Building a $28K/mo YouTube + Merch Channel

How a former video editor used vidIQ, TubeBuddy, and CapCut to build a $28K/mo YouTube and merch channel.

The Starting Point

Leo M. was a Former video editor in Manchester, UK running a YouTube + merch business. Leo had edit skills but his videos got zero reach; he needed to crack the algorithm, not just make pretty cuts.

“I stopped guessing what to film and started reading what the data wanted.”

What Tools Did They Use?

• vidiq: Keyword and rank tracking (Freemium)
• tubebuddy: A/B thumbnails and SEO (Freemium)
• capcut: Fast short and long editing (Free)
• stripe: Merch and member payments (Pay-per-sale 2.9%+30c)

How It Played Out

Month 1: Used vidIQ to find low-competition keywords; TubeBuddy A/B tested thumbnails.

Month 2: CapCut templates tripled output; Stripe handled merch and member tiers.

Month 3: Watch-time doubled; channel passed $28K/mo across ads, merch, and memberships.

What Were the Results?

• Monthly revenue: $28K/mo
• Profit margin: 55%
• Time to first sale: 90 days
• Email subscribers: 18,400
• Store rating: 4.9

Key Takeaways

• SEO matters as much on YouTube as on Google.
• Thumbnail testing is the highest-leverage 10 minutes you’ll spend.
• Diversify revenue: ads alone is a fragile business.

“I stopped guessing what to film and started reading what the data wanted.” — Leo M.

Want to grow a channel that pays? See the YouTube stack above.

Further Reading on CreatorStack

Our sister site CreatorStack covers content-creation, AI, and marketing tools in depth. Relevant guides:

• CapCut review — quick editing
• 2026 AI video editors face-off (20 tools)