Should I delete the video that got me 45K views and 857 subscribers?

TheWealthProject

TheWealthProject

Active Member
I recently decided that I'm going to start making videos again. In 2017, I made a video that now has 45,000 views which has gotten me 857 subscribers (as of today). That growth happened over a long period of time. Shortly after the video, I got busy with life and put YouTube on hold. I didn't realize how much it had grown until I checked about 6 months ago.

I decided that I'm not going to let those views and subscribers go to waste. I'm now going to be making personal finance videos on the channel, but was wondering if I should delete the old video since it's not directly related? The video is more so a "motivation" video. What are the pro's and con's of leaving the video up? What would you guys do?
 
I've been contemplating something similar too. My oldest videos are very badly produced and they have horrible engagement statistics, but they are the ones that keep getting the most views and even converting to paid members on Patreon. So I just leave them and gradually improve my new videos.

There's something to be said about the way you framed your question. You didn't ask us "should I keep...", you asked "should I delete...". That leads me to believe you might've already made up your mind, but want somebody to change your decision for you, because, well, the numbers tell a story of their own.

The way I see it, "Motivation" and "Finance" are sort of neighbor niches, they go hand in hand. I don't think you need to delete that particular video, but that's just my opinion.
 
Min/Max Munchking said:
I've been contemplating something similar too. My oldest videos are very badly produced and they have horrible engagement statistics, but they are the ones that keep getting the most views and even converting to paid members on Patreon. So I just leave them and gradually improve my new videos.

There's something to be said about the way you framed your question. You didn't ask us "should I keep...", you asked "should I delete...". That leads me to believe you might've already made up your mind, but want somebody to change your decision for you, because, well, the numbers tell a story of their own.

The way I see it, "Motivation" and "Finance" are sort of neighbor niches, they go hand in hand. I don't think you need to delete that particular video, but that's just my opinion.
Click to expand...

You're pretty spot on about the way that I framed the question... and good point about motivation and finance being neighbor niches. I think leaving it up will help bring more viewers/subscribers and I can always take it down later down the road.
 
Ewokean said:
Don't delete videos. It might have been a hit and could still be getting you lots of views
Click to expand...
Yeah, especially with those stats. Very, very few channels hit five-figure viewcounts with their very first video. So, in a way, you have one of the best track records in YouTube and are primed to make the whole thing take off if you manage to put all the components in just the right spot. You're still more likely to gain no traction on your new videos, but that first one is gonna keep the channel-wide averages very high for a while. Now all you need is to put it to good use.
TheWealthProject said:
You're pretty spot on about the way that I framed the question... and good point about motivation and finance being neighbor niches. I think leaving it up will help bring more viewers/subscribers and I can always take it down later down the road.
Click to expand...
Yeah, it's probably still trickling in a few dozen views every day/week, right?
 
Last edited:
Min/Max Munchking said:
Yeah, especially with those stats. Very, very few channels hit five-figure viewcounts with their very first video. So, in a way, you have one of the best track records in YouTube and are primed to make the whole thing take off if you manage to put all the components in just the right spot. You're still more likely to gain no traction on your new videos, but that first one is gonna keep the channel-wide averages very high for a while. Now all you need is to put it to good use.

Yeah, it's probably still tricking in a few dozen views every day/week, right?
Click to expand...

Thanks, I appreciate that. I think I have to just play this smart. I've put more than 30-40 hours of work into a video that I'll be uploading in a week or two. I've got the SEO down very well and I think it has the potential to generate a lot of views. I'm not getting too high on my expectations but I'm excited to see what happens.

Yeah, the video is still getting me roughly 1.1k views/month and 20 subs/month.
 
if I were a subscriber, I would not be pleased if you made an abrupt change. My advise would be to start a new channel. If you treat subscribers as 'numbers' and not respect the fact that they subscribed with a purpose, you likely will make poor decisions on the new channel as well.
 
markkaz said:
if I were a subscriber, I would not be pleased if you made an abrupt change. My advise would be to start a new channel. If you treat subscribers as 'numbers' and not respect the fact that they subscribed with a purpose, you likely will make poor decisions on the new channel as well.
Click to expand...

First of all, I'm not making an "abrupt change" to my channel. The topic of the videos that I will be making, like Min/Max Munchking said, sort of go hand in hand with the ONE video that I already made. I'm gonna go out on a limb and assume that the same people who want to learn "how to be successful" will be the same type of people who want to learn how to manage their money. That's not even to mention the fact that my first video was from August 2017, I'm sure a handful of my subscribers don't even remember subscribing to me. Thanks for your input.
 
markkaz said:
if I were a subscriber, I would not be pleased if you made an abrupt change. My advise would be to start a new channel. If you treat subscribers as 'numbers' and not respect the fact that they subscribed with a purpose, you likely will make poor decisions on the new channel as well.
Click to expand...

You do have a point. However, I don't get the impression OP is looking at it from a purely numerical/statistical perspective. In fact, I still think he came here looking for someone to tell him "DON'T delete the channel". If he proposed the idea of making scientific experimentation videos, I'd most likely tell him to start a new channel too. I just think "how to be successful" and "how to make money/handle finances" are close enough to appeal to similar audiences.
This is just my opinion, which is partially based on my own experience too. I've had a few brief stints in the "make money online" niche back in 2010-2012. I took a shot at "build an email list and then make money online by selling people products teaching them how to make money online" scheme. It worked for a while, but it just felt too dirty and sleazy doing that, so I ultimately stopped.

@TheWealthProject Good luck!
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top