Is Youtube too saturated to really be successful now?

I think youtubers should start with an open mind. I dont think your immediate vision should be to make money
It should be something you enjoy doing, but if someone starts a channel and puts more work into it with the end goal of making a living from Youtube I don't see any problem with that either.
 
It should be something you enjoy doing, but if someone starts a channel and puts more work into it with the end goal of making a living from Youtube I don't see any problem with that either.
Fair enough...but I don.t want anyone quitting their day jobs to start a channel, thinking they are gonna make a living overnight
 
Fair enough...but I don.t want anyone quitting their day jobs to start a channel, thinking they are gonna make a living overnight

No one starts a business (if you are making income from this you are starting a business, self-employed, etc) and expects to make profit overnight, so its a null point to bring up.

People can definitely start channels with the sole intent to make money though. There are plenty of people who have. Look at any Top 10 video channel. They may enjoy the content, but I love my current job working for the man 40 + hours a week, and I expect to be paid for it, haha.

I started my channel because I love indie gaming, want to promote developers, and grow an audience. An underlying factor is that I've treated this channel like a business and have tried to put effort in like a business. Now I've had real world issues come up that caused inconsistency, but I have a plan that I am continuing to execute which I believe will help this turn into more of a business in that I will be offering various products outside of my free content on YouTube.

Nothing wrong with having a plan going in to lead to profits at some point at all.[DOUBLEPOST=1456507338,1456507254][/DOUBLEPOST]If a YouTuber wasn't worried about money, making money, etc, then YouTube itself would probaly be a NPO (non-profit organization), not run ads like they do, etc. The website is here to make money, and individuals who share content can earn money from this as well as partners in the company YouTube, who is making money on advertisement. How do people not see this?

You are a partner of YouTube, you are being paid by them to host content which people will watch in exchange for a percentage of ad revenue.
 
No one starts a business (if you are making income from this you are starting a business, self-employed, etc) and expects to make profit overnight, so its a null point to bring up.

People can definitely start channels with the sole intent to make money though. There are plenty of people who have. Look at any Top 10 video channel. They may enjoy the content, but I love my current job working for the man 40 + hours a week, and I expect to be paid for it, haha.

I started my channel because I love indie gaming, want to promote developers, and grow an audience. An underlying factor is that I've treated this channel like a business and have tried to put effort in like a business. Now I've had real world issues come up that caused inconsistency, but I have a plan that I am continuing to execute which I believe will help this turn into more of a business in that I will be offering various products outside of my free content on YouTube.

Nothing wrong with having a plan going in to lead to profits at some point at all.[DOUBLEPOST=1456507338,1456507254][/DOUBLEPOST]If a YouTuber wasn't worried about money, making money, etc, then YouTube itself would probaly be a NPO (non-profit organization), not run ads like they do, etc. The website is here to make money, and individuals who share content can earn money from this as well as partners in the company YouTube, who is making money on advertisement. How do people not see this?

You are a partner of YouTube, you are being paid by them to host content which people will watch in exchange for a percentage of ad revenue.
You seem like you have it all planned out. That's awesome. Nice interesting convo. Cudos
 
You seem like you have it all planned out. That's awesome. Nice interesting convo. Cudos

I should add, I haven't made much direct money from YouTube at ALL. But...

I went in with a goal in mind. I did market research to find out where inside indie gaming I can find a niche because I enjoy indie, I should find something relevant to that. I saw a need on the internet from many developers and gamers requesting the same thing and not getting it. I filled the space partially on YouTube and have had nothing but positive feedback, compliments, and "why do you not have a million subs yet?" type comments. I feel as my audience grows and I have more mind share, I can move onto the next phase which is an external community devoted to a similar topic within indie gaming which is a need in the gaming community right now. It's a long process, but its been planned out and evolved over time.

Again, you are partnering with YouTube to produce content on your channel that they can lay ads on, and in return you are selling ad space for that % revenue share. No one does YouTube without partnering if they are given the option because they want to have those extra features you get, and by partnering you are saying you are doing it for the hope that you get some form of cash.

People that get on their soapbox on this forum about "no i dont do it for money blah blah" all have accepted that agreement to become a YouTube partner and have ads play on their videos. They aren't high and mighty, they just don't open their eyes.
 
Answering to the title.... the answer is NO

More difficult? Maybe.... but don't let that stop you, its never too late to start living a dream!
 
It's an interesting question, but why do people constantly ask it? I get the feeling people just want a handy excuse. I'd rather focus on what I can control now. I'm not going to wonder about the "good ole days" when it was supposedly easier to make a name for yourself. Did authors ask this when the typewriter was invented, "Geez, now anyone can write, now there's too much competition"?

Exactly. Nothing is impossible if you set your mind to doing it. And honestly, who cares if it is over saturated or not? Make videos and see where it takes you.

There's always a market for something you do, because there's no other version of you out there making content. So even if a million other people have done a Mindcraft video, or sang a song you did...they didn't do it the way you did it.

I highly doubt the major players on YouTube were wondering if they'd ever make it big on YouTube and just were making videos because they wanted to, so...just keep at it lol.
 
I don't think so...plenty of room... however I think it will much harder to rise to the top, you have to be unique and really stand out to make it to the top, and its a young persons game.
 
Ehh, I'd say it depends entirely on the market you're attempting to break into. Gaming? Yes. Beauty? Yes. Vlogging? Yes, unless you're drastically different. Buuuuut, the same could be said for any genre, really.

I say that there's always hope. As much as I love and respect many YouTubers who have become the face of their respective fields, there will probably come a time that someone will take their place - whether that's a case of them stepping down or simply becoming irrelevant.

Now, this might not be the case. After all, there are countless actors and actresses and musicians whose work and presence has become iconic and timeless. And the same might be said for some of the larger YouTubers.

We're at a crossroads now, in that we have enough experience of the Internet to know exactly what works, how to go somewhere to an extent and what an audience wants. So, it's easier to become well-known once you crack that formula. However, is it then all the same old nonsense? Will we be bored because we've seen it all before, or has this opened up potential gateways to fame and success for an entire new generation of people?

It will be tricky, I've no doubt about that. We've grown up watching YouTubers, which is a luxury many YouTubers who are famous now didn't have access to - or at least, not on the scale at which it's available now. So, being a YouTube sensation isn't the phenomenal novelty it once was. But, it's still just as powerful - we just have to work a lot harder at being the next exciting new thing.

I have no idea if any of this made sense. There's a lot of words here and my arm hurts, so we can hope. I'm gonna go cuddle my cat.
 
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