How Growmate helped a US-based Gospel/Hip-Hop artist build a real audience, earn YouTube monetization, and reach 3.1 million views — in under 2 years.
Iquell Reina — known as Ique — is a US-based Gospel/Hip-Hop artist, motivational speaker, and educational consultant based in the United States.
He is the founder of 2 Gifted Academy, an institution that teaches music, performance, and life skills to young people. Alongside his creative work, Ique runs "Purpose Over Everything" — a podcast where he explores faith, personal growth, identity, and purpose.
When we met Ique, he had real talent, real content, and a real message. What he didn't have was visibility — and that's where Growmate stepped in.
Mahbub first discovered Ique's channel while browsing YouTube. The music was genuinely good — but the channel was invisible. A quick audit revealed why.
Mahbub reached out via DM, identified the core problems, and offered to optimize one video for $15. Ique said yes immediately. After seeing the results, he came back for 11 more — and within weeks, Mahbub became his official Digital Marketing Manager.
| Metric | Start | Peak | Growth |
|---|---|---|---|
| Subscribers | 577 | 9,210 | +1,496% |
| Total Views | 42,757 | 3,144,696 | +7,255% |
| Watch Time | ~249 hrs/month | 79,100+ hours (lifetime) | Massive increase |
| Videos Published | 68 | 517 | +449 videos |
| Monthly Views (28 days) | 35,700 | 173,200 | >999% |
In the first 90 days alone (Sep–Oct 2023), the channel saw 34,837 views, 252 watch hours, and +2,200 new subscribers — all metrics growing by more than 999% compared to the prior period.
Launched in January 2024, the "Purpose Over Everything" podcast grew episode by episode through consistent SEO optimization and targeted YouTube Ads campaigns managed by Growmate.
Managed directly from Growmate's Google Ads account. 30+ campaigns executed between October 2023 and June 2025.
Industry average YouTube Ad view rate is 10–12%. Growmate achieved 14.89% — consistently above benchmark. At roughly $1.89 per 1,000 views, this is among the most cost-efficient music promotion strategies available.
On September 10, 2023, the 2 Gifted Academy website lost its Google ranking completely. Within 24 hours of Growmate's intervention, the site was back — and 12 pages were fully optimized.
Pages optimized: Homepage · Highschool Workshops · GIFTED Families Workshop · GIFTED EDU Workshop · Contact · Elementary Workshops · Middle School Workshop · Testimonials · Workshop Overview · About Us · Book · Too Gifted Book Curriculum