Nate Curtiss

Turn these YouTube settings on to instantly get more views (save this):

1. Not Made for Kids
Always mark your videos as "Not Made for Kids," even if your content skews younger. "Made for Kids" silently kills your reach: fewer recommendations, no personalized ads, limited monetization, and end screens are disabled. One checkbox that costs you everything.

2. Category
Set the right category for every video. It tells YouTube exactly what kind of content you make and who to show it to. Most creators leave this on the default and wonder why their videos reach the wrong audience.

3. Default Upload Settings
Set your defaults once and never think about it again. Add a description template, a default category, and your standard end screen. Free optimization that takes 10 minutes and pays off on every single upload.

4. Notify Subscribers (Situational)
If you post daily or are testing a new content direction, uncheck this. It forces YouTube to find a fresh audience instead of just notifying your existing subs. Skip it when you need the head start.

5. Description First Line
The first line of your description should always be a link to your offer or another social platform. Most viewers never scroll down. Put what matters most at the top.

6. Tags
Add them, but do not spend more than 60 seconds on it. Tags barely move the needle in 2025. YouTube understands your content from the title, thumbnail, and description. Tags are the last thing you should be thinking about.

7. End Screens
Always use them. Either one video, or one video plus subscribe. When viewers watch multiple videos back to back, YouTube pushes your channel harder. End screens create watch journeys. Watch journeys create growth.

8. Cards
Never use them. Cards pull people away mid-video and tank your watch time. Watch time is the single biggest signal YouTube uses to decide who sees your content. Do not interrupt it.

9. Chapters
Turn off automatic chapters and write your own. Manual chapters improve the viewer experience, increase engagement, and show YouTube you are being intentional about your content structure. Takes two minutes and makes a real difference.

10. Pinned Comment
Pin a comment on every video the moment it goes live. Ask a question, spark a debate, or direct people to your offer. Comments drive engagement signals. Engagement signals drive distribution.

11. A/B Test Thumbnails (Big Channels Only)
YouTube's thumbnail testing tool is powerful, but only works with enough traffic to generate meaningful data. If your channel is large enough, test everything. If not, focus on getting views first.

Follow for more :)

1 week ago | [YT] | 178

Nate Curtiss

We're entering a new era of YouTube thumbnails.

The channels winning in 2026 aren't copying what's already gone viral.

They're building a visual identity so distinct, viewers recognize their content before they even read the title.

That's what separates a channel from a brand.

The old playbook: reverse-engineer viral thumbnails and hope for clicks.

The new playbook: develop a signature aesthetic, stay consistent, and make your packaging do the selling.

Look at these four thumbnails I just made for a client.

Same creator, same color palette, same energy. Instantly recognizable. That's not accident. That's a system.

AI isn't replacing creativity here. It's accelerating it. The best creators are using it to develop original concepts faster, not to churn out slop.

1 week ago | [YT] | 65

Nate Curtiss

If you don't understand this about YouTube, you're falling behind.

This is how top 1% creators post 100+ times per day and blow up fast.

Twitter is your testing ground. It doesn't care if you spam. Post f*cking everything.

Top 3 Twitter posts get turned into TikToks.

Top TikTok every day gets posted on IG + YT + FB.

This way, these platforms think you're only posting high quality content.

Finally, top YT Short gets turned into a long form YouTube video.

This way, every piece of content you post gets views.

And you don't waste your time trying to come up with original ideas.

Stop acting like a creator, and start acting like a media company.

2 weeks ago | [YT] | 55

Nate Curtiss

I interviewed a YouTuber with 200K subscribers to understand how Shorts actually grow channels.

Here are the biggest lessons from our conversation (and what most creators get wrong about Shorts):

1. Shorts are the fastest way to reach new viewers

YouTube Shorts work almost exactly like TikTok.

Vertical videos under 60 seconds that YouTube pushes to new audiences through the Shorts feed.

The advantage is simple:

- Shorts reach far more new viewers than long-form
- They take far less time to produce
- You can post far more frequently

For example, the creator I interviewed averages hundreds of thousands of views per Short.

And each one only takes about 3.5 hours to produce per minute of content.

That speed lets creators test ideas rapidly.

More attempts = more chances to go viral.

2. Pick a niche you can stick with for years

One of the biggest mistakes beginners make is choosing a niche purely based on views.

That usually leads to burnout.

The creator I interviewed runs a geography channel covering:

- Countries
- History
- Flags
- Global comparisons

Why that niche?

Because he was genuinely interested in it.

He used to draw maps as a kid.

YouTube is a marathon.

You might not go viral with your first video.

Or your first 10.

Or even your first 100.

If you do not actually enjoy the topic, you will quit before the growth happens.

3. Expect your Shorts to flatline at first

Many creators panic when their Shorts behave like this:

- Views spike for a few hours
- Then completely stop

This is normal.

Early in a channel’s life, most videos will only get 100–300 views.

Then eventually one video breaks out.

For this creator, one Short suddenly reached 30,000 views.

And once that happened, the rest of his videos began receiving more impressions too.

Momentum compounds.

The key is simple:

Just keep posting.

4. Balance quantity with quality

Posting frequently matters.

But not if the content becomes boring.

A good rule:

If you cannot watch your own Short without getting bored…

Your viewers will not either.

The goal is to post consistently while still delivering value in every video.

Not fluff.

Not filler.

Value.

5. Editing does not need to be complicated

One surprising thing:

His Shorts are not high-production.

No crazy animations.

No heavy editing.

Most of his videos are made entirely on his phone using simple visuals.

Often just:

- Images
- Simple transitions
- Fast narration

What matters more is pace.

He intentionally speaks quickly so the information moves fast enough to keep viewers engaged.

Attention on Shorts disappears instantly.

Speed keeps people watching.

6. Your intro decides everything

For Shorts, the first few seconds matter even more than long-form.

His rule:

The intro should immediately confirm the video topic.

Example:

If the title is comparing two countries…

The first line might simply be:

“Let’s compare China and India.”

No long setup.

No storytelling.

Just instantly delivering what the viewer clicked for.

If people do not understand the video immediately, they swipe away.

7. The two analytics that matter most

When analyzing Shorts performance, he focuses on two metrics:

Swipe rate

How many people watch the video versus scrolling away.

His channel averages:

- ~75 percent watch
- ~25 percent swipe away

Average view duration

How much of the video viewers actually watch.

His channel averages about 80 percent retention.

When he first started, those numbers were closer to 60 percent.

Improving those metrics is what leads to more distribution.

9. Do not rely only on Shorts

One of the biggest traps on YouTube:

Channels with millions of Short views…

But almost zero views on long-form videos.

That happens because the audiences are not connected.

The solution is simple:

Create both formats from the beginning.

Shorts attract viewers.

Long-form builds deeper audience loyalty.

When both types of content are connected to the same niche, viewers naturally migrate between them.

10. Shorts do not make much money

This surprises a lot of people.

Shorts RPM is extremely low.

The creator I interviewed earns roughly:

$0.05 per 1,000 views on Shorts.

For comparison, long-form videos often earn:

$3 per 1,000 views or more.

That means 1 million Short views may only generate around $50.

The reason is simple.

Ads in Shorts are placed between videos, not on the video itself.

So advertisers cannot target niches the same way they can with long-form.

Because of this, most creators use Shorts primarily for audience growth, not revenue.

1`. The real goal of Shorts

Shorts are a discovery engine.

They introduce new viewers to your channel.

But the real value happens when those viewers:

- Subscribe
- Watch long-form videos
- Become loyal audience members

Shorts get attention.

Long-form builds a business.

If you want to grow on YouTube right now, Shorts are one of the fastest ways to do it.

But only if you use them correctly.

Post consistently.
Deliver value.
Focus on retention.

Follow for more :)

2 months ago | [YT] | 58

Nate Curtiss

How long should you make your videos? I analyzed 300K+ videos with AI to find out.

More than 50% of the videos we studied were shorter than 15 minutes.

BUT shorter ≠ better.

In fact, longer videos (1 hour+) tend to perform better on average.

And for videos under an hour, the sweet spot is 15–25 minutes.

Why is this?

Longer videos = more watch time = stronger recommendations.

But on an audience level, we’re seeing 2 things happening:

1. More watch-time coming from TVs (where longer content thrives).
2. More short-form content being consumed (which competes with short long-form content)

15-25 minutes hits the sweet spot. It’s more in-depth than shorts, is suitable for TV viewers, but still feels like an easily digestible piece of content and low time commitment.

30-60 minutes, however, is more in the danger zone.

The time commitment feels long, but the watch time can’t compete with videos longer than 1 hour.

2 months ago | [YT] | 52

Nate Curtiss

Do faces help thumbnails? We analyzed 300,000+ videos with AI to find out.

Overall, there’s minimal difference in performance…

But when we zoom in, the impact of showing your face in a thumbnail varies greatly by niche.

E.g. in the finance niche:

Showing a face in the thumbnail performs 36% better on average.

(Faces add trust and credibility in this niche)

V.s gaming, where showing a face in the thumbnail performs 3% worse on average.

(Gameplay, characters, and action frames outperform creator faces because the content is the star, not the person)

2 months ago | [YT] | 72

Nate Curtiss

Pattern recognition is how you blow up on YouTube.

Look at:
- Your top performing videos
- Your competitors's top performing videos

Then replicate what's working with their:
- Topic choices
- Title formats
- Thumbnail formats
- Numbers in packaging
- Video length
- Intro length
- Editing pace

And you will go viral :)

2 months ago | [YT] | 51

Nate Curtiss

My 5 YouTube strategies for 2026 (save this)

1. Originality is overrated. Remixing wins.
The biggest creators aren’t inventing from scratch.
They’re improving proven ideas, titles, and thumbnail formats.
Original in 2026 = better execution, not novelty.

2. One video = 40+ pieces of content.
1 YouTube video = 8-16 clips
1 Short = +1 Reel, +1 TikTok, +1 Snapchat, +1 Twitter clip, etc
1 Short = 1 Twitter/LinkedIn post
Top creators don't make more, they re-use more.

3. Raw beats polished right now.
YouTube is swinging back toward authenticity.
Overproduced content feels forced.
Loose outlines outperform word-for-word scripts.

4. Volume is an unfair advantage.
There’s more content than ever, but also more attention.
Creators who post weekly (or more) dominate recommendations.

5. YouTube is a TV platform now.
TV viewers watch longer and generate more revenue.
Longer videos, playlists, and end screens win watch sessions, and watch sessions win 2026.

The creators who win next aren’t more talented.
They’re playing the right game.

Save this for later :)

2 months ago | [YT] | 100

Nate Curtiss

Don’t tell anyone about your YouTube channel.

Here’s why:

First, motivation matters more than you think.

Early on, people will joke, doubt you, or dismiss what you’re building, especially if you’re young. Even if you brush it off, that noise makes work harder.

I experienced this firsthand.

When people found out about my channel in high school, I got made fun of. It wasn’t the end of the world, but it made showing up harder than it needed to be.

Second, oversharing can actually hurt your growth.

If you constantly send your videos to friends and group chats, you’re feeding the algorithm the wrong signals.

Most of those viewers aren’t your real audience, so they click out early, and that tells YouTube your content isn’t a good fit.

The algorithm is smarter than people think.

If your content is good, it will find the right audience over time. Low views early usually mean YouTube hasn’t matched you with your people yet, not that you’re failing.

Build quietly.
Post consistently.
Let results speak later.

The same people who doubt you at the start rarely have anything to say at the end :)

2 months ago | [YT] | 313

Nate Curtiss

Should you show your face in your thumbnails?

Here's the answer based on your niche:

4 months ago | [YT] | 118