YouTube in 2026: How to Start a Channel and Make Money

[00:01] full-time blogger. I have 200,000 subscribers on YouTube. Last year we earned over $100,000. And in this video I'll give you tips that I [music] In 26, there are completely different rules, new algorithms, niches, and

[00:14] ways of earning money. In this video, we'll discuss YouTube's biggest trends and the niches the platform will be pushing. And I will give you a step-by-step plan on how to get from scratch to your first income. So, the main trend on YouTube is that YouTube

[00:27] is slowly turning into, you know, an educational hub. YouTube is now positioning itself not just as a platform for uploading videos, but as an is viewed as a search and educational hub, not just a feed of

[00:40] videos. And if you look closely at this movement , it becomes clear why YouTube quietly rolled out the courses feature right within the platform. You know, everything used to work quite simply. YouTube was purely a source of traffic generation.

[00:53] So, we uploaded videos there, built an audience, and then directed people to our landing pages, or to GetCourse, or to other educational platforms. That is, YouTube provided views and people, but real money was earned

[01:06] somewhere outside the platform. Now YouTube is essentially saying, "Why take people elsewhere? Let's make training right here, as an official format, and platform." And this is extremely logical, because learning is a long-term

[01:21] format, and people, you know, have long been using YouTube not for entertainment, but to actually learn. Before this, YouTube essentially to infobusinesses for free for years, and now it's simply decided to take its share and enter directly into

[01:35] the territory of platforms like Udi, Corsea, Getkucs, and so on. For us, experts in general, and for entrepreneurs, this is of great importance, because this step, the fact that YouTube has integrated the sale of knowledge into its

[01:47] ecosystem, shows how rapidly the infobusiness is growing, that even YouTube now recognizes it. In short, to put it simply, YouTube has long ceased to be just a social network. Today, it is simultaneously a media outlet, a knowledge marketplace, and a

[02:01] full-fledged educational platform. Everything in one place. In this regard, I think YouTube will push educational and thought-provoking content. Videos with explanations, roadmaps, in-depth comparisons, and analysis of

[02:14] certain concepts are already gaining a more loyal audience compared to, you know, videos. Now, as I promised, let's look at the specific niches that, in my opinion, YouTube will push . If we speak directly in terms of numbers and

[02:27] facts, then, of course, content about artificial intelligence will now be in first place , simply because interest in it is truly explosive. This can be seen from Google Trends data. AI-related queries have grown more than fivefold since

[02:40] 2022. And this is very clearly visible, because people are looking and looking. Plus, YouTube itself is now actively investing in this direction. In 2024-25, he began implementing tools for both shorts and

[02:52] video creation, and the platform almost always promotes what it is actively developing internally. If you look at YouTube Culture and Trends reports, virtual and creative creators, digital avatars, have amassed tens of billions of views in a single year

[03:05] . Can you imagine? This means that the audience is not only ready for consuming it en masse. How can you use this? Speaking of formats, you can review new tools and analyze what

[03:18] At the same time, you can show step-by-step instructions on how to use them to automate specific tasks at work or in business, and, of course, supplement this with real-life case studies of how people are already using artificial intelligence

[03:31] in practice and the results they are achieving. The second niche that I think YouTube will push is education. The thing is that YouTube has long been used, as I entertainment, but for education. According to statistics, about 70% of users

[03:44] visit the platform to learn something or solve a specific problem. With over 500 million educational videos watched on YouTube every day , there's a huge, consistent demand. Education is already among the most viewed

[03:58] categories on the platform, alongside music and entertainment, which directly reflects the priorities of the audience and the algorithm. For YouTube, this is the ideal videos are watched longer, saved, re-watched, and returned to

[04:11] again and again. This means it's very profitable for a platform that values retention and money so much. Here's a list of educational niches that YouTube will be promoting in 2026. Take a screenshot and save it for yourself. And the third

[04:24] niche, in my opinion, is the financial niche. It is one of the most profitable on YouTube, because the CPM here on average can vary from 12 to 40 dollars most other niches it remains at the level of 2 dashed 8 dollars, that is, the difference

[04:39] is two, sometimes even [music] five times. Personal finance in personal finance 1 million views brings in about $12,000 from advertising alone, not counting sponsors, affiliates, and its own products. Therefore, this topic is

[04:52] economically much stronger than entertainment and lifestyle, gaming, and other entertainment niches. The demand here is also huge. Financial and business channels consistently rank among the top growth channels, and the largest of them collectively attract

[05:07] prompting the algorithm to continue actively recommending such content. And you know, the most telling thing is, uh, YouTube is profitable for promoting finance, because banks, insurance companies, and investment companies with large

[05:21] budgets come there. And, can you imagine, even top creators like Mr. Beast are already planning separate channels about money and investments. It completely blew my mind that Mr. Best is also entering the finance niche. So, let's now talk

[05:33] about the formats that YouTube will push the most. This is a format like a roadmap, where you literally say: "Look, if you're here now, do this, then this, then this." Well,

[05:45] YouTube is really good at pushing out roadmaps like this these days. The full guide below is one big, rich video that people save and rewatch because YouTube especially loves that kind of video. They create such a sense of value for the

[05:59] platform. The third format is from zero to result. The strongest format. And he is, you know, so practical, not inspiring, but precisely practical, you can’t make money, but here are the steps, here are the deadlines, here is the reality. Now, as I promised,

[06:12] let's move on to a step-by-step plan on how to start a YouTube channel from scratch and make money from it. The first step in this whole process is choosing a niche. Choosing a niche, choosing a topic. The most common mistake I see newcomers make on YouTube is when

[06:26] people come to the platform wanting to become creators, but for some reason they immediately go for the most overused, broadest niches. Like they see big creators, like, I don’t know, Harmozi, Alibdal. They're making videos about how to become a

[06:40] millionaire, right? Or some creator makes a video about how to become happy, how to improve your health. And they think: “Well, great, these videos are doing well, there are so many views, that’s a strong signal.” I'll make a video about this too

[06:52] , but it's a huge mistake that simply kills channels and kills the motivation of newbies. Because when you go up against such giants, and without a name, without an audience, without expertise, no one will simply watch your videos. Just

[07:06] imagine, yes, in the recommendations there is a video by Harmozia with a million views, with some kind of gorgeous wallpaper, which they are still IB-testing. And your video, right? Which video do you think the viewer will click on? Of course they will click on

[07:18] Harmozi's video because he has been established for a long time. in the market, he has a name, trust, authority, and you are a no-name with no experience that no one knows. And in fact, you don’t even have the right to enter this topic with the same, uh, broad message,

[07:31] because you don’t have any experience in this yet. And here I propose a completely different strategy: [music] does not go into large niches, but goes into narrow ones, more specifically into related niches. Not into the ocean, yes, where there are a million sharks, but into such a

[07:44] small pond, where there are not many fish. For example, not just fitness, yes, fitness. And I help fitness trainers launch a training subscription in 7 days. Not a business, not money, but how a dentist can launch a YouTube channel and get new

[07:58] patients in just a week. So again, yes, if you want to enter the YouTube production niche, teaching people how to make YouTube channels, like I do, it will be difficult to enter such a broad niche where there are already strong

[08:10] compete against me. But if you're creating a channel specifically like launching a YouTube channel for dentists, or launching a YouTube channel for real estate agents, or launching a YouTube channel in the real estate niche choosing a narrow niche where you have a better chance of competing. For example, Harmozi is the

[08:26] same one, yes, who is now number one in the infobusiness and in the online business. Of If you look at his past, it has a very interesting story. He started with a very simple and super-green topic: personal

[08:40] training and weight loss. At first, he simply sold personal training, then he figured out the gym business , went into the gym business, built several gyms, and started talking about the inner workings of the fitness business. Like

[08:54] processes, how to make money from them. Then about one thing, then about another. And only after some time did he come to the conclusion that he is now the number one person in sales and business. Just imagine if he had immediately gone into the big topic back then, yes,

[09:08] like how to make a million, he would have been simply gobbled up. giants like did the smart thing. He built his strategy gradually. First he talked about something small, then bigger, even bigger, even bigger. And so he built the channel

[09:23] that he has now. The same thing happened to me. If I had entered the niche of how to make money online from scratch, without a name, without experience, no one would have listened to me, yes, without expertise, without cases there, and especially no one would have watched my

[09:35] videos. So I started with what I had at the time. And I advise you to start with what you have at that moment. At that time I went through Vipasana. It was such a powerful, rare experience. As for vipauna, again, I said that

[09:49] many people don’t know. No, many people know, but few decide to go for it, because it’s, ah, such a hardcore mode. Uh, 10 hours of meditation, 10 days of silence. But few people dare to go to it. There

[10:03] I had expertise, there I distinguished myself, yes, I went through this, I some initial audience. The video seems to have gotten 20 or 30,000 views. Then I went to study in Korea and told them about it. Then, ah, I

[10:17] grew to 200,000 subscribers on YouTube, I told how I did it. Then I made $100,000 in content and only then did I talk about how I did it, again. And only in this way was I able to enter the

[10:29] competitive niche of earning money online through content. Again, if I had entered this niche initially, I would have had no chance. So my advice is very simple. If you're a newbie, go into narrow niches and monetize that, that is,

[10:45] use what you have at the moment, what makes you different, your achievements, your results, your experience, which is different from others. Perhaps, if none of this exists, you can set

[10:58] some strong goal to work towards and broadcast it to the masses. Because setting a goal is also, you know, not everyone can dare to do it. This way, you'll build your initial loyal audience, establish yourself, and then,

[11:12] once people trust you, you'll have experience, case studies, and expertise. Then you'll be able to confidently move into broader niches, and your audience will follow you , the algorithm will pick it up, and you'll have a chance to actually compete in

[11:25] that niche. Now let's talk about how to choose a narrow niche from scratch. There is a simple rule: a narrow niche equals a specific person plus a specific problem plus a specific result. For example, not what you are talking about, but who and what

[11:38] exactly you are helping to decide. Bad, broad niches are fitness, psychology, business, money, YouTube. It's good when it's narrow. Fitness for women over thirty who want to lose belly fat without strict diets. Psychology for people

[11:51] after divorce who cannot let go of past relationships. A business for experts who earn up to $2,000 and want their first stable sales. So, the formula is niche narrowing. You take a wide niche and cut it according to

[12:03] one or more parameters. That is, who, profession, stage of life, status, with what problem, what result, in what time or without what. Examples of narrowing popular niches. How to grow on YouTube, yes, it's too broad.

[12:16] Examples of narrow niches might be YouTube for experts who sell services, YouTube for psychologists to attract clients, YouTube for introverts without stories and res, and so on. In psychology, for example, psychology, self-development,

[12:29] again, yes, everyone goes there, but it would be too broad, it would be narrow. Psychology for people with emotional dependency, or how to get out of toxic relationships and stop living in anxiety without pills. Psychology for people who

[12:41] earn a lot but are unhappy. You see, right? Here are just a few parameters. You take it, you seek out their pain points, and you end up with a narrow, cool

[12:53] niche that hits a specific problem, a specific audience that will feel heard and will watch your content. And if it’s useful and interesting, they’ll subscribe to you and continue to

[13:06] cultivate a loyal audience. At the first stages, we figured out the niche. Now let's talk about the content itself, about how to shoot content in your narrow views, and not just pop up randomly every six months, right? And the most

[13:19] effective formula that I see, if you look deeper, is that content flies in from those who have a good eye, from those who know how to notice trends early, that certain formats on YouTube that are catching on. Also, new

[13:35] formats, new themes, new delivery methods are constantly emerging. Yes, if you can spot a trend early on and make a video about it, then there's a very good chance it'll be a hit. But there is a very important point here. Beginners often think that they need to

[13:47] list all the competitors in their niche, analyze what they're filming, react to, what they comment on, watch those videos, and simply do the same. I noticed earlier that I copied the advice exactly, and it worked. He

[14:02] still works in short content, but not in long form. Now, in my observation, this is no longer enough on YouTube . Because, look, you copied someone else's video, did almost the same thing, and you think,

[14:16] "Yeah, well, I did the same thing. Why does he have 100,000 views and I have 100?" copy a video exactly, you target the same audience that already watched the original. And when these people are shown your video, they

[14:31] think: “Well, I’ve already seen this.” They don't watch it to the end, retention negative signal. So here you need to think logically. If your video is already shown to people who have seen the original, what do you need to do

[14:46] to get them to watch your version? It has to be different, it has to be better, it has to have more value, more depth. Maybe you'll improve the editing, maybe you'll improve the storytelling, you'll deeply analyze the video,

[14:58] maybe you'll find weak spots and improve them. Only in this case does your copied in this case does your copied video have a chance of being recommended, audience. And if they don't get some new value that's

[15:12] different from the original, there's no point in them watching your videos. Now let's talk about how to analyze competitors' videos and how to improve someone else's format. In general, at the YouTube Academy, yes, and I myself always adhere to this idea of ​​not

[15:25] generating new ideas, but looking for what has already flown in. Let me explain now. Yes, I said that you can’t copy one to another, but a base is still a base. Look for something that has already flown in. That is, you don’t come up with something from scratch. You go to

[15:38] YouTube and see what in your narrow niche has already collected views not a year ago, but recently, for example, in 3 months, in 6 months, yes. And this is very important, because if a video has recently appeared, it means the topic is alive, the format works, and the algorithm

[15:50] likes it right now. Step two: analyze the video not about what it is, but why people are watching it. Newbies, you know, look like this. And he talks about it. I'll tell you about this too. And this is a big mistake. You'll need to break down the hook, what line it

[16:04] starts with, yes, the angle, from what side it presents the theme, the promise of what the viewer should receive, what value this video brings, the structure, how the thought develops, where there are dips, where the heat builds, yes, the retention, where you want to watch

[16:18] further. It’s not that, uh, a person says, yes, in the video, but why do you want to watch it? Why does the creator use certain phrases? That is, watch the videos not as a spectator, but as if you are analyzing them. Step three. Ask yourself the

[16:32] main question. Almost no newbie asks this question. Why should someone who has already watched this video watch mine? If there is no answer, then four. The improvement has to be specific, not I'll do everything

[16:46] differently. The video must be better in at least one parameter. It should be in at least one parameter. It should be either deeper, more specific, an even narrower sub-niche, yes, for example, with personal experience. better cases, better numbers, or

[16:58] another, more powerful hook. Let's say, if the original is how a fitness trainer finds clients, your version shouldn't be how a fitness trainer finds clients, yeah, well, I'll tell you from me. And it should be like a fitness trainer finding his first five

[17:11] clients in 7 days without advertising. Here you can already feel the difference, yes, here there is already another reason to click, here there are already other aspects, other audience. And the fifth step. Please never copy the presentation exactly

[17:25] use the same wording, the same tempo, the same logic, the same examples, right? And secondary content. But YouTube doesn't like secondary content, and it won't eat it. You can, of course, take the idea, format, structure, but the meaning,

[17:40] depth and conclusions must be yours. Now that you can find ideas and improve them, you will need to shoot about 10 videos per channel using this scheme. And this is where work with analytics should begin.

[17:53] best friend. So, you upload a video and then don't just wait, you look at the views, and you have to analyze what kind of network it has, what the retention is, how people watch it, and at what points they drop out. You

[18:07] can already start testing covers here, yes, if you have at least 2,000 views there. You begin to understand why one video was uploaded and another didn't at all. And here is the biggest life hack that I tell all my students.

[18:19] In general, if you analyze how people grow from 10,000 subscribers to 100,000, then to 500, to a million, it’s always the same pattern. They find three or four formats, three or four videos that really work for them. Then

[18:33] they, uh, ad infinitum just continue to shoot the same videos, just from a different angle. The same idea, the same format, but each time a little Abdalov, who currently has a large

[18:46] video about how a beginner can invest. If you look at it now, he's probably made 30 videos on this topic, because when one topic comes up, it's a signal. Let's say your videos get 500 views on average, right? What if one video

[19:02] got 3,000 views? And here, beginners often simply ignore this point and do not use it in any way, but this is a very big mistake, because it is not an accident. You need to take that 3,000 view video and think about how you

[19:17] improve the editing, improve the presentation, improve the cover. And this is where you can improve the cover. And this is where you can invest time in developing this video, because this video has already given you proof of concept. It

[19:30] showed that the format works and makes sense, and there is a reason to invest more in it and strengthen it. You shoot another video on the same topic, then another one, another one, and in this way you find three or four formats that

[19:45] gradually fly in, and you endlessly shoot videos on this topic. It’s not that you shoot endlessly, but that you continue to improve these same videos endlessly. And that's exactly how, not through chaotic filming, yes, of everything in a row, but that's exactly

[19:58] how, by finding three or four formats and constantly improving them, people reach 100,000 subscribers. The same thing happened to me, yes, I found two or three formats that fly for me . This is earnings through YouTube,

[20:10] earnings online, this is an increase in subscribers, that is, a blog, monetization. So these are two topics: how to grow your subscriber base and how to monetize it. And so I endlessly, uh, shoot from different angles about the same thing. In fact,

[20:24] that's how my channel grew to 200,000 subscribers. We've sorted out the content. Now let's talk about how to start making money from your channel. I'll give you step-by-step instructions. First of all, you need to understand that you don’t need to wait

[20:36] to start selling something to your audience. On average, 2-3,000 views on your videos is enough. That is, so that each of your videos gets an average of 2-3,000 views in order to earn good money on the channel. Our students at the

[20:50] YouTube Academy, even with small views—500, 1,000 views— manage to earn $200 per video by attracting clients to their services and products. Therefore, the first step to start making money with your channel

[21:03] is to formulate one specific offer. I'm not an expert on everything, but I am an expert on one thing that is understandable and that a person can buy. Here is the formula, yes. I help anyone get results in a certain time frame or in a certain way. For example, I help a dentist launch a YouTube

[21:16] channel and get patients within a week. I help fitness trainers launch a training subscription in 7 days. I help an expert package YouTube in a way that will generate applications. Step two. Choose one product to start. Not five,

[21:28] right? The most common mistake beginners make is trying to do everything right away: a course, a guide, a club, mentoring. And defocus always has a negative effect on us. So choose one. The service is what is monetized the fastest. Audit,

[21:41] strategy, consulting, production, some kind of setup. Next comes a mini-product, something cheap for 10, 50 dollars. This could be a guide, templates, or some kind of prom. A phone call, a paid consultation, 60-90 minutes plus an

[21:55] action plan or a pilot group, yes, a mini cohort of 10-20 people, results in 2 weeks. At the start, I generally recommend taking on some kind of service or consultation, because it doesn’t take much time and effort. Step

[22:09] three. Create a simple funnel in one touch. You don't need a perfect website here. The minimum set is a link under each video directly to your product, consultation, service, or directly to your WhatsApp or Telegram, where the client

[22:21] schedule a call with them. The best is face tof. Or you can leave a link to a applications if, for example, some kind of selection is needed, right? That is, I launched a service for experts. I wanted to help them, uh,

[22:37] grow their income through YouTube. And I did n’t target everyone, but only those who earned at least $3,000. And in this scenario, of course, you need to use Google Forms so that people can leave applications and you can then contact them,

[22:52] those who passed your selection. Next, it could be a Telegram channel linked to YouTube. It works very well. In general , I certainly don’t recommend complicating things that much from the start . At the start, you just need to add what I have already explained above.

[23:04] Here is a link to the consultation, a link there on WhatsApp or Telegram. But just so you have an understanding, let me break down how my funnel works, for example. In general, I have a very simple funnel. Under each of my videos

[23:17] I have a WhatsApp link to the sales department, like "Go to the YouTube Academy." Yes, that's it, there's nothing complicated here. A person comes over, they contact him, sell him training, and so on. I also have a more complex funnel. It is more for a

[23:29] my videos there is a link to a free webinar. This webinar is available on my Telegram channel, and to watch it, people must leave their information and subscribe to the channel. Only in this case will he be given a link

[23:42] to the webinar. During the webinar, there's a text that reads: "Come on over to a free So, people watch the webinar, warm up, and then go on to an analysis of analysis, our producers analyze their channels, show what can be improved, and

[23:57] demonstrate their expertise. If a person resonates with this, our sales department invites them to enroll in training. This is how the sale happens. Plus, since people leave their details when they subscribe to the channel and generally

[24:09] subscribe to the channel, we can then send them newsletters about starting a stream, about recruiting, about some additional opportunities, and continue to warm them up. Yes, but this is a more complex funnel, and I did n't come to it right away. It makes sense to come to such funnels

[24:24] when you already have 50 or 100,000 subscribers on your channel. So, funnel, it's a free entry so that people aren't afraid, because WhatsApp and buy the training. In my case, this free entry

[24:39] is provided by the webinar, and in your case it could also be a checklist, it could be a 10-minute mini-lesson, it could be some kind of template. The important thing is that this input should lead to the next step, and not just be a useful thing. The next

[24:51] step is to prepare a sales script for correspondence. Why does this even matter? Because 90% of sales die not because of the product and not even because of the price. They die in correspondence. Let's say someone wrote to you on WhatsApp or Telegram and

[25:03] asked, "How much does it cost? What's inside? Will it suit me?" and then silence. Yes? Either you answer too dryly, or you start selling right away, or, on the contrary, you make excuses, explain yourself, or you can’t sell at all

[25:17] , and the person simply cools off. Therefore, a sales script is needed not for losing warm people, not to answer differently each time, not to depend on mood or fatigue, and to consistently bring the dialogue to a solution. A sales script is needed

[25:31] script, every conversation is like an improvisation. And improvisation in sales almost always means lost money. A script is, you know, a kind of dialogue logic. You must understand who is in front of you, understand the client’s situation, show that

[25:45] you understand his problem and only then offer a solution. That's why I see this very often in the market. People with the same traffic and the same views can earn five or even 10 times more. Simply because

[25:57] they have a well-structured sales script. So if you're already getting requests, but sales are low, the problem is almost always not YouTube or the content. The problem is that you don’t have a proper sales script. Therefore, in order not to waste leads,

[26:10] ask the client: who are you? What are you doing, what is your goal, what is the problem now, what have you tried? And based on these questions, having listened well to the client, and a good dialogue is when you listen 80%, that

[26:24] is, the client speaks 80% of the time and you speak only 20%. Only in this case you offer the work format, the price and the next step. Of course, I told this in great detail. There are a lot of nuances, a lot of details. If you're an

[26:37] how to create a product, what kind of product to create, how to build sales funnels, right down to scripts and messaging—join us at the YouTube Academy. All the knowledge we have now, specifically in terms of

[26:50] monetization, earnings, and sales funnels, we share all of this at the academy. Plus, we have a separate, strong section on the sales department. Our sales department is not outsourced, but our own, which we grew from scratch, wrote scripts, built a

[27:03] funnel, and trained managers. And my partner did this with me, and she has built sales departments for various companies more than once. And for the YouTube Academy, she modules on this very topic. So,

[27:17] lessons and generally learn how to create a YouTube channel that brings in leads and soon. We have feedback at every step. We help you get views and monetize them correctly. That 's why I'm waiting for you all. The link to register for

[27:32] our training is in the description. Step five. create a simple package of trust so that a person doesn't think: "Yes, but who are you anyway ?" You will need to collect at least three to five cases, even small ones with 5-10 reviews. This could be a

[27:45] text review or a screenshot and a short description of who you are, how you help, and who it’s suitable for. If you don't have any cases, you can take a pilot for a review, an audit for a nominal fee, and the first three clients under special conditions. Step six. Launch your

[27:58] first sale within 7-14 days. And this is very important. Don't prepare for months, but do everything quickly. Plan for 2 weeks, right? You shoot three videos in the style of "here's a guide, two videos of errors, two videos of analysis." Each video will have a network and a call to

[28:11] action. Every day you respond to requests, close them for consultation or service. And the seventh step. Then you scale up what works. You see which videos generate the most leads, which formats provide better

[28:23] retention, and which ones are more trusted. And you start filming it again and again. 26 is not about hype, not about entertainment, not about the number of subscribers, but about strategy, a narrow niche and a clear offer. If you want to

[28:37] build a YouTube channel that brings in leads and money, not just views, then watch this video or this video, I always get confused. And in it, I explained step by step how to make your first money through YouTube.