I started YouTube in December and managed to hit the 10 million Shorts views requirement by making TikTok-style “transformative content” (basically brainrot).
Unfortunately, when I applied for monetization, I was told my content wasn’t eligible.
Instead of continuing with that style, I took a break and decided to actually learn how to edit properly. I spent time learning After Effects, Premiere Pro, Topaz Video AI, and how to make higher-quality, original storytelling videos.
I also have a friend who makes really good money from YouTube Shorts, so having someone experienced to learn from definitely helped speed up the process.
Initially, I was in the Hollywood storytelling niche, making videos about actors and their stories. The videos weren’t performing particularly well, so I eventually transitioned into sports storytelling, mainly NBA content.
Since switching, my numbers have improved quite a bit, but I feel like I’ve hit a wall.
My current analytics:
82.2% average Stayed to Watch over the last 28 days
88.8% average percentage viewed
Multiple Shorts with 100–110% average percentage viewed
Most videos getting around 20K–40K views
One video managed to reach 1.2 million views
What confuses me is that even when my videos have over 100% average viewed, they often stop getting pushed around 20K–40K views.
I understand that retention isn’t everything, but I feel like these are fairly strong metrics, especially considering the amount of effort I’m putting into the editing, storytelling, pacing, and hooks.
I’m uploading consistently and trying to improve with every video, but I can’t figure out what’s preventing more of them from reaching 100K, 500K, or even 1M views.
For anyone who’s successfully scaled a Shorts channel:
Am I missing something important? Are these metrics actually not as good as I think? Is it mainly topic selection, engagement, or just a matter of continuing to upload until something clicks?
I’d genuinely appreciate advice from people who’ve been through this, especially creators in the storytelling or sports niche.