Analyzing My YouTube Journey So Far.

[MGS]

Hello Everyone,

There's this in the self improvement niche channel called "FarFromWeak" that managed to gain 900k subscribers in less than a year. Instead of just discussing it, I decided to take action and created my own channel, determined to try out every single tip and trick recommended by the YouTube community.

https://imgur.com/a/X4u4rfW

View: https://imgur.com/a/X4u4rfW


This is my journey on YouTube so far: I have uploaded 13 videos and gained 5 subscribers.

Let's review the first 4 videos where I aimed to establish a brand through black and white thumbnails with a single color pop, intriguing titles, and consistent content (almost everyday). Unfortunately, they didn't perform as well as I had hoped.

https://imgur.com/a/3dwmFEX

View: https://imgur.com/a/3dwmFEX


Realizing the need for improvement, I challenged myself to create the best thumbnail and title for my next video. Despite my pride in the result, the video didn't generate significant views.

https://imgur.com/a/DFn4gb3

View: https://imgur.com/a/DFn4gb3


In the subsequent three videos, I continued to refine my thumbnails and experimented with curious titles, but again, the response was underwhelming.

https://imgur.com/a/g9KJ3KC

View: https://imgur.com/a/g9KJ3KC


Taking a two-day break, I reflected on my strategy. I wondered if the issue lay in search engine optimization (SEO), so I searched for a high-ranking keyword on vidiq (65 Ranking). After thorough research, I found "Build Resilience 2023" and incorporated it into my thumbnail, title, description, and tags. This video garnered 160 views, not solely due to SEO, but largely because I posted it in r/GetMotivated and received traffic from there.

https://imgur.com/a/8RArk4j

View: https://imgur.com/a/8RArk4j


Next, I tried to find a video that helped a new channel gain its first subscribers. After persistent searching, I discovered "Zen Stories" and believed this was my breakthrough. Unfortunately, it only received 5 views.

imgur.com

Frustrated and uncertain about my next steps, doubts began to creep in. Perhaps my videos weren't appealing enough, or maybe I'm not cut out for YouTube. I even considered if the YouTube algorithm had a vendetta against me. However, I decided to give it one more shot, pouring my heart and soul into a video. After over 20 hours of editing, thorough research, scripting, voice-over recording, and creating one of my best thumbnails yet, it only reached 22 views.

I would genuinely appreciate it if you could watch the video and give me your honest feedback.

imgur.com

I'm not saying I'm quitting YouTube, but there are aspects that perplex me. For instance, my views are greater than my impressions, which doesn't align logically. It seems as though the YouTube algorithm isn't actively promoting my videos. On a positive note, my audience retention sits at 53%, a respectable figure for a channel with only 5 subscribers.

imgur.com

imgur.com

Please let me know your thoughts. Are we, as new YouTube creators, doomed to struggle? Does success on the platform rely on sheer luck?

 

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[MJ DeMarco]

Please let me know your thoughts. Are we, as new YouTube creators, doomed to struggle? Does success on the platform rely on sheer luck?

I think you're on the right track (based on quality thumbnailing) although I couldn't review any videos. Can you post a view here? Some of your IMGR links are rendering.

Scale in YT seems to involve a bit of luck that can only be counter-opposed by persistence and regular uploading of value.

My personal opinion on YT success boils to this:

Value: 50%
Thumbnail:25% (Sadly)
Luck: 25% (Sadly)

If you're low on value, it becomes more a game of luck which only persistence and better value can overcome.

 

[Subsonic]

Hello Everyone,

There's this in the self improvement niche channel called "FarFromWeak" that managed to gain 900k subscribers in less than a year. Instead of just discussing it, I decided to take action and created my own channel, determined to try out every single tip and trick recommended by the YouTube community.

https://imgur.com/a/X4u4rfW

View: https://imgur.com/a/X4u4rfW


This is my journey on YouTube so far: I have uploaded 13 videos and gained 5 subscribers.

Let's review the first 4 videos where I aimed to establish a brand through black and white thumbnails with a single color pop, intriguing titles, and consistent content (almost everyday). Unfortunately, they didn't perform as well as I had hoped.

https://imgur.com/a/3dwmFEX

View: https://imgur.com/a/3dwmFEX


Realizing the need for improvement, I challenged myself to create the best thumbnail and title for my next video. Despite my pride in the result, the video didn't generate significant views.

https://imgur.com/a/DFn4gb3

View: https://imgur.com/a/DFn4gb3


In the subsequent three videos, I continued to refine my thumbnails and experimented with curious titles, but again, the response was underwhelming.

https://imgur.com/a/g9KJ3KC

View: https://imgur.com/a/g9KJ3KC


Taking a two-day break, I reflected on my strategy. I wondered if the issue lay in search engine optimization (SEO), so I searched for a high-ranking keyword on vidiq (65 Ranking). After thorough research, I found "Build Resilience 2023" and incorporated it into my thumbnail, title, description, and tags. This video garnered 160 views, not solely due to SEO, but largely because I posted it in r/GetMotivated and received traffic from there.

https://imgur.com/a/8RArk4j

View: https://imgur.com/a/8RArk4j


Next, I tried to find a video that helped a new channel gain its first subscribers. After persistent searching, I discovered "Zen Stories" and believed this was my breakthrough. Unfortunately, it only received 5 views.

imgur.com

Frustrated and uncertain about my next steps, doubts began to creep in. Perhaps my videos weren't appealing enough, or maybe I'm not cut out for YouTube. I even considered if the YouTube algorithm had a vendetta against me. However, I decided to give it one more shot, pouring my heart and soul into a video. After over 20 hours of editing, thorough research, scripting, voice-over recording, and creating one of my best thumbnails yet, it only reached 22 views.

I would genuinely appreciate it if you could watch the video and give me your honest feedback.

imgur.com

I'm not saying I'm quitting YouTube, but there are aspects that perplex me. For instance, my views are greater than my impressions, which doesn't align logically. It seems as though the YouTube algorithm isn't actively promoting my videos. On a positive note, my audience retention sits at 53%, a respectable figure for a channel with only 5 subscribers.

imgur.com

imgur.com

Please let me know your thoughts. Are we, as new YouTube creators, doomed to struggle? Does success on the platform rely on sheer luck?

You will struggle but thats a good thing. If it was easy there would be nothing to gain.

Think more long therm. If you really want to succeed then think on a longer time horizon.
Upload 2 or more times a week for a year and you will get on eventually.

If you don't have 1k subs after 13 videos then you know your videos aren't that good. That's fine though, it just means you need to keep making videos untill they are good.

One easy question to ask yourself is if you would watch your own videos.

 

[SEBASTlAN]

I'd reassess after you've published 100 videos.

 

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[Timmy C]

Hello Everyone,

There's this in the self improvement niche channel called "FarFromWeak" that managed to gain 900k subscribers in less than a year. Instead of just discussing it, I decided to take action and created my own channel, determined to try out every single tip and trick recommended by the YouTube community.

https://imgur.com/a/X4u4rfW

View: https://imgur.com/a/X4u4rfW


This is my journey on YouTube so far: I have uploaded 13 videos and gained 5 subscribers.

Let's review the first 4 videos where I aimed to establish a brand through black and white thumbnails with a single color pop, intriguing titles, and consistent content (almost everyday). Unfortunately, they didn't perform as well as I had hoped.

https://imgur.com/a/3dwmFEX

View: https://imgur.com/a/3dwmFEX


Realizing the need for improvement, I challenged myself to create the best thumbnail and title for my next video. Despite my pride in the result, the video didn't generate significant views.

https://imgur.com/a/DFn4gb3

View: https://imgur.com/a/DFn4gb3


In the subsequent three videos, I continued to refine my thumbnails and experimented with curious titles, but again, the response was underwhelming.

https://imgur.com/a/g9KJ3KC

View: https://imgur.com/a/g9KJ3KC


Taking a two-day break, I reflected on my strategy. I wondered if the issue lay in search engine optimization (SEO), so I searched for a high-ranking keyword on vidiq (65 Ranking). After thorough research, I found "Build Resilience 2023" and incorporated it into my thumbnail, title, description, and tags. This video garnered 160 views, not solely due to SEO, but largely because I posted it in r/GetMotivated and received traffic from there.

https://imgur.com/a/8RArk4j

View: https://imgur.com/a/8RArk4j


Next, I tried to find a video that helped a new channel gain its first subscribers. After persistent searching, I discovered "Zen Stories" and believed this was my breakthrough. Unfortunately, it only received 5 views.

imgur.com

Frustrated and uncertain about my next steps, doubts began to creep in. Perhaps my videos weren't appealing enough, or maybe I'm not cut out for YouTube. I even considered if the YouTube algorithm had a vendetta against me. However, I decided to give it one more shot, pouring my heart and soul into a video. After over 20 hours of editing, thorough research, scripting, voice-over recording, and creating one of my best thumbnails yet, it only reached 22 views.

I would genuinely appreciate it if you could watch the video and give me your honest feedback.

imgur.com

I'm not saying I'm quitting YouTube, but there are aspects that perplex me. For instance, my views are greater than my impressions, which doesn't align logically. It seems as though the YouTube algorithm isn't actively promoting my videos. On a positive note, my audience retention sits at 53%, a respectable figure for a channel with only 5 subscribers.

imgur.com

imgur.com

Please let me know your thoughts. Are we, as new YouTube creators, doomed to struggle? Does success on the platform rely on sheer luck?

Youtube is a grind. Well, at least it has been for me.

Just try and get better at making videos and you will eventually get there if you are consistent i think.

I stopped trying to make sense of why certain videos would do well and others wouldn't. You find some patterns of why things take off but replicating this doesn't guarantee another video hit.

One of my worst videos has almost 80,000 views. I have no idea why as I think it sucks. Some of my other videos that are objectively much higher quality struggled to get 1000 views.

Don't try figure this reasoning out too much, it will drive you absolutely nuts!

If you have some videos you want to share maybe some people can give some pointers that might be helpful!

 

[Cybom]

Hey @MGS

Hello Everyone,

There's this in the self improvement niche channel called "FarFromWeak" that managed to gain 900k subscribers in less than a year. Instead of just discussing it, I decided to take action and created my own channel, determined to try out every single tip and trick recommended by the YouTube community.

https://imgur.com/a/X4u4rfW

View: https://imgur.com/a/X4u4rfW


This is my journey on YouTube so far: I have uploaded 13 videos and gained 5 subscribers.

Let's review the first 4 videos where I aimed to establish a brand through black and white thumbnails with a single color pop, intriguing titles, and consistent content (almost everyday). Unfortunately, they didn't perform as well as I had hoped.

https://imgur.com/a/3dwmFEX

View: https://imgur.com/a/3dwmFEX


Realizing the need for improvement, I challenged myself to create the best thumbnail and title for my next video. Despite my pride in the result, the video didn't generate significant views.

https://imgur.com/a/DFn4gb3

View: https://imgur.com/a/DFn4gb3


In the subsequent three videos, I continued to refine my thumbnails and experimented with curious titles, but again, the response was underwhelming.

https://imgur.com/a/g9KJ3KC

View: https://imgur.com/a/g9KJ3KC


Taking a two-day break, I reflected on my strategy. I wondered if the issue lay in search engine optimization (SEO), so I searched for a high-ranking keyword on vidiq (65 Ranking). After thorough research, I found "Build Resilience 2023" and incorporated it into my thumbnail, title, description, and tags. This video garnered 160 views, not solely due to SEO, but largely because I posted it in r/GetMotivated and received traffic from there.

https://imgur.com/a/8RArk4j

View: https://imgur.com/a/8RArk4j


Next, I tried to find a video that helped a new channel gain its first subscribers. After persistent searching, I discovered "Zen Stories" and believed this was my breakthrough. Unfortunately, it only received 5 views.

imgur.com

Frustrated and uncertain about my next steps, doubts began to creep in. Perhaps my videos weren't appealing enough, or maybe I'm not cut out for YouTube. I even considered if the YouTube algorithm had a vendetta against me. However, I decided to give it one more shot, pouring my heart and soul into a video. After over 20 hours of editing, thorough research, scripting, voice-over recording, and creating one of my best thumbnails yet, it only reached 22 views.

I would genuinely appreciate it if you could watch the video and give me your honest feedback.

imgur.com

I'm not saying I'm quitting YouTube, but there are aspects that perplex me. For instance, my views are greater than my impressions, which doesn't align logically. It seems as though the YouTube algorithm isn't actively promoting my videos. On a positive note, my audience retention sits at 53%, a respectable figure for a channel with only 5 subscribers.

imgur.com

imgur.com

Please let me know your thoughts. Are we, as new YouTube creators, doomed to struggle? Does success on the platform rely on sheer luck?

I am also still quite new at YouTube and can feel your pain.
Something I noticed is that sometimes the fact that a video does not get immediate success does not mean that it won't get success in the future. I published videos with really low performance at first and a couple of months later without clear reason (to me), it started getting more and more views.

50% of audience retention looks really good and I also like your thumbnails, don't give up!

 

[MGS]

I think you're on the right track (based on quality thumbnailing) although I couldn't review any videos. Can you post a view here? Some of your IMGR links are rendering.

Scale in YT seems to involve a bit of luck that can only be counter-opposed by persistence and regular uploading of value.

My personal opinion on YT success boils to this:

Value: 50%
Thumbnail:25% (Sadly)
Luck: 25% (Sadly)

If you're low on value, it becomes more a game of luck which only persistence and better value can overcome.

Hey MG, Thanks for replying here's the video that I'm most proud:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IiK1JYvZUXE&t=456s


Feel free to give me your honest feedback, thanks.

 

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[MGS]

Youtube is a grind. Well, at least it has been for me.

Just try and get better at making videos and you will eventually get there if you are consistent i think.

I stopped trying to make sense of why certain videos would do well and others wouldn't. You find some patterns of why things take off but replicating this doesn't guarantee another video hit.

One of my worst videos has almost 80,000 views. I have no idea why as I think it sucks. Some of my other videos that are objectively much higher quality struggled to get 1000 views.

Don't try figure this reasoning out too much, it will drive you absolutely nuts!

If you have some videos you want to share maybe some people can give some pointers that might be helpful!

Hey Timmy, thanks for replying, If You wouldn't mind I would love to get your feedback, feel free to be as honest as you want:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IiK1JYvZUXE

 

[MGS]

Hey @MGS



I am also still quite new at YouTube and can feel your pain.
Something I noticed is that sometimes the fact that a video does not get immediate success does not mean that it won't get success in the future. I published videos with really low performance at first and a couple of months later without clear reason (to me), it started getting more and more views.

50% of audience retention looks really good and I also like your thumbnails, don't give up!

I won't give up, also thanks so much for the kind words

 

[Timmy C]

Hey Timmy, thanks for replying, If You wouldn't mind I would love to get your feedback, feel free to be as honest as you want:

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IiK1JYvZUXE

Your videos are fine man. Much better production than mine.

Just be patient. You'll be right.

Youtube can be painfully slow.

 

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[Matt Lee]

I hope you don't take this the wrong way. It's been a learning process for me too. But these are a few things I learn recently that might help you.

If you had to be honest, would you watch your own videos? Is there something in your video that sends it home to the audience you want to reach? Who is your audience actually? Is your content something "new" or feel "different"? Does it feel like your channel has a personality and is not just another copy of a bigger channel? Will people be hungry for more of your style of content after watching 1 video?

These questions gave me clarity on what I needed to do or rather change. (I'm still implementing these things w/ each of my uploads so I'm no expert on this)

Next, I'll point out one line of thinking that might slow your progress more than you would like.

1) STOP Comparing yourself with bigger channels.

I looked into the thumbnail, titles, and everything else from FarFromWeak. I even watched a few intros of his videos.



This dude knows what he's doing 100%. You can clearly see his target audience in how he words his titles and shapes his thumbnail and scripts. His appeals are sex, power, and social competency. All of which are big pain points for younger guys.

The way he scripts is that of a dad talking to a younger kid. His mascot is a video game character known to be a fatherly figure. That's not to mention his scripts are very polarizing.

Dig a little more into his content and you will see he BLEW UP because he was the first channel to utilize that type of thumbnail, style of editing, scripting, and so on.

Every channel after him will be mere copies and nobody like watching copies of something else. Why would you want cheap imitations when you can get the real deal?

But of course, this is where you take what works for him and add on something new. This will take trial and error. It's also the definition of what value skews or innovation it: taking what works, adding your own spin, and doing it consistently enough that you become your own niche.

If you want to read more about this, the latest post of this thread is about value skews or their practical applications of it: MINDSET - The "MOST useful" Thread

So chances are you don't know who you want to target to the extent of the channel you admire. He paid his dues to learn. You will have to do the same and pay the price of time and grind to learn what works.

But hey, I understand your pain. But don't slow down even if there's no external feedback to show for it. This is the process that leads to anything good.

Youtube like many other fine things has a strong factor of luck involved. But the more videos you produce and the more improvement you can add with each video, the luckier you will get. The odds increase with each video improvement you make.

But if you quit, then your chances of success are zero.

Hope that helps.

 

[Matt Lee]

Here are a few videos that helped shaped my mindset greatly when it comes to content creation. I think they will definitely help you.

This video or rather keynote shows the power of BIG NUMBERS. Something that stood out to me was when he talked about quality+ high quality> quality+low quantity. And the only way to get to quality+ high quality and by doing a whole lot more, F*ck up, and move with speed.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=91D5hjMEADg


This video, thanks to @Shono for linking it to me, shows you the value of getting into the flow of making things. You focus on the numbers too much and it'll get into your head, slow you down, and you'll be too mentally crippled by the lack of feedback to keep your momentum going.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=exk8GrGwxGs


This video talks about skewing value and standing out in a "crowded" niche. When you begin to build a brand that's worth paying attention to it's going to be vastly different than the things currently offered. The traction will be slow at first then people will catch on if what you provide is truly valuable.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bKpS4m4Z28s&list=LL&index=112


Of course, all of these things are relevant only if you learn to master titles and thumbnails too.

This guy.

https://twitter.com/theJayAlto?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Eauthor

Posts some really good stuff about thumbnails and titles

 

[MGS]

I hope you don't take this the wrong way. It's been a learning process for me too. But these are a few things I learn recently that might help you.

If you had to be honest, would you watch your own videos? Is there something in your video that sends it home to the audience you want to reach? Who is your audience actually? Is your content something "new" or feel "different"? Does it feel like your channel has a personality and is not just another copy of a bigger channel? Will people be hungry for more of your style of content after watching 1 video?

These questions gave me clarity on what I needed to do or rather change. (I'm still implementing these things w/ each of my uploads so I'm no expert on this)

Next, I'll point out one line of thinking that might slow your progress more than you would like.

1) STOP Comparing yourself with bigger channels.

I looked into the thumbnail, titles, and everything else from FarFromWeak. I even watched a few intros of his videos.

View attachment 49638View attachment 49639View attachment 49640

This dude knows what he's doing 100%. You can clearly see his target audience in how he words his titles and shapes his thumbnail and scripts. His appeals are sex, power, and social competency. All of which are big pain points for younger guys.

The way he scripts is that of a dad talking to a younger kid. His mascot is a video game character known to be a fatherly figure. That's not to mention his scripts are very polarizing.

Dig a little more into his content and you will see he BLEW UP because he was the first channel to utilize that type of thumbnail, style of editing, scripting, and so on.

Every channel after him will be mere copies and nobody like watching copies of something else. Why would you want cheap imitations when you can get the real deal?

But of course, this is where you take what works for him and add on something new. This will take trial and error. It's also the definition of what value skews or innovation it: taking what works, adding your own spin, and doing it consistently enough that you become your own niche.

If you want to read more about this, the latest post of this thread is about value skews or their practical applications of it: MINDSET - The "MOST useful" Thread

So chances are you don't know who you want to target to the extent of the channel you admire. He paid his dues to learn. You will have to do the same and pay the price of time and grind to learn what works.

But hey, I understand your pain. But don't slow down even if there's no external feedback to show for it. This is the process that leads to anything good.

Youtube like many other fine things has a strong factor of luck involved. But the more videos you produce and the more improvement you can add with each video, the luckier you will get. The odds increase with each video improvement you make.

But if you quit, then your chances of success are zero.

Hope that helps.

really appreciate your reply, I see, so I need to do my own thing, I Tried to do it in the this video (

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IiK1JYvZUXE
) I would really appreciate your feedback, and as you said I shouldn't compare myself to other creators.

 

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[Andy Black]

Added to:

GOLD! - EXECUTION - [Master List] Building YouTube Channels

I thought it would be helpful to list all the YouTube progress threads and maybe use this thread as a chat thread about YouTube. I’ll keep this opening post up to date. Please let me know if I’ve missed any. GOLD! - Creating a Thriving Personal Brand w/ YouTube - A Journal & A Personal Guide...

www.thefastlaneforum.com

 

[theag]

really appreciate your reply, I see, so I need to do my own thing, I Tried to do it in the this video (

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IiK1JYvZUXE
) I would really appreciate your feedback, and as you said I shouldn't compare myself to other creators.

I watched the first few minutes. I'm probably not your target audience though, so take this with a grain of salt.

Some points:
- Music is a bit too loud compared to speech
- You list some stuff to prove your authority, but hide behind stock footage and an anime / generated (?) channel image -> I don't believe you
- The stock videos in the background look like every other motivational video
- With every video that is around 10min I automatically think its fluffed up just to be long enough to qualify for monetization -> low quality
- Content isn't very captivating and kinda all over the place. Lots of big words and generic concepts, Albert Einstein, UK credit system... but after 5min I still don't really know what the video is about. IMO you need a better script with a good hook in the beginning.
- Production quality is pretty good, maybe too good. In my experience, ugly ads often sell better. May be similar for videos.

 

[Timmy C]

I think your doing great man honestly.
You haven't been doing it that long, you'll get better at it.

 

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[biophase]

OK, here’s my honest feedback and it’s going to be harsh.

First, I have no idea who you are, and why I should listen to your advice. To me, youtube is the same thing as like reading a book. I need to know who the author is, and why his advice is better than other advice.

After watching your video for a few minutes it’s clear to me that it is a very generic video. this video is the same as hundreds of other generic advice videos on YouTube.

I kept waiting to hear the actual advice in the video, and it just never came. In your video on why you should stop setting goals. When does your first channel differentiation information appear on the video? I kept waiting and waiting for the intro to be over.

Step one is to write down what do you want to achieve. Why didn’t you start the video with you? Just saying, what do you want to achieve in life this video will teach you how to do it by not creating goals and by doing something totally different.

Have you ever watched MrBeast videos which start with the action in the first three seconds?

I would have done it some thing like this, “let me show you how to never set a goal again. In this video, I will show you how to create a system that will guarantee that you will be successful in reaching your goal within six months. if you used to set a goal and never came close to it, I was the same way. It wasn’t until I discovered that by doing this I was able to crush my goal of swimming 1 mile in six months. This is a photo of me, learning how to swim on day one, and this is what happened on the day 92”.

I just did the above paragraph using speech to text and purposely did not go back up to edit it. I wanted you to hear what came out of my brain when just thinking about how I would try to convince somebody that my system of setting processes worked for me.

When I want to learn something on, YouTube, for example, stretching, I will watch about 3 to 7 videos about stretching. If they’re are one or two videos that has information that is different or unique compared to the other videos then I will subscribe. Else those other videos are the same as every other one, and there’s no reason for me to subscribe to them.

 

[Matt Lee]

There's some really good feedback already.

Some technical feedback: The music choice is good. I'd be mindful of how loud it is though.

Loud music is generally used as a transition, to emphasize time speeding up(slowly increasing music volume as b-roll cuts get faster), or to emphasize what a viewer should feel from one scene to another. Loud music usually lasts for a few seconds, then you drop the dB level down to what the background music should be.

If loud music is constant, you lose the effect that it has on the person watching.

I usually use music to add another dimension to the video and it is usually 15-20 dB below my voiceover. Sometimes depending on the song, I have to -+ 5 dB.

But technical stuff is what you figure out for yourself if you make enough videos.

---

Some MISC. feedback:
I really like @biophase's feedback because it's something I learned not too long ago after pouring hundreds of hours in. I wished I learned it sooner. The scripting and being able to see how you write is something harder to learn unless you analyze how other people form their hooks/intros. But even then it's trial and error. The alternative is to have people like @biophase kind enough to analyze it for you.

Credibility and being able to show the viewer a transformation early in the video IS EVERYTHING. You must have something they want and a good enough reason for them to listen to you.

Watch the 55-minute keynote with Alex Hormozi I linked and you'll find he says "Talk about things you have done". Why? Because you have credibility from your past experience. But don't fret.

If you don't have credibility, you can borrow other people's credibility through various other ways. It is those research types of video or "I tried __ for __ days". But when you do that you can't be "giving advice", you will have to frame your video as "this is what I learned" or something that has you as the guinea pig. You can also borrow credibility from the past(dead people or old concepts) like a channel called Eiinzelganger. This is an example of his videos.

A similar concept to this includes the "attractive character" framework from Russel Brunson.


You choose an identity you want to use to write your scripts. The leader talks about his past experience and leads by example(think Gary Vee). The adventurer leads by taking you with him via his trial and error(Think James Jani and Jesse James). The reporter interviews people and through the process builds credibility through association with bigger names(Joe Rogan). Lastly, the reluctant hero is people who have big successes but are humble and down to Earth (Think Hormozi or many top posters here at the TFLF).

---

If your target audience is younger guys, ask yourself what attracts them.

What type of transformation will they be interested in?

I'll bring up FarFromWeak(FFW) as an example since I assume your audience is similar to his.



Look that the transformation in his thumbnail. Boy into a MAN. So his audience is young guys?

What are they interested in?

Games, girls, fast cars, money, power... wait hold up.
-->joke


Do you know who this guy is? He uses the same concept to attract the audience that FFW does. Andrew Tate's character that he plays is the leader. He has the transformations that we spoke of earlier.
--> no more joke

If you look into the intro of the thumbnail above. This is what FFW promises.

Boy allow me to educate you(sets the frame of the video, he's the father you're the son. Does a son listen to his father?). Every young man must answer one question at some point in his life. Am I truly a man? (he answers what this video is about, address the thumbnail and title so it's not clickbait). Here is the dark reality if you listen to Society on how to become a man you will end up becoming feminine and weak with low testosterone.(emotional appeal)

There is a reason why our ancestors had much more testosterone than the current generation. Their bones were much stronger too.(logical appeal, he pulls some facts to bring up his credibility) Listen it has always been hard to transition from a boy into a man but it has now become harder than ever before especially if you didn't have a strong Father Figure to guide you in the modern world. (now he scares the shit out of you and makes you feel FOMO so you keep watching)

A guy will be misguided and deceived you will find fake terms like toxic masculinity there is no such thing as toxic masculinity. (then he gets into the content)

 

[athlete]

I hope you don't take this the wrong way. It's been a learning process for me too. But these are a few things I learn recently that might help you.

If you had to be honest, would you watch your own videos? Is there something in your video that sends it home to the audience you want to reach? Who is your audience actually? Is your content something "new" or feel "different"? Does it feel like your channel has a personality and is not just another copy of a bigger channel? Will people be hungry for more of your style of content after watching 1 video?

These questions gave me clarity on what I needed to do or rather change. (I'm still implementing these things w/ each of my uploads so I'm no expert on this)

Next, I'll point out one line of thinking that might slow your progress more than you would like.

1) STOP Comparing yourself with bigger channels.

I looked into the thumbnail, titles, and everything else from FarFromWeak. I even watched a few intros of his videos.

View attachment 49638View attachment 49639View attachment 49640

This dude knows what he's doing 100%. You can clearly see his target audience in how he words his titles and shapes his thumbnail and scripts. His appeals are sex, power, and social competency. All of which are big pain points for younger guys.

The way he scripts is that of a dad talking to a younger kid. His mascot is a video game character known to be a fatherly figure. That's not to mention his scripts are very polarizing.

Dig a little more into his content and you will see he BLEW UP because he was the first channel to utilize that type of thumbnail, style of editing, scripting, and so on.

Every channel after him will be mere copies and nobody like watching copies of something else. Why would you want cheap imitations when you can get the real deal?

But of course, this is where you take what works for him and add on something new. This will take trial and error. It's also the definition of what value skews or innovation it: taking what works, adding your own spin, and doing it consistently enough that you become your own niche.

If you want to read more about this, the latest post of this thread is about value skews or their practical applications of it: MINDSET - The "MOST useful" Thread

So chances are you don't know who you want to target to the extent of the channel you admire. He paid his dues to learn. You will have to do the same and pay the price of time and grind to learn what works.

But hey, I understand your pain. But don't slow down even if there's no external feedback to show for it. This is the process that leads to anything good.

Youtube like many other fine things has a strong factor of luck involved. But the more videos you produce and the more improvement you can add with each video, the luckier you will get. The odds increase with each video improvement you make.

But if you quit, then your chances of success are zero.

Hope that helps.

bro, I love the explanation

 

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[Costa]

My personal opinion on YT success boils to this:

Value: 50%
Thumbnail:25% (Sadly)
Luck: 25% (Sadly)

If you're low on value, it becomes more a game of luck which only persistence and better value can overcome.

That's the old Meta

Here's the breakdown of the YouTube game (June 2023):

Remarkable Video Idea (Novelty/Awesomeness): 65%
Thumbnail: 14%
Hook/Intro (First Minute): 20%
Luck: 1% (People need to be patient; if the content is great, the algorithm will find it.)

YouTube is no longer a game of luck; it has become a science that most people still don't understand.

MrBeast has mastered this "YouTube Science", that's why every new video he uploads gets between 50 million to 150 million views and beyond.

I'm tired of watching channels with millions of subscribers and their first video going viral despite having zero subs. (Because these channels produce great videos)

You can take this dude as a recent example:



Consistency doesn't lead the algorithm to recommend bad videos... Consistency HELPS creators master the art of making good videos, and then the algorithm proceeds to recommend those great (high quality) videos.

 

[Nazca]

Hello Everyone,

There's this in the self improvement niche channel called "FarFromWeak" that managed to gain 900k subscribers in less than a year. Instead of just discussing it, I decided to take action and created my own channel, determined to try out every single tip and trick recommended by the YouTube community.

https://imgur.com/a/X4u4rfW

View: https://imgur.com/a/X4u4rfW


This is my journey on YouTube so far: I have uploaded 13 videos and gained 5 subscribers.

Let's review the first 4 videos where I aimed to establish a brand through black and white thumbnails with a single color pop, intriguing titles, and consistent content (almost everyday). Unfortunately, they didn't perform as well as I had hoped.

https://imgur.com/a/3dwmFEX

View: https://imgur.com/a/3dwmFEX


Realizing the need for improvement, I challenged myself to create the best thumbnail and title for my next video. Despite my pride in the result, the video didn't generate significant views.

https://imgur.com/a/DFn4gb3

View: https://imgur.com/a/DFn4gb3


In the subsequent three videos, I continued to refine my thumbnails and experimented with curious titles, but again, the response was underwhelming.

https://imgur.com/a/g9KJ3KC

View: https://imgur.com/a/g9KJ3KC


Taking a two-day break, I reflected on my strategy. I wondered if the issue lay in search engine optimization (SEO), so I searched for a high-ranking keyword on vidiq (65 Ranking). After thorough research, I found "Build Resilience 2023" and incorporated it into my thumbnail, title, description, and tags. This video garnered 160 views, not solely due to SEO, but largely because I posted it in r/GetMotivated and received traffic from there.

https://imgur.com/a/8RArk4j

View: https://imgur.com/a/8RArk4j


Next, I tried to find a video that helped a new channel gain its first subscribers. After persistent searching, I discovered "Zen Stories" and believed this was my breakthrough. Unfortunately, it only received 5 views.

imgur.com

Frustrated and uncertain about my next steps, doubts began to creep in. Perhaps my videos weren't appealing enough, or maybe I'm not cut out for YouTube. I even considered if the YouTube algorithm had a vendetta against me. However, I decided to give it one more shot, pouring my heart and soul into a video. After over 20 hours of editing, thorough research, scripting, voice-over recording, and creating one of my best thumbnails yet, it only reached 22 views.

I would genuinely appreciate it if you could watch the video and give me your honest feedback.

imgur.com

I'm not saying I'm quitting YouTube, but there are aspects that perplex me. For instance, my views are greater than my impressions, which doesn't align logically. It seems as though the YouTube algorithm isn't actively promoting my videos. On a positive note, my audience retention sits at 53%, a respectable figure for a channel with only 5 subscribers.

imgur.com

imgur.com

Please let me know your thoughts. Are we, as new YouTube creators, doomed to struggle? Does success on the platform rely on sheer luck?

Thanks for sharing your hustle.

The first thing I noticed about your post is that you talk a lot about thumbnail or title. These parameters are important but this is not what makes a video successful. Focus on content. You didn't mention anything about the quality of your content.

I watched your latest video. It is great but you can improve it.

I think you are not going straight to the point fast enough. I understand you give an inspirational atmosphere to your video but please always illustrate 1 concept with 1 specific example (through storytelling, through a fictional/real situtation).

MJ does it perfectly in TMF and The Great Rat Race Escape . Read it again, and notice that for every evoked concept/idea, there's always an anchor (aka specific exemple).

This is the one thing you can change for your future videos. Try to implement that and see if it changes something. I don't say this is the reason why your videos don't perform. It has probably nothing to do with this. Therefore by improving your skills for each uploaded video, you can only become better and reach better stats.

Try things and do not expect for fast results. Even though if you have the skills. Being successful on youtube takes time, a lot of tries, and there's no need to blame the algo.

If it doesn't perform well, I think this is mainly due to what you are doing (not saying what you did is bad don't get me wrong, this is very interesting and it gives real value). Try to give even more value and write better scripts!

Welcome to the YouTube journey!

 

[Epynok]

Hello Everyone,

There's this in the self improvement niche channel called "FarFromWeak" that managed to gain 900k subscribers in less than a year. Instead of just discussing it, I decided to take action and created my own channel, determined to try out every single tip and trick recommended by the YouTube community.

https://imgur.com/a/X4u4rfW

View: https://imgur.com/a/X4u4rfW


This is my journey on YouTube so far: I have uploaded 13 videos and gained 5 subscribers.

Let's review the first 4 videos where I aimed to establish a brand through black and white thumbnails with a single color pop, intriguing titles, and consistent content (almost everyday). Unfortunately, they didn't perform as well as I had hoped.

https://imgur.com/a/3dwmFEX

View: https://imgur.com/a/3dwmFEX


Realizing the need for improvement, I challenged myself to create the best thumbnail and title for my next video. Despite my pride in the result, the video didn't generate significant views.

https://imgur.com/a/DFn4gb3

View: https://imgur.com/a/DFn4gb3


In the subsequent three videos, I continued to refine my thumbnails and experimented with curious titles, but again, the response was underwhelming.

https://imgur.com/a/g9KJ3KC

View: https://imgur.com/a/g9KJ3KC


Taking a two-day break, I reflected on my strategy. I wondered if the issue lay in search engine optimization (SEO), so I searched for a high-ranking keyword on vidiq (65 Ranking). After thorough research, I found "Build Resilience 2023" and incorporated it into my thumbnail, title, description, and tags. This video garnered 160 views, not solely due to SEO, but largely because I posted it in r/GetMotivated and received traffic from there.

https://imgur.com/a/8RArk4j

View: https://imgur.com/a/8RArk4j


Next, I tried to find a video that helped a new channel gain its first subscribers. After persistent searching, I discovered "Zen Stories" and believed this was my breakthrough. Unfortunately, it only received 5 views.

imgur.com

Frustrated and uncertain about my next steps, doubts began to creep in. Perhaps my videos weren't appealing enough, or maybe I'm not cut out for YouTube. I even considered if the YouTube algorithm had a vendetta against me. However, I decided to give it one more shot, pouring my heart and soul into a video. After over 20 hours of editing, thorough research, scripting, voice-over recording, and creating one of my best thumbnails yet, it only reached 22 views.

I would genuinely appreciate it if you could watch the video and give me your honest feedback.

imgur.com

I'm not saying I'm quitting YouTube, but there are aspects that perplex me. For instance, my views are greater than my impressions, which doesn't align logically. It seems as though the YouTube algorithm isn't actively promoting my videos. On a positive note, my audience retention sits at 53%, a respectable figure for a channel with only 5 subscribers.

imgur.com

imgur.com

Please let me know your thoughts. Are we, as new YouTube creators, doomed to struggle? Does success on the platform rely on sheer luck?

Your videos are very well produced. It seems like you haven't persevered long enough. It takes years of hard work and consistency to get big. Don't Give Up.

 

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[Nazca]

Any update?