I published my first video on my first YouTube channel around November 2014. At that point in my life, I was 23-years-old, married for four years, and a stay-at-home mother of three small children, including a newborn. I was overwhelmed and struggling with trying to balance everything. I was in desperate need of inspiration and motivation to replace the chaos that surrounded me with calm and structure, so I started to research. I was already somewhat acquainted with the Flylady system of home management, and I read articles and watched YouTube videos about stay-at-home mothers just like me. They inspired me to create content of my own.
At first, I benefited from my newfound hobby. Slowly but surely, I was able to begin to replace the chaos with structure by establishing routines, because people were encouraging and inspiring me simply by watching my videos. Being a YouTube content creator was just the form of accountability that I needed.
Because I was creating content as a hobby for personal motivation – and, hopefully, to motivate others in the process – I didn’t monetize my channel until autumn 2016, when we were somewhat struggling financially and could’ve used an extra income. (Back then, the requirements to be in the YouTube Partner Program and to be monetized were far more relaxed.) Monetizing my channel motivated me to enhance it with more consistent posts and a few other simple changes; but, unfortunately, it started to slowly become more about the pursuit of AdSense revenue for me.
About 18 months post-monetization, in January 2018, I received an email from YouTube notifying me of their new YouTube Partner Program requirements for monetization. I had 30 days to gain 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 hours of watch time within the past 12 months, or I’d lose access to the YouTube Partner Program features, including channel monetization. At that point, I only had 346 subscribers and about 1,200 hours of watch time in the past year, so I knew I was going to fail the deadline.
I was, indeed, demonetized the next month, in February 2018. It was discouraging, but I didn’t allow myself to forfeit after all of the time and effort I put into my channel. So, I chose to handle it in a positive way – I challenged myself to improve my channel, beginning with some simple changes, including rebranding my channel from my first and last names to Amber’s Way. I also took the 30 Days to a Better YouTube Channel course (by Tim Schmoyer of Video Creators) starting a few months later in May 2018.
Several months after I was demonetized, in September 2018, I decided to quit YouTube as a legitimate career option, but not as a hobby. I awoke from a nap and distinctly thought, “I should quit YouTube.” It was a defined moment of clarity, as absolute as night and day. We were still struggling financially, and I slowly began to realize during those months post-demonetization that my so-called YouTube “career” fails to make the best use of my monetizable skills and abilities.
It took me those several months to accept this fact and gain the courage to quit, because:
- I was committed to my YouTube channel and to my community. I always felt like I owed them my best service, especially after I had monetized my channel.
- I coveted the $61.70 that’s still in my Google AdSense account to this day – which took me 15 months to earn post-monetization – especially after YouTube demonetized my channel. But, the minimum required for a paycheck issue is $100, so I became a slave to attempting to improve my channel in order to meet those latest requirements for re-monetization.
- I felt like it would be a waste of all the consideration, effort, and time that I poured into my YouTube channel; so, I thought that if I tried harder and consistently did my best, I would achieve my goals for my channel.
After that post-nap realization, I prayed and did some soul-searching. I came to a few conclusions:
- I don’t owe absolutely anyone anything…
- …and absolutely no one owes me.
- YouTube no longer fulfilled its intended purpose in my life. After almost four years of being a content creator at that point, I had evolved as a homemaker, and I no longer needed to record videos for motivation because habits and routines had been ingrained.
- I continued to put a lot of effort into YouTube, but I no longer felt like I was getting anything that I wanted in return. After almost four years, I remained mediocre as a YouTuber – being an “unsuccessful” content creator became discouraging, so I wasn’t motivated to use my personal, monetizable abilities and skills at my peak performance on the platform. So, I needed to cut my losses and move on.
Deciding to quit YouTube as a career option was not an easy decision, but I knew that choice would guide me in the right direction of a more “fulfilling” – or actually monetizable – career path at the time. And it kind of did. In November 2018, just two months after reverting my mindset about YouTube from a career option into a hobby and officially pausing YouTube content creation, I was hired as an aircraft mechanic.
I didn’t post anything on my channel for about a year after that. I did return to YouTube as a hobby creator in October 2019; but, by my third video posted after my return, I was questioning myself. Why did I even return to content creation in the first place? I realized that it was mainly for the sake of nostalgia, not because I was enjoying it like I used to when I first started. After all, I was an extremely busy, working mother, and there simply wasn’t enough time nor vigor to devote to my YouTube hobby. The conclusions that I came to the year prior felt more true at that point more than ever; so, not quite five years after I became a YouTube content creator, I permanently deleted my channel. Afterward, I felt a deep sense of relief – like a heavy burden was lifted from my shoulders – and I knew that I had made the right decision for me at that time.
In May 2020, after 17 months of being an aircraft mechanic, I was laid off due to the coronavirus pandemic. Being back at home, my passion for YouTube content creation slowly, but surely, reignited. After all, creating content for YouTube was an integral part of my 20s, and I did enjoy it… when my mindset about it was in the right place.
I started recording again the next month, in June 2020. I created a new channel a couple of months later in August and named it Amber’s Way again. I published my first video in November 2020, which was recorded four months prior – it was 10th wedding anniversary prep video. I had more of a “this is a fun hobby, so que será será” attitude about my channel this time, since I had definitely learned my lesson to maintain reasonable expectations.
It’s been almost three years since I’ve officially returned to YouTube as a content creator. A lot has changed and is changing in my personal life, especially within about the past 18 months:
- We finally bought our first house, in late February 2022!
- I was hired as a full-time, remote administrator and data analyst about seven months ago, in February 2023
- We got a new German Shepherd puppy a few months ago, in late June 2023
- I started homeschooling my children last month, in early August 2023
Before my recent summer hiatus from YouTube (June – September 2023), I realized that, after about seven years total of being primarily a “speed cleaning” content creator, I’m somewhat losing interest in my niche. During my summer hiatus, I had some more time to think about the direction that I want to take my channel, and I realized that I’m back where I started when I first began my YouTube journey almost nine years ago. I’m an overwhelmed mother – with more responsibilities than ever before – simply trying to find contentment and peace amidst the chaos of life. With that in mind, I’ve decided that I want to share a more slow and simple way of life, with the focus on loving God and loving people, with a community who has similar goals so that we can motivate and support each other.
I still want to create a form of cleaning motivation content, because I still adore homemaking – that’s never going to change; but, as I’m just beginning my own journey to this more slow and simple way of life, I want to pivot my content to reflect that as I share stories about my own life and the many lessons I’ve learned… or had to relearn. (Always the hard way with me, I swear!)
Content creators have this amazing opportunity to share their message and change people’s lives. I know that “speed cleaning” content on YouTube can be motivational in and of themselves, and I’m certain that I’ve probably motivated some of you for a brief moment in time; but, I want to be more of an encouragement and inspiration to you as well. Otherwise, what’s the point in all of this if my channel is not focused on the very heart of you who come to me in search of motivation to recover when you’re overwhelmed, which is that very same position that I was in when I first started my YouTube journey eight years ago, and the position that I’m in even now?
My content has been fairly shallow, but I want to build a community that loves and supports each other as we try to honor the Lord as homemakers, slowly and simply. I’ve been at that point in my YouTube journey where I don’t care about the AdSense revenue or what else I can get out of it, like views or subscribers, for the past three years since I returned; but, I deeply care about you and how I can encourage you to change your lives for the better, one small step at a time, just as so many other content creators have served me in similar ways over the years. It’s time to show it.
Though I did quit YouTube content creation at one point, I’ve persevered through changing times before; and, one day – Lord willing – it will pay off in the positively impacted lives of you, my precious viewers.
Simply Amber Marie 