From 0 to 600 subscribers and counting
6 months in the past, I made a decision to start out posting one video per week on Youtube for 1 12 months and see the place it might take me. I began with the identical method for writing articles on-line 3 years in the past, which positively paid off. Since then I’ve written over 300 articles, greater than 1.5 million individuals have come throughout my work, and I’ve made more cash than I ever thought I’d make writing on-line.
I made a decision to make use of the identical method to creating movies on Youtube, and on this article, I’ll cowl 6 key learnings from my Youtube experiment. I hope they might help you as a content material creator!
My largest youtube achievements thus far (first 6 months):
Practically 600 subscribers30,000+ viewsOne video with 10,000+ views1,000 hours of watch time
It’s crucial to be clear on why you wish to begin a Youtube channel as a result of it will likely be very laborious to remain motivated in the long run. Youtube has 113.9 million channels. Of these, solely 8% have greater than 1,000 subscribers, and 1% have greater than 10,000 subscribers:
The one technique to construct a channel slowly however absolutely is to be clear on why you’re doing this and to resolve how typically you’ll publish. On the coronary heart of Youtube lies its algorithm, and the extra you publish, the extra you’ll enhance your possibilities of getting your content material seen, picked up, and really helpful to individuals.
Primarily based on my present workload, I made a decision to stay to 1 video per week for 1 12 months, as a primary experiment. I made a decision to start out posting on Youtube for 3 foremost causes:
1. Creativity
I’ve all the time needed to start out a Youtube channel. I began taking pictures movies in 2021 however by no means bought round to posting them. I by no means dared to take the leap, I used to be afraid individuals who know me would discover out about my channel and decide me… I ended up with 6 movies that had been absolutely edited, able to be posted, and simply sitting on a tough drive. After 6 months of doing nothing with that content material, I lastly deiced to start out posting as soon as per week, in mid-2022.
2. Enterprise growth
The extra individuals come throughout my content material, the extra my enterprise and my content material will thrive. I wish to develop not simply to make more cash but in addition to widen my model’s attain. Making movies looks like the pure path for me.
3. Further revenue channel
As a content material creator, there’s nothing extra vital than diversifying revenue streams and never placing all of your eggs in the identical basket. I presently make 85% of my cash writing on-line and the remaining comes from making video programs and promoting my very own digital merchandise. I wish to diversify extra in order that if one cash stream goes down, the three others hold working for me.
Particularly once you’re simply beginning out like me, your content material gained’t get routinely pushed to tens of millions of subscribers’ suggestion feeds. The one to get individuals to click on in your video is by making it stand out:
With a catchy title,and a catchy thumbnail
Out of these 2 parts, the latter is crucial one, at the very least in my expertise. Listed below are the thumbnails of my hottest movies thus far:
Here’s what these thumbnails have in frequent:
All however one characteristic a close-up of a human face (mine)All however one have textual content written on themHalf of them are based mostly on a transparent 2-column layoutAll however one include vivid colours (yellow)
After all, I can’t be 100% certain that that is the “magic recipe” to make a profitable thumbnail as a result of I’ve different movies with thumbnails that meet the identical standards and didn’t carry out as properly. Each time I publish a brand new video, I be taught slightly extra about what thumbnails work greatest and ensure to incorporate my learnings after I begin designing the following one.
Interesting thumbnails are essential as a result of when you can’t get individuals to at the very least click on your video and watch the primary couple of seconds once you’re beginning on the platform and have 0 subscribers, you gained’t get any views, even with the most effective video on the earth.
I’m based mostly in Europe, and after I began on Youtube I made it some extent to publish each Sunday at 7 am East Coast time within the US. I took this choice based mostly on analysis I did on-line about “greatest posting time”. Folks wish to chill out and do nothing on Sundays, so that they’re extra prone to be on Youtube watching content material.
Nevertheless, I rapidly gave up on this time slot, not due to poor efficiency, however as a result of it didn’t work with my very own schedule. As an alternative, I switched to Tuesdays, and typically even posted on Mondays, presumably the worst day to publish something as a result of persons are busy beginning their week and commuting. The reality is, I by no means seen a transparent correlation between posting time and video efficiency.
My 2 most considered movies thus far had been each posted on a Sunday, however my third most considered was posted on a Tuesday and bought 30% of its views on a Thursday, so there’s actually no clear rule right here.
Very quickly after I began posting, individuals began subscribing and commenting on my movies. I used to be fortunately shocked as a result of I had heard how laborious it’s to develop a channel to start with. I do have an present electronic mail viewers to which I promote my movies each week, and that helps enhance engagement a bit. However general, 90% of the engagement round my content material on Youtube is natural.
I additionally seen that folks click on the hyperlinks included within the video description much more than after I go away hyperlinks on the backside of my articles. In July, which was my best-performing month on Youtube thus far, between 1 and a pair of% of the individuals who watched my content material clicked a hyperlink in my video descriptions.
In complete, 3 manufacturers have reached out to me throughout my first 6 months on Youtube, which is greater than I ever thought would. Of these 3:
One was 100% related for my channel however I’m but to listen to from them after I adopted up.One was not tremendous related to my channel so I declined. I used to be very pleased to get a sponsor for the primary time however I needed to remind myself to remain centered on my core subjects.One got here from working with an organization as a author.
“A micro-influencer has a social media presence bigger than a standard particular person’s however smaller than a celeb’s, touchdown between 1,000 and 100,000 followers. […] Manufacturers enlist the assistance of micro-influencers, who’ve constructed belief with their followers, to offer an genuine endorsement of their merchandise at a a lot lower cost tag than superstar influencers.” — Supply
2 of the manufacturers that reached out had been paid alternatives, and one was merely sending free stuff for me to overview. Manufacturers like to achieve out to influencers with smaller audiences as a result of they’re cheaper than individuals with an enormous following and have a way more direct reference to their viewers. For example, I attempt to reply to each electronic mail I get from individuals who comply with my work, and to all feedback on my Youtube movies.
I had heard the time period micro-influencer earlier than, however I didn’t know the edge to “qualify” was so low. My channel has (nearly) 600 subscribers as of now, and I suppose I’m headed towards assembly the standards of “micro-influence”.
To be sincere, my purpose is to not “affect” individuals anyway. Fairly, it’s to doc and share my journey of adjusting my life, residing with a objective, and hopefully inspiring some individuals to do the identical alongside the way in which. And if I can construct a devoted and engaged viewers on the similar time, then the journey will really feel even higher.
