July 18, 2025
In my first year of YouTube, I followed the expert advice: post weekly, pick a niche, use keywords.
But my channel at the end was absolutely nowhere.
And looking back, I realized that I was making seven mistakes that nearly killed my channel.
And it might be killing yours, too.
But once I fixed them, everything changed. I went from zero to 100,000 subscribers in just four months.
But let’s start with the first mistake.
Last year, I called the Director of Product at YouTube. Now, we used to work together at Uber, so I thought she would tell me the secrets of how I could crack the algorithm. And right into the call, I said, “Hey, look, I think I’m shadowbanned. I’ve been posting every week. My videos are good, but I’m just not getting anywhere. Like, should I start a new channel?”
And she looked at me, she’s like, “Dude, you don’t need a new channel. You’re not shadowbanned. Just start posting things that people click on and that they keep watching.”
And I was like, wait, that’s it? That’s your secret advice? At first, I was pissed, right? I thought she was holding back her secrets. But later, I realized this is the secret.
Success on YouTube comes down to two things:
Do people click on your video?
That’s usually your title and your thumbnail. Study what is out there and then hire a professional thumbnail designer.
Do people keep watching?
And the number one way to keep people watching is to tell stories. Stories create curiosity. They build a connection. They keep people hooked.
Once I focused on those two things, my channel exploded.
But I guess the next mistake is probably the most common one I see for small creators.
Early on, I made videos about small tactical things like “Here are three exercises to tell better stories,” or “Here are the five elements of a great story.” Not bad topics, but too small to go viral. If you want your videos to blow up, you need a big, bold, tangible idea — the kind of ideas that make someone stop scrolling and say, “I think I need this.”
Let me show you the difference.
Instead of saying one way to boost views, say how I got a million views with one simple change.
Or instead of saying three books for entrepreneurs, say three books that made my first $100,000.
Do you see the shift? One is a tip, the other one is a transformation.
The bigger your idea, the bigger your reach.
A few weeks ago, a friend asked me if I could help him grow his channel, and I said, “Yeah, cool. Obviously, what’s your channel about?”
And he said, “Well, I want to help people become more trustworthy.”
I asked, “Okay, but what is the problem that you’re solving for?”
He paused and said, “Well… that people are not trustworthy enough.”
And I told him, “Dude, no one is on YouTube at 2 in the morning thinking, How do I become more trustworthy?“
That’s not a pain point. It’s a “nice-to-have.”
If you want to grow your channel, solve real problems — problems that people feel in their gut.
They’re like:
“Why don’t people listen to me?”
“How do I speak with more confidence?”
“Why are my videos getting no views?”
Those are pain points. If your video is not addressing that core pain point or frustration, your videos will go nowhere.
That one cost me so much time. I tried to reinvent the wheel every single time. New title, new concept, new hook — but most of it just flopped.
Then I realized smart creators don’t start from scratch. They reverse-engineer what already works.
What I do now is study some of the top-performing videos. I drop those transcripts into ChatGPT and try to find patterns — in their hooks, their intros, everywhere. I then use that proven structure to help me shape my message.
Now, the core message of my video still stays 100% original, but now it’s just packed in a way that really grabs attention.
When I first got into storytelling, I watched hundreds of videos on YouTube on the topic. But do you know what I noticed? They talked about storytelling, but none of them told a story or gave an example.
And I was like, what the f— right?
How can you talk about storytelling but not share a single story?
And I realized this isn’t just a storytelling problem — it’s a general creator problem. People talk about the things, but they don’t show the things in action.
For example, in one of my most viral videos, I didn’t just explain storytelling. Instead, I shared a short story of John Krasinski — how he tells a story. And that video got 1.5 million views.
So I guess whatever your niche is, try to bring it to life.
For example:
You’re a car mechanic? Show how you clean the engine.
A fitness instructor? Don’t just talk about it — demonstrate the exercise.
An interior designer? Show us how you rearrange the furniture.
Show, don’t just tell.
Back in my early days, I posted for about six months, but growth was really nowhere. I had, I think, like a hundred subscribers. Nothing. And you know, I’m impatient — I wanted this fast track.
So I found this guy on Upwork. He had like 200 completed jobs, 100% five-star reviews. He seemed super legit.
And he said, “Well yeah, I can give you 200 real subscribers every week.”
And I thought, “Cool! I want 200 real subscribers every week.”
I was just desperate. So I said yes.
One month later, I had 800 new subs. I was like, hell yeah, this stuff works!
But then I checked some of the subscribers. It was like:
Cooking with Nathia
The Gaming Hub
Makeup Toronto
And I was like, dude, this is not my target audience.
Obviously, that had nothing to do with my niche of storytelling.
But here’s the problem:
The moment I published a video, YouTube showed it to my subscribers first. Obviously, they had zero interest in my videos on storytelling, because they cared about cooking or gaming.
And that told YouTube: “This is not good stuff. Let’s stop promoting it.”
It took me months to recover from that.
So please, don’t try to game the system.
In my first year, YouTube took over my life. I would script on Monday, then record on Tuesday, then edit on Wednesday.
One week took me a full three days. And then it got like 200 views. And I thought, dang — that is a terrible return on investment.
I’m a business guy.
Today, I also post one high-quality video per week. But what changed?
Today, I spend 3 hours per week on my entire content creation.
So what do I do differently?
First, I spend about two hours per week writing one script. I then take that script and discuss it with my coach Jacob, and that’s pretty much it for that week. I do nothing more than that.
But then after eight weeks — once I have eight solid scripts — I just record all of them in one day in this studio.
One camera setup, one deep-focus day — and eight videos done.
I then take all those videos and give them to my editor.
Now that’s how you stay consistent without burning out.
Look, those seven mistakes nearly killed my channel. But once I fixed them, everything changed.
But still — my biggest unlock? Storytelling.
Storytelling has helped me more than anything else boost my retention, go viral, and grow my business in the end.
But I know storytelling can sometimes feel pretty overwhelming when you’re just starting off.
So if you want to learn more on how to tell powerful and unforgettable stories, check out this article where I share three simple frameworks to better articulate your thoughts.
Enjoy.
P.S. Want to become a stronger communicator?
Here are two ways I can support you:
👉 Want to tell more engaging stories? Join our next Storytelling Workshop.
👉 Want to speak with confidence and clarity? Check out our Communication Skills Training.
Both are fun, practical, and designed to help you grow fast.
Are you ready to transform your storytelling skills?
Discover how your storytelling skills score and uncover useful insights to help you become a charismatic storyteller:
