Insights & Trends

The journey to the first 1,000 subs can look totally different depending on many factors. We have worked with creators who hit 1,000 quickly, and others who slowly climbed toward that number over months or years.

If your YouTube Short hits a million views in 2025, you can expect to earn somewhere between $8 and $330. Most creators will fall somewhere in the middle of that range. And that’s not because of your niche, editing skills, or titles. It’s how YouTube’s system for Shorts monetization is built.

"Shadowban" isn’t a term YouTube officially uses. There’s no red button labeled “hide this creator from existence.” But if a video disappears from search, notifications vanish, subscribers never see your upload, and analytics nosedive, you’re left wondering: did something invisible kill your momentum?

2025 has turned short-form video into a knife fight for attention, and creators are caught in the middle. Both YouTube Shorts and Instagram Reels promise reach, discovery, and brand visibility, but which one is better for promoting your content?