5 Reasons My YouTube Channel Is Failing After 390 Videos
If you have ever uploaded hundreds of videos and still wondered why your channel is stuck in the mud, welcome to the club. I recently dropped a video called “5 Reasons My YouTube Channel Is Failing After 350 Videos”, and in true Rich Marks the Spot fashion, I decided to turn the chaos into a creative experiment.
This blog post expands on the video, goes behind the scenes, and walks you through the real reasons my channel is struggling to grow even after years of posting everything from improvised radio shows to serious podcast interviews. And if you are a creator, you might see a little of yourself in this.
Let’s dive in.
1. I Am Not Always the Guide
Here is the truth. On YouTube you need to be the guide for your audience. You need to show people how to learn something, fix something, understand something, or feel something. But sometimes I am not the guide. A lot of the time I am just entertaining myself.
I create to make my friends laugh. I create to test new skills. I create because an idea hits me at 2 am and I cannot let it go. That is great for the soul but terrible for the algorithm. I will be learning a skill while creating the thing that uses that skill, and then I post it anyway.
I believe in posting what you make. But what I make is not always what the algorithm wants. One day I am teaching, the next day I am sharing, the next day I am experimenting. It creates a channel that feels scattered. YouTube loves clarity. I love chaos. We do not always match.
2. I Make Art for Me, Not the Algorithm
This one hurts in a good way. I make videos because I love creating. But the stuff I make is unpredictable. One upload is a weird improv radio show with DJ Richie Static. Another upload is me doing a Conan O Brien style late night broadcast while learning OBS. Then I jump into creative philosophy videos, podcast interviews, even corporate content.
It is brilliant. It is fun. It is me.
But it is also a YouTube panic attack.
The platform likes patterns. I like creative whiplash. The algorithm does not know who to send my videos to because it cannot figure out what the channel actually is.
3. My Consistency Is Madness
I am consistent in the sense that I always have a vibe. I have ideas all the time. I am always making something. But I do not have a schedule. I never have.
One day a crazy idea pops into my head and I immediately make it. Then I upload it. Then once it is uploaded I ask myself why I made it. Then I remember that it was fun and that is the entire point.
YouTube does not need to get it.
My friends get it. I get it.
YouTube looks at it like: “Brother, what are you doing.”
That is not great for growth, but it is great for creativity. And for better or worse, I always choose creativity.
4. I Do Not Have a Niche
Here is where I officially break every YouTube rule. One week I am impersonating Conan O Brien in a makeshift basement late night show. The next week I am having a serious interview with a friend I have not seen in twenty years. The week after that I might be reviewing a piece of music gear or posting a Nintendo throwback video.
My niche is me.
And that is both genius and a guaranteed flop.
People come to YouTube to solve problems or binge similar content. I give them a spinning wheel of creative experiments. It is fun for me. It is confusing for everyone else.
5. I Am Too Nostalgic in a World That Swipes
This one is my favorite.
I love the process. I love learning. I love creating. I love failing. I love getting traction or not getting traction. I love posting. Posting is second nature for me. I do not fear it. I do not overthink it. I just like sharing the thing I made.
But the world is different now. People swipe fast. They want clarity. They want predictability. They want speed.
I want to enjoy the art of making something in my basement and then letting it fly into the world. I am not concerned with the outcome. I love the journey more than the result, and that mindset is not the best way to grow on YouTube.
Maybe I am just waiting for the world to catch up to me.
Wrapping It Up
So there you go. Five reasons my YouTube channel is failing, straight from the source. It is not because I do not care, it is not because I am not creative, and it is not because I am not trying.
It is because I am a creator who loves creating more than optimizing.
And sometimes that is the point.
If you are a creator who feels the same way, welcome. You are in good company. Keep making the weird stuff. Keep learning. Keep experimenting. Keep posting. One day the world might catch up to you too.
