Testing a Shorts niche in 20 videos, not 200

Testing a Shorts niche in 20 videos, not 200
Don't grind a year on a dead niche. Run this validation sprint.
— Pick 4 sub-angles, make 5 Shorts each (20 total) over 2 weeks
— Use identical production so the variable is topic, not quality
— Track only one metric per video: average view duration as a % (aim 80%+)
— After 20, rank the 4 angles by median retention, not by your favorite
— Double down on the top angle's next 20; kill the bottom two outright
Tool: native YouTube Studio analytics is enough — don't pay for third-party here.
Verdict: retention % tells you if the niche works before views ever scale. Skip vanity view counts in week one. Not for people who'll quit after 5 flops.