You can't make money on YouTube. Here is why.

It's not impossible to make money on YouTube, but the platform is so oversaturated that it's incredibly difficult to get any traction. For those that do get traction, there are a lot of traps for the unwary that can lead to losing money in the long run. In my opinion, there are five key things to watch out for:<br><br>1. **Lack of niche.** This is the main problem. With millions of active channels, it's impossible to compete with channels that have been established for years. The majority of them use clickbait and other tricks to attract viewers. Even if you come up with something good and new, there are millions of other channels that are similar. So, you can forget about your channel unless you are ready to spend thousands of dollars on promotion, and even that is not a guarantee.<br><br>2. **Monetization policies.** The way YouTube operates is fundamentally anti-capitalist, and it's clear that the owners of the platform have a bias against anyone trying to earn a living by making videos. The platform has millions of dollars in advertising revenue, but the people creating the content only get pennies for every thousand views. This is unsustainable and unfair to creators. Also, if you do something they don't like, you get demonetized, which can be devastating to a small channel.<br><br>3. **Copyright claims.** Another trap is copyright claims, which can ruin your video and your channel. If you use copyrighted music in your video, someone might claim ownership, which could lead to you having to take it down or lose your channel. You can get around this by using royalty-free music or getting permission, but that's not always feasible or easy.<br><br>4. **Community guidelines.** YouTube's community guidelines are ridiculously strict, and they can get you banned without warning. The platform's moderators have a lot of power and can make decisions that seem unfair or arbitrary. Even if you're following the rules, you can still get hit with a strike and have your channel terminated. This is a risk you take when you upload your content, but it's not fair, and it's not transparent.<br><br>5. **Algorithm manipulation.'this is the worst one.** The algorithm is designed to show you videos that keep you engaged, not videos that are good or useful. If a video is boring but clickbait-y, you'll see more of those in your feed. If a video is informative but dry, you'll see less of those. This is a problem because it leads to a lot of low-quality content getting seen more than high-quality content. Also, the algorithm changes frequently, so even if you find a strategy that works today, it might not work tomorrow.<br><br>All of these things make it incredibly difficult to make money on YouTube. It's not impossible, but it's really hard, and there are a lot of pitfalls along the way. If you're interested in creating content and making money from it, you should consider other platforms as well.<br><br>&#x200B;