There are a countless number of people who have been conned by "gurus" selling $497 courses that YT is easy riches, but it's not. You see small creators failing on there all the time.
The truth is you have to be exceptional as a creator to stand out. Some can do it, but most cannot. MrBeast has been doing it since he was a kid in the early days before it became so saturated and even he studied the ins and outs of it for countless hours before gaining traction. Most people just give up because they don't have the time it takes to succeed, or the insane amount of determination required.
On top of that, most successful creators will tell you that the big money isn't really in the small amount if monetization that YT gives you, but in the endorsements, sponsorships and affiliate products you can promote to your following. Which makes it just another marketing platform in the same way that some people find success in email marketing or SMM.
Now, with the emergence of AI that creates digital influencers and faceless videos, it is technically easier and cheaper to make content without the need for expensive pro equipment, but most of the content is garbage, so you still have to create something exceptional to stand out from the AI crowd.
I simply use it for the marketing platform that it is...a way to get targeted traffic and backlinks to my websites and products. I don't need a large following for that at all.
