Show HN: Find profitable YouTube niches (I wasted 8 months on $2 CPM)

3•andybady•2mo ago

I spent 8 months growing a YouTube channel to 50k subs only to realize I was in a $2 CPM niche (gaming commentary). That channel barely made $200/month despite decent views.

So I built ApexVix to solve this for myself and other creators.

What it does:

Scans 400K+ YouTube channels to find what's actually making money (not just getting views) Shows you the CPM range for each niche BEFORE you waste months creating content Tracks 4M+ "outlier videos" (videos that popped off unexpectedly) so you can spot trends early Analyzes any channel in 60 seconds: revenue estimates, health score, posting patterns, what's working The data that surprised me: Some tiny niches with 10k subs are making $5k/month (luxury watch reviews, B2B SaaS tutorials), while million-sub gaming channels struggle to hit $2k. The difference? CPM rates range from $2 to $50+ depending on niche.

Most creators pick niches based on passion or what's trending on Twitter. Then they're shocked when monetization sucks. I wanted actual numbers upfront.

What's different from VidIQ/TubeBuddy: Those focus on SEO and keywords. ApexVix focuses on money. We show you:

Estimated monthly revenue per channel CPM ranges by niche and country Which faceless automation niches are exploding right now Competitor revenue tracking (not just sub counts) After using it myself for 6 months, I went from that $200/month channel to starting a new one in financial education that's on track for $3k/month at just 15k subs.

Some early users are finding 3-5 profitable niches they never considered in their first session. One guy pivoted from tech reviews to AI automation tutorials and tripled his RPM.

Recent updates based on feedback:

Added bookmark system for saving promising channels and video ideas AI-powered content idea generator based on proven outlier formats Thumbnail analyzer that predicts CTR before you publish Script optimizer for better retention Revenue forecasting based on your upload schedule Would love to hear from other YouTubers here. What's your biggest pain point when choosing content topics? Do you look at monetization potential before committing to a niche?

Free plan available if you want to explore (no CC needed). All feedback welcome.

Comments

sema4hacker•2mo ago

"Committing to a niche...exploding right now" is still a gamble, because while you might stumble on something where the rates are currently climbing nicely, it could just as easily drop. Internet trends are like the fashion business: constantly changing. If you don't mind always chasing after the current big thing, knock yourself out, but being a jack-of-all-trades that can smoothly plug in to whatever's currently hot is not easy to do. You might latch on to a subscriber base that doesn't tire of you while you stick to one niche, but very few influencers can pull that off for long. Your best best is to be a young, good looking, smooth talking personality that viewers like to connect with, regardless of what you're doing or saying.

andybady•2mo ago

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