Ever wondered what it really takes to turn YouTube into a profitable business asset? 🤔
At the summit in Phuket, I sat down with Milan Smets, co-founder of Playstack and Solaris Studio, who works with more than 30 YouTube channels, for this episode of Inside A Hustler’s Brain. 🔥
Milan started as a video editor and videographer. Today he helps founders and creators use YouTube as a sales engine, and he has a refreshingly practical take on AI and monetization. 🎬
📊 In this episode, we unpacked:
- 🎬 From commercials to YouTube: the turning point
- 🤖 How Milan uses Claude, Nano Banana and Veo 3
- 🧑💻 His honest view on AI avatars
- 💼 YouTube as a sales engine, not a views game
- 🏛️ Content pillars: views, sales and conversions
- ⚙️ His workflow from idea to upload
- 💰 Why AdSense isn’t the business model
- 🧠 Money lessons and personal reflections
🎥 Watch the full episode:
🎬 From Commercials to YouTube: The Turning Point
Milan did a lot of commercial and advertising work as a videographer and editor. The problem: the feedback loop was way too long. A TV commercial could take months, even up to a year, before it went live. ⏳
Then he met his business partner, who wanted to share his knowledge on YouTube. Combining that with Milan’s video skills gave him what he wanted: instant feedback and data. “I have ADHD, so I want quick things. I like quick rewards.” ⚡
🤖 How Milan Uses Claude, Nano Banana and Veo 3
Milan doesn’t use agents or automatic tools to edit videos; “AI is not there yet.” But his team uses Claude, Nano Banana and other AI tools for thumbnail design and script writing. 🧠
Scripts used to take a hired writer 24–48 hours. Now, with the right context, structure and templates in Claude, he can sometimes get a perfect script from the first prompt. ✍️
For editing, auto-cut tools remove filler and repeats in interviews, but nuance still needs humans. Instead of generic stock B-roll, they now generate 2–4 second clips with tools like Veo 3, especially for portfolio channels with little existing footage. His main editor is still Adobe Premiere. 🎞️
For more on AI tools for creators, read Kulwant Nagi’s AI stack. 🔗
🧑💻 Milan’s Honest View on AI Avatars
Milan has experimented with AI avatars, but from a business perspective, “it’s not there yet.” People still trust people, “that’s why we’re here at events.” 🤝
YouTube is evergreen: a video from years ago can still bring views and sales. But today’s AI will look dated in six months, and that makes a video less evergreen. ⏰
He does use avatars as fillers. When he condenses a 45–60 minute interview for shorter attention spans, an AI avatar can narrate the pieces together. Just don’t rely on them. For a different view, read Kripesh Adwani on his AI avatar channel. 🎭
Will AI make editing a one-prompt job? Milan assumes so at some point, but vision, creativity and strategy still matter. He’s a self-described terrible designer who can now turn his creative vision into thumbnails with a prompt. The same will happen with editing. 🎨
💼 YouTube as a Sales Engine, Not a Views Game
“The way I like to look at YouTube is, it’s a sales engine. You’re creating sales assets.” 💼
Find the gaps in the market: where is the demand, and where is it underserved? Topics like Google Ads or SEO are saturated, so you won’t see massive growth. But the few views you get matter, because those viewers are potential customers. Change your mindset, then try to be better than anyone else. 🎯
His favourite tactic: make videos answering your FAQs and the most-asked questions on sales calls, then send them to prospects before the call. It saves time and builds trust, because they see you’ve already thought about their question. Case studies and social proof videos work the same way. 🤝
🏛️ Content Pillars: Views, Sales and Conversions
Should a channel focus on education, personal brand or storytelling? Milan uses content pillars: different types of content that achieve different goals. 🏛️
- 📈 Growth topics for views and brand awareness
- 💼 Sales assets that answer buyer questions
- ✅ Conversion content that pushes people to act
You can start with sales-asset fundamentals and move to growth, or the other way around, or alternate weekly. It’s a combination over the channel’s timeline. 🔄
⚙️ Milan’s Workflow From Idea to Upload
Everything has SOPs, and every channel starts with a strategy. A video then follows this flow:
- 💡 Find the idea and gather all the context
- ✍️ Write the script, then review it
- 🎥 The client films and sends footage
- ✂️ Video editing and thumbnail design
- ✅ Final quality control, upload, optimization and scheduling
They manage it in Notion or Asana and communicate in Slack, but ClickUp, Trello or monday.com work too, “as long as you have that system.” Multiple layers of quality control are what keep clients happy. 🧩
His fully remote team spans India, Pakistan, Argentina, the Philippines and Vietnam. It has ranged from 20–25 people down to about 10–15 now, as they pivot the business model, using many contractors because work fluctuates. 🌍
💰 Why AdSense Isn’t the Business Model
“You’re not going to make money from AdSense,” Milan says, unless you get hundreds of thousands or millions of views. CPM (what YouTube pays per thousand views) depends on demographics and niche: finance, investing and business pay more, while gaming pays much less. 📉
It really depends on your business model. With a $10,000 product or service, “you can make $10,000 from one person watching.” With $10 affiliate products, you need thousands of views. 💵
That’s why Milan and his partner are now launching their own affiliate YouTube channels, copying his partner’s proven model across niches. As he puts it, quoting a friend, “it’s more fun to make yourself a million dollars than for your client.” For more, read how Darrel Wilson earns money on YouTube. 🚀
🧠 Money Lessons and Personal Reflections
Milan admits he’s “terrible at managing money,” so his advice is simple: keep some aside, like an emergency fund. He spent years freelancing paycheck to paycheck, which was stressful with a family, though having no backup plan also makes you work harder. He invests in himself and experiences, not crypto, stocks or gold. 💸
- 👨 One person to bring back: his father
- 🏖️ Last 24 hours: sipping a cocktail on the beach, or skydiving
- 💔 Biggest lesson: think before you speak in relationships
- ⏩ Regret: not jumping on trends sooner, like Claude Code
- 💛 Hero: his wife, who supports him and pushes him past laziness and shyness
- 🧑 Advice to his 18-year-old self: be more open and kinder to people, and don’t hold back
- ⛵ His number: $20–30K a month, enough to travel with family without checking prices, maybe even a boat
- 💵 Biggest paycheck: about $10,000 in a week from a project
📝 Key Takeaways From the Milan Smets Interview
- 🎬 YouTube’s fast feedback loop beats months-long commercial work
- 🤖 Use Claude and Nano Banana for scripts and thumbnails, not full edits
- 🧑💻 AI avatars hurt evergreen trust, so use them only as fillers
- 💼 Treat YouTube as a sales engine that answers buyer questions
- 🏛️ Mix content pillars for growth, sales and conversions
- ⚙️ SOPs and layered quality control keep clients happy
- 💰 Monetization depends on your offer, not AdSense
❓ FAQs About Milan Smets
Who is Milan Smets?
Milan Smets is co-founder of Playstack and Solaris Studio. He started as a video editor and now works with more than 30 YouTube channels for founders and creators.
Can you make money from YouTube AdSense?
Milan says not really, unless you get hundreds of thousands or millions of views. Your offer matters more: a $10,000 service can earn that from one viewer.
Does Milan Smets use AI avatars?
Only as fillers, like narrating condensed interviews. He thinks viewers still trust real people and AI avatars date quickly.
What are content pillars on YouTube?
Different types of content for different goals: growth topics for views, sales assets for buyers, and conversion content.
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- Cindy Krum on Mobile SEO + AI Mode 🤖 The Secret Playbook
If you’re building a YouTube channel for your business, share this with your team. 💬
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Jitendra Vaswani is a well-known expert in SEO and AI-driven digital marketing. He has spoken at international events and founded Digiexe, a digital marketing agency, and AffiliateBooster, WordPress plugin designed specifically for affiliate marketers. With over 10 years of experience, Jitendra has helped many businesses succeed online. His bestselling book, Inside A Hustler’s Brain: In Pursuit of Financial Freedom, with over 20,000 copies sold globally, underscores his influence and commitment to empowering digital marketers.