Last Updated on December 9, 2025 by Christine Kaaloa

So you want to grow your travel channel on YouTube? Join the club!

With billions of people watching travel content every month, the opportunity to make money creating travel content is real, but so is the competition. Every traveler with a smartphone and a dream is out here trying to make it happen and that’s both the beauty and the beast of YouTube right now.

Here’s what I’ve learned after years of doing this YouTube thang: growing a YouTube channel isn’t about having the fanciest gear or visiting the most exotic locations. It’s about finding your voice, staying consistent and not burning out in the process. Let me walk you through what actually works in 2025, because YouTube has been changing with more tools to help creators actually succeed.

This post may contain affiliate links. I never leave home without travel insurance. For long term travel, I highly recommend Safetywing for their digital nomads insurance. Otherwise, here’s a trip insurance finder tool  to find a plan that matches your budget.

My personal YouTube update & where I’m at

I burned out on YouTube and social media during COVID and again at the beginning of 2024.  It’s more like social media’s algorithm challenging creators to upload continually burned me out, but editing long-format videos takes energy that my central nervous system hasn’t recovered from yet.

Most travel vloggers will tell you that one of the biggest challenges of growing a travel YouTube channel is to match their publishing pace with how fast they film adventures. I accrue a lot of footage on my journeys and they require time to dive into, organize and assemble into an engaging story.

As my travel channel still grows a passive income from YouTube videos as old as ten years, I still work on my channel behind the scenes. But as a solo creator, I have to work on scaling back priorities and tasks to reduce overwhelm. I’ll write more about burnout in another post, as with growing pressures for creators to post, it takes a toll for solo creators like myself.

I’ve tried to post some videos this year, but when freelance and video tech work ramped up, I had to choose direct payment over a passive one. Video freelance is one of my income streams, it complements YouTube (I’ll talk more about revenue streams in another post too).

For now, i’m taking a sabbatical until full recovery but I still offer YouTube channel audits & YouTube mentorship sessions when my schedule allows.

This post may contains affiliate links but as always, I only offer my honest opinions. 

19 Ways to grow your travel YouTube channel in 2025

The good news — growing your YouTube channel got a little easier in 2025, because YouTube now offers more support tools to monetize and grow subscribers and views.

The not so good news–  there’s more creators on YouTube and thus, more research, SEO and design to take seriously when preparing your video to survive in the big YouTube content sea.

1. Identify your niche & niche down

The “I just travel and vlog” era is over. You need to carve out something specific. When I started my YouTube channel, solo female travel was a very fresh territory. I was one of the only female travel vloggers filming solo travel and food guides 100% alone consistently. NO friend tagalong or hidden boyfriend with a camera.

Let me tell you, being a lone female content creator can change how you experience the “rigors” of solo travel and talking to your camera, when you’re sitting in a crowded Indian bus. But I digress…).

Check out my vlogging tips for solo YouTubers.

Nowadays, travel on the whole is saturated on YouTube. Many channels house echo-chamber videos of food hauls and top things to do that creators have found researching other creators and what performed best. Even I’m due for a re-brand or pivot!

Think about what makes your perspective unique. Are you the DIY budget travel guru who finds $20 flights? The luxury Latin America travel reviewer? The solo van life or RV convert? The travel hacking+ financial expert?

Pick a lane that excites you because you’ll be living in it for a while. Your niche shapes everything- your editing style, your thumbnails and even how you talk to the camera.

Tip: The more specific you get, the faster you’ll grow. “Travel vlogger” won’t cut it. “Budget conscious couple exploring Southeast Asia on $30 a day” will!

Check out my mini course on creating a powerful personal brand with YouTube to find and sculpt your tribe.

2. Clarify your audience

Springing off the last tip, you need to know who your target audience is — who you are creating videos for and to whom you’re speaking to in your videos.

This big for creators who are starting out on a new YouTube channel and for creators who are considering pivoting their channel, because they’ve outgrown their original mission.   Clarifying your audience affects things like video topic, film style choice, title and yes, hosting script. To personalize these things for your audience creates a warm, authentic community… a “tribe”.

Knowing my audience affects how and what I film when I’m vlogging. My film choices are intentional, because I know what b-roll specifics my solo travelers need to feel safe. I show them solutions for navigating a culture they know nothing about.

When you aren’t clear about your audience, you’re creating without a roadmap. While it’s totally okay to start your channel that way – experimenting with and exploring topic ideas – you want to work on honing in on specific content themes or “content pillars” your audiences are working on in their own travels.

Theme consistency becomes especially important when new viewers look at your content and trying to figure out if they’ll get personal value from being a subscriber.

Audience clarity creates cohesion. My channel purposely tackles topics that I know my audiences are dealing with and my destination playlists are filled with category themes that I treat like my TV show series. When new viewers arrive, they know they’re getting ongoing trip itinerary ideas and travel solutions if they follow me.

Knowing your audiences also allows you to speak and connect with them as if they are a friend. This creates compelling and an intimate creator-viewer relationship.

I did a YouTube channel and brand audit for a business channel and their About Us trailer video was technically strong – they did and said the right things which made you want to like and trust the creators.  But something still felt oddly cold. I realized in their trailer video, they were talking to several different communities as their audience. They were trying attract everyone, and by committing no one, it made the video lack personalized warmth. A small tweak like that can shift the game for how your audience connects with you.

Another creator I worked with – who was on YouTube to attract customers to his business – knew his target audience (aka his ideal customer), but didn’t know how to speak to them. He used a lot of advanced industry terms in his titles and host language. Watching a video made you feel like you were in a science class- the complexity of the language caused quick watch drop off. He was talking to a colleague and he needed to envision talking to a new customer. When he realized his videos had this negative effect, he started using more relatable layman language and his views increased.

Moral of the story- KNOW your audience inside and out, because it affects more than you think!

3. Hone in on the quality matters to your audience

Focus on making fewer videos, but ones that actually matter to your audience… the ones they are searching for!

I know the YouTube algorithm can feel like it demands constant uploads and trends, but here’s the reality-  it really wants high watch retention, which means you need to create videos that feed “value” to audiences. Pushing out mediocre content – like what creators do during Vlogmas  – just to “feed the algorithm” is a waste of your time, energy and money. If you’re hiring an editor (and we’ll get to that), you’re literally throwing away cash on videos that won’t perform.

Unless you’re Casey Neistat and doing daily vlogs are your thing, stick with pacing yourself and priming your content for your audience.

Good lighting, clear audio, and a consistent vibe go further than daily uploads of garbage videos.

Yes, filming travel makes this challenging – you can’t control the weather or street noise – but do your best. Your audience will forgive imperfect conditions if your content is compelling.

Grab my YouTube Accelerator checklist and start growing your channel today!

4. Invest in camera equipment that fits YOU

I’m begging you- do not drop thousands on a cinema camera when you’re just starting. I see so many aspiring creators buying the same setup as someone with 500K subscribers, then getting overwhelmed and quitting within three months.

Start with your smartphone. I’m serious!  Mobile cameras in 2025 are insanely good. Then grab a cheap tripod and a cheap lav microphone (I also use this mobile holder tripod attachment– you can shoot vertical/horizontal and it’s great for grab-n-go!).  This is what I recommend if you’re just starting out with a lot of talking head videos and if you’re not sure if this YouTube thing is for you. While you’re at it, check out my favorite mobile cases for travel.

 I’m watching a lot of podcasts lately and I follow Steven Bartlett’s Diary of a CEO –which is filmed in high quality- to a female psychic that does political predictions and occasionally films from her PC webcam! I’ll be brutally honest- I watch/listen to them, when i’m driving and as long as the sound is clear, they are the same experience for me. I actually watch the female psychic filming from her PC webcam more, because her political predictions are more of interest to me. I will gladly trade image quality for good sound and vital information.

Tip: Super concerned with quality? Film in 4K video. Just make sure you have storage space on your mobile. I film in HD for talking head videos.  4K video can feel excessive when my audience wants to listen to the information I share vs see my pore size or the detail of the trees behind me. A decent lav mic is vital for windy or noisy environments.

PS You don’t need an expensive Rode GO mic – although I have one because I followed the hype! But I still prefer to my cheap $7 two-person lav mic kit with standard 3.5mm jack. It is easy, hard-lined to my camera/phone, no bluetooth pairing required! Requires an $7 adapter for iPhone. If you decide YouTube is not your jam, you are out $14 and can use this for interviews and social media videos in the future!

But if you’re committed to making YouTube your jam, my advice- match your video with your audience needs and your situational ones. If you’re still filming a year from now, then upgrade and invest in a GoPro Hero, Osmo DJI pocket , Insta360 x4 (I just bought a used one) or point and shoot camera with a flip out screen. I know big travel vloggers who have used just a GoPro, because of its wide angle and the Osmo is great because of its self-tracking feature, while the Insta360 allows for 360 degree coverage and your choice to swivel angles in the edit.   I still love my point and shoot cameras, for flexible maneuring and filming selfies, but they aren’t rugged cameras.

I started with a camera with a flip-out screen because as a solo creator, I like to frame myself in my composition and I need a zoom lens (here is a more affordable Sony equivalent).  Also, there are a lot of selfie stick and one handed flip around maneuvers I do with them, whether I’m riding on the back of a motorcycle or maneuvering an activity where I only have one hand available to film.

Over time, my personal camera gear has grown to match my needs of filming travel and you’ll find me packing at least three cameras. It’s a little overkill but sometimes I need gear that matches my activities.

Here’s my full camera gear closet where I mix and match camera gear for my trips.

Specifically travel vlogger advice- match your gear to your actual film and situational needs. For instance a 10-22 wide-angle lens matters for landscape content but not for food close-ups. A telephoto zoom lens is wonderful for street captures and safaris. So if I know my trip has a wildlife safari, i’m packing my mini DSLR with my heavy zoom lens, my wide angle lens and my point and shoot for selfies. If i’m doing water or sport activities, I take my GoPro. As cameras get better, I am looking at downsizing my gear.

While drone footage is certainly nice to have and viewers have wondered why I never added it to my videos, I will say- it is expensive,  cumbersome to pack, TSA/destination research is required and you need film time and decent conditions to unpack and set up your shot. Drones are used mostly for short b-roll clips which last 8-10 seconds of aerial wow-factor but it doesn’t make a dent in your storyline.

When you are a solo creator crossing multiple borders and through airport TSA, you have to consider if those 8 seconds are worth your  energy, itinerary time, added weight to your camera bag and expense. But that’s my two cents. You do you.

Check out my vlogging and blogging gear I use for recommendations of what works and download my camera equipment buying guide if you’re looking to do a little investing in gear.

5. Remove obstacles to your film setup

Remove any overwhelm or obstacles that will make you procrastinate, dread or hate your production process. When I started as a YouTuber, I hated doing my hair/makeup and setting up a white sheet background to hide my shower, every time I wanted to film a talking-head video. But that was my ritual.  And it never failed that just as I hit record, a neighborhood dog would start barking or another neighbor would decide to mow their lawn or do construction work. My bathroom had the best light, but when interruptions occurred and I had to wait, the daylight would change color or get darker, making it hard to match daylight color in the edit.

Filming in the field is easy in that anywhere I talk, there is exotic background. But when I come home, my background is an old, dingy room (I stopped doing the bathroom thing).

So my advice is to make your own home film studio easy to jump into filming, so you’re not setting it up from scratch each time.

Set up a simple home filming studio where you’re facing an open sunlit window or have already lights stationed in place.

These days, I also choose empty parks and beaches to film at, although I have to be careful with changing daylight or noisy and windy backgrounds.6. Plan trips around your content (not vice-versa)

Traditional travel bloggers took a vacation and then figured out the content. Today’s Travel YouTubers plan and pack for “film trips” or “content creation trips”.

Once this clicked for me, everything changed. Now I take the time to meticulously plan my adventures, research my video ideas/needs in advance and research locations that can deliver visually or information-wise. I schedule my days around the series I am building on my channel. Of course, I’m working on a tiny budget (trip budget tracker here) and trying to make it stretch.

Tip: It helps to create a content schedule tracker or workflow manager because coming home with 200GB of footage and no organization system is a special kind of hell. THIS is where the work feels like work and burnout can build up.  You need an organizational system for:

• Organizing footage by day/location
• Tracking which videos are in editing
• Planning SEO titles and thumbnails
• Writing descriptions and managing upload schedules

The post-trip workflow is where most travel creators drown. Don’t be that person.

Tip: Grab my YouTube workflow manager/tracker to transform overwhelm into organization.  

Read vlogging tips from a solo female travel vlogger

7. Talk with your audiences

Responding to comments on your YouTube videos isn’t just nice- it’s essential for growing your YouTube channel. YouTube’s algorithm rewards engagement, and building community keeps people coming back. Ask questions in your videos and actually listen to what your viewers want to see.

One boundary I’ve learned: direct your audience to leave public comments instead of sliding into your social media DMs or emails. Private messages eat at your creative time and rob your community of valuable discussions. Save DMs for paying clients, Patreon members and brand deals.

YouTube Studio’s helps cut down your response time by offering canned responses for the repetitive stuff, but try to add personal touches when you can.

8. Consistency matters more than you think

Pick an upload schedule and stick to it: once a week, bi-monthly, monthly,  … start with whatever you can sustain and be consistent. Your audience needs to know when to expect content from you.

Consistency builds trust and signals to YouTube that your channel is active and worth promoting.

This means choosing a day and time to upload your youtube videos (mine used to be every Thursday at 2am PST Honolulu – yeah, 2AM, cause the rest of the world is already awake) and sticking to it as much as possible. It can be challenging, especially when life, work and content pull you in different directions.  This will help your viewers know when to expect new content from you.

Tip: Find your best time to publishing your YouTube video, so you post when your audiences are online. Focus on good content and increasing your viewer retention.

9. Watch retention is key

Higher subscriber count does not equate a higher ad income. The hidden gold is not in your subscriber count but in your audience watch retention and that is harder to earn.  By getting viewers to watch to the end, it signals to YouTube’s algorithm to share it. It also allows you to make more money because you can show more ads. 

How to grow your audience watch retention on YouTube:

• Focus on clarifying your audience and building videos around them and vital to their journey.
• Create a strong hook to get them excited to follow and then dive in with the good stuff.
• Don’t let them wait for the golden nuggets.
• Cut out the UMs and long pauses.
• Create a strong story arc.
• Use b-roll to make your video or story more engaging.
• Then visit your analytics to notice how your videos are performing.

It’s common to see a sharp drop-off at the 8-10 second mark, which means, viewers didn’t perceive value in that first 10 seconds. It’s very sobering to see a percentage rate drop off at that mark if you actually had a lot of views- it means they didn’t watch your video.

These days, attention spans are shorter and it takes a little more strategy to keep audiences watching to the end of the video.  As viewers, we make decisions quickly about how long we want to invest in a video. Even I’ve started watching YouTube videos at 1.5x speed, because if I’m watching this during a lunch break or metro ride… I want my creators to get to the point!

Create videos that engage your viewer to want to watch to the end.

10. Master SEO as if your channel depends upon it

YouTube is a search engine, which means for YouTube growth and discovery, your video title and description need relevant keywords that people actually search for. In 2025, some terms are so saturated “Best Things to Do in Tokyo” that ranking is nearly impossible without massive subscriber numbers.

I’ve been a blogger longer than I’ve been on YouTube, so I’ve had to learn how to write titles for search engines and so that readers know the value they’re getting if they click on my post.

But if you don’t have that skill yet,TubeBuddyhas been one of other secret weapon. It’s got keyword research tools specifically for YouTube and helps you find searchable terms with less competition. It lets you know what channels rank the highest for the keywords you’re searching for and lets you search for alternate keywords.

They have some AI features that you may find helpful to play with although YouTube is getting better at matching a couple of TubeBuddy’s long-standing features- like A/B title and thumbnail testing- and offering it for free. TubeBuddy still offers a lot of benefit.

TubeBuddy is always having promotional deals and they have a decent free version too that allows you to do quite a bit.

Download my YouTube Accelerator Checklist

11. Collaborate with creators in your niche

Find creators in your niche – not your direct competitors, but adjacent channels – and propose collaborations. It exposes you to their audience and them to yours. Plus, collaborating is genuinely fun. You get to talk shop, see how other creators work and maybe make a friend who understands why you’re filming your breakfast.

I’ve done several YouTube collaborations over the years and they’ve consistently brought new subscribers and sent some to my collaborators. Be genuine in your outreach and see how your channels can complement each other in a way that gets audiences to both your channels. Nobody wants to collaborate with someone who just wants to leech their audience.

Tip: YouTube introduced a new collabs tool that allows you and your fellow YouTube collaborator, to share a video on each others’ channel. This helps amplify reach! This also works on old videos.

12. YouTube Shorts is here to stay.

With the popularity of TikTok and Instagram Reels, YouTube was bound to bring short-form vertical videos into focus and here we are! Some creators have blown up exclusively on short-form content. Others ignore it completely. I create short form video content for my social media platform so I automatically share some of it to YouTube.

Here’s what I know-  YouTube is actively promoting Shorts and offering monetization for them. If you niche down your Shorts content, you can grow faster than long-form creators. Some Shorts creators are in the million subscriber base with zero long-form videos.

The not-so-great-news about YouTube Shorts:

• Shorts viewers don’t automatically convert to long-form viewers. Often, I’ve found they are distinctly different audiences with different viewing habits.
• YouTube Shorts monetization pays literal peanuts – it pays in cents in comparison to long-format content which can pay by the dollar.
• It is capped at 2 minutes and if you go beyond the 2 minute duration, your Shorts will be considered a long-format video and be shown against a horizontal background.  Rather annoying.

The good news is that YouTube now lets you link your Shorts to your long-form videos, which can help with cross-promotion.

Pro Tip:  Create Shorts that tease or complement long-format videos, then direct viewers to the full experience. It’s not perfect, but it works.

13. Outsource editing as soon as you can afford it

I edited my own videos for years and it nearly broke me. As a solo creator, I’m juggling filming, scripting, trip planning, sponsor pitches, social media and audience engagement. Spending 8-60 hours a week editing a single video is not sustainable when you’ve got a full plate of content to make, schedule and figure out how to monetize. I had to outsource my editing to allow me time to work on other more important CEO matters.

Hiring a video editor to grow your YouTube channel is an absolute game changer. But it is still work to direct your editor to what you want, communicate your vision and to project manage their time. Afterall, you’re paying for their time.

Pro Tip: Designing a workflow system can be the difference between organization and chaos. I created a video editing tracker to help manage my editor and track my video process. It helped me to know how much I spent on each video, the next stages of the video, URLs,  SEO title research, etc…

When you’re ready to hire, start with freelance platforms like Fiverr to test editors.

I’ve had success with Video Husky because they assign dedicated editors to longer-term subscribers and they learn your preferences. I had the same editor for two years.

VidChops (use my referral link to get $200 off your first subscription ) is another solid option I’ve tried, although I feel like they are better with talking head videos, than travel vlog storytelling.  I’m currently testing more options — check back!

Pro Tip: Hire asap. Most YouTube creators think they can only hire a video editor to grow their YouTube channel after they transition into full-time content creation, raking in the Google Adsense.  But here’s the thing- you’ll never feel that security with YouTube.

Learn how I work with an outsource editor

14. Titles and thumbnails your make or break

Wondering why no one is watching your videos? Well, your title tells your audience what your video’s topic is and your thumbnail helps tease it and nobody’s clicking if either or both do not deliver.

 In the past, I’d spend time all my time on my storytelling and production, but these days, if my title and thumbnail are not keyed on my audience, I’m not getting that view. Simple as that.

So spend serious time on this. Titles and thumbnails work hand-in-hand. Titles clearly communicate the video’s content and may indicate the audience it’s for. Your title should be clear, specific, and intriguing – no clickbait that your video can’t deliver on.

Thumbnails hook viewers with emotion. Your thumbnail needs to visually communicate the video’s value and emotion. Faces with expressions perform well. Text should be minimal and large enough to be read on mobile.

Tips:

• Use Canva to design your work. They have YouTube thumbnail templates that make this less painful.
• Use YouTube’s A/B thumbnail and title testing feature, so you can experiment and let YouTube’s AI data tell you what works.
• Use copyright-free photos and video footage from Pexels, Pixabay

15. Don’t try to be on every platform

I’ll be straightforward- i’ve not been very good at this advice. I’ve long shared my videos across social media platforms and online communities to promote my YouTube videos. But I’ve also stretched myself thin to grow influence because my goal for a while was vying for brand campaigns.

Between burnout, prioritizing monetization in other directions and platform algorithms skewed to keep creators creating on a regular basis, I realize I have to be strategic and realistic about what I have time for.

Social media promotion is exhausting — it is constantly changing as algorithms shift and platform tools, formats and language of audience engagement changes. Each has an audience with a specific viewing habit. Instagram might favor Reels one month and carousels the next. TikTok might boost your video or bury it for no discernible reason. It’s maddening and you can accidentally sink your channel by treating social media with the workload time as your featured content.

Bottom linke: When starting out, find your favorite platform you think most of your audiences may be on and use it as your right hand. When you get the hang of it, start testing the waters of other platforms.

Tip: Promoting your work is part of the Youtube workload. I use Metricool – it’s a good multi-platform scheduler if you’re publishing content to multiple platforms to promote your videos.

16. Grow an Email list

YouTube and social media platforms control your reach and their algorithms decide who sees your content. This means you’re renting space on someone else’s property. An email list is yours and yours alone.

Start collecting emails early. But before you think everything is gonna be easy peasy with this solution, here’s the tricky part that absolutely no one tells you – you’ve gotta get followers to open your emails. This will depend largely on whether your newsletters deliver a value your followers hope for or expect. But at least you’re not at the total mercy of Instagram deciding your post is not engaging or viral enough.

Tip: Mailerlite has a free tier to start with. Use it. I use a software called VBOUT that I bought into a while back on SumoApp so I have a free unlimited plan. But it’s quite expensive now and Mailerlite is easier to use.

Read best affiliate programs for youtube

17. Research AI Tools

AI in content creation exploded throughout 2023 and 2024 and it continues evolving in both time-saving and scary ways. Tools like TubeBuddy and VidIQ have integrated AI features for title generation, thumbnail analysis and content strategy.

TubeBuddy is my favorite tool due to its keyword search and it has an AI thumbnail analyzer I like to play with. It offers help with offering engaging title ideas too.

Meanwhile, VidIQ offers an AI coach that helps you drill down on content it feels your channel can benefit by.If you purchase a subscription, VidIQ’s AI coach will analyze your channel, suggest improvements and it will even suggest ideas and scripts for new videos. Install VidIQ toolbar for FREE. 

I recommend taking all AI software with healthy skepticism and do some thinking for yourself. Some AI responses can get generic and repetitive, even if they are meant to be customized to your channel. And remember that if AI is suggesting topics to you, it may be suggesting them to your competition.

These tools can help, especially when you’re creatively fried or buried in decision fatigue. But you’re still the creative director of your brand.

18. Use YouTube’s new tools

YouTube has been rolling out features specifically to help creators and you should use them (because I wish they had them when I started!):

Free Audio Library- YouTube now offers copyright-free music directly in YouTube Studio. Yes, it’s a lot of elevator music and it’s severely more limited than Epidemic Sound (which I still recommend for serious creators because it’s music is vetted by the staff), but it’s perfect if you’re starting out and don’t want to split revenue or risk copyright strikes. Tip: Epidemic Sound offers occasional paid campaigns to creators when you promote them through your YouTube videos. If you click on my link you get the first month free!

A/B Titles & Thumbnails Testing- This is huge – I wish they had this feature eons ago! You can now test different thumbnails and titles to see which performs better. Upload your video, and YouTube will show different versions to portions of your audience to measure click-through rates. This removes the guesswork from thumbnails and titles, which has always felt like a bit of a dark science.

Collab Tool- YouTube’s built-in collaboration feature makes it easier to work with other creators and cross-share your collab video. Simply tag the other creator as a collaborator and your video shows up on their channel so their audiences can watch it too.

Shopping Tool – now if you’re in the YouTube Partner Program , you have access to one more monetization tool- you can tag affiliate partners on the gear and clothes you use. This is great for product reviews and when you share your favorite items in your videos. I haven’t researched whether I make more sticking to my own external affiliates in my Description Box or if this Shopping tool gains a stronger net income.  In theory this is helpful but YouTube takes 40% commission from your affiliate commission. So if you get a 4% commission from the purchase of a $10 item (equating a $0.40 commission) and YouTube takes 40% of it, then you go home with $0.24 …before taxes!

Tip: If you’re not part of the YPP, you can still tag your Amazon/other affiliate links in your Description box and direct viewers there.

19. Beware of chasing vanity numbers

Building a successful travel channel on YouTube takes time. Don’t get discouraged if you don’t see your subscriber base growing in the first three months. You’re juggling a lot of creative departments as a YouTuber.

When I’m consulting creators  or doing a YouTube channel audit as a YouTube coach, I always ask my creators what their channel goals are. 90% of the time, it’s subscriber growth. I totally get it…

But while being able to see your milestones in a vanity number is fun, do not be misled by it. This is a deep dark hole a lot of creators accidentally fall into and it keeps them crippled for a good half of their career.

Truth: Your subscriber count has nothing to do with how much you will earn from YouTube. It does not equate how much ad revenue you’ll get, how many brands will want to work with you, fan-funding support you get or how many people buy your products/services.

For instance, some YouTubers think that by uploading daily or joining a secret YouTube engagement group (watch/follow/engagement pods), they’ll grow faster. They’re going for the vanity numbers, so they look faux successful.  Why is this bad?

A high subscriber count and low view average works against you in that, if you have 30,000 subscribers and say, under 500 view counts per video, you will feel frustration, embarrassment, wondering what you’re doing wrong, and it’s a number that everyone can see and judge you by if they gauge creators by vanity numbers.  It’s a Pandora’s Box of unnecessary insecurity to add to burnout.

High subscribers, low views usually means you grew too fast without locking in a strong enough impression for audiences to want to return to, because your channel is still “finding itself”. You have a couple of good videos that hit, but you don’t know how that actually happened and that’s dangerous. It means you were not being intentional and you may not know who your audience is.

You still won’t believe me that vanity numbers are an unhealthy addiction and that’s okay…vanity numbers are an illusion that’s hard not to chase. But we can have that discussion when you get there. I offer YouTube coaching services and audits. 😉

Last words on growing your YouTube channel in 2025

Growing and monetizing a travel YouTube channel in 2025 is absolutely possible…

It also requires more strategy than it did five years ago. The space is crowded, but there’s always room for unique and genuine voices.

Focus on sustainable practices that won’t burn you out, invest in quality over quantity and build real relationships with your audience.

The journey is long, but if you’re here for the genuine love of travel and storytelling and not just free trips and brand deals, then you’ll figure it out.

Want to YouTube coaching/consulting feedback or maybe you want eyes on your channel and feedback with a YouTube channel audit.  Click on the links to learn more about growing your YouTube channel and income today! 

Read more of my travel content creator business posts