I watch quite a bit of YouTube. Probably too much, if I’m honest. It’s useful, occasionally entertaining, quite informative, and every now and then you stumble across someone genuinely brilliant. Someone who clearly knows their subject and shares something worthwhile.
But let’s not pretend the whole place isn’t also full of absolute muppetry.
Because it is.
What Passes For Content These Days
A huge chunk of YouTube is people reacting to other people’s content. Or commenting on someone else’s video. Or reading a news article out loud while nodding thoughtfully at the camera. Add a dramatic thumbnail, a shocked face, and a title that looks like it was written during a mild panic attack. Job done.
And somehow this counts as “content creation”.
Right.
The Bit That Actually Winds Me Up
Now here’s the thing that really winds me up. Not the existence of YouTubers. People can make a living however they like. Fair play if they manage it.
It’s the begging.
You know the bit. It’s always there. Sometimes at the start, sometimes halfway through, sometimes twice in the same video.
- “Please like the video.”
- “Don’t forget to subscribe.”
- “Help the channel reach one million subscribers.”
- “Only 30 percent of you watching are subscribed.”
And every time I hear it, I find myself thinking the same thing.
You’re not asking for support.
You’re asking people to help you make more money.
And an expletive quietly (often loudly) leaves my lips.
Let’s stop pretending otherwise.
How the Machine Actually Works
When someone says “Help the channel grow”, what they really mean is “Help me increase the numbers that advertisers and sponsors look at when deciding how much money to throw at me.”
- Subscribers increase reach.
- Reach increases watch time.
- Watch time increases ad revenue.
- Ad revenue attracts sponsors.
That’s the entire machine.
And again, before anyone starts sharpening pitchforks, there’s nothing wrong with earning money. Everyone needs to earn a living. But there’s something deeply irritating about the way some creators frame it like the audience owes them something.
Nobody forced them to become a YouTuber.
Nobody marched them out of their job, sat them in front of a ring light and said, “Right, mate. Start talking about VPN services and protein drinks.”
They chose it.
If someone leaves a stable job to gamble on YouTube income, that’s their decision. It’s not the audience’s responsibility to make sure their gamble pays off.
The Guilt Trip Doesn’t Wash
And yet the tone often drifts into this weird guilt trip.
“You watching but not subscribing really hurts the channel.”
Does it?
Or does it hurt the revenue projections?
Another one that makes me roll my eyes is the classic line:
“Subscribing helps me make more content.”
No it doesn’t.
It helps you earn more money from the content you’ve already decided to make.
Those are not the same thing.
People made videos on YouTube for a good couple of years or so before monetisation existed. Plenty still do.
People make podcasts with ten listeners. They write blogs that nobody reads. They upload videos because they enjoy sharing something, not because they’re calculating CPM rates.
If someone truly loves making videos, they’ll make them regardless.
It’s About Scale, Not Creativity
The truth is that many YouTubers aren’t chasing creativity. They’re chasing scale. Bigger numbers, bigger sponsorships, bigger payouts. The content often becomes secondary to the growth strategy.
You can see it in the scripts.
- First comes the hook.
- Then the sponsor.
- Then the reminder to like and subscribe.
- Then the content finally begins about two minutes in.
And five minutes later they’re telling you about a VPN again – or an energy drink that, apparently, their day wouldn’t be complete without (yeah, right).
The Ones Worth Watching
I still watch YouTube. I’ll probably watch something tonight. I’m subscribed to channels that are genuinely useful or entertaining. Some creators are fantastic. They teach, explain, fix things, build things, share knowledge.
Those people rarely beg.
They just make good stuff. People subscribe naturally because the content earns it.
Which is how it should work.
What grinds my gears is the constant feeling that viewers are being nudged, pushed, and occasionally guilt-tripped into helping someone else’s business model succeed.
Sometimes I just want to watch a video without feeling like I’ve accidentally wandered into a fundraising campaign.
And when a creator proudly announces that “70 percent of viewers aren’t subscribed,” my immediate reaction is simple.
Maybe those viewers are perfectly happy exactly where they are. Watching when they feel like it, ignoring the rest.
Imagine that.
Questions About How YouTubers Actually Make Money
Do YouTubers actually earn money from subscribers?
Not directly. Subscribers don’t pay a YouTuber anything. What they do is increase a channel’s reach and watch time, which boosts ad revenue and makes the channel more attractive to sponsors. More subscribers generally means more visibility, and more visibility means more money, but the subscriber count itself isn’t the paycheque.
Why do YouTubers keep asking people to like and subscribe?
Because the YouTube algorithm pays attention to engagement. Likes, comments, and subscriber growth all signal to the platform that a video is worth pushing to more people. More reach means more ad impressions, more sponsor interest, and ultimately more income. It’s a business prompt dressed up as a community request.
Is it wrong for YouTubers to ask for subscribers?
Not inherently. Asking once is reasonable. The issue is when it becomes persistent, guilt-laden, or framed as though the audience has some kind of obligation. Viewers don’t owe a creator anything. Good content earns subscribers. Begging for them is a different thing entirely.
How do YouTubers actually make money?
Mainly through ad revenue via the YouTube Partner Programme, brand sponsorships, affiliate links, merchandise, and sometimes memberships or Patreon. Ad revenue depends on watch time and ad rates, which vary by topic. Sponsorships are often where the real money is, and those deals are heavily influenced by subscriber count and audience demographics.
Why do some creators never ask for subscribers but still grow?
Because the content does the work. Channels that consistently deliver something genuinely useful or entertaining tend to grow without the constant nudging. People subscribe when they want more of what they just watched. That’s organic growth, and it’s a lot more durable than guilting someone into clicking a button.