Field notes
Playbooks, teardowns and the occasional argument — everything we have learned helping creators grow across every major platform.
There is no public monetization badge. Here is what a channel's public page does reveal, what it cannot, and how to read the signals honestly.
Your YouTube channel description is truncated early and appears in search results. Here is what belongs in the visible part, and what belongs below it.
YouTube has no comment search. Here are three ways to search YouTube comments anyway, and what each one can and cannot reach.
How to cite a YouTube video in APA, MLA, Chicago and Harvard: which fields you need, where to find them, and how to handle a channel with no real name.
A YouTube subscribe link opens the subscribe confirmation instead of the channel page. Here is the format, where to use it, and the rule about not begging.
Every YouTube channel and playlist publishes an RSS feed. Here is the URL format, how to find the ID it needs, and what the feed does and does not include.
A YouTube timestamp link starts the video at an exact second. Here is the URL format, the chapter rules, and how to build both without counting seconds by hand.
YouTube's own autocomplete is real demand data, free to read and impossible to fake. Here is how to turn one seed word into a video plan.
The default YouTube embed code is fixed-width and sets cookies before anyone presses play. Here is the version that is responsive, lazy and privacy-enhanced.
A YouTube channel ID is the UC... string behind a handle. Here are four ways to find one, including for channels that only show an @handle.
Every YouTube video publishes its thumbnail at several resolutions. Here is how to download any of them, including the maximum-resolution version.
YouTube video tags are hidden in the page source, not the interface. Here are three ways to read them, and what they are actually worth.