It’s hard to understand YouTube sometimes. If you’re a creator, you probably have tons of questions that all start with the word “why.”

Why does YouTube get rid of features we love?

You’ve heard this phrase elsewhere, but it applies here too: 

. YouTube may be built on the foundation of “cool” creators, but it's still a for-profit business. It has to make tough decisions to survive, even while supporting the vloggers, teachers, and entertainers who make YouTube what it is.

 tells us how YouTube operates. As a former YouTube liaison, he listened to creators’ grievances and shared them with YouTube executives. Koval also showed creators how to thrive on the platform with in-depth video tutorials. Before that, he was a creator himself back in 2008.

Ready to learn some things you don’t know about YouTube? Here’s what Koval had to say about the platform.

1. YouTube Wants to Do What’s Best for Creators

You might see YouTube as this big, faceless entity, but real humans work there and want you to succeed. They worry about everything, from how new tools affect creators to grievances surrounding monetization.

“I think creators often see this giant machine owned by Google – owned by Alphabet – and they don’t realize it's full of hundreds of caring, super nice, intelligent people who are trying to do the right thing,” Koval says.

 from videos, creators were upset because they lost a signal for gauging value. They could no longer wonder, 

Should I watch this video? A lot of people dislike it.

YouTube had to look past that and think of creators first.

 For example, some viewers weaponized the dislike button to punish channels they didn’t like. YouTube removed the button to eliminate mob mentality and keep everyone safe.

: Trust YouTube, and have some empathy for the platform. YouTube is looking out for creators, even if that’s not always apparent.

2. YouTube Doesn’t ‘Promote’ Big Creators Exclusively

In his YouTube liaison days, Koval heard some complaints more than others. Sitting snugly at the top of that list was creators’ perception of mega channels. People with small audiences felt like YouTube favored the big stars, such as Jimmy Fallon and Stephen Colbert.

“The reality is that the more YouTube became legitimized in the world, those professional studios and networks and entities wanted to use it….You had professional comedians out there who’ve been doing comedy for years and are really funny,” Koval says. “You gotta give it to ‘em. Their videos would oftentimes outperform my videos as a comedian.”

6 YouTube Myths That Won’t Help Your Channel Grow

YouTube doesn’t push big creators. Instead, 

viewers “vote” for what they feel are the best videos

 by watching them at higher rates. YouTube tracks those trends, and then it shares satisfying videos with people who might be interested. It’s really about viewer satisfaction.

: Figure out your video format. Post your “rough draft” videos, analyze the results, and tweak your content to satisfy viewers.

3. The Most Important YouTube Metric Isn’t a Metric at All

 all the time. They’re great for analyzing your performance and making better videos, but did you know there’s something even 

According to Koval, this precious “thing” isn’t a metric at all. 

 – the broad topic you address in your content.

“You’ve got to pick something you are still going to love talking about five years from now,” Koval says.

How to Choose the Best Niche for Your YouTube Channe

Gaming is a popular niche, but that doesn’t mean you should start a Roblox channel to get more views. Before you do that, ask yourself if you even care about video games. Do you spend much time playing Fortnite, Roblox, Call of Duty – anything?

: Don’t take the shortcut to channel growth. YouTube doesn’t work that way, and people can tell when your heart’s not in it.

4. It’s True: YouTube Caters to Those in the Partner Program

Don’t take this one personally, folks. YouTube is a business, and businesses survive when they have enough money. Since advertising dollars are a large chunk of that revenue, monetized creators – such as those in the 

The advertising split on YouTube is 55/45, meaning creators get 55% of the revenue, and YouTube takes 45%. In 2021, YouTube made 

. The company might not be able to prioritize them on a large scale, but it tries to address their needs.

 if you need a question answered. This team of real humans is highly responsive, and they work hard to demystify YouTube.

“Some people complain that some of the replies are canned responses, but keep in mind, they respond in 40 different languages around the world,” Koval says. “It’s a huge challenge, but they’re doing a great job.”

: Try to understand that YouTube has to survive for creators to be there. No one wants creators to win more than YouTube because it’s the company’s entire business model.

Want to learn more about YouTube and how it works?

Here are six things the YouTube algorithm likes to see on creators’ videos.

Smiling man next to Tube Talk logo on dark background for video podcast branding

Former YouTube liaison Matt Koval helped creators succeed for almost a decade. Now he’s sharing years of advice for budding creators, plus the inner workings of YouTube itself.

Matt Koval Shares More Creator Advice After Nearly a Decade at YouTube

is no fun, but it’s necessary when a creator is irresponsible on the platform. Whether they’re posting abusive content or harassing someone (possibly even you), it makes YouTube less enjoyable. After all, you came for laughs and community – not mudslinging.

But reporting a user is serious. You want to make sure you’re doing it for the right reasons and not because the option exists.

Here’s why most people flag a channel on YouTube

Report a fake YouTube account or channel impersonation

Make YouTube aware of inappropriate content

Report harassment on YouTube (or bullying)

Stop the spread of misinformation/disinformation

Rather than flagging individual videos, you can 

report users on YouTube by visiting their channel homepage

Log in to YouTube and find the channel you need to report.

Select a reporting option from the drop-down menu: block user, report channel art, report profile picture, or report user.

Continue filling out the form to finish the report.

Unfortunately, you can’t report a YouTube channel on mobile. You’ll need to find a desktop computer and complete the steps above to file a report.

If you need to report a video (not a channel or YouTube user), follow these steps:

Click the menu icon (three horizontal dots) below the video you’re watching.

Choose a reason for reporting the video: sexual content, violence, abuse, spam, misinformation, bullying, etc.

Do you need to flag a YouTube video using your smartphone? Here’s how:

Tap the video frame, then tap the gear symbol that appears. Select 

FAQ: Is Reporting a YouTube Comment Anonymous?

Yes! According to YouTube, no one will know you’ve reported a comment. The same goes for videos, playlists, thumbnails, live chat messages, channels, and links.

Click the three dots to the right of the message and select 

Choose a reason, such as misinformation, hate speech, spam, or abuse.

You have the right to report comments, but 

be careful what you mark as spam on YouTube

. You might get banned from the platform if you misuse the feature.

The reporting system works well enough, but that doesn’t mean YouTube removes every piece of content someone reports. First, YouTube reviews the content to see if it violates community guidelines.

How many reports to take down this YouTube video? 

According to YouTube, no amount of reporting will make a difference if reviewers don't see a violation.

Reporting users is a bit of a downer, so let’s brighten things up with a better YouTube task: 

Here are six ways to partner with creators for awesome YouTube collabs.

Man focused on laptop screen while sitting on couch in modern living room

Not every creator has your best interests at heart. When it comes to bullying, harassment, and other harmful acts, here’s how to report irresponsible channels.

How to Report a YouTube Channel In 5 Easy Steps

You know what they say about comfort zones: 

. The only thing brewing in that cozy bubble is fear, doubt, and a hesitancy to try new things.

. It’s a fun way to build a community or grow a business, but sometimes there’s a tiny voice whispering, 

, how to quell that fear. Portalatin is a real estate agent who joined YouTube to attract more leads for her business. Before making any videos, she spent months learning about YouTube while also questioning her decision to make videos.

Eventually, she forced herself to push through.

“If I don’t get started now, then I’ll never get started,” she says of that moment. “I’ll never see how I can grow. Other creators who started when I should have – maybe six months before – they’re way ahead of me now. It’s just something I needed to do.”

Is something holding you back from joining YouTube? Keep reading to discover how Portalatin silenced the doubt in her mind.

On YouTube, perfectionism is a side effect of watching people make fantastic videos. You see their crystal clear footage and wonder how you could measure up to 

. The playing field isn’t even right now. It’s OK to acknowledge that.

Instead of feeling intimidated and deciding not to post, just upload what you have. Give yourself time to figure out YouTube and develop those video skills.

“I went ahead and uploaded my first video, which was terrifying for me, but I did it,” Portalatin says. “I guess I was just procrastinating, and then one day I decided that 

2. Find Support In the YouTube Creator Community

You might be a solo creator, but you don’t have to do YouTube alone. You can join friendly communities to find support, mentors, and even 

Portalatin found her community on Clubhouse. Initially, she came to soak up advice, but she eventually took the stage in YouTube growth rooms.

Those were challenging moments because, as a self-proclaimed introvert, Portalatin didn’t want the attention. But stepping into the spotlight helped her meet new people.

“I had access to all these big and smaller creators to get all the information that I needed so I could start my channel,” Portalatin says. “It was great, and the community is so welcoming. I’m so appreciative that I was able to take advantage of that, and that helped me get on my journey.”

Want to network with small creators? Join our Clubhouse room, 

3. Don’t Stress Over Buying the Right YouTube Equipment

Viewers don’t care what kind of technology you used to make a video. YouTube is a chill platform, so it doesn’t matter if you're posting 4K footage or the standard 1080p. As long as viewers can see and hear you clearly, you’ve done a great job.

“That’s another thing that held me back in the beginning: the equipment,” Portalatin says. “I was listening to [people] in the rooms on Clubhouse talking about all the gear they use, and I wanted to do that. I wanted to have the best gear.”

Need a YouTube Camera? 5 Reasons to Use Your Smartphone

But you don’t need fancy equipment, she says. Portalatin has a Canon M50 but shoots on an iPhone for convenience. It’s easy to carry, and there are no complicated settings to tinker with.

4. Make YouTube Less Intimidating by Using vidIQ

YouTube isn’t the monster you think it is when you have support. Help from family and friends makes a difference, but so does having the right 

 to grow her channel with robust data. Her favorite tools are the video tag suggester and the Daily Ideas generator, which recommends new videos for her channel.

Best of all, you can get those free vidIQ tools by 

Daily Ideas from vidIQ - More Video Ideas to Spark Your YouTube Success

The ability to track one trend on YouTube

“We offer a free tier for a reason,” vidIQ executive producer Vyyyper says. “As a new creator, you should not be spending unnecessary money because you don’t know if this is something you’re going to be committed to. You don’t know if you’re going to enjoy creating content.”

 offers a thumbnail preview tool, keyword research tool, title recommendations, and bulk options for creating YouTube descriptions and channel-wide tags.

So now you know: YouTube is not as scary as it seems. You have both people and technology to help you get started.

Speaking of starting, here are 10 tips for building a successful YouTube channel.

Starting a YouTube channel doesn’t have to be scary. Give yourself a positive push with the right tools and endless creator support.

4 Tips to Conquer Your Fear of Starting a YouTube Channel


If you’re wondering what it’s like to 

, Roberto Blake just did you a huge favor.

On Feb. 12, the creative entrepreneur and YouTube veteran posted a Twitter thread describing life as a digital entrepreneur. He revealed what it’s like to make videos 24/7 and obsess over posting the “right” content. Because, hello: 

Here are some interesting points from the thread:

It all sounds a tad discouraging, but it’s better to know what you’re up against.

Is Your YouTube Channel on Track to Become a Business? Here are 5 Positive Signs

 to better understand this lifestyle. McFadden has more than 200,000 subscribers, and he’s also a full-time YouTuber of two years. His popular videos – Apple product reviews and discussions – spurred him to a YouTube career at just 55,000 subscribers.


“If I’m making more money on YouTube than my full-time job, why would I stay [there]?" McFadden says. “Shouldn’t I just leave the job and go focus on YouTube?”

Are you considering the same path? Here’s what to expect as a digital entrepreneur on YouTube.

You’ll Have More Control as a Full-Time Creator

One thing you can't do with a traditional job is set your own schedule. Companies have strict business hours, and employees must work within those intervals to succeed.

But that always bothered McFadden. He didn’t like giving up control to bosses and CEOs, especially with YouTube being a self-directed job.

“I love waking up in the morning [knowing] my day is my day,” he says. “At this point, I can decide, '

Do I want to do a video? You know what, maybe I’m not going to do [one]'

. I’ll go do something else. I'll relax.”

 takes more doing than relaxing. But at least you have the option of choosing which days you’ll go hard and which days you’ll take it easy.

Going from Employee to Boss Is a Slow Transition

It’s easy to imagine some creators were instantly successful. You see their massive subscriber counts and can’t help but compare their journey to yours. You think, 

How long would it take me to get there? They’re earning a full-time income.

Just look at McFadden’s YouTube journey:

McFadden’s story isn’t one of overnight success. It’s a nine-year journey filled with multiple twists and turns, revealing how much of a grind YouTube is. It’s also a risky bet. McFadden worked full-time for two years even while banking large YouTube checks.

“I was very cautious, obviously,” he says. “On YouTube, you can be a flash in the pan one month and do great. The next month, you can be out on the street again doing nothing.”

Full-Time YouTubers Have Multiple Streams of Income

The career YouTubers we’ve spoken with make money in several ways. 

. YouTube expert Alan Spicer had the same mindset in a recent TubeTalk episode. He shared many ways for creators to make money, and most were outside of YouTube.

7 Lucrative Ways to Make Money Beyond YouTube

Here are the revenue sources creators keep talking about:

 from this list: YouTube AdSense, affiliate revenue, sponsorships, and merchandise. So even if your channel takes off, diversifying your income is a proven way to launch a YouTuber career.

A YouTube Career Comes with Constant Marketing

Are you ready to put on your business hat? Because that’s what full-time creators wear when they’re running a channel by themselves. 

Sure, they may have a business manager for 

. But no matter who’s on your team, self-promotion is a must.

“The business aspect of being a creator is something I kind of don’t like to deal with,” McFadden says. “Some creators are a lot better at it than I am. I don’t advertise a lot of stuff I do, which is not good.”

Remember: A YouTube channel isn’t your only income stream, but it 

your best marketing tool. So posting videos (without promoting anything inside them) isn’t enough. You also need to promote your products, courses, or any service that pays your bills.

YouTube Is Fun, But You’ll Work Hard for That Perk

McFadden thinks all jobs are demanding in their own right. Whether working at McDonald’s or grinding away at an office, there’s always a task that wears people down. A common misconception – especially among viewers – is that YouTube is different. All you have to do is talk to a camera and get paid, right?

Not quite. YouTube creators have many hidden talents:

Graphic design skills to create thumbnails

Video production (lighting, camera setup, etc.)

Persevering through negative channel growth

“I probably spend more time being a content creator and focusing on [this] job than I did working a 9-to-5,” McFadden says. “I think that’s pretty much a guarantee at this point.”

The good news? None of it feels like work when you enjoy content creation. It’s a labor of love.

So here’s the big question: Are you ready to become a full-time YouTuber?

Before you do, master these five skills to ensure your success. 

Man in brown leather jacket hosting Tube Talk podcast with gaming-themed background

'YouTuber' is a popular career choice in 2022. But what does that look like for the average creator?

What Is it Like Being a Full-Time YouTube Creator?

Have you ever wondered what goes through a viewer’s mind as they watch YouTube? 

 will give you a partial answer when you look at click-through rates, audience retention, and subscribers gained per video. This information is good to know, but it’s not the only path to understanding viewers.

. Asking questions like, “Why didn’t you watch my last video?” or “Why did you click away in the first 30 seconds?” provides an answer data won’t reveal.

, a YouTube fanatic who spends three hours a day on the app. As a public relations guy, he’s not on a quest to 

 and launch a video career. Instead, he uses his professional eye to critique content while enjoying tech, gaming, and anime videos.

To help creators understand viewers, Aydin and vidIQ executive producer Vyyyper play a game of 

. We totally made that up, but the game reveals why Aydin (and possibly other viewers) ignore some YouTube videos to watch others.

What makes you click on a YouTube thumbnail?

I look at a thumbnail, and if it looks relevant to something I’m looking for, I’ll click on it. If it seems unrelated to the content, I probably won’t click as quickly.

But I also don't think too much about it. I don’t look at a thumbnail and say, 

Oh, I’m not going to click on this because of the thumbnail

. That doesn’t deter me too much. It’s more of just, if I see three thumbnails, there might be one I click first. 

Is this the one that has the answer to my question?

 Is this the one that has the content I'm looking for?

YouTube Thumbnail Guide - 9 Ways to Boost Click-Through Rate

One thing that makes me think twice before clicking on a title is 

, I’m going to get a little suspicious. I’m going to be thinking, 

Are you tossing every word in there to get me to click?

Which title would you click? 'Let’s Talk About the iPhone SE 3' or 'This iPhone Will Change the Way We Look at iPhones Forever.'

The first one. It might be because of my background in PR, comms, and messaging, and just seeing all the headlines. I’m not a fan of clickbait like that. 

The second title doesn’t really tell me anything.

That title can be applied to every year in the tech industry. Every year someone says product X is going to change the game – every iteration, whether it’s a Galaxy phone or it’s an iPhone.

, sure. I haven’t heard about that iPhone yet, or I don’t know much about it. 

So yeah, let’s talk about it. Teach me something.

How long do you watch a video before deciding if it’s worth your time?

I would probably watch for a minute and 30 seconds

. Before clicking out, I’ll fast-forward to see the rest of the video if the intro is taking too long.

, I 100% use them because it's easy to jump to a section and say, 

Let me try this part and see if it’s what I’m looking for.

YouTube Audience Retention - 3 Channel Boosting Secrets You Need to Know

What do you expect to see in the first 30-60 seconds of a video?

I like to see the creator get to the meat of the topic. Fancy intros are great. They’re cool. But after a while, if the opener is from someone I know, 

Where do you think creators should place ads in their videos?

At the beginning of a video. If you put an ad in the middle, there’s a 50% chance I’m going to click out.

How can creators make the viewing experience better on YouTube?

. I go there to see if the video topic is what I’m expecting. I might not read the whole description because some of them can get pretty long, but I check to see if it reaffirms the content itself.

Also, if you’re making a video with a long, drawn-out intro that has additional background and historical information – but the main goal is reviewing a product – make those extra details a separate video. I’m here for the review. 

 for where the review begins, or if you’re going to do that, add video chapters so I can skip ahead.

Did you learn something valuable from this interview? 

Here are more tips to make the exact videos people are looking for.

Young man holding a 2018 superhero race medal outdoors, Tube Talk logo beside him

If people abandon your videos or ignore them altogether, you need to know why. Here's what one viewer says about the content they click and ignore on YouTube.

A YouTube Viewer Describes Which Videos They Click, Ignore, or Flee


YouTube is a tough gig to balance with everyday life. It takes time to make quality videos, and that clashes with so many things: working full-time, going to school, connecting with family and friends. The list goes on.

If you aren’t as productive as you want to be on YouTube, it’s time to improve your content workflow. These four tips will help you create more videos in less time.

Lydia Sweatt

Posts Written By Lydia Sweatt

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