Focusing on YouTube

[Spenny]

Welcome back, man; I was wondering what happened to you. The 30-day challenge of getting $2k was a significant bit of work.

All the stress and hustle culture definitely got to me over the years in HS especially since I went to my state's #1 High School where all the tryhard asians were.

"The prize doesn't go to the fastest. It goes to the one who slows down the least."

A lot of the game is longevity. How long can you stick to one thing & implement it as a habit?

A lot has changed and I'm finally seeing some success on YouTube (7k+ long-form views past few weeks) but I'll give a quick update first.

Congratulations. I've been seeing many of these GenZ self-improvement video styles popping up, and the area is still consolidating. Art Chad and Kaedee have similar styles, and I prefer them over your typical Hamzas.

The break also made me reconsider what I truly want from my life. What do I actually want my day to day life to be? And what is my why?

I still don't have a complete answer to this, but I definitely grow closer as I experience what life has to offer. I know I want to be an influencer and start an eCommerce brand that helps people, and I'm willing to stay committed to this for at least 5-10 years.

You don't need a complete answer. You have an answer here already, so just run with that. I believe we expect too much of ourselves in "trying to figure it all out" when we must follow our intuition truthfully. We already have a pretty good idea of what we should be doing.

Oh yeah, I also privated the 30 day series since I showed my license plate and used copyrighted music lmao

That's a shame; I think people could learn a lot from those videos. I found them entertaining and informative. However, I understand the privacy concern. Maybe when you sell the car you used, you can make it public again? They were great documents.

 

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[JaaYu]

"The prize doesn't go to the fastest. It goes to the one who slows down the least."

A lot of the game is longevity. How long can you stick to one thing & implement it as a habit?

I agree with this a ton, which is why I'm going to stick with YouTube and my eCommerce brand for the next 5-10 years and see how it all plays out.

Congratulations. I've been seeing many of these GenZ self-improvement video styles popping up, and the area is still consolidating. Art Chad and Kaedee have similar styles, and I prefer them over your typical Hamzas.

I didn't even know about these people, thats interesting though. One person I definitely enjoy is Gerbert Johnson his personality is just funny to me.

But I'm probably not going to plan on sticking with purely self improvement since theres only so much you can talk about before its just dry. I'm probably going to document my eCommerce journey in a more enjoyable way kinda like Ryan Trahan.

You don't need a complete answer. You have an answer here already, so just run with that. I believe we expect too much of ourselves in "trying to figure it all out" when we must follow our intuition truthfully. We already have a pretty good idea of what we should be doing.

I was thinking the same thing too, I just don't get how people have such clear purposes. Like MJ's purpose of changing people's lives with entrepreneurship. But yeah I'm not stressing about it much, all my desires and roads lead to making better content and building an eCommerce brand. So at least I know what I should be doing.

That's a shame; I think people could learn a lot from those videos. I found them entertaining and informative. However, I understand the privacy concern. Maybe when you sell the car you used, you can make it public again? They were great documents.

Glad to hear that a ton, I never really got that feedback loop going with the series to be honest lol. I'll probably make them public in a few months and just edit out the parts where its copyrighted or have my license plate. I might just do that after I finish editing this next video.

I like how YouTubers keep their crappy videos up to inspire upcoming creators so I definitely want to do the same.

 

[JaaYu]

This forum is starting to become my new social media, so I'm gonna update this thread properly now.

I'm just gonna share what I learn and how its going every once in a while.

Update 1 ​

I'm 18 right now.

Currently go to college and fully plan on dropping out after this summer. I convinced my parents to let me take a gap year, and I plan on using it properly to show them I can do this.

Either way, even if I fail by the end of the gap year, I'll just figure it out if I get kicked out, I have no intention of going back to school, its just not for me. I've been thinking about it for 6 years, and I'm 100% confident I won't regret it.

My goal is to just control my life and be proud of myself everyday with the work I'm putting in, so putting in those 12 hour work days and striving for goals I care about.

I don't really care about retiring myself, I do want to retire my parents though. I just want to enjoy the day to day of my life, which means working hard for things I care about and not wasting it on social media.

I'm fully committed to sticking with YouTube for the next 5 years minimum. I'm also going to use YouTube to market a clothing brand I'm actively working on. I might make a new thread on the clothing brand since its a lot by itself.

I started with self improvement content, but I'm switching to a general audience.

My content is going to focus on storytelling that anyone can enjoy. Its a bit vague, but I'll figure it out. A good example is Ryan Trahan. Also certain shows and movies like Across the Spiderverse that tell a compelling story.

This video is a good example of what I'm trying to go for

I'm a long way from there, but I'll figure it out.

Anyways, heres what I learned​

Did decently well on my newer videos. I took advantage of a popular topic and spent 18 hours editing.

Main thing I learned is there's only one rule with YouTube

People need to click on and enjoy your content

Thats it. This can be done with humour, unique editing, good storytelling, appealing thumbnails, etc.

This is also measured by CTR, retention, likes, and comments.

But if you make content that people enjoy, everything else will fall into place, which is why I'm going to focus on Quality > Quantity.

Also, this a good outline for videos I'm using now:
Ideation (how do you think of ideas) -> Packaging (thumbnails, title, first 5 seconds) -> Pre-Production (plan shots and story) -> Filming -> Post-Production (editing) -> Distribution (Post the video, you can also post clips of your video on short-form or just post on the community tab)

I track every potential video and what stage its in on notion.


I'm not gonna touch short-form for now, but I'll probably start posting short-form content when my clothing brand is ready to launch in 3-6 months from now.

I just want to focus on consistently pumping out good content with my certain style/format for now. Then, I can focus on marketing the clothing brand and everything.

My only issue is just consistency, I'm highkey lazy. I need to create momentum and cut out bad habits which is what I'm doing right now. I have a bad social media addiction that I'm improving on everyday.

I'll figure it out though, I always do.

 

[Nostalgia]

This forum is starting to become my new social media, so I'm gonna update this thread properly now.

I'm just gonna share what I learn and how its going every once in a while.

Update 1 ​

I'm 18 right now.

Currently go to college and fully plan on dropping out after this summer. I convinced my parents to let me take a gap year, and I plan on using it properly to show them I can do this.

Either way, even if I fail by the end of the gap year, I'll just figure it out if I get kicked out, I have no intention of going back to school, its just not for me. I've been thinking about it for 6 years, and I'm 100% confident I won't regret it.

My goal is to just control my life and be proud of myself everyday with the work I'm putting in, so putting in those 12 hour work days and striving for goals I care about.

I don't really care about retiring myself, I do want to retire my parents though. I just want to enjoy the day to day of my life, which means working hard for things I care about and not wasting it on social media.

I'm fully committed to sticking with YouTube for the next 5 years minimum. I'm also going to use YouTube to market a clothing brand I'm actively working on. I might make a new thread on the clothing brand since its a lot by itself.

I started with self improvement content, but I'm switching to a general audience.

My content is going to focus on storytelling that anyone can enjoy. Its a bit vague, but I'll figure it out. A good example is Ryan Trahan. Also certain shows and movies like Across the Spiderverse that tell a compelling story.

This video is a good example of what I'm trying to go for

I'm a long way from there, but I'll figure it out.

Anyways, heres what I learned​

View attachment 55820

Did decently well on my newer videos. I took advantage of a popular topic and spent 18 hours editing.

Main thing I learned is there's only one rule with YouTube

People need to click on and enjoy your content

Thats it. This can be done with humour, unique editing, good storytelling, appealing thumbnails, etc.

This is also measured by CTR, retention, likes, and comments.

But if you make content that people enjoy, everything else will fall into place, which is why I'm going to focus on Quality > Quantity.

Also, this a good outline for videos I'm using now:
Ideation (how do you think of ideas) -> Packaging (thumbnails, title, first 5 seconds) -> Pre-Production (plan shots and story) -> Filming -> Post-Production (editing) -> Distribution (Post the video, you can also post clips of your video on short-form or just post on the community tab)

I track every potential video and what stage its in on notion.
View attachment 55822

I'm not gonna touch short-form for now, but I'll probably start posting short-form content when my clothing brand is ready to launch in 3-6 months from now.

I just want to focus on consistently pumping out good content with my certain style/format for now. Then, I can focus on marketing the clothing brand and everything.

My only issue is just consistency, I'm highkey lazy. I need to create momentum and cut out bad habits which is what I'm doing right now. I have a bad social media addiction that I'm improving on everyday.

I'll figure it out though, I always do.

what makes your clothing brand different from the millions already out there?

 

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[JaaYu]

what makes your clothing brand different from the millions already out there?

Good quality, 400-500 GSM hoodies with 100% cotton so it feels good on the skin and is not too lightweight, and try to get it pre-shrunk so it doesn't shrink as much.

Probably gonna focus on sweaters at first actually with good materials and good weight. I'll test a bunch of samples on how well they fit.

The brand is going to sell towards people that think the softboy aesthetic looks good. I personally really like the aesthetic but find it difficult to find good quality clothes that fit the vibe.

Overall, the aesthetic just represents an inviting, relaxed vibe, achieved using pastel and earth tone colors.

I'm not just gonna put some shitty graphic on top and call it a day. I want the designs to be lowkey and inviting.

Also, its going to be semi luxury like Fear of God so theres good margins.

Currently in the stage of making mockups and techpacks to send to manufacturers.

 

[Spenny]

Currently go to college and fully plan on dropping out after this summer. I convinced my parents to let me take a gap year, and I plan on using it properly to show them I can do this.

Either way, even if I fail by the end of the gap year, I'll just figure it out if I get kicked out, I have no intention of going back to school, its just not for me. I've been thinking about it for 6 years, and I'm 100% confident I won't regret it.

College may be a solid bet as a baseline, as long as you're not doing a basketweaving degree. Have you considered doing a trade instead if it doesn't pan out?

I'm also going to use YouTube to market a clothing brand I'm actively working on. I might make a new thread on the clothing brand since its a lot by itself.

As previously mentioned, why would someone buy this? Another question: why choose YouTube? I'm curious because it significantly violates control, and I think it's pretty hard to monetise an audience UNLESS you have products that serve a need outside of the platform.

1stman has done this well; he sold men's supplements and received excellent reviews. Hamza has a school, which is an exclusive community. Say what you will about these creators, but they profit from their audiences because they solve a need.

I made YouTube videos for self-improvement when I was eighteen, and I realised that A) it's best to have a product range in mind before you start making content, and B) I was way too young to be dishing out self-improvement advice. I felt icky doing it. That may just be me.

I'm not gonna touch short-form for now, but I'll probably start posting short-form content when my clothing brand is ready to launch in 3-6 months from now.

Why not? Shortform content is the gold rush of attention.

With your clothing brand, why not launch the clothing brand next month? Why is there an arbitrary 3-6 months slapped on it? Done is better than perfect. Test the idea. See if the market responds.

But let's take a step back. People will only buy merch with your branding if they like you enough. You need a big audience for that, and it may take a while to get to that point. Also, a lot of people use that "merch" angle. How can you truly be different? A lot of people already offer quality AND have more prominent brands than you. They will squish you if you jump into this thinking a cool design and quality will save you - everyone already does that.

The other flaw I have with merch is the lack of need & requirement to know your brand. Both are bottlenecks of sales. If you have a product that addresses a stronger need, you may get more people buying, leading to more sales. Also a bigger audience than your audience may be better for a product.

Example: Ebooks on stuff you can sell from previous content you have made

• EBOOK on how to get started in pressure washing - $5
  • D2D strategies
  • The equipment basics (nozzles, gpm etc)
  • How to do different stone types/concrete
  • Strategies for 5 star drive way finishes
  • Top tips you've learnt
  • Basics of soft washing
• EBOOK looksmaxxing - $5
• EBOOK how to fitness - $5

EXTRA IDEA

• How to look good as a man
  • Colour theory
  • Matching clothes
  • style suggestions
  • Tips for finding cheap clothes that look amazing
  • How to know if something fits you
  • Hair
  • Accessories

The great advantage of this way is that it's evergreen, you don't need to faff about with sizes and distribution, and it scales with more people finding your stuff as long as the quality improves. You also are solving a buyers need, AND it is not limited to your audience. You can also test it without stock investment, and you do what to test the market and see what bites back, then offer more to that market. You could have a whole arsenal of these books, then bundle them into "Good-looking Man" and call it at $30 for 10 or so ebooks. Then, maybe you could do a merch line later with funny memes for the gym, as seen below.


These are ideas that I'm just spitballing, you don't need to go with them, and you'll need greater thought into it. The critical thing is, to make the product QUALITY - there are a lot of arses out there offering coaching and lukewarm offerings at extortionate prices. Be different. Think of the NEED. Don't be a bellend and sell coaching.

Another thing—it doesn't need to be labelled as self-improvement. So many channels are out there trying to do that, but I see a considerable LACK in the self-improvement space: authenticity, less hedonism and the pursuit of fulfilment. Instead of a master, you could be along the journey THEN report to people what you think is essential for others. That's more unique. All of the content is about how to "get more girls" or "how to get more money," not so much about being a leader, a role model, the importance of a purpose, or a healthy masculine figure.

Questions you have about yourself, you could compile. Here are some of the questions I've been researching answers to recently and may be helpful to talk about.

• What does it mean to be a man?
• How accurate is blackpill advice?
• How accurate is redpill advice?
• Are the content creators we follow trustworthy?
• Is religion the answer to life guidance? Or is it better to suffer and find our own meaning?
• Is self-improvement done for me? Or do I do it for others?
• How can we healthily navigate the internet?
• How can I make authentic connections with people?

Some thoughts because that is some unique content you can explore deeply. Hours long.

OR you could look to make a challenge with each of these, then use that experience as a lesson you learned.

• Example: "How can I make authentic connections with people"
  • Talk to random people, a hobby club, a group, etc. and invite them for food, a party, or whatever. Tell them you're documenting it and looking to break boundaries and make friends OUTSIDE of social media. It could be one friend, a couple or ten. Doesn't matter.
  • You could then narrate the lessons you learned from the experience over stock footage of the party/restaurant/ activity you did with them.
• Example: "Is religion the answer to life guidance? Or is it better to suffer and find our meaning?"
  • Go to a mosque, a church, a synagogue, and an atheist club, ask people their views, and maybe record some footage. You don't need to develop that content, but it is unique because it provides a unique perspective for these groups that otherwise may never be aired.

That sounds FAR more unique than "Top 10 ways to make authentic friends", that title is just .

The theme is "bring the audience along with you on your journey of discovery". I may do this now I've suggested it!

General takeaway: Think of cents, especially needs. Are your videos and products solving a need?

My goal is to just control my life and be proud of myself everyday with the work I'm putting in, so putting in those 12 hour work days and striving for goals I care about.

My only issue is just consistency, I'm highkey lazy. I need to create momentum and cut out bad habits which is what I'm doing right now. I have a bad social media addiction that I'm improving on everyday.

A bit of a contradiction?

You don't need anything. Just get started. The 12-hour days will come naturally. The focus isn't the 12-hour days, but the necessity of what you are doing requires those 12-hour days.

Currently in the stage of making mockups and techpacks to send to manufacturers.

Do you have people to whom you can sell these? Are there any pre-orders? Is there any confirmation that people want them? Will they pay for them? Regardless of whether you answer yes or no, that is a lot better than going into getting stock blindly—speculating isn't a sound investment strategy. Ask these before you smack down a lot of money.

 

[JaaYu]

College may be a solid bet as a baseline, as long as you're not doing a basketweaving degree. Have you considered doing a trade instead if it doesn't pan out?

Not a bad idea, probably going to try to leverage my editing skills and graphic design skills somehow. But I'll worry about that when I get there.

As previously mentioned, why would someone buy this? Another question: why choose YouTube? I'm curious because it significantly violates control, and I think it's pretty hard to monetise an audience UNLESS you have products that serve a need outside of the platform.

People would buy because they like the quality of the clothing and the design (softboy aesthetic). It makes you feel confident on how you dress, is comfortable, and is much higher quality compared to fast fashion like H&M or Shein. Also, clothes are worn throughout your life, so why not get high quality clothes that you like.

I chose YouTube because I want to be a YouTuber and am confident I can make it work. It does violate control, but I don't plan on doing anything controversial like what happened in the adpocalypse. Also, I'm going to use Instagram and TikTok as well in the future.

I mainly just took inspiration from YouTubers who have done something similar like MrBeast (chocolate), Ryan Trahan (candy), Mai Pham (hoodies), Emma Chamberlain (coffee), and a ton more who use their broad audience to sell a upgraded/unique commodity.

I want to run that kind of business and am confident I can do so.

With your clothing brand, why not launch the clothing brand next month? Why is there an arbitrary 3-6 months slapped on it? Done is better than perfect. Test the idea. See if the market responds.

I'm studying abroad this summer for 3 months in France and I can't fulfill orders there, and I want to fulfill in-house at the start. Also, I want to focus on long-form right now to build a habit of doing it.

The short-form will be much easier once I'm confident in myself that I will keep churning out long-form content. I see short-form as a supplement to long-form, not the main thing.

But let's take a step back. People will only buy merch with your branding if they like you enough. You need a big audience for that, and it may take a while to get to that point. Also, a lot of people use that "merch" angle. How can you truly be different? A lot of people already offer quality AND have more prominent brands than you. They will squish you if you jump into this thinking a cool design and quality will save you - everyone already does that.

I personally disagree. Maybe I'm wrong and I'll find out later, but I'm confident I can make clothes that aren't merch and stand out alone. I guess only time will tell.

The great advantage of this way is that it's evergreen, you don't need to faff about with sizes and distribution, and it scales with more people finding your stuff as long as the quality improves. You also are solving a buyers need, AND it is not limited to your audience. You can also test it without stock investment, and you do what to test the market and see what bites back, then offer more to that market. You could have a whole arsenal of these books, then bundle them into "Good-looking Man" and call it at $30 for 10 or so ebooks. Then, maybe you could do a merch line later with funny memes for the gym, as seen below.

Your not wrong lol. I personally just feel icky selling a "course" or "ebook" on self improvement stuff. Plus, I feel like I've covered most of everything in the videos I've already made on looksmaxxing and self improvement and I wouldn't feel confident in the value I'm providing in the eBooks. I personally also just don't want to work on that type of business.

Another thing—it doesn't need to be labelled as self-improvement. So many channels are out there trying to do that, but I see a considerable LACK in the self-improvement space: authenticity, less hedonism and the pursuit of fulfilment. Instead of a master, you could be along the journey THEN report to people what you think is essential for others. That's more unique. All of the content is about how to "get more girls" or "how to get more money," not so much about being a leader, a role model, the importance of a purpose, or a healthy masculine figure.

That sounds FAR more unique than "Top 10 ways to make authentic friends", that title is just .

The theme is "bring the audience along with you on your journey of discovery". I may do this now I've suggested it!

I agree a ton, I'm already planning on going towards that direction.

Example: "How can I make authentic connections with people"

I actually have this exact idea in my notion lol.

You don't need anything. Just get started. The 12-hour days will come naturally. The focus isn't the 12-hour days, but the necessity of what you are doing requires those 12-hour days.

Yeah I agree, I'm just scared to be honest to jump in, which is exactly why I need to jump in. Thats a good way of thinking about it though, the 12 hour days will come naturally. The only solution really is to just jump in though which is why I'm going to.

I at least made a lot of improvement on my habits and pretty much reduced social media usage down to 0 for the past few days.

Do you have people to whom you can sell these? Are there any pre-orders? Is there any confirmation that people want them? Will they pay for them? Regardless of whether you answer yes or no, that is a lot better than going into getting stock blindly—speculating isn't a sound investment strategy. Ask these before you smack down a lot of money.

I'm planning on setting up a pre-order once I get my samples for the first drop. I have very soft validation from asking friends and family which I know is not enough, but yeah I'm going to setup a pre-order for the first drop.

 

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[oku]

About a month ago, I was deep into web design, but with very little progress. This was mainly due to mentality and overall lack of care.

I realized that I didn't care about the people I was serving or believed in the service I was providing.

Which is why I'm gong to focus on building my personal brand and inspiring ambitious teenagers like myself on YouTube. I've been posting tons of videos but unlisting them since some of my friends in High School found out, but now I'm just going to go straight in and start publicly posting them.

My plan is to post weekly on my progress in business for the next 10 years with occasional filler videos that I want to create. I'm focusing on authenticity and creativity to differentiate me from others.

I'm a very long way from good storytelling so the videos are going to be very bad, but I'm open to any constructive criticism.

I'm also 17 and about to go to college, so I'm fine with taking things slow as long as my videos keep improving.

Again, I'm open to any constructive criticism.

Your channel is candid and authentic. No fluff, no b.s. You should be very proud of that. It's relatable (Novel) and motivating. Thank You For Sharing This.