A guy I know runs a Google Ads agency. His YouTube videos get 38 views each
Last year those videos added $12k/mo to his business
(around 800k TOAL)
Not 38,000. 38. the kind of number you'd be embarrassed to screenshot..
here's the part nobody wants to hear > he was already doing $4k/mo before YouTube. six months in he's at $16k. six videos. best one cracked 66 views, worst did 8
so how does a channel that 38 people watch print an extra 12 grand a month??
because he stopped chasing views & started chasing the right viewer
everyone builds a channel backwards. they farm subscribers for a year, then try to figure out how to make money from them (broke the whole time, praying the algorithm shows up)
he did it in reverse:
1. knew exactly who he wanted = software founders running paid ads
2. knew exactly what he sold them = a $1-2k/mo service
3. made videos answering the 5 questions those founders google at 11pm
that's it. no ring light, no 14-hour edits, no face if he didn't want one
a video on "how to fix a Google Ads account bleeding money" doesn't need a million views. it needs 38 views from 38 business owners with a bleeding Google Ads account. 5 book a call > 2 sign = ~$2-4k/mo forever, off one video 38 people watched
a million views from teenagers = $40 in ad money
38 views from buyers = a mortgage payment
most people are playing the wrong game & calling it bad luck. stop counting views, start counting who's watching
This is how I’d rank content channels for info operators in 2026 after running 50+ accounts and generating 250M+ impressions.
Quick caveat before the chart. This ranking is for secondary silo accounts, not your main personal account. Different rules apply when you're building a personal brand on the main.
A few things worth knowing:
YouTube longform is S-tier because the content pays dividends for years. The caveat is it's a long-term play, so if you're starting from scratch, you might see faster early wins on short-form. You should definitely do longform at the start too, just be prepared for it to take a bit longer to compound.
Among the short-form channels, the ranking goes IG Reels > Tiktok > YouTube Shorts in raw audience quality.
WhatsApp & Telegram groups sit in A-tier because the users are on those platforms daily, you get direct communication to them for all your messages/announcements, and it’s also a nice way to segment leads who are interested in specific offers. Pitching leads in a closed doors environment helps with conversion rates.
LinkedIn is B-tier for info operators specifically. It's a great channel, just not the strongest one in your acquisition stack at $250-500K.
Selling my YT channel. Premium audience, 55+ male, TV (80%). Luxury Automotive niche. Videos are very easy to make (I can offer post-purchase support and scripts, thumbnails, titles for the next 10 videos).
Took a break for two months from my local newsletter in order to think about where I'm headed. Excited to see what's possible. Just sent the third weekly newsletter since I restarted it.