Question of the Day - 28 July 2023

No obligations that we know of attend a subscription to a YouTube channel. They're free, so it's just a way to be informed, when the system works anyway, when any new videos on channels you're subscribed to show up in your subscriptions feed. And you can always manage your notifications and unsubscribe with a few clicks.

As for channels trolling for subscribers, the reason is ... money. Isn't it always?

Premium subscribers get extra perks, such as ad-free viewing, download functionality (to save videos for when you're offline), and background music that doesn't stop when you click off to open another app or website. Various plans are available, generally starting at about $12 a month. YouTube TV is different and much more expensive. 

As for the content providers, how much money they make and how they make it are the $64,000 questions, so to speak. And those are based on the YouTube algorithm, which is a closely guarded secret. It's never been disclosed to our knowledge. That said, there are literally thousands of videos on the basics of how the algorithm works, taking into consideration the type of content, the ratio of likes to dislikes, the duration of views, the number of comments, etc., plus how to grow your subscriber base and how to make more money on YouTube.

Which can be very big bucks. We recently read a Wall Street Journal article in which superstar slot influencer Brian Christopher admitted to slot-play losses in the $300,000-per-year range -- yet he still makes a profit, in large part from his YouTube income alone. With millions of subscribers, income arrives from various streams, such as more expensive advertising and a bigger split between the platform and content provider. 

We recently posted our 100th YouTube video and though for us, YouTube doesn't provide much income, it is some and it has has been growing recently. The livestream videos seem to have put us in a higher tier than just the weekly updates. Plus, it's strong for product endorsements and there's some cross-over in our marketing efforts. Still, like books and other of our products, the margins are quite slim. We keep at it. But the last thing we want to do is pester our viewers.