It’s been two years since I published the first video on CARDBOARD ROBOTS YouTube channel, and I thought it might be worth sharing my experience and some opinions on building a niche educational YouTube channel from scratch.
And yes, I will share my impressive ADSENSE results as well ;-)
Cardboard Robots isn’t my first YouTube attempt. Many years ago, I published music videos, and later I created some content for LOFI Robot.
But building a full-size YouTube channel with regular content always felt overwhelming. It seemed like a ton of work, and I couldn’t believe I would manage high-quality creative output long-term.
So even though I always wanted to, it took me about 10 years to take YT seriously.
The Cardboard Robots idea had also been in my mind for years before starting the channel, but back then I was committed to selling physical robotics kits. I couldn’t see a clear path for cardboard robot designs as a reliable business. If there was no income, it wouldn’t last long.
Two things changed that:
- A small epiphany—CARDBOARD ROBOTS is actually a perfect idea for an educational channel with easy, accessible STEAM content for teachers.
- A bigger crisis in my company—I lost all my previous projects and simply thought, “Well, there’s nothing else to do…”
The core concepts of this channel are:
- Educational content for TEACHERS and EDUCATORS teaching STEAM subjects, robotics, or coding, mainly at primary level—I’m not entertaining kids directly.
- Most videos are building manuals, designed for direct classroom use.
- I mostly use BBC Micro:bit as the electronics platform, but I plan to make it more universal.
My target audience is niche—Teachers and Educators of STEAM subjects using Micro:Bit to build robots.
Roughly, if 10 million Micro:Bit boards have been sold, 70% for education, half still active, with each teacher having about 10-15 boards, there could be around 100-200 thousand educators looking for new ideas.
Seems worth reaching out to.
STARTING UP
My initial idea was publishing ONE ROBOT EVERY WEEK.
I thought I had enough ideas to sustain this. Quickly, I realized robot ideas aren’t endless—maybe I could make 40-50. Then what?
That’s why I started making talking videos, apps, and lessons, and tried new content types like the AI IN THE CLASSROOM series.
Even though published during peak CHATGPT craze (or maybe because of it), this series didn’t catch on. Possibly, I introduced it too quickly or it was too big a shift for the algorithm.
GOING VIRAL
In my first year, one video went somewhat viral (at least for my scale), and here are my takeaways:
I made a tutorial for a cute cardboard robot dog with a catchy title.
It didn’t explode immediately—about 1000 views in the first week, then slowly grew. After a summer break from publishing, suddenly a few months later, it got major traction—around 70,000 views in one month, boosting subscribers from 500 to 3000.
It was fun while it lasted—great dopamine hits.
But otherwise—nothing much. After YouTube stopped promoting it, my views dropped dramatically.
The viral video brought random, low-engagement traffic—people who weren’t teachers or interested in my other content. This traffic was essentially useless, reinforcing my realization that chasing viral trends and algorithm hacks doesn’t bring valuable audiences.
YouTube’s best feature is that, regardless of content type, if it provides meaningful value, the algorithm effectively finds the right audience. Being niche is fine—going precise, not wide.
This relieved me from the burden of chasing trends, clickbait, silly dances, memes, etc. Now I understand YouTube as a platform where my creative output accumulates constant, growing traffic slowly.
Most of my content is evergreen—videos remain relevant and searchable long-term, constantly harvesting traffic over months and years.
YouTube is the only medium providing such long-term livability—other social media feels like dropping content into a black hole.
EVERGREEN CONTENT & SCHEDULE
Despite common YouTube advice, I don’t stress about regular publishing schedules. Now I work project-oriented:
I develop a topic (like DIY LED MODULES or TEACHABLE MICRO:BIT APP), record videos over one or two days, then edit and publish gradually.
Previously, setting up equipment was a major friction point causing procrastination, so condensing production works better for me. I release several videos consecutively, then go quiet if I have no new ideas.
This flexibility is vital for me—it relieves stress!
My major initial concern was sustaining creative content long-term. Having experienced job burnout before, working in a mentally healthy way is crucial. Surprisingly, sustainable pacing seems possible even on social media.
MONETISATION!
Reaching monetization criteria is smartly gamified by YouTube. Watching real-time stats in Studio feels like playing a real-time strategy game—it’s very engaging!
Reaching 1000 subscribers was quick thanks to the robot dog video. Reaching 4000 watch hours in one year seemed harder due to low average watch time (~1.5 minutes per video). Ultimately, it took me 14 months and 37 videos.
How much do I earn now? … Not much.
The channel averages 20,000 views and 500 watch hours monthly, with a RPM around $2.20. I earn about $35/month BEFORE TAX—not serious income.
The channel would need to grow 100 times to even break even from ads alone—not likely soon. I haven’t had sponsored content offers yet. But if your company wants a “powered by” card, HIT ME UP!
How do I plan to work this out?
Long-term, this channel serves as a marketing tool, driving traffic to my website.
Initially, I ignored the website, dreaming of Adsense income. Only recently, I started adding text content for SEO.
Currently, about 50% of traffic comes from Google, 40% from YouTube, plus direct traffic from Microbit apps and school platforms.
I eventually opened the Cardboard Robot shop.
Initially, I offered cardboard robot kits but didn’t believe in them, selling few.
Video courses for teachers were obvious. But my main product happened by coincidence:
From the start, the tagline was FREE CARDBOARD ROBOTS DESIGNS FOR EDUCATION—design plans were freely available. Initially, I gave printable PDFs as newsletter lead magnets, then realized PDFs had standalone value—selling them doesn’t negate the free tagline.
Last November, I started selling PDF with templates and shortly after, video course for teachers. Currently, this averages about $800 monthly and quite steady income.
Starting to sell digital PDFs was a revelation for me!
Selling physical kits worldwide as a small business is BAD, but selling downloadable PDFs works—automatic invoices, no shipping hassles.
I also initially sold laser-cut stencils—fantastic for teachers but with shipping issues. It took months to shift to selling digital laser-cut files instead—less accessible but specialized for users with laser-cutting access.
This shift from physical to digital products was revolutionary for me. Going fully digital with printable and laser-cutting templates is my growth plan.
Conclusion
So that’s the story of developing this YouTube channel and Cardboard Robots as a business.
It’s slow but stable and healthy. I’m about 25% towards breaking even, with digital products promising enough that I’m now focused there.
Finally, I’m learning digital marketing and product-market fit basics—the most exciting part for me now.
Hope you find this little insight useful!
Cheers!
