I feel like giving up.
Started this right when the World Cup kicked off, about 3 weeks ago. Idea: stickman-animated football content — rule explainers, whatever news is blowing up that day. Same character, same style every time, so the brand stays consistent.
I do everything myself — voiceover, images, editing, script, topic hunting. It’s genuinely a lot of work for one person.
Tried Shorts early on, didn’t do much. Long-form has been way better for me, so that’s where I’m putting all my energy now.
Best video so far: 10K impressions, 437 views, ~3% CTR. Trying to push CTR up without breaking the format this early.
The one thing keeping me going: in YouTube Studio the traffic actually looks like real football fans, not random noise. Feels like it’s being tested with the right people, just hasn’t scaled yet.
Anyone who’s grown a channel from zero — is this normal at 3 weeks, or should I be worried? And did news-reactive content ever “wake up” suddenly for you, or was it a slow climb?
Your feedback is much appreciated.