It’s only about seventeen quid, so not exactly a massive gamble, but I’m wondering if anyone here’s actually given it a go and seen any proper results? Not just the usual shiny screenshots.

I'm still finding my feet with SEO and socials, but YouTube’s always felt a bit scary. The idea of doing faceless videos with AI appeals to me though, especially if it can pull in traffic without me having to act like a vlogger.

Worth a punt? Should I blow my tea and biscuits fund on it?

Cheers,
Rita

I picked up a batch of short kids craft videos - 30 seconds to a minute each ... all with PLR rights. You can rebrand them, repost them, and technically monetise them. There are over 200 in total.

At first, I thought it sounded ridiculous. I’m in my 50s, my kids are past the glue-and-glitter phase, and I’m definitely not about to sit on camera making paper frogs 😅. But then I started digging into the niche and… it’s surprisingly solid.

Family-friendly content has no expiry date. Parents are always searching “easy crafts for kids” or “rainy day ideas.” Teachers use this stuff too. The engagement on these shorts is wild - the completion rates are high, which the algorithms seem to love.

So I’m wondering: could a simple YouTube Shorts channel posting these daily actually build consistent income? Even if it’s small - a few dollars here and there from ad views, affiliate links, or craft kit promos - it all adds up.

I’m thinking of running a test with a few of these videos on YouTube and maybe Reels to see what happens.

Anyone else here tried monetising short-form content like this? I’ve done SEO and parasite stuff for years, but short video feels like a different beast entirely. Curious if anyone’s cracked it - or if I’m about to waste a few evenings finding out 😂.

Here are the two big areas I’ve noticed matter most:

1. Video Performance and Engagement
This is the top factor. YouTube rewards videos that keep people watching. Some signals I’ve been paying attention to:

• Watch time and retention: If viewers stay for most of the video, YouTube treats it as a strong sign of quality. If people drop off quickly, the video sinks.

• Likes, comments, shares: These show YouTube that viewers found value.

• Personalization: Results are tailored to each person’s watch history, so my videos show up more for people who already like similar content.

2. Video Optimization and Metadata
Since YouTube cannot “watch” your video the way a person does, it still relies on the info we provide to categorize it. Here’s what I’ve been doing:

• Title: Writing something compelling that includes the keywords someone would actually type in.

• Description: Using the first couple of sentences to summarize clearly and naturally with keywords.

• Tags: Mixing broader tags (“meal prep”) with specific ones (“vegan high protein meal prep”) so the system knows exactly where my video fits.

When both pieces come together, it seems to click: the algorithm knows what the video is about and sees that people are responding well. That combination is what has started giving my small channel some organic views.

I realize this is probably old news for some of you on here but I’m still learning and wanted to share this in case it helps anyone else who is just starting out.

If I didn't do this, it is like nobody sees my vids and I get like 10-20 views only, and I'm pretty tired of my montly income from Youtube not going anywhere. 4000 subscribers don't mean a thing if nobody watches.

So the service they would provide is about real clicks, so not just 'bots' likes and such (nah I know that bots don't work, they're not interested in your content and Google sees that). Just like we could do on WA at a certain point, but people just stopped doing that for some reason, which was a terrible shame,as you have the opportunity to do so on a huge platform.

Anyway, have you ever used a service like this and what are your experiences with it?

thanks!

Lizzy

PS, the same goes for a forum like this one here and my own dollhouse forum. WOuld buying comments work to get it more active?

I am talking about changing your MP4 filename BEFORE you upload it to YouTube.

It should include the keyword that your video is about.

This gives you two more opportunities for traffic - it tells both Google and YouTube's algorithm what your video focuses on. 

Here's an example - the screenshot below is my best-performing Short for one of my YouTube channels.

But, how does it tell Google and YouTube what my video is about - it could be anything!

And, unfortunately, you cannot change the filename after you have uploaded it.

I hope this helps, thanks for reading!

And what is it, I hear you ask!

When you upload your YouTube videos, you now have the option of adding 3 different thumbnails, and YouTube will show them randomly. 

YouTube will track which video performs best, and after 2 weeks will decide on the winner!

At that point, YouTube will only show the winning thumbnail from then on, although you can change this if you wish.

And importantly, you can do this for your previous videos!

Click on the details for a particular video, and on the current thumbnail, you can select the 3 dots in the top corner, as indicated on the screenshot.

You can then add a further 2 variations of your thumbnail, and let YouTube run its test.  

I want to quickly introduce you to a fantastic concept when it comes to creating a new YouTube channel, and this is specifically aimed at those who want to go "faceless", while taking advantage of Google's favouritism for YouTube, and also the ascendency in recent times of YouTube shorts and reel-type videos.

Okay, the concept introduced in the video below is around 7 months old and in reality, following the EXACT concept discussed in this video has become saturated.

SO DON' DO THE "RIDDLE THING"

However, you can still use the same principles but focus on different ideas and niches.

The video shows you how to make bulk "riddle" videos, and the creator makes about 30 video shorts at a time, changes the background, makes another 30, etc.

Once you get into the hang of things you can easily make 30 videos in about 15-20 minutes, so realistically, one day's hard work you'll have enough videos to add to your new YouTube channel for the next 3-6 months (and you can also upload your "shorts" to TikTok, Instagram, and Pinterest).

The method discussed doesn't even need a website, as it's focused on YouTube monetization because it's likely to get a LOT of traffic, both internally from YouTube and externally through SEO.

As I say, the "riddles" niche with this method has probably become a bit saturated, but there are loads of other things you can try, e.g. movie quiz, sports quiz, chemistry/zoology quiz, coding puzzles, etc., or entirely change the niche like geography facts, shocking animal behaviors,

I'm even going to try "quizzes" from the "Attitude Era of WWF/WWE" (used to love a bit 1990s US Wrestling/Sports Entertainment).

The main concept here is to mass produce (add 5-10 shorts a day), and then allow the YouTube algorithm to do its thing, and then allow Google's obvious favourtism for YouTube to help with SEO and raking in the search engines.

All you need is ChatGPT or Google Gemini (free versions are fine), a pro Canva subscription, and a brain (can't help you with the last one 🤣🤣🤣)

Plus, this DOESN'T HAVE TO BE related to your niche either.

I'm guessing a lot of you are here because you want to "make money online", and that is what i'm going to do over the course of days, weels, months, and years... teach you how to make money online, that doesn't always rely on blogging, SEO, or even a website.

nothing wrong with having a "side hustle" if ever you need a few days break from your website/niche/blogging/getting kicked in the Googles by the search engines.

Prepare, as ALWAYS, to have your "Mind Blown"

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=lqXWVzWkkyc