is a challenge, but its building to 2029 retirement date ;)
Best of luck and I hope you get that sleep 😂
Well the bigger channels might be down in their stats, my small channel, like many other small channels are up in their stats... So youtube and its audience seemed to have switched focus.
Watching all the way through, great information thank you.
Great commentary on the state of TH-cam. The insight you guys have on this topic is really interesting. I don’t feel sad I didn’t become successful on TH-cam personally. It’s still fun to make a vid now and then regardless.
A lot of people are saying how hard it is to find their favorite creators on TH-cam. I subscribe to the creators I want to see and then just click on the Subscriptions menu on the side and watch everyone I like and I don't miss any. That way it doesn't matter what TH-cam is recommending, I get the creators I want, especially Tony and Chelsea (shameless plug).
A problem is that here are too any creators, many of whom make poor presentations - not very informative or not presented well. It seems to me that there are many copy cat presenters who see something that they think they can do, but do a bad job of it. I have several interests that I view on TH-cam, including photography, politics, and drawing. I have narrowed down my preferred presenters to just a few for each interests. But of course, occasionally a new good one will pop up. I don’t have the time to explore the new ones.
Niche is the best! It's like a "small town feel." Lots of polite interaction from people who are passionate about your interests. I watched Mr Beast once. Once. I regretted it immediately. It was obvious that that channel and I have nothing in common. Your channel is the best balance. Keep up the great work!
Add my channel to the list of channels experiencing a downturn in revenue and watch time, while still growing in subscribers, but at a slower rate. In my case, I think the pandemic lockdown was ultimately good for views and subs, and helped push us over 100k about a year later. Yes, I agree I cannot be somebody else to gain viewers. While paying attention to what my crowd likes and wants, I have to make content I like and want, and figure it will get discovered by those who appreciate it. For awhile, I thought the most important thing I could do was create a lot of content to get my total number of videos up. Now, with way over 2,000 videos, I am seeing which styles attract more viewers and subs, and I am cutting back on some types of videos that used to get more views than they do now. The wants of viewers are changing. And, yes, it galls me to see AI-generated fluff and garbage that gets a ton of views, but I will credit some channels for smartly using at least CGI to tell a legitimate story. And kudos to the way you both come across, sitting there chatting with us. Inspires me to want to do better on camera. Every once in awhile, I throw in a camera/lens review on my channel since photography and videography are at the heart of much of my work. Even if those videos do not generate the most views, i always hear form some interested viewers who appreciate learning about the gear. So -- gotta stop now and watch your Advanced Wildlife & Bird Photography video, since some of the same equipment and practices pertain to my own air show and aviation photography needs.
12 years on TH-cam and still not monetized, I enjoy making the videos but I feel frustrated at times with the algorithm
Thanks for your insights, T&C! One aspect you touched on but didn't explore deeper was the percent of the money that goes to the creator. Besides the middlemen taking most of the payment, there's google itself. Google used to pay more per view, more per ad, etc. I don't have the figures, although I assume you know it, but my sense is that google has been reducing their payments year by year so that they keep most of the advertising money.
I have had a camera in my hand since the age of 14; I am now 75. I am still an amateur who is still learning. Your channel is the first I turn to when I am in doubt. Thank you for all you taught me. Keep doing what you are doing because it works.
Thank you! We’re so grateful we get to be a part of people’s photo journey
For some reason my youtube started to auto populate to your intro video and it was driving me up a f*cking wall. Finally after a few weeks I decided to watch one of your videos and seriously, I'm really glad this happened. I love all that you guys do, love your personalities and the qualtiy of your content. Thankyou for doing you.
3:39 I make exactly as much on TH-cam to buy the cameras I like to use. My entire purpose for being on TH-cam has been fulfilled. Self-funding hobby
I have always loved your live shows since i first got into photography. Its my favourite part of your channel guys ❤
We can always count on you guys to tell it as it is. I am one of those channels that just passed the 10K mark. Yes there is stress, highs and lows, but overall learning and a lot and that is motivating, specially when I can share with an audience and hear that what I am sharing is helping. Now If we can go from motivation to a little cash, then I'll be set 😅
When I used to refresh YT, the suggested videos would be from larger content creators but over the last few months it's the smaller channels.
Really great info. Thanks for your research. And yes, it's gotten much harder.
It’s not you guys. You’re still the best. Not so New to your channel but watching all the time.
There's something you're overlooking in your analysis about attention spans: the increasing amount of ads that TH-cam has jammed into videos over that same timeframe. It really breaks my concentration, irritates me, and makes me far more likely to give up on the video when I get fed ad after ad, often including more instances of the same horrid ads that have already been served to me four times that day. Increasingly I also accidentally click ads that are plastering the bottom part of my phone screen when my fingers brush against them. The amount of sheer TH-cam greed with the amount of advertising is just off the charts now. It keeps me in a state of annoyance that makes it not only harder to concentrate on the content but more likely to click away when anything in the content bores or annoys me.
Google itself is struggling.
The internet started out as a great new landscape, but now that large $billion dollar corporations have taken over, and most companies have merged and consolidated. Remember the before times when google didn't own TH-cam?
Yeah. Corporations ruining everything. Ig was amazing now trash. TH-cam - hard to tell I am not yt creator and i am constantly finding great content here as user. But yeah. More and more creators definitely means lower overall reach
Great video guys! Many niches have bigger and bigger problems, including mine that is Astrophotography
A fascinating insight into Youtubing. I think that you are spot-on with the attention span reducing. This could be for various resaons. One because most younger generations want everything immediately. They are not prepared or using to waiting/gaining knowledge, infoe, results etc, and because with youTube, it's tied to how many hits you can achieve. The surging popularity of TH-cam shorts could also account for reduction of attention span, vs a full blown video of say 45 minutes. also agree about your comment onsponsored v non-sponsored chanells.
Love your content; great insights!
I started my channel at 49...still plugging away...it was to learn how to do video initially...now I'm just loving making things. Got my 1K now I need my watch hours, they'll come, eventually. Great video!
You two remind me of myself and Trudie my lovely wife we are only on the 150 thousand level with a completely different niche to yourselves and I love what I do trudie fits in with what I’m working on and she helps with all the media and photographs, sometimes I think the content just hits a wall and I never understand why I try to produce BBC quality productions sometimes it works and sometimes it doesn’t I agree there’s lots of competition but if you love what you do, it’s not always about the money, of course that’s if you’re not relying on it keep it up guys. I love your armchair chats 🤠🙋♀️
Thank you!
@@chelseanorthrup8787 LOL! I always see Tony in my mind reading something like this and being like, Whatever... next. But you are a great balance to Tony, because you help him to see that it is the people that are really the most important. Without Chelsea, Tony would be less. Probably likely the same vice-versa too; but it's so nice to see that women help men throughout life. Maybe not so much in their 20's and 30's, but women find out how to assert themselves to men in a way that makes them more equal at that age range than otherwise. Don't get me wrong, I think women's beauty is a ACE, but in terms of just mental-emotional balance and support; I think women help men far more than men help women. My mental health would be terrible crazy bonkers without my Trudie/Chelsea.
@@chelseanorthrup8787 by the way, I forgot to ask who does the editing of your chats because it’s really excellent and I know how much time that takes🤠
I’m own a TH-cam channel with 290K subscribers. I believe the main problem is the TH-cam algorithm. I used to have lots of views on my channel but not anymore. Now these days my new upload barely reach 2k views in one week it used to be over 300k few years in the past. I think TH-cam stopped recommending my videos to the right people to people who is interesting in the type of content I’ve been making for over 12 years. I came to a point where I started thinking that my content is not interesting anymore but few weeks ago one of my videos which is 2 years old with few hundred views suddenly started getting views and reached over 1,5 million views in 3 days. Thousands comments under that video and it seems people are genuinely interesting and love to watch it . That was a proof for me that I’ve been creating a right content. The problem is TH-cam still can’t deliver it to the right audience.
I was never able to find a "niche". I just enjoyed working with cameras, filming and coming up with content. My channel is all over the place, but I'm not in it for the money, just for the fun. Some videos do well, some just bomb. Started my channel at the time of the pandemic and needed something to do to pass the time in isolation. When its no longer fun to do then its time to move on.
My wife and I are 2.5 years into our small TH-cam channel. We are passionate about our niche, "history" but it has been a struggle to get views and subscribers. I will be honest, in the beginning our delivery was poor but I think we are slowly getting better at it. We endeavor to persevere! Hopefully one day we will figure it out. 🙂
We love history! I’ll check out your channel
I found that when I looked back on videos I created a month ago, I would cringe a little - this was a positive sign that I had improved over the time. Your eagerness to improve and teach while you learn can be intoxicating. Never lose the goal of having fun. Perhaps I should check you out - I love history myself.
@@OrdinaryFilmmaker For my day job (how I pay the bills), I am a professional archaeologist and historian. My wife and I are very passionate about historic-historical places. Our goal is to attempt to capture what we do for fun and that is go out every weekend and find history. Of course, we soon found this idea to be more difficult than easy. Feeling awkward in front of the camera... Forgetting what we wanted to say as soon as the record button was pressed... Then getting home and realizing that the audio quality was terrible, the video quality was sub-par. Then the daunting journey of learning video editing. The first time I loaded up Davinci Resolve, was like 'oh boy' where do I even start? We definitely started out thinking, well we managed to capture a perfect "fun with flags" vibe. I would like to think we are slowly getting better at it. It is baby steps. While it can be disheartening, we are definitely open to friendly criticism.
@@chelseanorthrup8787 Hi Chelsea, if you happen to watch a couple and if you have the time, let us know what you think. Feedback is always welcome.
I dove into TH-cam without knowing what I was really getting into. Needless to say my channel failed. I chose the wrong niche, I didn't have anything to sell, didn't know how to get sponsors, and the audience for the niche I chose don't accept the concept of things like Buy Me A Coffee, Patreon etc. The time to jump on youTube was back in 2004 to 2006.
After that it keeps getting more commercial and harder.
Great video guys. As a fellow TH-cam creator, I resonate with so much of what you say in this video. I have been frustrated recently with every video I make getting hundreds of views and then stalling. It feels like something has changed. My subscribers continue to grow but my views are not. It blows my mind! WHY subscribe and then NOT watch future videos?! It's crazy. P.S. My attention span lasted for the entire video! 😀👍
Love your content always as a very new beginner you help a lot.