For Those Who Think the YouTube Algorithm Hates Them...
Good morning! I too have 100% had times where I feel 100% that the algorithm (YouTube, Instagram, LinkedIn, etc.) is NOT my friend. Recently this has been the case with my YouTube channel. It seems like I am not getting the same reach on videos that I used to get, etc. etc. Then I decided to make a little video talking about a Settlers of Catan game that I scooped up on Facebook Marketplace -after pulling an all-nighter of watching YouTube and basically wasting time due to stress, indecision, etc. The video quickly got traction - much more than any other longer-form video that I've seen on my channel so far. By the end of the day it had over 100 views and over 10 likes. A few days later and YouTube has been putting it more on peoples' "Browse" pages when they first open up YouTube. Apparently it's been doing a half-decent job at helping people stay on the platform (which is one of the biggest things YouTube wants as they can serve more ads) so yeah the algorithm has been blessing it. A few days later and it has nearly 500 views (which is the most I've gotten on this channel with a longer-form video so far) and has converted 8 of those nearly 500 viewers into subscribers (about 2%). I put it as the front-page channel trailer video on my channel. I figured that if YouTube wanted to slap it on some peoples' home pages I could too. That's been leading to a continuous steady stream of new viewers. I'm sure it's been said many times but just having one video do decently well can lead to peoples' perceptions of your channel improving, directing your content in a clearer direction, etc. Back in 2023 I made a video on this channel (that at first was more self-development focused) about trusting God and that video ended up bringing in 7 new subscribers in the first few weeks, 200 views, and some comments. All of this data gave me help to pivot... which has brought the channel from 50 subscribers back then to a little over 700 now. I realize this is a lot. I share this for Future Me to consider and also for any of you who may be feeling frustrated about the YouTube Algorithm. We've definitely all been there. Keep changing things up, doing your thing, and making videos and yeah you'll likely see something magical from it in due time. Hope that was helpful. :)