Anyone Else Have a Vintage Car YouTube Channel?

[bulletpruf]

I started posting YT videos about 5 months ago; figured I was going to be turning wrenches anyway, why not film it and post it? Anyway, I've had a lot of fun with it, and while filming and editing can be a real time suck, posting videos does keep me on track. I certainly don't want my viewers to think that I'm some douchebag who can't finish a project.

Anyway, figured there's a few YouTubers in the group, and likely a bunch who also watch YT videos. If so, curious to hear if anyone has any tips or pointers.

What I have realized so far -

-You don't need a lot of expensive gear to produce good videos.

-Audio quality is paramount; more important that video quality.

-For every 20-30 minute video I post, I likely spend 5 or so hours editing.

-I really can't predict what videos will do well and what will fall flat.

-I think the average amount of time from start until monetization is about 12 months. I'm on track to hit that on/about 1 January 2023.

-You don't need to find an L88 Corvette barn find to have success.

Here's my channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/THEBULLETPROOFGARAGE/videos -- any other thoughts, comments, recommendations?

Scott

[markinnaples]

I'll have to check out your page. My son has a non-car YT channel that by happenstance had one video go crazy-viral (almost 340 million views) and has since grown his channel more than we ever thought possible (318,000 subscribers). He mainly posts shorts, so not in the same vein as yours, but he still has made a little money on it and we post new shorts (usually around a minute or less) weekly, although YT had a 30-day challenge for October, so we posted one every day of the month.
His channel is PJ's Radical Playz (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrF...1gV3Z71gJKGpRA)
After watching his channel grow, I found that you're 100% right about not knowing which videos will perform and which don't. We may start making some longer ones as time goes on as that's where the real money comes into play.
And one comment regarding monetization, the general YT rule is that you need to have at least 1,000 subscribers and at least 4,000 watch hours over the past 12 months.

[bulletpruf]

Originally Posted by markinnaples

I'll have to check out your page. My son has a non-car YT channel that by happenstance had one video go crazy-viral (almost 340 million views) and has since grown his channel more than we ever thought possible (318,000 subscribers). He mainly posts shorts, so not in the same vein as yours, but he still has made a little money on it and we post new shorts (usually around a minute or less) weekly, although YT had a 30-day challenge for October, so we posted one every day of the month.
His channel is PJ's Radical Playz (https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCrF...1gV3Z71gJKGpRA)
After watching his channel grow, I found that you're 100% right about not knowing which videos will perform and which don't. We may start making some longer ones as time goes on as that's where the real money comes into play.
And one comment regarding monetization, the general YT rule is that you need to have at least 1,000 subscribers and at least 4,000 watch hours over the past 12 months.

Had to check out the channel - the viral video is pretty cool!

A quasi-viral video is what kickstarted my channel - some baby armadillos digging up my backyard. Only 168,000 views, but enough to put a dent into the subs and watch hours I need for monetization. I deleted all the non-car related videos except for this one, and I'll likely delete it once I've been monetized, since it's not consistent with my channel's theme and it's not getting a lot of traffic these days anyway.

Correct on the subscribers and watch hours -- 1,000 and 4,000.

Thanks,

Scott

[L_e_e]

Very good friend of mine has a very cool Hot Rod channel with his son called Loud N Ugly Garage, lots of good videos, check it out:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHW...wZt1NyA/videos

[bulletpruf]

Originally Posted by L_e_e

Very good friend of mine has a very cool Hot Rod channel with his son called Loud N Ugly Garage, lots of good videos, check it out:
https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHW...wZt1NyA/videos

Will do. Thanks!

[BJCHEV396]

I really liked the Armadillo Party! LOL!

[bulletpruf]

Well, my channel now has 2,400 subscribers, so I've been monetized for a while. It's not much; just $50 per month, but better than nothing.

I just retired from the Army after 26 years; headed back to San Antonio (have been in the DC area for 2 years) and will spend more time on the channel with some old school pony cars and muscle cars -- have several projects, so no shortage of content.

Thanks

[markinnaples]

Congrats on the channel growth. My son's channel PJ's Radical Playz (https://www.youtube.com/@pjsradicalplayz4876) has grown exponentially up to 536,000 subscribers for some reason. We honestly have no idea why. He posts just general stuff and adventures that he has, but it keeps growing. This past weekend we went to The Freedom Factory racetrack in Bradenton, FL, owned by YouTube personality Cleetus McFarland (Garrett Mitchell), and got to meet most of the guys from the channel. Super nice guys just out there having fun on their channel. My son has been working with my wife/his mom on putting more and more videos up and so far it's been pretty good. I'll make sure that I am subbed to your channel and make some comments on some videos. Every little bit helps!

[Pro Stock John]

My friend Alex has done extremely well with his channel, has grown it to just over 1M followers.

https://www.youtube.com/@LegitStreetCars

[markinnaples]

I've watched Legit Street Cars for a while now. Alex seems like a pretty nice guy and it's cool that he does most of his own work. Pretty good stuff.