Two Things Worth Your Attention This Week

This week, we’re covering two topics that came up repeatedly in conversations with creators this month:

1. How to increase your earnings from platform monetization programs (YouTube AdSense, TikTok Creativity Program, etc.)
2. The rise of “comfort creators”—and what it means for the broader creator landscape

How to Increase Your Platform Earnings

Platform monetization has gotten better across the board—YouTube’s RPMs are up, TikTok’s Creativity Program pays better than its predecessor, and Meta has expanded its program significantly. But most creators aren’t maximizing what’s available to them.

Here are the most effective ways to increase your platform earnings:

1. Optimize for Watch Time, Not Just Views

On YouTube, RPM (revenue per thousand views) is heavily influenced by watch time and viewer demographics. A video with 100k views and 60% average view duration will earn significantly more than one with 200k views and 20% average view duration.

Tactics: stronger hooks (first 30 seconds), clear value delivery, chapters for navigation, and ending with a prompt that encourages viewers to watch another video.

2. Target High-CPM Niches (Without Abandoning Your Brand)

Finance, software, B2B, and real estate content consistently commands higher CPMs than entertainment or lifestyle. You don’t need to pivot entirely—but incorporating relevant high-CPM topics can noticeably increase earnings.

Example: a fitness creator covering “best budgeting apps for athletes” is still on-brand while accessing higher-CPM finance advertising.

3. Use Longer Videos on YouTube

YouTube allows mid-roll ads on videos over 8 minutes. Creators who regularly hit 10-15 minutes (naturally, not padded) earn materially more per video than those who max out at 5-6 minutes.

The caveat: don’t artificially pad content. Audiences notice, and the watch time you lose from pacing issues costs more in revenue than the extra ad slot gains.

4. Publish Consistently and Strategically

YouTube’s algorithm rewards channels that publish regularly. Two videos per week at a consistent time will outperform sporadic uploads—even if the sporadic videos are higher quality.

More touchpoints also mean more opportunities for ads, more subscriber growth, and more algorithmic favor.

5. Enable All Monetization Features

This sounds obvious, but many creators leave money on the table by not enabling: Super Thanks, channel memberships, merchandise shelf integration, and YouTube Premium revenue. These add up.

The Rise of Comfort Creators

One of the more interesting trends we’ve been tracking: “comfort creators.”

These are creators whose primary value isn’t information or entertainment—it’s presence. Think: slow morning routine videos, “clean with me” content, “study with me” streams, ambient cooking videos.

The audience isn’t watching to learn something. They’re watching to feel something—calm, company, comfort.

Why This Matters

The audience is massive and underserved. Loneliness is at record levels globally. The market for “digital companionship” content is growing faster than most creators realize.

The content is scalable. Comfort content is often lower-effort to produce than high-information content—no research, no scripts, just presence.

The monetization is different. Comfort creators often monetize through Patreon/memberships rather than brand deals. Their audiences pay for access and consistency, not one-off products.

Examples Worth Studying

• Strange Comfort—ambient, relaxing content with millions of views and a dedicated Patreon community
• “Study with me” creators on YouTube, many of whom do live streams that run for hours with minimal engagement required
• ASMR creators who’ve built paid memberships around exclusive “sessions”

Takeaway for Creators

You don’t have to be a comfort creator to learn from them. The insight is that presence and consistency can be a value proposition in their own right.

If your audience trusts you and enjoys your company, that’s monetizable—even outside traditional brand deals or courses.