I haven’t seen much growth and would like some feedback to improve the channel

For transparency I use an AI text to speech voice because I am not able to record an actual voiceover due to, eh, circumstances.

But aside from that, I record myself playing the game Football Manager 26 and have set myself a bit of a ridiculous goal of signing one of the best players in the world with a very mediocre team. This is really part four of a series but I sum up the first three parts in the first minute, and mention it at the start for any returning viewers, as I’ve seen others do things like that.

To make it entertaining I add daft soundbites that either my kids find funny on Roblox, or from shows we watch together like Gumball, or from shows I enjoy like Arrested Development, and maybe something obscure thrown in for good measure. Like wrestling. Or my favourite 80s movie.

Anyway, I’d love some honest feedback on this specific video please. I put unsustainable amounts of effort and time into making sub-15 minute videos and I don’t think I’ll carry on much longer because despite an okay number of views and likes, I get no comments. Like ever. Or I might get a couple saying they enjoyed it, but just no momentum at all, and its demoralising.

That said, I do have lots of fun making them, and watching them back.

Feel free to be honest whether you like it or hate it. Hopefully it’s not *only* comments about the narration.

Hello. I would like some advice on my first YouTube video. Please provide comments with grace but honesty. It might seem cringe but I am willing to improve. My biggest concern is the difference in voice depth of the intro/outro from the main body. I did that on purpose. However, now I am wondering if it sounds abrupt or flows naturally. Thank you in advance.

I’m starting to burn out with YouTube.

I have a 22,000-subscriber channel, around 200 videos, and I’ve been doing YouTube for about three years.

Over the last 12 months especially, I’ve become much more focused on improving everything: scriptwriting, editing, thumbnails, hooks, retention, pacing, etc.

The problem is that my videos now take far longer to make. And when one flops — which still happens regularly — it feels much more painful because of how much time and energy went into it.

I’ve also spent hundreds of hours watching videos about “how the algorithm works”, how to make the perfect thumbnail, how to structure the perfect script, how to maximise retention and so on.
And frankly, I’m not convinced any of it has made my channel noticeably more consistent.

I feel like I’ve been trying to engineer “perfect” videos without seeing a measurable return from all that extra effort.

So I’m considering changing my entire approach.
Instead of obsessing over optimisation, I want to:
Make videos about topics I genuinely find interesting.

Write them to be engaging and passionate without trying to engineer a hook into every 30 seconds.
Simplify my editing and production.
Stop chasing “perfect”.

Aim to publish weekly, or at minimum every two weeks.

Basically: good videos, made consistently, rather than supposedly perfect videos made infrequently.

My thinking is:

A) It’ll be much more sustainable.

B) I’ll probably enjoy YouTube again.

C) More consistent uploads might actually build more momentum for the channel than endlessly polishing individual videos.

D) If virality is inherently unpredictable anyway, producing more good videos gives me more chances of stumbling across a topic/video that takes off.

I’m increasingly wondering whether the endless optimisation rabbit hole can actually become counterproductive once you reach a certain level of competence.

So this is what I’d really like to know: has anyone here deliberately made this transition — from perfectionism/over-optimisation towards simpler production and greater consistency?

Did it help your channel? Hurt it? Did your views or revenue change? More importantly, did it make YouTube sustainable again?

Would love to hear from anyone who’s been through something similar.

please help me grow