1 - Make Content You Would Watch

Look at your history. If you don't already watch content similar to what you're producing, you're likely to make something that nobody, including you, wants to watch.
People compare me to Theo (t3.gg) and the Primeagen. For me, that's a compliment because I watch them and I like them.
Ultimately, even if someone doesn't like your content and speaks badly about it, well, you like it.

Note: It's possible to make content that you would never watch and still be successful; Lucas Neto is proof of that. But I don't think that's a good path for a new content creator. I think it makes it much harder to understand if what you're doing is good.

2 - Make Good Content

Improve with each video. Every video has something to improve on; improve one thing at a time.
It's not the "algorithm," it's not surfing hypes, reacts, or the trendy format. The good content that people want to see comes first; the rest comes later.
Remember that you are nobody. Your audience only exists because they appreciate what you produce. The moment you stop producing good content, you lose the audience.

3 - Make Content You Enjoy Making

It won't last if you don't enjoy it. You'll give up.
It won't make money quickly. You'll give up if you don't enjoy it.
I tried more than one channel. The only one that worked was the one I enjoyed making.

4 - Don't Forget to Make Good Content

Everything else you build will live or die on top of that. If this card falls, the whole house of cards falls.

5 - Only Accept Sponsorships for Things You Like

Ultimately, when people don't like something I promote, I always think, "Okay, but I like it. I use it." I've been offered sponsorships for various things that I wouldn't use. I don't even know how to judge if the product is good or not; I have no interest in using it.
Ultimately, this is a shield. I wear Insider shirts; I like Insider shirts. I've appeared in videos with an Insider shirt and never done any sponsorships for the brand. Just like I appear in all videos with a Whoop (never done a sponsorship), record with an iPhone, a Macbook (unfortunately, Apple doesn't sponsor me), and a DJI Mic (DJI doesn't even know I exist). I use the investment platform that I promote; I also receive dollars through the platform I promote.

Making content that you like, as well as promoting products that you like, ensures that at least you, and people like you, like your video. You won't need to be afraid of "what if the product I promote is bad?" "What if my audience doesn't like the video?" Well, you use the product; it's not bad, and you like your video. If your audience doesn't like it, that's their problem.

6 - Listen to Your Audience

2% of your audience will contradict you when you're wrong. Listen to these constructive criticisms.

7 - Don't Listen to Your Audience

Your audience lies to you. They always try to please you. "No, I would love to see a free, deep-dive Python course of 150 hours." That's a lie; it's aspirational. Your audience would love to be the person who watches 150-hour free courses on YouTube, but if you look at their history, they click on videos like "THE NEW OPENAI MODEL THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING!" The metrics don't lie.
Your audience changes. If I kept trying to please the exact whims of my first 1,000 subscribers, I would have 1,000 subscribers. I'm not telling you to "sell out." I'm saying that a monothematic channel that doesn't evolve at all is doomed to stagnate or be forgotten. As you evolve as a person, professional, content creator, and acquire new knowledge and interests, your content will naturally reflect that.

8 - Don't Underestimate Your Audience

Your audience will reflect your videos. If you make videos that stupid people would watch, you will build a stupid audience. If you make videos that you would watch, people like you will watch.

9 - Follow Your Interest

If it's interesting to you, it's interesting to other people who are like you.
My channel started very focused on DSA and Python, but over time, I got a little tired of making only those videos and followed my interest.

10 - There's Content for You, Content for the Audience

Over time, you will understand which content will attract more audience. It's good to do it from time to time to break the bubble.
Inevitably, there will be content that you want to make but know will perform poorly; still, do it. This type of content strengthens your channel in the long term and gives it more authenticity.

11 - The Internet Doesn't Exist

Haters are like those little flies that stay on fruit. Totally irrelevant, not worth discussing; just ignore and block.
It's nice to look at the metrics from time to time, but don't be obsessed with it; they are pixels on a screen. None of this exists. Rule of thumb: if you're looking more than 1x per day, you're looking too much.
Reading 10 comments has some utility; it's a certain "thermometer." Reading 1,000 comments has no utility. Go touch grass.
Once you've written, recorded, and posted a video, and read the first 10 comments, it's over. None of this exists anymore. Focus on making the next video better than this one, or close the laptop and go live your life.