The Life Hack Surge: 1.8M Views on MSN

We’ve now helped distribute content to hundreds of YouTube creators on MSN, and with every new case, the results keep surprising us.

Today, we’re diving into the next part of our story in this series: a life hack channel that went from slow decline on YouTube to hitting nearly 2 million views on MSN in just two months. And no, they didn’t create a single new video for that.

This wasn’t a miracle. It was the power of putting the right content in front of the right audience, in the right place. And for this creator, that place was MSN – Microsoft’s growing video distribution ecosystem.

When YouTube Stalls

In November and December 2024, this life hack channel was stuck in a familiar pattern. The YouTube data wasn’t awful, but it wasn't as good as before:

• 1.4 million impressions
• 6.5% CTR (strong, by YouTube standards)
• 134,000 views
• 87,400 unique viewers

Engagement was there, thumbnails were working, and titles were pulling in the curiosity. But something was off.

There were small spikes, especially in early November and again in late December, but the overall graph was flat. Despite the promising click-through rate, views weren’t where they should be. And that’s exactly where the frustration creeps in for many creators: when the quality is there, but the growth isn’t.

You feel it. You’ve worked for years building up an audience, learning the algorithm, tuning your hooks and thumbnails. But then YouTube shifts, or the audience doesn’t click, or the system just decides today isn’t your day.

So, we decided to add one more revenue stream for them – MSN.

The MSN Experiment

Since we’ve been an official Microsoft partner for a while now, it was a no-brainer – this channel was a perfect fit for MSN. The platform loves lifestyle and life hack content, right alongside travel, gaming, tech, DIY, comedy, sports, and food.

And with over 2 billion users on MSN, there’s a massive audience just waiting to discover the right content.

We optimized their metadata, handled approvals, and published to MSN’s entire ecosystem: Bing search results, the Windows taskbar widget, Microsoft Edge new tabs, and the MSN app.

Here’s what happened over the next two months:

• 1,836,179 total views
• 711,887 engaged views
• 95,633,906 seconds of watch time (that’s 1,106 days of people watching)

There were two massive spikes, right around Thanksgiving and just before Christmas. One small change in strategy. Seventeen times the result.

The Real Shift Was Context

Why did these same videos struggle on YouTube but explode on MSN?

YouTube is a recommendation algorithm. You’re fighting a feed full of other creators, trending shorts, and whatever YouTube’s machine decides is hot that day.

MSN flips the equation. Instead of having to earn attention through the algorithm, your content is the recommendation. It's embedded in the tools people use daily – news widgets, browser tabs, search results. The videos appear next to trending stories or as curated tiles that don’t require a click to be seen.

And it turns out, life hacks are perfect for that setup. Simple, surprising, helpful content that hooks users in a matter of seconds.

Timing Was Everything

We launched their MSN campaign in early November. The first spike hit around Thanksgiving in the U.S., right when people were browsing casually, stuck in airport terminals, waiting on family, or just looking for a distraction. Life hack content met them exactly where they were: curious, idle, and ready to scroll.

The second surge came a few weeks later, pre-Christmas. Again, prime time for seasonal browsing, gifting ideas, and DIY inspiration.

We didn’t post anything new. We didn’t run ads. We didn’t change their format.

MSN simply gave the content a stage.

Why This Worked (And Keeps Working)

The lesson here isn’t that YouTube doesn’t work. It does. It still provides the best long-term value in terms of building loyal audiences, community, and content feedback.

But if you're not distributing your videos beyond YouTube, you’re leaving an opportunity on the table.

Creators like this one just needed to stop betting on a single platform. One small shift opened up an entirely new revenue stream and brought new life to content that would’ve otherwise collected dust in the archive.

YouTube gets you reach, but it also gets you at risk. Platform volatility, changing algorithms, CPM drops – you know the drill.

MSN gets you stability. Predictable placement. Built-in audiences. Discovery by default.

How To Get In? (It’s Not Open Access)

MSN is still invite-only. You can’t just go upload your videos and hope for the best.

That’s why creators partner with us. AIR Media-Tech is one of the few official partners that distribute to MSN’s platforms. We handle the entire process:

• Channel review
• Content optimization
• Approvals and compliance
• Metadata tuning
• Video placement
• Revenue tracking

You do what you do best – create. We take it from there.

If you’re ready to see what your content can do outside of YouTube, now is the time. Contact us today!

The Window Won’t Stay Open Forever

MSN is still in its early creator-content phase. That means low competition, high placement, and a chance to establish yourself before the masses move in.

Think of it like YouTube in the first few years. The creators who moved first built empires. This is one of those rare, second-wave chances.

And the best part is that you don’t need to film a single new video.

This creator got 1.8 million new views from content they already had. The work was done, and the value was waiting. They just needed the right distribution path.

If you’re ready to do the same, get in touch with us. We’ll guide you every step of the way!