Is The YouTube Algorithm Killing Established Creators?

In this week's episode of Aspiring Creator, I talk about 80-page briefs and AI-written scripts from brands that are killing retention, update on my experience with 1of10 and recap Samsung Unpacked. If you're building a creator business and want the unpolished version of what's working (and what's not), this one's for you. New episodes every Wednesday 🚀 ⏰ TIMESTAMPS 00:00 - Samsung Unpacked 📱 03:09 - Unfair embargo rules (Pixel) 😤 05:40 - Testing a rate calculator 🧮 07:55 - When creators get bored 😴 11:09 - 1of10 review, one month in 🧐 14:14 - Agency payment nightmare 😩 17:49 - Brands input killing retention 📉 23:54 - Do blocked comments hurt engagement? 💬 Links: 🧮 Rate calculator: https://adready.app/rate-calculator

In this week's episode of Aspiring Creator, I talk about bringing in 1 of 10 to coach the channel back to growth, the uncomfortable truth about how sponsored videos drag down the whole channel, and the $5,000 brand deal I turned down. If you're building a creator business and want the unpolished version of what's working (and what's not), this one's for you. New episodes every Wednesday 🚀 ⏰ TIMESTAMPS 00:00 - Hiring a YouTube Growth Coach 🎯 13:37 - Integrations vs Dedicated Videos ⚖️ 22:24 - Apple, IFA & Chasing A Snapdragon Invite 🏝️ 24:54 - The TV Deal That Got Messy 😬 30:20 - $1K/Month For Reposting Reels 🔁 32:46 - Why I Said No To $5,000 from Asus 💵 💬 SOCIAL STUFF ▸ Instagram: @petematheson ▸ LinkedIn: @petematheson ▸ Website: https://www.petematheson.com/

In this week's episode of Aspiring Creator, I talk about the reality of the creator events circuit - free folding phones, flying to Paris for just one hour, and what solo-travelling to press trips is really like. If you're building a creator business and want the unpolished version of what's working (and what's not), this one's for you. New episodes every Wednesday 🚀 ⏰ TIMESTAMPS 00:00 - Samsung Unpacked 📱 03:40 - When 100K Becomes 700K Overnight 📈 07:38 - Hiring 1of10 🎯 13:03 - Creative Control in Sponsored Content ✋ 16:02 - Traveling Alone as a Content Creator 🧳 19:46 - A 1-hour Paris Trip 🇫🇷 LINKS 🎙️ Last week’s episode with Lauri from Tech Notice: https://youtu.be/Vyfyc7gbiaQ 💬 SOCIAL STUFF ▸ Instagram: @petematheson ▸ LinkedIn: @petematheson ▸ Website: https://www.petematheson.com/

In this week's episode of Aspiring Creator, Lauri from Tech Notice joins me to unpick the loop every creator seems to be stuck in: fix your views, land the brand deals, then watch the brand deals kill your views. We also talk about the AI-generated titles and thumbnails that are now beating the ones I make myself and the easter egg in YouTube's like button. If you're building a creator business and want the unpolished version of what's working (and what's not), this one's for you. New episodes every Wednesday 🚀 ⏰ TIMESTAMPS 00:00 - Stuck in the views x brand deals death loop (+ 1of10) 🔁 15:26 - YouTube's secret like button 👍 27:17 - Dead internet theory is here 💀 41:16 - Do subscribers even matter? 😅 51:32 - The future of YouTube 🔮 1:00:11 - Update on using Claude in the business 🤖 1:10:30 - $1M or 1M subscribers? 💰 1:19:09 - Why a bigger team isn't necessarily easier 😩 🔗 LINKS Tech Notice: https://www.youtube.com/@theTechNotice Lauri: https://www.youtube.com/@LauriPesur 💬 SOCIAL STUFF ▸ Instagram: @petematheson ▸ LinkedIn: @petematheson ▸ Website: https://www.petematheson.com/

In this week's episode of Aspiring Creator, I talk about why it increasingly feels like we're unpaid beta testers for big brands, why I think our Prime Day video flopped, and the lowball offer that made no sense. If you're building a creator business and want the unpolished version of what's working (and what's not), this one's for you. New episodes every Wednesday 🚀 ⏰ TIMESTAMPS 00:00 - Our weekly content schedule ⚙️ 02:23 - Building a fake wall in the studio 🧱 07:18 - My big brand bugbear 😮‍💨 11:45 - Our Prime Day video flopped 📦 14:30 - When brands lowball you 📉 LINKS 📺 I Shot a TV Commercial in China - https://youtu.be/cDzvdZDsSGw 💬 SOCIAL STUFF ▸ Instagram: @petematheson ▸ LinkedIn: @petematheson ▸ Website: https://www.petematheson.com/

In this week’s episode of Aspiring Creator, I talk about getting treated like a celebrity for a day on a commercial shoot in Shanghai, finding the one type of content that actually funds your channel (hint: it's not AdSense) and why we stopped posting short-form content. If you're building a creator business and want the unpolished version of what's working (and what's not), this one's for you. New episodes every Wednesday 🚀 ⏰ TIMESTAMPS 00:00 - Flown to China for a TV commercial ✈️ 14:55 - Why 100K subs won't pay the bills 💸 24:24 - The AI-channel experiment 🤖 25:41 - Affiliates, income, pipeline - all in one app 🎛️ 💬 SOCIAL STUFF ▸ Instagram: @petematheson ▸ LinkedIn: @petematheson ▸ Website: https://www.petematheson.com/

In this week’s episode of Aspiring Creator, I talk about my new one-take second channel, testing long-form video on Facebook, and what running shorts for 3 weeks straight did to my channel's numbers. If you're building a creator business and want the unpolished version of what's working (and what's not), this one's for you. New episodes every Wednesday 🚀 ⏰ TIMESTAMPS 00:00 - Why I started a second channel 📺 06:25 - Leaning into your unfair advantage 💪 10:09 - Posting long-form to Facebook?? 📘 13:52 - Am I moving back to Howl 💀 19:08 - What 3 weeks of only shorts taught me 📈 29:01 - Vibe coding our whole business 💻 🔗 LINKS Pete Matheson's Cool Channel - https://www.youtube.com/@PeteMatheson2 💬 SOCIAL STUFF ▸ Instagram: @petematheson ▸ LinkedIn: @petematheson ▸ Website: https://www.petematheson.com/

In this week’s episode of Aspiring Creator, I talk about a brand that turned a 4-page brief into 40+ pages mid-shoot, what 2 weeks of focusing on shorts actually did to my views and subs, and how I just used Claude to plan my entire video schedule through the end of 2026. If you're building a creator business and want the unpolished version of what's working (and what's not), this one's for you. New episodes every Wednesday 🚀 ⏰ TIMESTAMPS 00:00 - 4 Pages To 40 Pages Overnight 📄 04:09 - Why I Want A Zero-Edit Second Channel ✂️ 10:52 - Shorts Doubled My Subs (Was It Worth It?) 🤔 16:57 - Paddy Galloway's Best Creator Advice 🧠 25:14 - Letting Claude Build My 2026 Content Schedule 🗓️ LINKS 🔗 Paddy Galloway’s 30 Lessons from Turning 30 - https://www.linkedin.com/posts/paddy-galloway-459b8913a_i-just-turned-30-ive-dedicated-over-50-activity-7460328048635191296-IFmy 💬 SOCIAL STUFF ▸ Instagram: @petematheson ▸ LinkedIn: @petematheson ▸ Website: https://www.petematheson.com/

In this week’s episode of Aspiring Creator, I talk about saving a tanking video by retitling it within 24 hours, losing creative control on a sponsored deal that completely killed it, and whether Claude is about to gut the SaaS industry. If you're building a creator business and want the unpolished version of what's working (and what's not), this one's for you. New episodes every Wednesday 🚀 ⏰ TIMESTAMPS 00:00 - Turning a 10/10 into a 1/10 📉 06:03 - Losing creative control on a brand deal 🚫 12:23 - Brand wants to fly me to China ✈️ 15:07 - Is Claude killing SaaS? 🤖 19:01 - Shiny new toy syndrome ✨ 20:45 - $500 vs $30k brand deals 💰 26:15 - Cutting production effort ✂️ 💬 SOCIAL STUFF ▸ Instagram: @petematheson ▸ LinkedIn: @petematheson ▸ Website: https://www.petematheson.com/

In this week’s episode of Aspiring Creator, I talk about why YouTube views are tanking for established creators right now, why the algorithm has stopped surfacing videos to subscribers across the platform, and how I ended up with two failed monitor videos in a single week. If you're building a creator business and want the unpolished version of what's working (and what's not), this one's for you. New episodes every Wednesday 🚀 ⏰ TIMESTAMPS 00:00 - Two Failed Videos In One Week 💀 04:26 - Why Established Channels Are Cooked 🔥 12:44 - I Replaced Monday.com With Claude 🛠️ 19:09 - Quickest Press Trip Ever 🛫 20:16 - Good Metrics, Bad Views 📉 21:51 - Can't Reach My Own Audience 🚫 💬 SOCIAL STUFF ▸ Instagram: @petematheson ▸ LinkedIn: @petematheson ▸ Website: https://www.petematheson.com/