← The Think Media Podcast
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- [00:00]
A
Hey, before we jump into the show, I wanted to give you a heads up that my free YouTube strategy class is available right now on demand@thinkmasterclass.com on the class, I reveal the one YouTube strategy we use at Think Media to generate over 330,000 views every single day. So if you're new to YouTube, this will help you start right and avoid mistakes. And if you're a YouTube pro, this training will help you multiply your your growth. This class is 100% free and you can watch it now on demand@thinkmasterclass.com now let's jump into today's show. If you do YouTube at all, this might be one of the most important episodes that you listen to all year. YouTube is currently conducting one of the largest scale demonetization enforcement initiatives that I've ever seen. Channel earning $30,000 a month in YouTube ad revenue. Totally demonetized. Another one that was earning $7,000 demonetized. We some insider information from YouTube, how to protect yourself. A big theme of this is AI, but all channels need to be aware of this information.
- [01:10]
B
So we have real case studies. We've got direct language from YouTube as well. And we're going to show you a clear framework of what is and isn't okay to post so that as you go through the rest of this year, you know how to navigate it.
- [01:23]
A
Yeah. And so we've broken this conversation into parts. Let's start off with just some of the things that are happening. So YouTube has deleted actually millions of channels. The big headline there, people have heard about a slop channels. Super low effort, effort, super generic. Okay, but what we're talking about is there's some of the people in our community that have humans behind the channel, sometimes editors that are really crafting their content, yet still they were demonetized. And these stats are kind of staggering though, because there was as far as channels being deleted, over 4.7 billion lifetime views were just erased off the platform. 35 million subscribers were affected, and an estimated lost annual revenue across the channels was $10 million.
- [02:10]
B
Nuts.
- [02:11]
A
And so I think actually we could jump into the first story to make this contextual. So one of the people that are part of our accelerator program have a Bible channel where they're telling bible stories breaking down. I mean, I would say quality content like these are good stories, good information, you know, well structured, well thought out. They were earning $30,000 a month from YouTube ad revenue. They had 500,000 subscribers. And they get an email from YouTube that just says, hey, you're demonetized. Now we're gonna hit that. Towards the end of the episode, they said this is what you could do to basically get back into our good graces. And there's a process that you can go through. But talk about a blow. I mean, there's people listening. They're like, I just want to get monetized. But also imagine you're earning 30 grand a month, and it just goes to zero. Now, they had a couple other income streams, which we'll also talk about. But that's. That's wild.
- [03:02]
B
When this was 30k from YouTube.
- [03:04]
A
Yes.
- [03:04]
B
Like, just that, like, would not take into consideration other income streams.
- [03:08]
A
Right. Just YouTube ad revenue.
- [03:10]
B
Yeah. That's absolutely insane. I remember, too, like, you know, talking with our coach about this, who is working with them in our coaching program, and it's just like, it's crazy making like it's. It's almost. It's almost one of those things that just doesn't feel right. It doesn't feel fair. You feel all the emotions. And, like, I just. I know our whole team, we're just trying to think about how do we rally, you know what I mean? And, like, what are our other. What are our options here? Because we're up. It's kind of crazy because you're up against. Yes to phrase it that way, but you're up against YouTube and their policies. You know, and so I. I've been thinking about this, Sean. Like, how do you make sense of, like, how did that flag initially happen? I think a lot of people wonder, like, how does. Who made that call? Is it actually someone? Is it AI stuff that's going on? Because you guys, all this stuff that's rolling out, like, how did that flag initially happen?
- [03:54]
A
So YouTube is using AI systems to scan channels, and that could lead to the channel being deleted or in some cases, left up, but demonetized. And then humans are getting involved because the email that we saw is from a user. That's right. Yeah. That's then actually giving specific feedback to that individual creator. And when you zoom out a little bit, again, $10 million in lost annual revenue. And. And one of the myths out there is, well, YouTube is just shutting off monetization for the creator, but still running ads.
- [04:30]
B
Yeah.
- [04:31]
A
Themselves. But that's actually a myth. When they're demonetizing the channel, they're not running ads on it anymore. Why? Well, one of the things is they're kind of redefining what is quality content. And we want to sell inventory for advertisers to put their ads on and so we're actually taking the hit. Like we don't want them to put ads on this type of content. Now, to go a little bit deeper, the YouTube CEO has publicly acknowledged this and the big head, the big points are the rise of low quality repetitive content. Yeah, low quality repetitive AI slop is the term. And they have systems to fight, basically spam and clickbait. Now, you know, if you're on the YouTube version too, I'm curious your take, and let us know in the comments if you've heard this, if you know someone who's gotten their channel deleted or demonetized. Why this hits so close to home is both of the channels in our community are not spam or clickbait. So is there an overreach here? I think yes. But at the same time, YouTube is not banning AI. And even if you want to be a faceless channel, there's a way to do it, which we'll cover that later. They're not banning AI. It sounds like they are. And that's the overreach of the headline. I see it every time we do like a live class. Someone goes, well, but I shouldn't use AI at all.
- [05:48]
B
That's right.
- [05:48]
A
YouTube is anti AI and they're banning AI. So there's a tension there. But kind of the quick hits are if it's repetition, low effort, mass production. That one's interesting.
- [06:00]
B
Yeah.
- [06:00]
A
If you're just pumping out repetitive, the same thing over and over and posting a ton. Viewer trust and advertiser trust. So is it, is it higher quality, like trustworthy? Even if it is AI, do you still have viewer trust and would advertisers want to advertise on this? Now, if I just do a personal opinion at the top, I still think there's an overreach here. Yeah, I think of course, when YouTube does something new, they're going to make mistakes. But I think both viewers, I know for a fact that both viewers and advertisers were fine advertising on this content. This was quality content, and yet they got demonetized as well. So I think knowing some of the changes, but In a way, YouTube didn't really invent new rules here, but what they are is turning up the enforcement in the world of AI that has gone so parabolic.
- [06:51]
B
Yes.
- [06:51]
A
And some, what some people are doing is with AI, they're launching like 150 new YouTube channels in a day. You know, they, they set up a clod bot or now a molt bot or whatever it is, publish channels, publish lots of videos and it really is a span. So like that sounds extreme. And so to combat that, YouTube is setting up systems, but unfortunately there's casual effect.
- [07:15]
B
Yeah, that's right. Yeah. It's crazy to think through these terms is what I'm trying to get really familiar with and some of the research. Like in preparing for this talk, it's interesting to note how a part of the mass production piece, what stuck out to me is there's this element where YouTube is saying, okay, AI is able to create just like what you just said, AI. AI is able to create content at such a scale and at such speed that a human would never be capable of by themselves. So it is interesting to think about like volume seems to be at play here. It's at least some sort of trigger point about like the amount, like the sheer velocity of content that's coming onto the platform and seeing all that come from one channel one creator. I'm just curious, like, well, I'm, I'm still hoping to find out, like, what are those exact trigger points for, for folks, you know.
- [08:04]
A
Yeah, we have those. And so I want to hit these case studies, but I also, I want to encourage listeners, they might be saying, well, I just vlog. It's always me on camera. And so, you know, I don't need this information. I actually think, number one, what could be the mistake is even if you are mostly just on camera, you should be using AI.
- [08:23]
B
Yeah.
- [08:24]
A
And you could have an illogical fear of using AI at all. Or maybe you start to integrate into your channel but you're like, oh no, am I going to get flagged? So you think you just need to know the best practices because, you know, if I use AI at all, will it trigger.
- [08:37]
B
That's right.
- [08:38]
A
These things, if it starts seeing certain things on my channel, if I'm using AI and thumbnails or if I'm using AI. So a couple quick case studies we mentioned one, large faceless Bible channel, 588,000 subscribers. Three, $30,000 a month in ad revenue. Faceless, narrative driven, AI assisted. AI assisted, but not AI spam, fully demonetized. And here's the reason. Inauthentic and mass produce content. There it is. Now they, they, they submitted an appeal under internal review, but there's no timeline on that review. I think listening to this episode would also inform, if you get into the situation, things you should include into the appeal. So even how. Because you're only going to get one shot to submit that appeal. So then what should I include in that? But here's, I think A big quote. This didn't happen because of one video. It happened because of the pattern of the channel. So you a one off AI video. You know, I'm exploring the idea. Listen, I'm at some point here I'm going to turn myself into an AI avatar and, and cover a news story. But think about that. It's a little bit different. I, I'm still a personal brand. I'm able to provide good information. It could be my voice.
- [09:51]
B
Yeah.
- [09:52]
A
And it could be an AI video. Oh, is that going to get flagged? Well, is that the pattern of the channel? There's some other nuances there. Here's the second case study. So this is an exam prep education channel. Amazing content, helping people prepare for real estate exams in specific States Educational, earning $7,500 a month. Some of that was from people that would sign up for their deeper software that will really help you prep for the exam. But a lot of it was from ad revenue, clear user value, now heavy automation in the, in the pipeline though. And automation in the pipeline is a flag. Like is this, just press a button and it makes a video that seems to be a big flag. AI assisted scripts and voice. So it's all AI voice also demonetized. So this is a different niche, but it had the same outcome and the same underlying pattern. And so it, you know, it's not whether or not the con content is useful. YouTube is cracking down on how is the content produced and how is the content being scaled.
- [11:02]
B
So this, you know, I'm thinking through. Okay, so for, for both of these channels, this whole, this whole thing is new, first and foremost. Let me just back up a second.
- [11:11]
A
Right.
- [11:11]
B
Like I, I remember when the button first popped up in upload settings where you have to say, yes, the AI is involved in this or no it's not.
- [11:18]
A
Right.
- [11:18]
B
So I think like YouTube has obviously been aware of what's coming. And so as these guidelines can continue to come out, I'm thinking through, like how do you, if you're a faceless channel, if you're an AI channel or if you're even using AI, like, what is the tension? How do I, how do I use AI in my content? If you're scared about this happening to you, Like, I think a lot of people are kind of crippled up, to be honest. Even, even if, like you just said these channels, right, have been using AI heavily, automation in the pipeline. But I see a lot of creators who aren't even creating because they just don't even know what they're allowed to Do.
- [11:51]
A
That's true. I mean, that actually a big response to this is fear or like, you know, I'm still on the sidelines thinking about starting. Do I even start or I'm on the sidelines. I was excited to start a faceless channel. I don't want to be on camera. There's new tools to do it.
- [12:04]
B
Yes.
- [12:05]
A
Oh, do I just not do it? There's a way to do it, and we'll hit that in a second. But I think we should touch on what came out of that email from YouTube. Yeah, and this is an interesting word, but this is the word to know. The real issue is interchangeability.
- [12:21]
B
What does that mean?
- [12:22]
A
I don't even know what that means, honestly. That's why I had to look it up. So let me read you the definition. So what do they mean? It's basically this. YouTube is not anti AI, they're anti interchangeability. What does that mean? It means this. If YouTube can swap your channel with a hundred others and nobody would notice, that's a problem. So, okay, you're doing some exam prep videos, you're doing bible stories, you're doing documentaries, mini documentaries about Warren Buffett and, you know, investor principles. If that video just looks exactly the same, like 100 or a thousand other videos, that's a problem. They want creators who feel human and unique, not videos that look like they came off the same assembly line. Now we have a principle later, but might as well hit it here. What's one of the best ways to do AI content is to build an actual brand. Meaning, like, think about it, like Mickey Mouse. Mickey Mouse is not a real human, but is a notable figure and a unique piece of intellectual property. So if, if you want to pivot and you're going to do exam prep videos.
- [13:35]
B
Yeah.
- [13:36]
A
You create an AI avatar that is unique, that is the same, that has, you know, a voice, a look, and that's the. And it's the person.
- [13:46]
B
Yeah.
- [13:47]
A
So. So I. It's not that. It just. It has to feel human or be unique as opposed to, oh, just spam videos. So now you can have a fully AI channel, but you have, you've created like in a way, a cartoon, a unique cartoon that is unique to you. Because if, if basically interchangeability, if it could just be swapped out. I don't even know what channel that made that. It seems like the same as every other motivational stoic quotes list. Yeah, it seems like every. Everything else. And so this is kind of what they explain. And people need to know these seven things. If number one you have the same structure in every video. It's a template. Number two, it's the same pacing. Number three, same cadence. Number four, same emotional arc. Number five, same visuals. Number six, same voice. Number seven, same storytelling logic. But it's just being pumped out. I think what's even worse than that is like there are tools that are let you have this AI avatar this day and this AI avatar that day. And again, repetitive pattern as opposed to distinct brand. Yeah, that's getting cracked down on right now.
- [14:54]
B
I'm thinking through. Even so again, like the production process seems to be where a lot of these decisions are being made by people, by creators that then is somehow being triggered right by YouTube and everything right now. So in the production process, I'm just wondering, okay, you know, repetitious content, if 17 different people all had the same idea for the same kind of channel in the same niche, decided to kind of just outsource everything to AI and are they're all referencing the same channels that are successful? It's like they're in the creation process. If you have 17, probably more than that, different people saying, hey, can you help me? There's talking to ChatGPT or talking to AI. Hey, can you help me? Like here's some inspiration. I want to make videos like this one. I want to make whatever and AI is wicked smart. So it's going to be able to analyze what's, what's the channel doing or what makes that video successful. What is the framework? I can give you a framework for many sort of video. Right? Like here's the structure and architecture that's going on. And so I'm just thinking through like man, if you're kind of if at the production process is that if at the ideation process, here's kind of like a coach take. If it's not starting with you and you're just trying to recreate what other people are doing because you want to do this YouTube thing. I don't know for me that falls into this category.
- [16:06]
A
Well, you know what that just inspired for me is AI is going to be really good at spotting AI.
- [16:12]
B
Yeah.
- [16:12]
A
And I think the problem in this mass produced content, you know, arena on YouTube is that there's so, there's so much theft happening. It's one of the biggest. It's, it's taught by AI Faceless Google. Go find a viral video, download their script and script into your thing, spin it, there it is, but then just hit publish. Now let's take this into what people have probably heard as far as like students using ChatGPT to write their papers.
- [16:44]
B
Yeah, and.
- [16:45]
A
And then what, what tools have popped up? Tools to audit a student's paper to say what percentage of this is AI? And I can see it.
- [16:54]
B
Crazy.
- [16:54]
A
So think about just this tweak. I think people are in such a rush, they're in such a frenzy. And so what they're doing is they're like copy video.
- [17:01]
B
Yes.
- [17:02]
A
Paste that, spin it a little bit, publish that. Well then you, at some point all the LLMs are just referencing each other. That's it. Everything is hap. And then it hits YouTube. And so even at a, they might be like this exact script. Basically, we've already seen it, that would be a flag. So if you're doing AI content though, but you slow down and even if you start with AI or you start with an outlier concept, if you sit down and let AI outline the video, but then like do some actual work.
- [17:30]
B
Do some. That's it, do the work.
- [17:32]
A
Get in, you know, and say, okay, I got the outline, but let me start writing and let me also start figuring out my voice. Voice. And basically there's always good people that are trying to game the system. But like you might want to run that script through an AI tester to say, oh yeah, this is, this is no percent chat GBT. It's 10 chat GPT instead of 99 chat GBT.
- [17:52]
B
That's a power up.
- [17:53]
A
And, and I mean, because AI can spot AI. And so this next part of the video is the YouTube framework. This is literally gold. So this is what is allowed and what is not allowed on YouTube. And this might take a second to process for us, but here's what's allowed so we can all see it. The economy is shifting fast. Old strategies are just not working anymore. And if you aren't adapting right now, you are missing out on massive opportunity. That's why we created our Think Media Mastermind, which is a two day event that happens in Las Vegas. And you can check out details@think mediamastermind.com when you go to that website, you'll fill out an application. This isn't for everybody. We have a very strict criteria to make sure that the right people are in the room. And so if you're an entrepreneur or a creator that wants to scale their online business, then go to the website and apply soon. Because seating is extremely limited for this very intimate gathering. You can check it out atthink media mastermind.com AI assisted editing. Okay, so can you use AI to help you edit? For sure. Human commentary and interpretation all right, what? Also if, if you're, you know, oh, shoot, I don't even want to use AI to do deep research for my history channel, which is a great niche. Okay, but are you gonna then interject some human commentary, some interpretation, some perspective? Okay, so if you put that in there, creative transformation, that's a good thing. Limited automation. Automate, not no automation.
- [19:25]
B
Right.
- [19:26]
A
But limited automation and human judgment shaping outcomes, that's all allowed disallowed patterns. Interesting. Fully automated pipelines. And that's. That, that's like from concept to completion. And, and think about what AI can easily do. Study viral videos. Steal their scripts. Flip the script around, turn it into a video, Create some B roll or add some stock images, add some music, add some, the whole, the whole pipeline could be automated.
- [19:55]
B
Yes.
- [19:56]
A
So you just go, okay, I still could have automation in the pipeline, but is the pipeline fully automated? Script recycling. There's, there's a banger term. Yeah, Script recycling. Huge and minor tweaks at scale. Upload flooding. Another big red flag. So if you're uploading, let's say long form videos, this could be shorts too. But like, you know, you upload a video even daily, that's a hard thing to sustain if you're, if you're human on camera. But AI could do it. It's not getting tired if you're uploading multiple times a day. If you're uploading 20 videos a day.
- [20:32]
B
Come on.
- [20:32]
A
And some of these channels, they'll, they'll take like, like a news story. Sometimes they'll even tell untrue stories, but they'll just see what can get clicks and then they'll spin the hook. So they'll spin the title, the thumbnail and the hook, and upload a version doesn't do well. Upload another version, just. Yeah, so they'll upload six variations.
- [20:52]
B
There it is.
- [20:53]
A
Of a video. So even this, it shows the thinking. So YouTube's like, okay, we're like, you know, block.
- [20:59]
B
Yes. Trying to spot these.
- [21:00]
A
If it sees, oh, there's upload flooding. So again, if you're going faceless or you're using AI, if you slow down, you're going at a slower pace. And then also mass produced templates. And how quickly is YouTube going to be able to see the template? And so if a human can't clearly point to, you know, someone shaping this content, YouTube assumes a machine made the content. And if it looks like a machine made the content. So for those that still want to do automation, it's not that you can't But I think, again, this is a good part to rewind. Those were the basically five things that are allowed and the five things that are disallowed in terms of patterns, man.
- [21:44]
B
I. I think as you're listening to this too. So part of me obviously is frustrated because I'm just coming alongside our own students who are actually trying to do good and put good content out there and put thought into what they're putting out there, and this stuff is happening. On the other hand, I'm pretty pumped. Is that okay to say? Because I would think, like, as a serious creator and a shout out to, like, all my artists out there, you want your fingerprints over everything, your human touch over everything. Thank goodness, YouTube, like, it's part of what I want to say, which is like, thank you for removing just the low effort content that could be getting in the way of my viewership or the kind of content out there that's just not going to contribute or that's even muddying up my own niche. You know, I mean, it's kind of like a side quest, but so many of these conversations been happening with the AI musicians that are out there right now, you know, like actual AI artists that are popping off and blowing up. And so you have, like, you know, the tensions on both sides. But I think that what's happening right now is we are experiencing the unfortunate ripple effects of a structure that I personally believe that YouTube's putting in place for good, for the longevity of the platform. You is still in YouTube, and I know YouTube really cares about the fingerprints of the actual people and actual creators. So I think that it's really good that we're going through this and trying to figure out, okay, like, what is allowed and what's the not. So that if you are an AI creator or you're a creator that's, like, heavily relying on AI, like, you're going to have to change your approach. And if you're someone that is getting the negative effects of this too, I think we're about to get into, like, how creators can protect themselves.
- [23:17]
A
Right.
- [23:17]
B
And what we can do to move forward.
- [23:19]
A
Yeah. So there's five things. And so how can creators protect themselves? And these are principles that could apply to any type of channel. These are really good just in general to build on on YouTube and in 2026, number one, treat YouTube as distribution, not as the business itself. Listen, I almost, like, was sick to my stomach when I heard that $30,000 a month was demonetized. I'm like, I literally Caleb post that in our slack Group. And his first thing was like, what are your thoughts here? And my first emotion was like, rest in peace to granny. She got hit by a bazooka. I mean, kabla, kablow, kaboom. Like, you know, she's done, like, she got, you know, hit by a missile, which is a niche reference of a viral trending song on social media right now. But, like, you know, treat YouTube as distribution at the business. This channel is still getting reach. This channel did not get deleted. So they're, they're still getting reached. They're still getting almost a million views a month. And it's always a good question to ask yourself, what are you doing with those views? So if you treat YouTube as distribution, not as the business, you always could be. If you're still getting in front of people and you still have a chance to grow an email list or move traffic to a discord group or get phone numbers or, or just get influence. I mean, a brand still might want to work with you. Yeah, a brand still might want to. You got that much traffic.
- [24:42]
B
That's right.
- [24:43]
A
You know, like, so are you pitching brands? You could. It's distribution awareness and attention is still valuable. It's very discouraging to get demonetized. But having your own products. And so in both cases of those channels, they do have their own products. AdSense is a big part of their business.
- [25:00]
B
Yeah.
- [25:01]
A
So they're going through a checklist to get back into compliance and to appeal and to re. Get into ad revenue. But a general good business practice is like, you don't necessarily want to have all your eggs in one basket. Yeah, diversify.
- [25:14]
B
Yeah.
- [25:15]
A
And diversify before you.
- [25:16]
B
Before you need to.
- [25:17]
A
Before you think you need to.
- [25:18]
B
Yeah, that's right.
- [25:19]
A
So that you're just ready for anything to even carry you through the, let's say, appeal process. Because, I mean, the cool thing. And we all wish it was faster than it is, but the cool thing is there are channels who are getting put back into the partner program. You do appeal, they may go, okay, it was an overreach. You know, for that exam. Prep channel. The thing that breaks my heart about that channel is, you know, the creator is putting their heart into every video. They're using automation, but they're sitting in every video. They're tweaking it, they're fixing it.
- [25:51]
B
Yeah.
- [25:51]
A
They're making sure it's good. They like even getting the audio right. There's this whole thing about making sure AI pronounces words right and fixing the voices and making sure the voices are good. And then fact checking it. It's. It's very important information. Like you don't want to just be putting out exam prep videos with like especially.
- [26:07]
B
Yeah.
- [26:08]
A
AI can hallucinate. And so you're like helping these people get ready for exams.
- [26:12]
B
Yeah, yeah.
- [26:12]
A
And like things are so. So like there actually was just such human. And let's even put it this way, I would almost argue the content was almost better than a human could do because it's polished, it's perfect, it's educational. That's frustrating to me. I think it's an overreach. It's not spam, it's not uploaded flooding yet. He still got demonetized. But nevertheless, thank God he's got also another business that the channel can drive to. So how can you increase that number two, break templates on purpose.
- [26:43]
B
This means varying things. And this word template is interesting me, Sean. Like I think I'm still trying to wrestle with it. Like break templates on purpose. Because it just baffles me to think about, you know. Cause we're all about frameworks here at Think Media.
- [26:55]
A
Yeah.
- [26:56]
B
You know, and I guess templates you. Maybe that could be a little bit of a stretch but like thinking about, oh, when you like, oh, we have like frameworks for a hook, for example. We have frameworks for content, for example. Perfect video recipe 3A. Right. Like there's different things to do. But this advice to help creators stay safe. Breaking templates is like. No, literally, if you're actually like saying the same thing.
- [27:15]
A
Yeah.
- [27:15]
B
Showing the same thing.
- [27:16]
A
Here's a template. So I actually will watch, you know, Bible content and It'll be like 10 Secrets of King Solomon. And so the video will sound like kind of a dramatic old wise voiceover. And it'll be like King Solomon was the richest man who ever lived and he had 700 wives. But you won't believe this secret fact about him that we'll talk about in part two. But first we have to. There's like a. There's viral templates.
- [27:43]
B
Yeah.
- [27:44]
A
There's beats for face and. And so there's template. And it's actually interesting. You start to feel the flow. King Solomon was born. His father was this. But one little known thing was he was visited by a prophet. And then it's like. But make sure you keep watching until the end because the more most crazy fact is coming later. It's a template.
- [28:05]
B
Okay. And then like repeating that same thing over in Boaz was a whatever. You know, it's like a different character, different thing, same format, same Architecture.
- [28:12]
A
Yeah. So the same architecture.
- [28:13]
B
Crazy thing. Yeah.
- [28:14]
A
And that's kind of tough because what are those templates? They're a level of best practice for hacking attention. But what we're saying here is break templates on purpose.
- [28:22]
B
Do it on purpose.
- [28:24]
A
So even if you're sitting down, there's still a place. I mean, one of the most powerful things about YouTube is high quality mini documentaries, which was essentially what these are. It could be like a Kanye west iceberg where you're going down and all these facts about him, or it could be like the real downfall of. We work like the. Any creator, any person from their home right now can start making like really cool content that could be entertainment based about musicians or facts about musicians. It could tell stories. But the templates is, I think it would come right out in terms of, you know, you stole a script from somebody else. Change like one or two things, break it on purpose. Like write your own thing, your own perspective, have a different flow to it. So if you're varying your intros, you're varying pacing, you're varying structure, you're. You're allowing imperfection.
- [29:12]
B
Oh, that's huge.
- [29:13]
A
And so people that are going to try to game this might be like, there'll probably be an AI tool that's like YouTube detection proof. But the, the deeper principle would be like, again, get to work, bro. Like, sit down and like, you know, Isaiah and I at the airport because we're here in Nashville, you know, filming some, some stuff with, and speaking at an event. We're, we're talking about pastors using AI for their sermons.
- [29:37]
B
Yeah.
- [29:38]
A
And, and generative AI. And some people being like, you should never use AI for your sermons. And I was like, I don't know about that. Like, you totally should. Like, it's gonna help you research faster. You don't need to get a book off the shelf. You could get into like lexicon of words. Quick. Get the definition of the Hebrew and Greek. But then I was like, the, the, the pastors who are using it wrong are lazy.
- [29:59]
B
That's it.
- [30:00]
A
Because they just want to go golf. And so they're not going to sit down. And actually like, they let AI generate a sermon in one hour. When. What does real depth look like? What is really like sitting with the content look like? You should probably invest 10 to 20 hours in your sermon. Some invest 30 hours. So everybody. You could do YouTube with a busy schedule, but if you're just trying to get videos done in five minutes, that's probably going to be a template.
- [30:24]
B
Yeah. Yes.
- [30:24]
A
If AI helps you get started and save five hours, but then you still put your energy in it and your work in it and your personality. You write some stories and you fix it, and you get rid of the M dashes and you get rid of all this other stuff.
- [30:38]
B
Yeah.
- [30:38]
A
I'm not. We're not saying you shouldn't start with AI and so that's a spirit. That's a very important role. A pastor.
- [30:45]
B
Oh, my goodness.
- [30:46]
A
Should not be just using generic scripts. It's ridiculous.
- [30:50]
B
100%.
- [30:51]
A
But, like, I also want to go to the extreme of, like, AI is of the devil, and you shouldn't forget at all. Break the template.
- [30:56]
B
Yes.
- [30:56]
A
Like. Like, put yourself in there. Get some different pacing. Be you. So that's number two.
- [31:02]
B
Yeah. So I think this is perfect to talk about. Okay. Number three here. Using AI as an assistant, not an engine. This is what we're talking about. And I think it's learning to. Learning to identify what to outsource. Right. And when to reach for a tool and when to reach for AI. And I think this is where I naturally go. And I've tried to. I've been trying to, like, withhold a little bit during this episode as we've been talking, but you kind of. You kind of hit the nail on the head. I think a lot of this. A lot of the templated stuff, and there are creators that are getting the, you know, adverse effects of this, as we've talked about. But a lot of this is aimed at the lazy creator. I mean, why is YouTube. It's called YouTube or AI slop. Like, that's a pretty intentional word, you know what I'm saying? And I think that this. So that's why it pumps me up and to think through. Okay, if you are. You are just trying to get as much as possible with as little as possible. Like, you want the maximum returns with, like, the minimum effort. And any creator that's been on the platform for more than 0.2 seconds that has, like, some legitimate success has been around for a while, you know that that's just not how it goes. This is not how it goes anywhere. Right. Like, and you can't push a button and expect stuff to just happen. And so using AI as your assistant, I love that advice. And something that I've actually been trying to do more of, Sean, is kind of force myself when thinking through content, even if it's just for a little bit. I'm absolutely using AI to help me brainstorm and think through things and refine things, but I actually am Challenging myself to just start with myself and just see what happens. You know what I mean? It's like. And it's funny cause it's like, that's actually the good old days, you know what I mean? I remember like in my own YouTube channel, my own business, when I was like starting to learn about courses and selling courses and email funnels and landing pages and I had kajabi, you know, you know, who had to write every word of all that stuff. This dude. I had to do every single freaking thing. There was no AI there. Like, I had to actually revise stuff myself or send it to another human to revise it. And so all that to say, I think when it comes to using AI as your assistant, I would encourage you. A big coaching point is like, start with yourself, you know, Good.
- [33:04]
A
Number four is fewer uploads, higher distinction. So scale can equal risk. And if you're just doing flood of uploads, a flood of automated uploads, that's a problem that's causing a flag. You know, I think one of the trends that is interesting in 2026 is I would say quality over quantity, yo, and quantities. Purpose oftentimes is practice and getting started, but slowing down and uploading fewer videos. You know, I think about, we had Caleb Raulston on the podcast, you know, him and I go back like 20 years now, but I want to say his channel's on the way to a hundred thousand subscribers and he's under 20 uploads as far as long, long form videos. He's slowing down and going just deeper. Higher quality videos. If you're a faceless channel. Again, if you slow down and just put more heart. AI is an assistant. Maybe the whole thing is generative, but AI drafts, drafting the video is not the same as AI just fully publishing the video. If the draft and the template, okay, you're swapping out some B roll here, you come back, you add some things here and you humanize the script. It outlines it for you, but you write more, you add in some other research. Fewer uploads. Fewer uploads, higher distinction. But I think number five is maybe the most important and biggest ideas. Build a unique brand, even if it's AI. So there's some really, there's some good channels right now that I'm aware of that are completely AI avatar. They also are very much fewer uploads, type of channels. And what they've done is they've created a character.
- [34:44]
B
Yes.
- [34:45]
A
So they don't want to be on camera, but they have either digitized themselves or A version of themselves. And they are. It's a brand then. So now there's a recognizable avatar. You remember the little Clip guy on Microsoft Word? Clippy, yes.
- [35:02]
B
Is that his name? Clippy Clip.
- [35:03]
A
Yeah. I mean, I don't know if people love him or hate him. He's a brand, you know, he's a little guy who'd pop up and help you with your Microsoft Word document. Microsoft. Why did they retire Clippy?
- [35:14]
B
To bring him back, man.
- [35:15]
A
You know. But even if you are a cartoon or an avatar or a character, like it's a brand still. And so you could still use AI, but don't be generic. So this is a good principle, of course, for everybody is number one, if you're going to go faceless, you're going to build an automated channel, distinct brand. What did YouTube say? They said if your videos cannot be distinguished from anybody else's, if it literally like anybody can just generate some images, animate them, write a script, put some music on it, there it is. But like, what, what is your unique brand? You know, this is a, a difficult and high level of content to create. And this can work in any niches. You know, we respect people from all backgrounds and beliefs. We're talking a lot about like the Bible, but there is the Bible project.
- [36:01]
B
Yeah, that's right.
- [36:02]
A
That is a voiceover animation channel, illustrations, animations. I'm not seeing a person on that channel. So can you still do a high. Now what, what. The Bible project, which I believe had donors. Hundreds of thousands, millions of dollars has gone into that content. Anybody sitting at home right now with the tools in front of them in 2026 has the ability to get into the game of what used to cost millions of dollars to produce, to do it for like hundreds of dollars.
- [36:29]
B
Yeah.
- [36:30]
A
Because these tools still cost money. Generative AI still cost money. But we need a human. You got to be, if you're behind it. And what's the unique brand of the channel? Yeah, like what, what, what is your unique vibe or you, your unique style? What's, you know, injecting that. And then anybody, if you're just somewhat using AI and you start to incorporate more into your, more AI into your content, you're still on camera, you're still whatever. What's your brand? What's unique about you? What's your uniqueness? You know, I, I do want to let people know. Coming up at our Think Media Mastermind.
- [37:02]
B
Yeah.
- [37:03]
A
In Vegas. It's happening in a couple weeks. We have our brand to DNA framework.
- [37:08]
B
Yes.
- [37:09]
A
And so that's A tool that we use in the room together. Proprietary process we walk people through. It's not just for faceless channels, although more important than ever before, if you don't want to be on camera.
- [37:18]
B
Yeah, I would agree.
- [37:19]
A
But one of the most important things in a noisy online world, period, AI or not, is personal. Brand or brand is the only differentiator left.
- [37:30]
B
Yeah.
- [37:31]
A
What, what is the uniqueness that you're putting out in your channel? What's unique to this could go all the way from, of course, values, beliefs, style into colors. Look.
- [37:40]
B
Yeah.
- [37:41]
A
And so Mickey Mouse is a unique brand. Paw Patrol has, is a unique brand. It has got unique characters, unique look to the animation and so dialing in your brand. If you're, you're established right now, but your brand is kind of weak, it's a good time to be working on it. You're just getting started having the thought of like, how do I brand myself, position myself? What's my unique angle so important in 2026? And if anybody wants to check that out, there's a few spots left to our mastermind. You can go to thinkmediamastermind.com to apply and spend two days together covering a lot of stuff about YouTube growth. But you know, building a unique brand is critical in 2026.
- [38:23]
B
So would you go so far as to say, like, say you create.
- [38:28]
A
I'm.
- [38:28]
B
Now I'm thinking of all these random characters. Like the Geico Gecko. Yes, like all this other, you know, so if you, if you go this route, this is actually kind of like, this is attributing branding to this character, to your channel. Really to, to. To your, your channel as a whole. Like beliefs, value systems, like you said, brand coloring and everything. Like this is just, this is a way you can distinguish yourself from just random stuff. You could have any sort of AI generate for you.
- [38:52]
A
I would love to learn personal finance from a gecko. I, I like. You know, there's an idea. I would love to learn facts about animals from a gecko.
- [39:02]
B
This would be great.
- [39:03]
A
So there's a lot of channels that, you know, just ran like facts about animals history channels. Yeah, yeah, yeah. So these are questions you could ask yourself. The voice, the audio branding, the video branding, the AI avatar, how it's positioned, you know, cloning your own voice, voice. And I think about, you know, what's fascinating is there's a, there's a cool channel. Patrick CC covers all kinds of mini documentaries, used to do beats and hip hop stuff, but he does like banger videos. Well thought out, well researched. He Shows up on camera a few times in the video, but it's like 3%.
- [39:38]
B
Yes.
- [39:38]
A
You know what I mean? Like all of a sudden, there he is and he kind of looks at the camera, encourages people to drink water and then stay hydrated and then he keeps going. So, you know, it's not even necessarily that an AI avatar would be seen the whole time, but like you could still get. He's got a unique brand and the content is high effort and high reward.
- [39:59]
B
Yeah.
- [39:59]
A
Big views, distinct brand, good stories, good storytelling, good structure. So, yeah, I mean, whether AI or not build a unique brand, this is huge.
- [40:09]
B
So as we land the plane here, we think about where YouTube is going. Right. Because we've only actually just started 2026, which is kind of crazy. But so we're future casting. Here's what we know and trust that this sort of pattern based enforcement, it's here to stay.
- [40:24]
A
Right.
- [40:25]
B
And it's hopefully only going to get better and more intelligent. But it's here to stay.
- [40:31]
A
Yes. Yeah. I think that creators who adapt will be fine, but channels that are factories are in trouble.
- [40:40]
B
Okay.
- [40:41]
A
Automated factories.
- [40:43]
B
Yeah.
- [40:43]
A
You know, there's a term for this and this is part of the group that has been getting hit. They call them content farms.
- [40:50]
B
Yes.
- [40:50]
A
How do you feel about farm raised salmon?
- [40:54]
B
Not too good.
- [40:55]
A
What the doctors say, they're like, don't do it, it's not good.
- [40:58]
B
Wild caught Atlantic.
- [40:59]
A
Exactly what I'm saying. Why are you paying more for wild caught salmon?
- [41:03]
B
Yes.
- [41:04]
A
Versus farm. Farm raised.
- [41:05]
B
Yes.
- [41:06]
A
So these content farms, these content factories. Yeah, I mean that's, that's a red flag. So what, what is YouTube solving for? And, and so at a high level, you know, and, and I'm. We always get some critique in the comments where like you're just defending YouTube. No, I fired a few shots of frustration, but also, you know, we'll talk about both sides. They're also thinking about viewer experience. Yes. Satisfaction. They're thinking about their own longevity. If the platform becomes so overridden with farm raised salmon or. Yeah, farm raised salmon, then everyone's gonna get sick and everyone's gonna die.
- [41:41]
B
Everyone's gonna die.
- [41:41]
A
And so then the platform dies or it like, you know, there's just so much spam, there's so much noise. They have to, they have to be constantly adapting. And so, you know, I think if you continue to adapt, you know, subscribe to the channel, stay connected to information like this. This is an ongoing conversation, 100%. You know, one of the things that we have said, I learned this from one of my mentors. But creators who outwork out, learn out, strategize and outlast everyone else win outwork. Well, when you're doing lazy content, you're not outworking.
- [42:15]
B
That's right.
- [42:16]
A
You're like, you're under working. Well, I'm still working hard. I'm plugging in really hard prompts, bro. Put in some more. Africa. Outwork, out, learn. Continuing to learn. Okay, there might be a tweak. How do I position? Oh, that's a flag. Like those who do faceless at an elite level. They're. They're doing micro pivots. Oh, shoot. A couple of my channels got shut down, but now this is the new thing. That's work. You got to continue to learn. Like, be updated on those best practices. Out, strategize. All right, in light of this, where are we going next? And then, of course, outlast. So if you got to outlast the demonetization season.
- [42:47]
B
Yeah.
- [42:48]
A
Update your content. What that channel did is, you know, they were working directly with Caleb and you know, our team gets hard at work, starts doing all the research, sends themselves back to them. They go, okay, we clean up some of our old library. We unlisted or deleted some videos. We're changing some things and we're changing our workflow going forward.
- [43:05]
B
That's right.
- [43:05]
A
We're adapting, we're appealing the process. And then at the same time, we're going to diversify, we're going to work on these other income streams. And so, yeah, creators who Adapt. You know, YouTube success is a moving target.
- [43:18]
B
This is true.
- [43:19]
A
So if we're just willing to keep, you know, moving with that. So I'm curious your final thoughts, but I do want to also just shout out to listeners if you've enjoyed this conversation and you're on YouTube, it always helps if you hit the like button and, you know, subscribe. For more tips on building a profitable YouTube channel. And if you're new to the Think Media podcast, thanks for being here. If you're on audio, definitely rate and review. Super grateful for being able to hang out with you in your Apple EarPods or AirPods or Bose Noise canceling headphones or Skull Candy. What if I just go through like a list of brands or. Or on your Bluetooth speaker as you're working or as you're walking your dog. It's been nice to be hanging out with you. And then also if you want to join us, we are hosting a two day event in Las Vegas. It is called Our Think Media YouTube mastermind Limited to 60 spots. This next one only has a few spots left. ThinkMediaMastermind.com is the URL or click the link in the description, fill out the application and get in the room. Because YouTube success is a moving target. Besides the fact that we'll walk you through getting clear on your brand, the latest stuff that's working right now, the chance to network with other creators and entrepreneurs, the chance to connect directly with me and our coaches, and the chance that like, I mean, we're gonna be at the time of recording this in Las Vegas in three weeks about.
- [44:41]
B
Yeah.
- [44:41]
A
Wow. In person. And I mean, probably that week we'll be sharing stuff in the room of what's come out.
- [44:48]
B
Yeah.
- [44:48]
A
You know, and we break into circles with our whole team. You know, Think Media is a team of 30 people. So we just have so many minds working on this.
- [44:57]
B
Yeah.
- [44:57]
A
And iron sharpens iron. So you get all those best practices is. So again, if you're interested in being a part of our YouTube mastermind, just go to think media mastermind dot com. But I don't know if you have final thoughts. You're on the front lines of this every single day, working with our clients and whatnot. Land the plane for us, man.
- [45:14]
B
Absolutely. Well, I just thank you for leading the charge, by the way, like, just to be an OG in the space and to continue to. Just to do all those things you just, you encouraged us to do, to continue to outwork, outlast out learn, and to bring content here. And it's just a privilege to be a part of the conversation here because the truth is, I'm still learning, man, like, as we all are. Like, this stuff moves quick, you know, stuff on YouTube moves really fast. And so my encouragement would be like, please stay close, stay subscribed and hang around. We'd love to see you with the Mastermind in Vegas if it's possible. We're doing several of them throughout the year, so if it doesn't work here in a few weeks, we'd love to see you one of those. But I would just want to encourage you with this. This is the year to take your channel more seriously. And I know I'm speaking to a lot of people right now, so that could be you. If you're like, man, I'm really not working hard, like, whatever kind of like agitated you during this episode, I would encourage you to have like a leadership mindset and lean into it and be open handed and be like, hey, that kind of got under my skin. Because maybe that's something you need to work on or that's something you need to go learn more about. But this is the year that you need strategy, because this time, 2027, I can't even imagine what's going to have happened and the changes that will have come. So you're going to need to be able to pivot, and we want to help you pivot as we are learning as player coaches too. Well, hey, if you got any value out of this conversation, like rate, share, review wherever you watch or listen, this is the Think Media podcast. I'm Nathan Eswine and I can't wait to connect with you in a future episode.