Posts by Michael

Has anyone used Freedom!'s Heartbeat extension? Is it worth using? It sounds simple enough to use when watching videos and press the H key. Are they paying creators to make mini clip moments from any and all YouTube videos? Not fully understanding it 😅 Really unsure how revenue share works with this.

Heres the Chrome Extension for anyone interested:

Heartbeat - Chrome Web Store

Create your moments

chromewebstore.google.com

Most of us open our videos with a familiar line we say, "Hey guys" probably being the most used of all time. I was wondering what you use for your video opener/intro? What were your reasons if any as to why you use the one you use?

For me I have used many over the years everything from "Alright there welcome back" to "Lads and lasses welcome back".

What about you? What is your intro?

Has anyone noticed when posting a free product sample video on TikTok that it very rarely gets promoted by the algorithm. Ive noticed creators who usually get multiple thousands of views when posting getting really low views when posting a product.

Do TikTok Shop videos get pushed less or is it because of the video being pushed out, performing poorly with being an advert and then ending up never getting picked up again. At one point I wondered if TikTok were only pushing sample product videos where the seller has placed ads on them.

I am curious what your experience has been with TikTok shop product samples versus normal content.

What's your experience been selling using free samples on TikTok? I have noticed over time TikTok Shop sellers are increasing the threshold to be sent free samples unsurprisingly due to rising costs as well as the cost of loss when a creator doesnt post their product. I used to promote products every few days on my main TikTok account but decided to completely stop. I was getting free products to keep or give away but I wasnt getting any sales. I was receiving random products everything from nose hair trimmers to 4kg of sweets.

Has anyone actually managed to turn getting free samples into consistent sales or is it mainly just free product testing now?

Theres a lot of controversy lately about the use of meta glasses to record POV videos in public. Channels such as Michael Ballymore have gone viral where they approach strangers without them knowing theyre recording through the glasses and banter and crack jokes.

Obviously it isnt always welcome and to some it can come across as harassing or bullying but theres also been a positive side to it with some people featured saying they werent bothered and made their day etc and he has often been helping the homeless in the city centre of Newcastle Upon Tyne.

I have saw a few videos from creators debating the topic lately, people saying its harmful and others saying its just for a laugh.

Where I stand is I can see it from both sides. It makes for really watchable viral content seeing people out and about in public in your local hometown and then enjoying his banter with them. Theres some very interesting people that otherwise you would never see. I do think that it would be best to get consent at the very least after as some people really would not want their face shared online etc I think that if he gained consent after then it wouldnt be causing as much controversy. I would think those with MH could become affected by some of his jokes which can land a bit poorly even if that may not be the intent in the moment.

Michael Ballymore ®️ on TikTok

@yourmumwearslonsdales 78.1k Followers, 1 Following, 2.9m Likes - Watch awesome short videos created by Michael Ballymore ®️

www.tiktok.com

This video by a local lad discusses another creators video on Ballymore:

TikTok · BILLYJBARTON (NCL)

TikTok | Make Your Day

www.tiktok.com

What do you think? Is this style of content good for those all around or a nuisance?

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Personally I would consider getting a new phone with a good camera on it. Theres a lot of ways to mount a phone to a ringlight for selfie style videos, gimbals if you want to do smooth handheld footage and the bonus is you can easily carry it everywhere with you. For £300 you could get one of the Samsung plus phones like an s22plus or maybe even s23plus. I have a Nothing Phone 3a Pro and thats been really good, the front facing camera isnt the best but still performs well and the back camera is excellent just sometimes struggles in low light. What kind of video content will you be making?

I was once leaving my aunties house and a random silly idea popped into my head. It was ridiculous, would only take a few seconds to shoot on my phone and I thought to myself sod it, I will quickly record it and edit it once I am home. That silly thought was edited in a few minutes on the TikTok app and shared. That video is currently at over 2 million views. I dont think I have earned much from it (if anything) with it being a really short video but it goes to show the random silly little ideas that youd most likely forget to do can sometimes be worth it. Do you ever get random ideas for videos and post them? Have you experienced anything like this before too?

So I had this back in 2017, one of my first ever videos on my old channel was sat for maybe a year or two. The video was awfully poor quality, it was recorded badly, the audio was off, I wasnt really into what I was doing and looking back it honestly seems like the least likely contender to ever be picked up by the algorithm. It sat at around 1k views for 2 years and suddenly was suggested on the sidebar of a popular channel and it took off to over 2 million views. It must have sat for 2 years at around 1k views. It is a video I could easily have just deleted as it was kinda embarrassing to keep especially after improving so much over the years. I have always wondered why that video of all of them and how come the algorithm suddenly decided it was worth pushing. I feel lucky it happened but haven’t a clue why that exact video and not others that were equally as awful.

Do videos get re-evaluated by the algorithm after such long periods of time since posting? What typically causes one to suddenly grow like that? Its made me think that I should never delete any old bad videos just in case I am sat on a surprise gold mine.

Has anyone else noticed their videos most times hitting a certain view range before stalling, like they reach a cap and then just die off? It feels like there is some kind of testing phase where videos get shown to a small group first and only goes further if it performs well initially. Is this just how the algorithm works in stages or am I overthinking it?

Im curious, what are some attention grabbing ways to design a thumbnail in 2026 and increase thumbnail click through rate? I know a few years back using extreme yellows and bright colours would work so well but what about now? What is working for you with your thumbnails? What does the algorithm reward now?

Ive noticed that many creators feel this way. If you dont post something more extreme than the post before or more outlandish it doesnt perform as well. With channels that have a focus on more viral content it seems to be this way. You see similar patterns with adult content creators too where they will start out posting less risqué content and as time goes on it becomes more graphic. What are your thoughts on this? I think its down to the perception of viewers not being interested unless something is more extreme etc than the previous as if it has to beat the crazyness of it. Hopefully that makes some sense. Share your thoughts on this would be interesting to discuss.

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I was recently recommended by a content creator friend to start reusing my videos from YouTube and upload them to Spotify as a podcast. I didnt know this was a thing until he showed me. In the past I had used distribution services such as Landr and Distrokid for audio based releases but those are paid distribution services. This way you and anyone else can upload their YouTube content directly to Spotify and get rewarded when you gain a following and streams.

You can sign up to Spotify Creators here: https://creators.spotify.com/

To monetise you need 1000 people listening in 30 days, 3 uploads and 2000 consumed hours in 30 days. I am unsure if this resets if you get less one month however.

While my numbers are low I havent once promoted or shared the Spotify with anyone. Imagine if I was to share it properly and the growth that can come from it. I definitely recommend doing it. The upload system is so simple unlike on other platforms like Landr and Distrokid. Get yourself on there and share your link with your audience on YT and TikTok.

If youre new to TikTok and youre thinking to yourself that you cannot post that draft, honestly just go for it. Theres a lot of anxiety around posting when beginning a new TikTok channel. "Are my videos good or bad?", "Do I look and sound okay?", "What if my family sees me?", "What will me friends think?", "What if my content is just crap and gets no views?". All of those questions will hold you back. A better question to ask would be So What? So what if your videos are not perfect, so what if people see you who know you? so what if you get 5 views or 50? So what if others think something?.

This is your life, you can do this, breathe and release that draft. You will learn with every single attempt you make, every failure is a learning opportunity and you never know where you could end up in 5 years time. Bella Poarch went viral with her M to the B video,

TikTok · All about Movies

TikTok | Make Your Day

www.tiktok.com

Her friends could have easily wondered what she was doing and thought it was strange her facial expressions but she still posted it and it went massive.

Mr Beast started off with a bandicam software recording of Minecraft:

Anything is possible and you can create something and do well out of literally nothing.

Does anyone use affiliate marketing in 2026 for their brand? I am curious how people are finding businesses to affiliate with and whether it is worth it or not. I have done a few paid product placements in my time which worked well for the companies and have shared affiliate codes and links and with a small audience the result has been okay. I have had a few clicks but no buyers probably the wrong audience really or the video wasnt where it should be. How have yours went on YouTube? Do you find people click your links and purchase? It is still eyes on the brand regardless which is good for them and it also creates a sense of youve made it with your viewers when they see you post products, either that or think youve sold out haha

I was wondering what others posting schedules are. For my main YouTube I post as and when I can but try to at least 1 time per week. At one point I was posting several times a week and while the channel was performing better than it still felt like it wasnt really doing much. I cut back a lot and the views seemed to stay similar but now are in decline after my schedule was messed up for a few months. Im unsure if its just the niche at the moment.

With TikTok for my business I post 5 days per week, the views have been steady between 200 and 700 views per video on average which I am happyish with with the channels following being around 1500 it isnt too bad at all.

What is your own posting schedule like?

Is starting a YouTube kids channel in 2026 worth it? I remember back in 2017/2018 the whole Elsagate where there was a mass demonetisation of YouTube kids channels. So many creators were posting inappropriate content for kids like pregnant Frozen Elsa bending over in mini skirts, spiderman sexualising her and play doh videos of the Hulk having his arms removed at the doctors. I completely see why so many got demonetised but I know they werent given any warning or chance to delete said content. A few channels were caught in all of it quite unfairly and never got their monetisation back.

I am wondering now is it worth creating one or viable? If you have a kids channel is yours monetised fine or do you run into issues? Is it pointless creating one these days with needing to mark as made for kids etc? Are these videos properly monetisable? What are your thoughts?

I was wondering if people are still adding tags to their YouTube videos? Are YouTube using them now as much or are they a waste of time and better letting the algorithm understand the content without them? What are your thoughts?

I still use them maybe 70% of the time, I tend to use the most relevant ones maybe 7. In the past I would use all 500 characters available. Im unsure if they have much weight and if theyre worth using. I guess YouTube would remove them entirely if their systems didnt use them at all as they would be pointless.

Who are your favourite TikTok creators? (share yours below with some info on them and a video or two - this thread is not for self promo btw)

I have a few I watch regularly but some are at the top of the list.

Sophie Jones - Confidence & Rejection Self Improvement Channel - https://www.tiktok.com/@sophie_jones111

Harry and Jack - North East England Comedy Channel - https://www.tiktok.com/@harryandjack_

Sophie I have watched since she began and she quickly went viral with her confidence boosting rejection therapy videos, really admire her and the goal of the channel. She's been on UK TV and is a massive inspiration with wholesome content.

TikTok · Sophie Jones

TikTok | Make Your Day

www.tiktok.com

Harry and Jack I found a while back and was attracted to their local humour about unemployment and gaming etc they specialise in funny relatable POV content and recently created a character called Mr Tickley. The characters now their most popular and everyone requests him to come back whenever they post a new video. He is a bit like the old man in Family Guy. He started off as a creepy uber driver POV and now he's becoming more aggressive towards Djack, you never know how extreme he is going to get. A lot of people feel sorry for the poor guy lol

TikTok · Harry & Jack

TikTok | Make Your Day

www.tiktok.com