---
title: 'How to Survive Being a Small YouTube Channel (The Truth About Growth)'
source: 'https://youtube.com/watch?v=gRPJd1xSRyo'
video_id: 'gRPJd1xSRyo'
date: 2026-08-09
duration_sec: 363
---

# How to Survive Being a Small YouTube Channel (The Truth About Growth)

> Source: [How to Survive Being a Small YouTube Channel (The Truth About Growth)](https://youtube.com/watch?v=gRPJd1xSRyo)

## Summary

This video addresses the discouragement felt by small YouTube creators, explaining that slow growth is a natural, invisible phase before a channel's breakthrough. The speaker uses the metaphor of planting a tree to illustrate how consistent effort builds a foundation that eventually yields results, and provides practical strategies for staying motivated.

### Key Points

- **Most creators quit early** [00:01] — Most creators quit before video 20 because YouTube takes time and needs more data than expected, leading to discouragement and comparison.
- **Growth is like planting a tree** [00:27] — Success on YouTube isn't immediate; like a tree, visible growth takes months or years, but roots (foundation) are developing beneath the surface.
- **The algorithm's job** [01:12] — The algorithm matches videos with viewers likely to enjoy them, but it's slow and works by testing videos on small samples, expanding if engagement is good.
- **Example of delayed growth** [01:52] — A video took 100 days to reach 999 views, then blew up and became the fifth most viewed; another video did well after 6 months and monetized the channel overnight.
- **Consistency means long-term showing up** [03:12] — The most important consistency is showing up for the long haul, not a perfect schedule. 90% of creators quit within their first 20 videos.
- **Benefits of sticking with it** [03:38] — Sticking with it improves skills, builds a loyal audience, grows your content library, and gives YouTube more data about your audience.
- **Strategy 1: Redefine success** [04:07] — Track skills, completion rates, comments, and consistency instead of views and subscribers early on.
- **Strategy 2: Find your creator community** [04:20] — Engage with your niche, comment on videos, join Discord servers, and collaborate to stay motivated.
- **Strategy 3: Create with intention** [04:35] — Don't chase trends; ask what unique value you provide. Your unique perspective is your advantage.
- **Strategy 4: Embrace the process** [04:48] — Successful creators love the process of creation, not just the results. Your job is to nurture your channel until the right audience finds you.

### Conclusion

Slow growth is normal and necessary; every big creator started small. Keep creating and nurturing your channel, because your audience is out there waiting.

## Transcript

creators give up most creators quit before making it to video 20 because the truth is YouTube takes time it needs more data than you realize and in that time it's easy to get discouraged to compare yourself to others and to stress
explain the invisible growth phase that happens before every Channel's break through this moment several times and it never gets easy let's talk about why you shouldn't quit I said this in a video a while back and it's proven to be more
true than I ever realized you see success on YouTube isn't immediate turns all along and it simply takes YouTube time to figure that out growing on YouTube is like planting a tree you can give it water give it sunlight tend to
fruits immediately think about what happens when you plant a tree for months sometimes years you see very little visible growth the sapling looks fragile but beneath the surface something important is happening it's developing a
gathering strength this is exactly how thinking about your channel how to make better content day in and day out but thousands or even millions of different channels it's trying to analyze your
video through its SEO and performance with your community every once in a while it'll show you to more people than normal in a short burst to collect a bigger data set but it takes time to know what to do with that all the while
through this process they'll get priority because their content has those videos with only 100 views they're not failures they're your roots spreading every video you make strengthens that Foundation every person
nourishing your channel every comment is sunlight helping it grow you're building something that takes time to mature and the hard part is not being able to see the fruits until later let me show you something this video of mine took 100
days to reach 999 views and then something amazing happened it found its video before this one and I haven't haven't made one since and now it's my fifth most viewed video on this channel or look at this one it did well but then
after 6 months it blew up and got the channel monetized overnight this isn't uncommon this is the norm this is the almighty algorithm at work one of the that the algorithm somehow punishes small creators this isn't true the
algorithm has one job to match videos with the viewers most likely to enjoy them the problem is is that it's slow and you can't see it working YouTube subscribers or 5 million what it cares about is whether the people who watch
your videos engage with them do they watch to the end do they like or comment do they watch another one of your videos afterwards when starting out YouTube is your content it shows your video to a small sample of people and if they
engage it shows it to more if they don't it stops and it can be hard to prove that your stuff is worth watching if the video itself doesn't have views the process isn't hours or days it's weeks to months you don't need everyone to
like your videos you just need the right people to find them and if you want to stay ahead on exactly how to help the right viewers discover your content I share tested and true tips and tactics in My Weekly Newsletter the link is in
the description now let's talk about consistency but not in the way you might expect the most important form of consistency isn't uploading on a perfect schedule it's consistently showing up for the Long Haul 90% of creators quit
within their first 20 videos they plant the seed don't see immediate growth and abandon the garden but here's what happens when you stick with it one your skills naturally improve with each video two you build a small but loyal audience
three your library of content grows increasing your discoverability and four YouTube gathers more data about who enjoys your content I'll let you in on a little secret it's often video 20 30 or even 50 that finally breaks through not
video 10 but because those previous videos laid the ground workor so how do grow here are four practical strategies first redefine success early on views and subscribers are the wrong metrics to
focus on instead you want to track things like the skills you're developing completion rates of your videos comments and genuine connections and the consistency of your output second you want to find your creator Community
your Niche comment on their videos join Discord servers participate in collaboration opportunities and keeps you motivated third create with intention don't just Chase Trends or copy what's popular ask
yourself what value am I providing that no one else is even in crowded nichas your unique perspective is your advantage and fourth embrace the process the creators who succeed aren't the most talented or well-connected they're the
who fell in love with the process of creation itself and not just the results right now someone out there is looking for exactly the content you your job isn't to blow up overnight is
nurturing your channel until those people find you remember the videos roots for your future success the growth next time you feel discouraged by low views or slow subscriber growth remind
yourself every big successful Creator started as a small unpolished channel that needed time and consistent care if you stop tending to yours you'll never see a bloom keep creating your audience is out they're waiting for you if you're
comment below sharing one thing you're proud of creating regardless of how many views it got let's celebrate the seeds are planning together and if you haven't started yet and if you're wondering if you should take the plunge there's
literally no better time to become a Creator just start start before you're learn all this the hard way and I'm glad that I can share my experience with you and help you to learn these lessons quicker than I did I just made a video
knew sooner and I think that you'll get a lot of value out of it do me a favor a lot of value out of it do me a favor and watch it next