If you're a regular, 9-to-5 employee, you have rules to follow. You’re expected to start work at a specific time, take breaks of a certain duration, and submit time-off requests before going on vacation. If you’re a woman with kids, the list gets longer. Planning for maternity leave or finding a babysitter are extra tasks to manage alongside work.

Things are different when you’re self-employed, especially on YouTube. You still have a boss, but he or she doesn’t control your day-to-day activities. Instead, you’ll answer to viewers looking for helpful or entertaining videos – and they don’t mind if you take a day off unrequested.

That’s why YouTube is a powerful platform for women. It helps them earn more money, close the 

 podcast, wants more women to seize this opportunity. She invites female creators on the show to share their experiences, which inspires other women to create on YouTube.

 and knows what the life of a creator entails. We sat down with her to learn how women benefit from treating YouTube like a serious, high-paying business.

Q: What inspired you to celebrate female creators on your podcast?

It happened in 2019 during the Social Media Marketing World conference. When they announced their speakers for the YouTube panels, they were all men – 

, and some other guys. I was really disappointed because about 

, and it was a conference for marketers. Rather than get mad, I figured I would try and do something about it.

I reached out to some women friends who do YouTube and asked if they’d be interested in doing a panel at Social Media Marketing World. They were like, yeah, sure. We're going to be there anyway. I pitched the idea of a “women of YouTube” panel to the guy in charge of booking. He liked the idea, but there was no space available.

He suggested doing it as a live stream instead. So he reached out to TubeBuddy to be the host, and they were in support of it. The live stream was successful, and a lot of people asked me to do more with it. Eventually, we launched the Women of YouTube podcast at VidSummit in 2019. Since then, we've been telling the stories of female creators to inspire and motivate women on YouTube.

Q: You’ve had so many women on the show. Motorcycle enthusiasts, beauty influencers, real estate agents…

I reach out to a lot of people. Yesterday I talked to Marielle of 

. She's a French-Canadian woman who is a mermaid. So she teaches people how to be a mermaid, and her business objective is to open mermaid schools around the globe.

; she's a fellow YouTuber. I spoke with a craft lady. I have 

, who talks about getting a job at Amazon. That's what her whole YouTube channel's about, so there are lots of different verticals.

Q: What have you learned from your podcast guests about growing on YouTube?

The number one thing is that they had a purpose on YouTube. It wasn't to become a famous YouTuber or whatever dumb reason some people join the platform for. They had figured out what a business looks like through YouTube because once you hit a certain growth point, that’s what it becomes. It's like, how do you 

, sponsorships, affiliate marketing, and things like that? Seeing the different ways people make money is really interesting.

What's also interesting to me is that some women have trolls and crappy people comment on their videos. One woman, literally, was being harassed and stalked by a man. She had to hire someone to reverse engineer his IP address, and she had her lawyer send him a cease and desist letter. She had to go through some seriously savage, deep web stuff to get this person to leave her alone.

Do I think men get harassed and have to deal with crappy things? Absolutely. However, I think it’s more widely done to women. There's a safety concern I never thought about before, and all of this came to light while hosting the podcast.

Q: What makes your guests successful on YouTube despite those challenges?

Because where there's one shitty thing, there are a hundred awesome things. People will straight up comment, "Why are you so fat?" on my channel. At the same time, I will have hundreds of people comment, "This was so helpful. Thank you so much. This was direct, to the point, and exactly how I wanted to consume this content."

Q: Why did you decide to start a YouTube channel?

I got on YouTube because my husband was moving overseas. We were a military family, Air Force specifically, and I needed to have a way to keep getting leads to my social media agency. Not just because it gave me money. It provided money for the military spouses that worked with me. There was a clear objective to this. I grew up a military kid, and I became a military spouse.

One of the biggest things we deal with in the military spouse community is unemployment and underemployment. It's like this combination of two things. Our unemployment is high and our underemployment is high because you get to these points where you’re doing whatever you can to make money. Selling cookies. Watching kids. Taking shitty jobs in the town you live.

I'm looking forward to teaching both of my children, especially my daughter, that you can forge a path of your own making without relying on someone else to give you money.

Q: How do women benefit financially from being on YouTube?

My advice to women who want to invest their money, buy a home, travel, or have the freedom to take six months off of work is to start a YouTube channel.

Anything you’re doing as a job, you can do on YouTube and make additional money. It’s more sustainable than driving for Uber or delivering groceries. YouTube provides longevity and growth, so starting a channel now is investing in your future. I have three-year-old videos that still bring me money.

My daughter is Latina, and I always think of ways to make the world better for her. With everything I’m doing, I'm showing her that she can live a good life and control every part of it. My income starts and stops with me – not with getting a job or relying on an algorithm to give me AdSense dollars. If I want more advertising revenue, I’ll make videos that target my demographic better or choose a high-paying vertical. You can future-proof your income on YouTube.

Q: Who are some female YouTubers inspiring other women to create on the platform?

. They’re from different backgrounds and they all talk about the power of YouTube.

Jessica Stansberry just hit 100,000 subscribers. She teaches women to build a life and a business of their own making, and that evolved from YouTube education. Our girl Meredith talks about YouTube, but she does it from a side hustler’s perspective. Trena, she's all-in on YouTube education. Diana talks about live streaming and camera gear, and Salma shares YouTube education and video marketing tips.

Q: What are some books people can read to grow on YouTube?

." I like it because it’s for the advanced use of YouTube. "

" by Amy Schmittauer is what got me on track, though. Lilly Singh's book, "

" by Sean Cannell and Benji Travis is an option. Also, my book, "

Q: Any advice for those who want to start a channel but need ideas?

There are lots of topics to cover. You can sit down right now and write 10 things you could talk about without any problems. That's 10 videos, which equals 10 weeks of content. From there, you'll be so surprised at all the other ideas you discover. More topics will come to you as you write or research video ideas.

Are you a woman looking to start a YouTube channel? In this Q&A, Desiree Martinez of the Women of YouTube podcast offers tips and inspiration for getting started.

‘Women of YouTube’ Q&A: Building Careers, Passive Income, and More

YouTube has finally launched Shorts beta, an in-app camera for recording, editing, and posting TikTok-style videos, in the U.S. The rollout was announced on March 18 via the official 

“Starting today and over the next several weeks, we’ll gradually expand our Shorts beta to the U.S.,” YouTube Shorts Product Lead Todd Sherman writes. “We plan to introduce more features as we continue to build Shorts alongside creators and artists.”

The new features will help creators make better short-form videos. External audio, a text tool, and even Shorts monetization could be just around the corner for many creators.

Our first impression of this news mirrors what we’ve been saying all along. If you weren’t making Shorts before, now is a good time to start. These new Shorts features, which we discuss in the video below, confirm that short content is here to stay on YouTube.

This is it, creators. Shorts are about to get fancier, which means the competition around vertical, less-than-a-minute videos will be steep. Here’s what you need to know about the latest features heading your way.

YouTube is adding text controls to Shorts, and it's similar to what you’d see on TikTok or Instagram Stories. This is something most YouTube creators haven't used yet, so it’ll be interesting to see what they do with it.

Text controls are an add-on to original Shorts tools (which Indian creators received in the first rollout), including:

2. Add Audio From Other Shorts to Your Shorts

Soon, you’ll be able to add external audio to your Shorts. That means you can sample sounds from other creators’ Shorts as you’re editing your own content in the Shorts camera.

This is a fresh, creative opportunity. YouTube has billions of videos, and you can use the audio from any one of them to put a creative spin on your content.

“trying your hand at a creator's latest recipe”

For now, creators can opt-out if they don’t want their videos to be remixed by others. Does that mean everyone is opted in by default and must remove themselves from video sharing if desired? Maybe so, but YouTube hasn’t clarified yet.

3. Add Songs From Major Music Labels to Your Shorts

In other copyright news, YouTube is making music from major labels and publishers available for Shorts use. The platform has strict guidelines around 

, so this feature may inspire some changes, especially if Shorts monetization becomes a thing. How will music copyright be treated going forward? Will there be a revenue split between YouTube, musicians, and video creators? We'll have to wait and see.

4. Seamless Viewing Experience For Shorts

YouTube wants to help viewers find more of what they enjoy via Shorts. In the coming weeks, you can expect new features for discovering music, video creators, and artists. If you’re a creator looking to get discovered, this news is for you.

On the YouTube homepage, there will be a row of content for Shorts, as shown below. 

Also, viewers will be able to swipe up to see one Short after another in some areas of the app. And YouTube is testing a Shorts mobile tab that supports one-tap viewing.

Additionally, music-based creation and listening will improve. If you hear a song you like while watching a Short, YouTube will help you find the full song or music video. There will also be a create button to make your own Short using that audio.

YouTube’s Shorts player is mostly good, especially as a carousel of short content. One thing it’s lacking, however, is a way to switch between watching short and long videos. That’s an update we’d love to see, especially for creators who make longer, more traditional videos.

5. YouTube Shorts Monetization Is a Strong Possibility

Are you ready to make money from Shorts? Well, we've got good news. YouTube recognizes the power of mobile content and is thinking about paying Shorts creators.

“Over the last three years, YouTube has paid out more than $30 billion to creators, artists, and media companies," Sherman writes in the Shorts update blog. "We are deeply committed to supporting the next generation of mobile creators with Shorts, and are actively working on what monetization options will look like in the future.”

Still, Shorts monetization could be months away. The earliest we’d expect it is sometime near the end of 2021. When it does arrive, we’re wondering how YouTube will attribute Watch Time and subscribers earned from Shorts. Will it all go toward the 

requirements? Will there be a new monetization program for Shorts? It’s hard to predict what will happen next.

. Now that figure has doubled to more than 6.5 billion. That’s the equivalent of every person on the planet watching one Short each day.

This may be your last chance to earn some of those views before millions of U.S. creators do the same. Shorts have been 

, so if you’re interested, create and post your first Short today.

You can expect a seamless viewing experience, music from major labels, and in the distant future, perhaps Shorts monetization. 

These 5 YouTube Shorts Upgrades Will Help You Make Better Content

Do you live outside the U.S. and make money on YouTube? If so, you have a new tax responsibility this year. Creators in this group must submit tax information to Google or potentially have 24% of their revenue deducted for taxes.

As an example, let's say you make $100 on YouTube. If you don’t submit your tax information, the platform may automatically deduct $24 from your revenue. 

That's less likely to happen if you submit the appropriate information. In that case, Google will only deduct taxes from the income you earn from U.S. viewers. So if you earn $100, and only $20 comes from U.S. viewers, taxes will be withheld from the $20 portion – not the entire $100.

This isn’t a YouTube rule, per se. Google is doing this to comply with a U.S. tax law. On this 

, the platform posted the following update:

“Google has a responsibility under Chapter 3 of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code to collect tax info, withhold taxes, and report to the Internal Revenue Service (the U.S. tax authority, also known as the IRS) when a YouTube Partner Program creator on YouTube earns royalty revenue from viewers in the U.S.”

For more information, watch our video summarizing the new tax requirement:

Worried about your YouTube revenue? Here’s what you need to do to keep your taxes in check.

Submit Your Tax Information In Google AdSense

Non-U.S. creators may see taxes withheld from their revenue as early as June 2021. To avoid a general, 24% withholding, submit your tax information on Google AdSense by May 31, 2021.

Scroll down to the U.S. tax info section. Hover your mouse over the pencil icon and click 

Complete the questionnaire to determine which tax form you need to fill out. You can do this online, and the form will be available in the language of your AdSense account.

Need help reaching this section? Watch this video from 

Typically, individuals will fill out form W-8BEN and businesses will complete form W-8BEN-E. Before you do anything, speak to a licensed tax professional about your specific situation.

If you’re part of a multi-channel network, you still need to log in to AdSense and complete these steps.

How much you’ll be taxed depends on three things:

Whether your country has a tax treaty with the U.S.

Whether you’ve submitted your tax information to Google

How much of your revenue comes from U.S. viewers

If you submit tax information, you’ll see the withholding rate in the payments section of your AdSense account. This number is between 0% and 30% and will be applied to all U.S. revenue. That includes income from 

You may owe fewer taxes if your country has a tax treaty with the U.S. For example, creators in the United Kingdom and Canada could have a tax rate of 0%, thanks to treaty laws. In countries like Mexico or Korea, your rate could be 10%.

Living in a treaty location doesn’t qualify you for a tax benefit. But if you submit your tax information now, you have a chance to claim the benefit and reduce your tax responsibility.

Do Taxes Outside the U.S. Still Apply to YouTube Revenue?

Yes! You will still be taxed on income earned in your country, so do your research and plan ahead. Everything in this blog applies to the U.S. aspect of your taxable income.

Editor’s note: The information in this blog is not legal tax advice. If you need guidance, speak to a licensed tax professional.

Google will soon withhold taxes from your YouTube revenue. This only applies to non-U.S. creators, and there's a penalty for not submitting your tax information.

Non-U.S. Creators: Do This to Avoid a 24% Tax on YouTube Revenue

Of all the new viewers on your YouTube channel, how many return to watch more videos? If a large number of people keep coming back, that’s a good sign. On the flip side, having thousands of unengaged subscribers means you have some work to do.

This year, YouTube is helping creators bridge the gap. The platform has released a new feature that tracks both new and returning viewers to a channel. With these metrics, you can gauge long-term growth instead of temporary wins, such as going viral.

Here’s what it looks like in the YouTube Studio:

There are two new lines (metrics) on this graph. The blue one represents new viewers and the purple one shows how many viewers returned to your channel. When the purple line grows upward, so does your overall audience.

If the YouTube algorithm were something to beat, this would be a major cheat code. Keep reading to learn why returning visitors are worth more than subscribers and how you can leverage this new data.

How to See the Number of Returning Viewers to Your YouTube Channel

On the channel analytics page that shows views, Watch Time, subscribers, and estimated revenue, click the 

Next, you’ll see an audience graph tracking unique visitors and subscribers. But by default, you should land on a new section that shows new and returning viewers.

Need help finding this graph? Watch our video tutorial below:

How to Analyze Returning Viewer Data on YouTube

Getting more subscribers is great, but attracting viewers who keep returning is impactful. When you gain a subscriber, that means someone liked your content enough to digitally “bookmark” it. The best scenario is when that subscriber returns to watch more videos.

We can see the difference between both behaviors on the 

 channel. Here is our audience data for new and returning viewers within the past three months:

In the beginning, we attracted 15,519 returning viewers daily. By the end of this time period, our returning viewer count increased to 24,217.

As more viewers returned to watch our content, other metrics improved. Daily channel views increased from 58,604 to 89,593 views. And now YouTube’s algorithm is finding more viewers to watch our content. We can tell by looking at our daily impressions, which nearly doubled in that same period.

Our new and returning viewer data hasn’t always been positive, though. We posted a few videos about 

 – a creator who gets millions of views with each upload – and actually lost returning viewers. He’s a popular creator, so we did gain some new viewers. But overall, we attracted an audience outside our niche. Our core audience subscribed to learn YouTube growth tips.

Take a look at the graph below. It shows a spike in new viewers and a decrease in returning viewers to the vidIQ channel:

This shows a lack of focused content during our MrBeast experiment. We strayed from YouTube education so viewers didn’t watch as many videos.

On the flip side, here’s what the data looks like when we stick to our niche:

As you can see, new and returning viewers increased in this period. Below the graph, we can see which videos were published during this time:

"How to Get More Views and Subscribers on YouTube"

These videos are about YouTube channel growth. Each one sticks to our niche and creates the right conditions for a large, growing audience.

3 Examples of YouTube Viewer Graphs and What They Mean

As soon as we discovered YouTube’s new and returning viewer data, we asked the vidIQ community to share their analytics with us. This data comes from creators like you, so it’ll be helpful to learn from their successes and mistakes.

Here are three graph examples to diagnose why viewers are returning to or abandoning your channel.

From the data, it looks like this creator knew their audience well. Each video attracted returning viewers in the beginning. Unfortunately, a lack of consistency killed their momentum, which is proven by the disappearance of black play buttons underneath the graph. Those represent published videos. Return viewer growth began to flatten in January, but the solution is simple: Start creating again.

Graph 2: Popular Videos But Few Subscribers

This graph is a tale of two extremes. YouTube brought lots of new viewers to this channel every day, which is awesome. However, almost none of them come back.

Why does this happen? Most likely, one or a few videos drove traffic to the channel and caused their content to 

. But after watching those videos, perhaps viewers didn’t think the channel had anything else to offer them – hence, fewer people subscribing.

Graph 3: “Beating” the YouTube Algorithm

This channel seems to have endless growth. In this case, YouTube is finding new viewers that return to watch more content, which helps the channel grow.

, who creates custom, 3D-animated Among Us content. He has 3.5 billion subscribers and more than 2 billion views.

Jake’s channel has more returning viewers than new viewers, which means he’s basically beaten the algorithm – or reached peak content optimization. If you can get the purple line (returning viewers) above the blue line (new viewers), you’ve converted many new viewers into returning viewers.

4 Ways to Make Viewers Return to Your YouTube Channel

Attracting more return viewers leads to YouTube growth. Fortunately, convincing them to come back doesn’t require a complicated, exhausting strategy. You can follow the same core principles of 

Know your target audience and what they watch on YouTube

. Brainstorm video ideas they may enjoy watching.

Make simple, eye-catching thumbnails to increase clicks.

 You have a fraction of a second to convince viewers a video is worth watching, so make it count.

. A valuable or entertaining video has high audience retention and/or Watch Time.

 Don’t get sidetracked by unrelated topics; create the content your viewers subscribed to see.

There’s no beating the YouTube algorithm. All you can do is work with it to help your content reach more people. The first step is viewing, studying, and acting on insights from your channel analytics.

Are viewers returning to your YouTube channel to watch more content? Here's how to find out.

YouTube Cheat Code Unlocked: How to Track Returning Viewers on Your Channel

By now, plenty of creators know the value of YouTube Shorts. Creators with small audiences have posted vertical videos under 60 seconds, had that content featured on the Shorts carousel, and gained thousands of views and subscribers – sometimes in just three months.

Now that Shorts are a proven way to get discovered, how do you increase your views with each upload?

We’ve got one suggestion. Before you post anything, research different topics to see how many views they’re getting on YouTube. Use that information to 

, which is one that grabs the viewer’s attention and makes them watch in full. After that, it’s up to YouTube’s algorithm. As more people watch your Shorts, YouTube may place them on 

Topic research is the most important part, but it’s also time-consuming. Without the proper tools, you’d have to do countless YouTube searches and calculations to find viral opportunities.

Want to expedite the process? Use this one tool to get the data you need and increase Shorts views.

How to See the Most-Viewed Videos on YouTube

The secret to increasing Shorts views is simple. If you want the best chance of going viral, use the 

 tool. This digital gadget shows you the most-viewed videos on YouTube by genre or topic. After using it, you’ll know which videos are trending and whether it’s a good idea to capitalize on huge, cultural moments.

Here’s what the Most Viewed tool looks like:

A sort feature that shows results in three ways: total views, views per hour, and engagement.

A date range feature showing results over the last 48 hours, seven days, 30 days, or six months.

Lots of search filters. You can view videos by:

Want an in-depth tour of this tool? Watch our video tutorial for a visual rundown:

How to Get More Views on YouTube Shorts as a Small Creator

YouTube Shorts provide the biggest benefit for small, undiscovered channels. If you have less than 1,000 subscribers, here’s what you should do to increase Shorts views.

Returning to the Most Viewed tool, we’re going to run some topic searches in five simple steps:

 so you get results for as many videos as possible.

. YouTube advised creators to use this hashtag when Shorts were announced. This search term will show you brief, vertical videos instead of lengthy, horizontal ones.

After typing #Shorts, hit the spacebar and add your channel’s niche or a similar topic. That could be gardening, Minecraft, Bitcoin, seafood recipes, literally anything.

subscribers. This helps you find content from small creators getting lots of Shorts views.

. This lets you know how viral a video/video topic is.

When you run this search, be sure to do it multiple times while changing the date range. See which videos are getting the most views per hour within the past 48 hours, seven days, 30 days, and beyond. You can also experiment with the extra filters, such as video category, views, and views per hour.

This strategy shows you which Shorts people enjoy. So when you find videos with many views per hour, watch them in full. Dissect the visual elements and assess how entertaining the video is. Take notes on what you think interested viewers the most.

We’ve noticed that gaming videos become entertaining Shorts, so that’s worth looking into. If you’re a gaming creator, check out the views per hour on these Minecraft Shorts in the past seven days:

, getting 261.9 views per hour on a Minecraft Short. Considering the channel only has 363 subscribers, that’s a nice amount of views for a small creator.

And how about these results for the multiplayer game 

Here we have another small channel with 448 subscribers getting 1,000 views per hour on a Short.

How to Get Free Access to the Most-Viewed Videos Tool

So far, we’ve shown you how to research popular Shorts for any genre on YouTube. Now the only thing left to do is get the Most Viewed tool, run some searches, and use what you’ve discovered to increase Shorts views.

Getting the tool is quick and easy; simply 

 to download vidIQ for free. Your free download gives you limited access to the Most Viewed tool, but you'll need a Pro or Boost subscription to get full access.

Here’s how to find the tool on YouTube after you’ve downloaded vidIQ:

On the left navigation menu, scroll down and click 

That’s it! Now you can find viral Shorts opportunities. This tool will help you as you narrow down topics, post your first batch of Shorts, and get your YouTube channel discovered.

Did you know that YouTube Shorts get 3.5 billion views each day? Here’s how to snag some of those views as a small creator.

Do This One Thing to Increase YouTube Shorts Views

It’s true. On YouTube, some creators get thousands of subscribers in just a few days. Somehow they manage to post a video, get viral results, and watch their analytics soar for the next few weeks.

Most creators won’t see that kind of success. It can take hundreds of tries and years of work before they get a viral video. If you’re not committed to the process, it’s easy to put your camera down and walk away.

But what if just for a moment, you could see the future? What if in that far away scenario, you have 200,000 subscribers, a monthly side income of $2,000, and the opportunity to build a profitable brand?

It seems like a lofty goal, but many creators have done it. So why not you?

When you’re a small creator getting 100 views per video, remember that YouTube is a long-term investment. Your self-belief has to be so big that, in your heart, seven core beliefs are keeping you motivated:

Betting on instant success is unproductive.

We believe these statements so much that we filmed a video explaining the value of each one:

Your desire to be the best creator possible will fuel your success. Here’s how to make that happen, one belief at a time.

1. It’s Never Too Late to Start a YouTube Channel

YouTube continues to grow, and that growth isn’t slowing down. If you think you’ve missed your chance to start a successful channel, here are some 

YouTube Shorts (vertical videos under 60 seconds) get 

YouTube has more than 2 billion active monthly users.

People watch more than 1 billion hours of content on YouTube each day.

Year over year, channels earning six figures grew by more than 40%.

Of all these numbers, the growth of YouTube Shorts is notable. We’ve seen channels go from zero views to millions by posting brief, vertical videos.

This opportunity is available to all creators. You can start a channel, make a YouTube Short, and potentially see it featured on the highly-viewed Shorts carousel. It’s not a guarantee, but it happens often – even to 

YouTube Shorts aren’t the only reason to start a channel. As the world gains new technology and ideas, people will need guides and tutorials about those things; video seems to be a preferred method.

2. YouTube and Its Viewers Need Passionate Creators

Growing a YouTube channel requires lots of dedication. Before you start filming, adopt these seven powerful beliefs to master the journey.

Posts Written By Lydia Sweatt

‘Women of YouTube’ Q&A: Building Careers, Passive Income, and More

These 5 YouTube Shorts Upgrades Will Help You Make Better Content

Non-U.S. Creators: Do This to Avoid a 24% Tax on YouTube Revenue

YouTube Cheat Code Unlocked: How to Track Returning Viewers on Your Channel

Do This One Thing to Increase YouTube Shorts Views

7 Beliefs You Need to Have to Grow a YouTube Channel

3 Reasons to Upload YouTube Shorts Before the Competition Gets Tough

Make These 4 YouTube Videos to Get Your First 1,000 Subscribers

How to Use YouTube's Video Editor [2021 Update]

How to Get Full YouTube Monetization For Your Gaming Videos

3 Ways to Find the Best YouTube Video Length

How to Get More Views on YouTube in 24 Hours