Hi there,

I hope all is good!

I read a comment on a video yesterday that hit me hard. A creator wrote:

"I just finished creating and painting my video studio, but now I quit!"

They were worried about the new ..

💵 YouTube Partner Program updates

In summary you now need 8k watch hours per rolling 12 months (1k subs requirement stays the same) to be invited to monetize via AdSense. That's up from 4k. For shorts you need a massive 20 million Shorts views (up from 10 million).

But wait a second! This is not the end of the world when you know the context.

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This doesn't kick into effect until Feb 1 2027 (clock above), so if you work your socks off, or get lucky with some viral videos you can be grandfathered in at the 4k watch hours that is the current requirement.

I liked YouTube guru Rob The Maritimer's take on it (from his own experience), if you get to 4k watch hours even if it takes several months or a year and keep creating videos you are likely to get to 8k hours just a couple of months afterwards due to the snowball effect of adding subscribers and more views each time you add a new video.

So although it's annoying the goalposts have shifted - keep going. The growth can be exponential. The 8k target just takes a little longer.

And if it's the money you are after well neither 4k or 8k hours will make you rich, the amount depends on your niche and the typical CPM Advertisers pay - Rob shows he earned a meagre :

$30 a month for 4k hours watch time of long form and then ...

$60 a month when he hit 8k hours - for all that work!

His livestream is a useful and heartfelt watch but skip to 15:40 to get to the stats! 👇

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Bottom line unless you have a HUGE number of views (less if you are in a very high paying niche) you won't make lots of revenue from YT Ads.

You need to be using YT to funnel into your own products and services, plus look at niche sponsorships and affiliate marketing.

But saying that, some Ads money would be nice wouldn't it?

So how can you increase watch time immediately? (via VidIQ)

👉 Go through your content in YT studio and add related videos in the card at the end of your videos to suggest the next video.

👉 Relook at your playlists, can you add more videos to them, or create new ones on a theme to keep people bingeing like they do with a Netflix series.

👉 Go Live. If you can get just 20 people on a one hour live and 70% stay til the end, the watch time adds up fast, plus you have the replay out there increasing watch time forever.

👀 NEW YouTube view count changes

Today the memo went out that YouTube is changing the way views are counted on long form videos.

Beginning August 24, 2026, YouTube will shift to counting public views from the very first frame across all video formats, abandoning the unofficial 30-second threshold in favour of an exposure-based model.

For small business content creators, YouTube’s updated view count metric means faster-growing, higher public view counts that provide better initial social proof. Nice!

While total views may rise, you must still prioritise "Engaged Views" in analytics to ensure the first five seconds of content are effectively hooking viewers, as monetization and Ad costs remain unaffected by the change.

☺️ Shy Vlogging

If you find it awkward to film yourself in public, for example filming a talking head short in a cafe I picked up this tip from YouTuber Sydney Serena.

Wear your Airpods to make it look like you are FaceTiming a friend. It can be a decoy, you can still use a wireless mic to record the actual audio under your shirt, it just makes you fit in better and be discreet.

🚗 Under the hood

For some reason I've watched quite a few Condor Prestige Vehicle videos on YouTube and I am not even looking to buy a car.

James uses a GoPro to simply Vlog the ups and down of running a used car dealership in Devon with his wife who edits. The channel is growing fast.

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James talks a lot :) and goes into considerable detail but somehow it's quite addictive, you learn about cars, repairs, maintenance and the life of a small business in challenging times. There's something appealing to a cross section of viewers.

He introduces local characters who run repair shops and those business owners get exposure too which helps him build good relationships.

When he gets trouble with cars, or terrible interactions with a Land Rover main dealer he says so - you feel he is being transparent which builds trust, a key thing when it comes to buying a pre-owned car!

But does all the effort actually sell cars?

Yes, several times so far he has thanked viewers for buying his used cars and many have travelled a few hundred miles to the South West after seeing him feature a car on his channel.

His reach is expanding via video.

So what can you learn from his channel to apply to your business or a clients?

🎙️ My favourite wireless mic has an upgrade

If there is one video gadget I love apart from my iPhone it's the DJI Mic Mini.

I love it, so compact for travel, I can plug it into my iPhone or my macbook for external audio, and it auto charges whenever it's back in the case.

So just this month DJI have released the Mic Mini 2S version.

👉 Amazon UK​

Nb. In the USA? You may need to ship from another country like Canada due to restrictions on DJI.

We get :

• Internal recording - this means if your signal breaks up you get a clean back up recording direct inside the device.
• 32 bit float recording mean your audio won't get ruined in loud or 'shouty' places.
• Ai enhanced noise reduction.
• You can use up to 4 mic transmitters, great for podcasts.
• Charging cradle (as well as the case)
• You can change the look of the transmitter (the mic you put on your shirt) with magnetic plates to match your clothing.

Sean's overview video gets straight to the point 👇

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📱Phone Camera Into a 4,000-Customer, $1.2 Million Launch

Some people have just got the X Factor.

When Jessi Jean launched herself in November 2025, her accounts exploded accumulating over 400,000 cross-platform followers in less than a year, largely driven by charismatic, direct-to-camera "yapping" videos on various topics.

The Product: A multi-day video/digital challenge about unscripted, direct-to-camera speaking ("yapping").

I asked my AI assistant to look at Jessi's framework and break down the top takeaways for us.

Here is what we can learn:

1. Sell Identity and "Permission"

Jessi sold confidence and the permission to take up space rather than standard technical mechanics. Focus your messaging on solving emotional roadblocks instead of simply listing your service features.

2. Build the Product "In Public"

She documented her pivot in real time, building a waitlist to validate demand before launching. Bring your audience behind the scenes to let their immediate feedback shape your final offers.

3. Create an "Emotional Container"

She removed intimidation by choosing messy, human authenticity over a sterile corporate persona. Lower the customer barrier to entry by replacing high-pressure sales with a supportive environment.

4. Prioritise "Reps Over Research"

Her framework forces participants to take messy action and post until they inevitably improve. Stop waiting for perfect conditions because decisive, unpolished execution beats stagnant planning.

5. Market with "Homework"

The challenge required students to post publicly, turning daily assignments into a viral marketing loop. Embed user-generated milestones into your offer so clients organically act as your marketing channel.

Most of this can apply to our own video strategy!

💥 Recommended tools

​Kajabi - All in one course hosting, including unlimited video

​InVideo - AI Video Creator

​Opus Clip - Shorts from your longs in minutes

​Ecamm Live - Go Live on your mac

Happy shooting,

Jules

​VideoHero​

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