Why I Rebranded My YouTube Channel, and What It Taught Me About Choosing a Niche

Hi Everyone,

I hope your week is going well? I changed the title of my Youtube channel "@BusinessesToStartOnAShoestring", about starting a low cost business, to @SmartMoneyUK to reflect a change in niche to Crypto and Finance, here's how it went.

There's a particular feeling you get when you look at your own channel and realise it no longer describes what you're doing. For me, that moment came in late 2025. I'd just finished recording another video, looked at the channel name above it, Businesses To Start On A Shoestring, and thought: this isn't really what I'm making anymore, and it isn't what my best viewers are coming for.

A bit of background for anyone who doesn't know me. I'm Alan Edwards, and my main business is property investment and development through Alpus Group. I've spent most of my career in project management, written a book on why projects succeed or fail, and I run several YouTube channels alongside all of that. So I'm used to spotting when a project has drifted off course. It's a bit humbling to admit it took me a while to see it in my own channel.

This post is about why I rebranded that channel to SmartMoneyUK, how I went about it, and what the whole experience taught me about choosing a niche. If you're a WA member wondering whether your own niche is quite right, I hope some of this helps.

Where it started: Businesses to Start on a Shoestring

The original idea was simple. Lots of people want to start a business but don't have much money to do it with, so I'd make videos about low-cost business ideas: what they involve, what they cost to get going, and whether they're realistic.

On paper it looked like a great niche. There was a huge audience, an endless supply of topics, and plenty of search interest. And to be fair, some videos did well.

But over time, the problems became clear. Every video attracted a slightly different crowd. Someone interested in starting a dog-walking business isn't necessarily interested in dropshipping, and neither of them might care about a video on setting up a small consultancy. I was getting views, but I wasn't building a community. People came for one video and left.

The old title had a few thousand subscribers, less than 5000, but the new title has brought a larger number of subscribers and we are up to 16,800 subs on @ SmartMoneyUk.

The warning signs your niche isn't working

Looking back, the signs were there well before I acted on them. If you recognise any of these in your own website or channel, it's worth pausing to take a look.

The first is that your content attracts a different audience with every piece. If your readers or viewers don't overlap from one post to the next, you're effectively starting from scratch every time.

The second is that your name or brand is boxing you in. "Businesses To Start On A Shoestring" was descriptive, but it also locked me into a very specific kind of video. Anything outside that felt off-brand, even when it was what I was most interested in making.

The third is weak monetisation fit. With a shoestring audience, by definition, people don't have much to spend. That makes it harder to find affiliate products or services that genuinely serve them and pay a worthwhile commission.

The fourth, and the one people often ignore, is your own energy. When making content starts to feel like a chore, your audience notices. Enthusiasm comes through on camera and in writing, and so does the lack of it.

The trigger: finding the finance space

The turning point came in November 2025, when I started following WeFi (WFI) and the wider world of decentralised finance more closely. WeFi is a decentralised "Deobank" and seemed a very exciting concept that you can hold FIAT currency as well as Crypto in your account on the platform, and even have a debit card for your account, be able to take loans against your assets, completely different concept to traditional banks. However it came with a health warning and there were lots of friends and acquaitances called it a scam. I stuck with WEFI, and it does seem to gradually be becoming more accepted, for example in Canada, however a red flag from Germany!

I found myself researching it in my own time, reading everything I could, and wanting to talk about it. That's always a good sign. And when I tested a few videos on the topic, the response was noticeably different. People loved to see cost comparisons between WEFI and other banks such as Revolut or Wise.

From a business point of view, finance made sense too. The audience is more engaged, the topics have more depth, and it naturally connects with everything else I do in property and investment. Instead of fighting against my background, the channel could build on it.

How I made the switch

Once I'd decided, the practical side was fairly straightforward, though there are a few things I'd recommend thinking about if you're considering something similar.

Choosing the name. I wanted something that clearly said "finance" and "UK" without being so narrow that I'd be boxed in again. SmartMoneyUK covers personal finance, investing, DeFi and more, so there's room to grow within the niche.

Updating the branding. New channel name, banner, profile image, channel description and links. It's worth doing all of this at once so the channel looks coherent from day one.

Deciding what to do with the old content. I have unlisted some of my old videos, and possibly i shoudl critically review and unlist or delete some more. Old content can still bring in views, but it shouldn't confuse new visitors about what the channel is now.

Telling the audience. [Describe how you let subscribers know, for example a short video, a community post or a pinned comment.] Being upfront about the change helps you keep the subscribers who are interested, and those who aren't will drift away naturally.

Expecting a dip. It's normal for things to go quiet for a while after a pivot. The algorithm needs time to work out who your new content is for. I didnt really notice any dip in views, as people seemed to like the new more focused financial approach.

What happened next

My subscribers have increased to 16,800, from around a quarter of that number previously. Views have increased to 350,557. There was a significant increase in both statistics since last November 2025 when i made the change. I just need to get the channel monetised now!

What I can say is that the channel now finally feels like it has a clear identity, its more focused in accordance with the title. When someone lands on it, they know what it's about, and that makes everything easier, from planning videos to finding the right products and partners.

Five niche lessons for WA members

Here's what the whole experience taught me, and I think it applies just as much to a website as to a YouTube channel.

1. A broad niche feels safe, but it makes loyalty hard. "Business ideas" or "making money" sound like big opportunities, but a big audience with nothing in common isn't really an audience. It's a crowd passing through.
2. Look for where your interest and your audience's interest overlap. Passion alone isn't enough, and neither is demand alone. The sweet spot is a topic you'd happily research for free that people are actively looking for.
3. Pick a name with room to grow. Your brand should tell people what you're about without being so specific that you can't expand. Ask yourself whether the name still works if your content evolves over the next few years.
4. Pivoting isn't failing. Nothing I learned on the old channel was wasted: the skills in filming, editing, scripting and understanding YouTube all came with me. The same is true for your website. Your WA training, your writing and your SEO knowledge carry across to any niche. (What i will be doing is focussing more on imprving the quality and content of my videos on this channel @SmartMoneyUk, as well as my other property related channels, buying a good camera, microphone and lighting, and transcription tools for prompting when i am recording videos)
5. Check monetisation before you commit. Before choosing or changing a niche, look at what affiliate programmes, products or services actually exist for it, and whether your audience can afford them. It's far easier to check this at the start than to discover it a year in.

A word of caution about finance niches

If you're thinking of moving into finance, and especially crypto or DeFi, it comes with extra responsibility. People may make real decisions with real money based on what you say.

I make a point of being clear that my content is for information and education, not financial advice, and I disclose any affiliate links or relationships. Here in the UK, there are also rules around financial promotions, overseen by the FCA, so it's worth understanding what applies before you start promoting financial products. Handled properly, this actually builds trust. Readers can tell the difference between someone being careful and someone chasing commissions.

Final thoughts

Rebranding the channel wasn't a dramatic decision in the end. It was more a case of admitting what the evidence had been telling me for a while. The niche I started with was too broad to build a real community around, and the niche I moved into was one I was already passionate about and that fitted everything else I do.

If your website or channel feels like it's drifting, it might not need more effort. It might just need a clearer focus.

I'd love to hear from you: have you ever changed niche, or are you considering it right now? Let me know in the comments. And if you're interested in finance, investing and decentralised finance from a customer or production perspective, please share your own experience.

Have a great rest of the week, and weekend ahead!

Cheers

Alan