PostEaseRetention beats a clever upload trick
The factor that shows up most consistently behind channel growth is whether people who click stay and watch. A channel chasing views through a title or thumbnail trick, without a video that holds attention, tends to plateau quickly. The trick earns a click once, and the resulting low retention works against the channel afterward.
A narrow, clear focus outperforms a broad one, early on
A channel that covers one clear topic makes it straightforward for the system, and for a viewer, to know what to expect and recommend it again. A channel that jumps between unrelated topics makes both jobs harder. Narrowing focus, especially in the first stretch of a channel's life, tends to compound growth faster than variety does.
Volume is how you find out what works
A small number of videos does not give enough data to tell a strong format from a lucky or unlucky single result. Publish consistently for long enough to see a real pattern: which formats, topics, or lengths perform above your own average. That is what turns guesswork into a strategy.
Growth is rarely linear
Most channels that eventually grow spend a stretch of time with results that look flat, sometimes for longer than feels reasonable. A single video breaking out after a long quiet period is a common pattern, not an exception. Treating an early flat stretch as proof something is fundamentally wrong is usually premature.