Suibhne

Just want to say a big thank you to those who sent kind messages following my previous post and to those who signed up to support the channel. It means a lot to me that so many people care about what I make.

I also got some constructive criticism and some really good feedback about what the audience wants. There seems to be a universal desire for more content more frequently, rather than the videos that take many months to make. So this year I'll be doing just that.

There were also a lot of suggestions about varying the type of content I make. The Illyria video performed a lot better than I was expecting, so you can expect more of that simple, quick style this year. I also think I need to condense Serbia into a shorter second episode to finish it, rather than stretching it out. That way it won't be left unfinished like I have done with some older videos.

I'll set up a poll for members and Patrons to vote on the next video as well. I already have a list of videos I think could be interesting.

Really looking forward to seeing what you all think.

1 month ago | [YT] | 350

Suibhne

2025 was the worst year for Suibhne by far.

I never really know how to start these kinds of posts, but I figured we would get the bad news out right away. I want to start being more open and transparent about the channel going forward so plan to do an update every January from now on. Below I have broken down how Suibhne is doing financially, and also the troubles it's facing. I hope that by seeing the numbers that I can reach at least a small fraction of you viewers who may be able to help.



There's no sugar coating it. In 2025 this channel made $18,382.
That's a -44% decrease over 2024 ($35,183) and a -58% decrease over 2023 ($44,716). So basically, I made less than half of what I did two years ago.


Most of that, around 90% came through the ads shown next to videos.
Youtube Premium subscriptions made up around 9%.
Those who chose to support the channel directly made up less than 1% through Youtube Memberships.



These three streams are bundled together in Google's AdSense program, and account for around 80% of my total income over that same three year period
Sponsorships and Nebula account for another 12% of my income, the vast majority of it coming from paid sponsorship placements.
The rest came from those who support the channel directly through Patreon, at around 8%.



Now as far as I can tell this is due to a few factors:



Views on the channel have also drastically declined. 7.2 Million in 2023, 6 Million in 2024, and then 4 Million in 2025. This is partly due to a decrease in my output, but mostly due to changes in the way Youtube recommends content. Youtube has begun prioritising shorter content and encouraging creators to make more of it. Youtube Shorts accounted for 8% of my views but 0.8% of watchtime in 2025. Youtube Shorts pay almost nothing compared to the main videos, so only accounted for 0.2% of revenue.

So even though Youtube counts 4 Million views for 2025, the real figure is just 3 Million if you exclude Shorts. In other words, 25% of total views across the entire channel, accounting for $128 in revenue. Over that period, ad blocking software has also increased and may be accounting for a disproportionate drop in revenue, but advertiser spending evidently has also dropped.


To put it bluntly, these are not... sustainable numbers.



2024 was already a pretty hard year. The channel was still growing, and views were relatively stable, and yet revenue was decreasing. I figured it was likely due to a shift in the algorithm and that things would improve. But then, in August 2025, Youtube pushed out another change.



You may have heard some other creators talk about this already, but the long and short of it is, Youtube wanted to clamp down on the use of Adblocking software, so now it no longer reports views by devices that use them. Although this was not theoretically supposed to impact revenue, the reality seen by myself and many other creators is the opposite. Views were down and so was revenue across the board. Youtube is not exactly transparent about these things but the numbers are hard to ignore.



In August 2025 this channel made $992. That's the lowest single month since September 2019. Not only is that not enough to live on, it's not even enough to cover my rent which is $1570 per month. In fact, the channel hasn't been able to cover the cost of my rent since April, despite the fact that I have released two videos since then.



This could not have come at a worse time. In May, I posted what was the most expensive video I have ever made. The first part in the history of Serbia series. I not only hired my first part time employee to help with production, but also commissioned the help of freelancers for music and artwork. And the video bombed. Now, I have no issue with a video being not super popular, but even by that metric the views were suspiciously low. A “badly” performing video typically achieves 220-450k views, but in that bracket, the Serbia video barely surpassed 150k. The subject matter of the video was somewhat controversial I’ll grant, but the like/dislike ratio and the Click through rate, which is the percentage of people who chose to watch the video when they were shown it, was also at or even above average.


Needless to say I’ve had to let my first employee go, and I won't be able to afford to pay collaborators for future videos at this rate. But it’s unfortunately worse than that.



2025 was a pretty bad year for me in my personal life. I won't get into it here, but there were multiple factors affecting my ability to work on content. You can see my previous post for a little more detail if you like. I also welcomed my second child into the world in September, and that continued to demand more of my time and attention. Focus on my family is my first priority, and yet I haven't been able to put a roof over our heads let alone food on the table in almost 9 months.



So… 2025 was the first year I seriously considered quitting YouTube to find another job. I have had some pretty bad financial issues over the years, but suffice it to say this is pretty catastrophic. The only way we have been able to make it through this long is due to financial help from friends and family.



Ok, what are our options? The only lifeline this channel has left is direct support from you viewers. There are currently 45 Patrons supporting the channel accounting for around $500 a month. A further 35 channel members here on Youtube for $36 a month. Supporting the channel directly is by far the best way to ensure this channel isn't destined for the digital graveyard. Now I have been trying to grow my Patreon for years, and offered basically every perk. Bonus content, free pins, behind the scenes, HD artwork, early video access, but no luck. The channel even makes less on Patreon now than it did when it went full time back in 2018.



Now I totally get that it's a lot to ask someone to support the channel directly. Patreon has become increasingly unpopular over the years and not without good reason. When I speak to other creator friends of mine, the story is often the same. It's hard to attract new patrons, and hard to get them to stay. Those who have had success, cultivated a loyal following early and built their base a decade or more ago. Or they have substantial rewards or benefits available that I simply can't match. It's just me running this channel, a one man army. And if I were to dedicate time to making Patreon as attractive as I can, that’s time spent not working on videos. I'm not a particularly big fan of the platform. But - it is without a single doubt the only way to save this channel. It can provide a predictable and reliable revenue stream while I work on videos, and cover my most basic expenses. I can't promice you extensive rewards for supporting me there, but you will be directly funding me to make new videos. Adsense simply is no longer a reliable way for me to pay my bills.



If you have taken the time to read this far, thank you. That already means a lot. But what would really mean the world to me and the future of this channel would be if I could convince you to sign up for Patreon. It would only take about 200 people at the $5 tier to ensure I can pay my rent each month. If that's not something you can afford, even the lowest tier at $2 would be a massive help.



I plan on making a video on this subject as well, but thought I would have a better chance of reaching viewers by posting here too. I really hope I have connected with at least some of you and that my content is worth your money. If you’d rather not use Patreon, you can always sign up to be a channel Member too, but depending on where you live they might take a bigger cut of the pie.



Thank you all



James

www.patreon.com/cw/Suibhne/membership

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1 month ago (edited) | [YT] | 404

Suibhne

In case this one got buried in your feed, check out my new video on Serbian Nationalism. The reviews are in and critics gave it 5 stars! (Very important and real critics) https://youtu.be/EoPpE01uVpQ

9 months ago | [YT] | 143

Suibhne

youtube.com/live/WvVE-5XIMv8?si=DatPqRly2riENBNa Join us for a video post mortem on Serbia

9 months ago | [YT] | 83

Suibhne

These HD artworks make great wallpapers 👀

www.patreon.com/posts/hd-artwork-from-128911685?ut…

9 months ago | [YT] | 188

Suibhne

Last week I remembered I have a Podcast so decided to take it out for a spin again. Together we tackled the important questions - Who are the Illyrians? What do they want? If I suspect a neighbour or loved one to be an Illyrian, who do I call? All this and more

9 months ago | [YT] | 43

Suibhne

youtube.com/@suibhne2/streams I just remembered I have a Podcast. Join us live for a new episode!

9 months ago | [YT] | 50

Suibhne

Survey says Members are happier watching video now rather than waiting weeks for the public version. Join the elite club of people who are sick of waiting months for a new video here:

10 months ago | [YT] | 68