💥 The Superpowers Of Middle-Aged YouTubers

Last week I wrote a piece on how being that little bit older in the tooth, could actually be the massive advantage you have on YouTube.

How experience, age old wisdom, and your unique perspective sets you apart.

In a week where I found an 80 year old who has started a YouTube channel (Yes, 80). (More on this next week). I want you to watch this video and appreciate everything I believe you have to offer:

▶️ YouTube Lessons Learnt The Hard Way

Whilst creating the video above, I have had a few gentle reminders of how amazing YouTube can be, whilst equally driving me around the feckin twist. So for the sake of my sanity and maybe yours, I want to share a few lessons learnt this week, as I think these could help you understand and appreciate the YouTube creator process even more.

Power of Long Term Content

Creating content on YouTube has played second fiddle to my life recently. I have a lot going on at work, and my family need my time more often than usual. This is life. YouTube falls down the priority list.

However, this impacts me less than you may think. The image below shows my monthly recap. This is based on ZERO content produced (sadly). Yet it blows my mind to think I have still had over 7,000 people watch my older videos. I could consider this a bad month, but really it was a month that I could live my life and still get views and grow an audience without any work.

That’s because

a) YouTube is one of the only platforms to promote older videos if it thinks it is useful to the viewer

b) I created these with SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) in mind. So some of these videos rank in Google and will appear with common Google and YouTube search results

It is the only platform I know that supports you this way. Whilst consistency is key, with the right strategy, you can afford to take those inevitable breaks, as after all, you are one busy mofo right!

Be Patient Daniel Son

Ready for your Mr Miyagi (Legend!) lesson in patience?

I have a habit of uploading a video, hearing crickets, then reacting with thumbnail and title changes galore. Despite the fact the video is about 3 hours old…..

It’s a stupid habit and one I am trying to break. As sometimes, and in the case of my latest video, the views started to spike and I had done NOTHING.

Here’s my understanding of why this happens and why you should be patient.

When you upload, YouTube first tests your video with a small audience - your subscribers and a few users whose viewing habits align with your topic. This “testing phase” helps the algorithm understand if your video is engaging. It looks at factors like watch time, likes, comments, and shares. If the initial response is so-so, the algorithm doesn’t give up, it keeps searching for the right audience.

Over the next few days (or even weeks), the algorithm continues showing your video to different groups, analysing how they engage. If it finds an audience that clicks, watches, and interacts, it promotes the video more broadly, causing that sudden traffic spike.

What can you do? Focus on clickable thumbnails, strong titles, and content that grabs attention in the first 10 seconds. The algorithm rewards videos that viewers love, but it takes time to figure out who will love them most.

Patience is key. Your video might just need a little more time to find its audience.

P.S - If you want to know how to find clickable thumbnails and winning titles, I highly recommend you check out this amazing tool.

Create Content That People Can Identify With

Did you notice that this video is slightly different to my normal stuff? Which is why I am not expecting it to be a huge performer.

Most of my best content is regarding tutorials and tech guides to various apps. This one is calling out a viewer though.

I specifically say how the video is for Over 40’s. People like me and maybe you, a little further on in life whom are considering starting a YouTube channel.

This narrows down my potential audience, but also makes me far more relatable and identifiable of whom I can help.

Even on a video with a few hundred views, I have had a handful of new subscribers, and a decent percentage of likes. It seems YouTube has eventually found other 40+ creators and they are appreciating something from the video.

On this note, make sure you read the next story below to understand how I have received some help from another social app.

▶️ Threads

Do you remember when Meta/Facebook/Zuckerberg launched Threads in 2023?

I do. I signed up immediately, played around for 3 hours, and thought “This is shite” and moved on.

Recently I have heard some very encouraging comments about this platform from people I respect in the entrepreneurial world. So I took another look.

Lo-and-behold its a ridiculously positive platform. It does a great job of connecting you with people of similar interests.

It doesn’t have the toxicity of X/Twitter. In fact the opposite.

It seems to be low on the guru’s and high on the people like us, in the trenches, doing our thing.

Which means….. valid opinions, feedback, understanding pain points and content requirements. It is a gold mine of information and support.

May be one to check out if you are struggling to understand what your audience wants and needs.

I share my own random thoughts and brain farts there too, you can find me using this link.