Is Success with Long YouTube Videos Luck or Hard Work?
- Thread starter Elchavo
- Start date
- Apr 20, 2018
- 5,025
- 2,938
I'd give it a few weeks though. One video usually isn't enough to tell if it's luck or the channel just needs more data.
Elchavo
Elite Member
- Dec 21, 2019
- 1,736
- 471
The main reason I'm doing this is to test the algorithm.
As you know, YouTube doesn't promote every video, and for brand-new channels it's often a matter of luck which videos get impressions.
As far as I know, YouTube will test my content for a while.
Right now, the most important thing is getting impressions, because that's one of the hardest parts for a newly created channel.
That's why I created five brand-new channels. I'll upload similar videos to all of them and see which one the algorithm decides to push.
(Of course, click-through rate and average watch time are important.)
But remember: if your videos don't get impressions, none of those metrics matter.
I'm also curious about something.
Some people say, "My very first video got xxx,xxx views." I want to believe it, but at the same time... I don't.
I want to test that too.
As most of you know, the first videos on a brand-new channel usually get little to no views and only a handful of impressions.
emily power
Registered Member
- May 18, 2026
- 73
- 11
One viral video is just an A/B test spike—it’s too early to call it algorithm luck or a proven niche. Give the platform a few weeks to gather more data points. Long-term, sustainable channel revenue isn't built on one-hit wonders; it comes down to audience retention, upload consistency, and high-value content.
doodlepilot
Newbie
- Jul 1, 2026
- 45
- 20
The fascinating thing about this experiment is that it might reveal the amount of variation in initial distribution among the new channels, but u should be careful about calling it “luck,” given only one single upload. If it keeps happening in multiple videos, however, the results will become very telling about how the testing process works on YT.
seems like a well thought experiment. testing multiple channels in similar conditions is a good way to see how things perform. just try nd keep the upload time, titles, thumbnails nd descriptions as consisttent as possible so the comparrison is fair. Do not just rely on one upload though. send each channel a few videos before deciding which one is doing better. Good luck nd i would love to hear how it goes.
greatfox20
Newbie
- Jan 8, 2024
- 3
- 0
Well your strategy is really hard wish you luck...
good method. real life experiments will always provide more informatiion than any theory could. i would keep track of impressions, time spent watching nd how the video is perceived during the first several days after the rellease. even if the results turn out to be unpredictable uhh will get valuable information for ur further work with channels.
Jacobpicotte
Registered Member
- Jun 7, 2023
- 50
- 16
You can't really draw a results after so little time so you need to keep this test for longer time like 1 year to see what works the best.
- Apr 1, 2026
- 104
- 49
This I wouldnt personally do. Maybe theres a way of backtesting that the alternative. I see
HoloStar
BANNED
- Jul 20, 2026
- 16
- 4
I would love to see a journey about this
Definitely would follow
- May 2, 2010
- 9,888
- 15,983
You wouldn't ask can anyone be an olympic athelete, and what sort of sacrifice they do to become noticed in their industry. Whats the difference between the olympics of phsyical endurement and youtube media? Not much, when it comes to hours put in, and who is likely to be a full time youtube athelete.
To many people on this forum, are looking to make money from shitty effort a lot of the time. They just don't know it. The fastest and easiest in what i mean isn't always the best. The earth took millions of years to create diamonds, don't expect a miracle overnight with a few shitty videos, while you "test the water"
Jump in and do the content paddle!
To many people on this forum, are looking to make money from shitty effort a lot of the time. They just don't know it. The fastest and easiest in what i mean isn't always the best. The earth took millions of years to create diamonds, don't expect a miracle overnight with a few shitty videos, while you "test the water"
Jump in and do the content paddle!
- Oct 7, 2025
- 221
- 34
You may need to use time to evaluate the effectiveness of the factors presented.
ayamg0r3ng
BANNED
- Feb 21, 2022
- 15
- 1
Sure, luck is sometimes helpful, but what really counts is persistence