What would I do if I were the PM for YouTube?
FOCUS METRIC
Creator Retention (90-day active rate)
WHY THIS MATTERS
YouTube's success depends on creators consistently publishing content. If creators stop posting, the platform loses supply.
Many new creators give up after first 3 months
Algorithm favors established creators, making it hard for new ones to grow
Monetization threshold (1000 subscribers, 4000 watch hours) feels out of reach
Limited feedback on why videos underperform
HYPOTHESIS
New creators leave because they don't see early momentum or clear path to monetization.
Interview 50 creators who stopped posting (understand why)
Analyze cohort data: Day 30, 60, 90 posting rates by subscriber growth
Survey active creators: what kept them motivated early on?
Benchmark competitor platforms (TikTok, Instagram) creator retention
Conduct 50 creator interviews (25 who quit, 25 who stayed)
Analyze data: correlation between early metrics and retention
Workshop with Creator Partnerships team to understand pain points
Define success metric: Increase 90-day retention from X% to Y%
Build 'Creator Dashboard' showing progress to monetization
Test 'Early Wins' notification system (first 100 views, first comment, etc.)
Prototype 'Micro-monetization' – tips enabled at 100 subscribers
Run controlled experiment with 1000 new creators
Roll out winning variants to 10% of new creators
Monitor 90-day retention rate vs control group
Gather qualitative feedback through surveys
Plan v2 based on learnings
Just as important as what to build is what NOT to build. These options might seem appealing but would distract from the core goal:
❌ AI video generator – Doesn't solve retention, changes core value prop
❌ New creator discovery algorithm – Too big, too slow, not testable in 90 days
❌ Advanced analytics dashboard – Nice-to-have, won't move retention needle
❌ Creator community forums – Takes focus away from content creation
If early momentum increases creator confidence, predict 15-20% improvement in 90-day retention rate.