Building A Personal Brand on YouTube in 2022

[Matt Lee]

There is never a perfect time to build anything. You must start when you don't know how to start. Only then can you know what the next steps are. Does it make logical sense? No.

It's circular logic, does the chicken come first or the egg?

facepalm, who the hell knows? And why does it matter Karen?

So, is it dumb to build a personal brand on YouTube in 2022? I think it's dumb only if you think it's dumb or let people convince you it's dumb.

Now, who's the big dummy? YOU for listening to others or YOU for not trying because of self-doubt?

I see others saying it's too saturated on YouTube to become successful. The damn loser I was, believed it too. But I think it's a big excuse and a great filter for those who don't believe in themselves fully. Not believing in yourself fully is the worst crime against yourself.

I've been on that end for a long time and it does not feel good.

There is never a better time to create something great on the internet. There is always room for something great. The only thing that is holding you(or rather me..) back is the mindset and beliefs. Think about this "competition" and "saturation" as a way for you to stand out if you can offer something AMAZING.

This is my mindset right now. I believe that my work can touch many lives because I will make GREAT valuable work. I might not have the skills yet, but I will put in the time to develop those skills. I will not stop until I reach, well there is no end .

My name is Matt by the way.

So far I've posted 2 videos on YouTube. Have 8 Subscribers. And a total of 206 views. I'm almost finished with my 3rd video.

I know, it's not a lot. But I'm in this for the long game. Numbers don't mean anything to me(although it does make me feel good shortly). It's all about momentum. I don't give a damn how fast my channel grows at the moment because the right people will find my channel when they do as I provide value. I cannot control when my audience will grow, but I can control how I will improve my content.

Reading threads on here, I understand growth happens when I'm consistent and have a system in place to pump out amazing useful, impactful, and life-changing content.

My plan is to post 2-4 videos a month. They're highly edited and cinematic so it takes a bit of time at the moment. It's an experience thing as far as I know because the more I produce, some systems will become streamlined. Faster, Better, AWEESOMEr videos will be produced MUCH quicker.

I'm doing no self-promotion at the moment, because it makes no sense to push content when you can build content that naturally pulls.

With all that being said, I've heard back from the market, if ever so slightly.
Imagine thousands, if not millions, of these people are waiting for you to enter their lives and change it for the better.

 

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[BigRomeDawg]

Awesome. What's your goal for the channel?

 

[Andy Black]

There is never a perfect time to build anything. You must start when you don't know how to start. Only then can you know what the next steps are. Does it make logical sense? No.

It's circular logic, does the chicken come first or the egg?

facepalm, who the hell knows? And why does it matter Karen?

So, is it dumb to build a personal brand on YouTube in 2022? I think it's dumb only if you think it's dumb or let people convince you it's dumb.

Now, who's the big dummy? YOU for listening to others or YOU for not trying because of self-doubt?

I see others saying it's too saturated on YouTube to become successful. The damn loser I was, believed it too. But I think it's a big excuse and a great filter for those who don't believe in themselves fully. Not believing in yourself fully is the worst crime against yourself.

I've been on that end for a long time and it does not feel good.

There is never a better time to create something great on the internet. There is always room for something great. The only thing that is holding you(or rather me..) back is the mindset and beliefs. Think about this "competition" and "saturation" as a way for you to stand out if you can offer something AMAZING.

This is my mindset right now. I believe that my work can touch many lives because I will make GREAT valuable work. I might not have the skills yet, but I will put in the time to develop those skills. I will not stop until I reach, well there is no end .

My name is Matt by the way.

So far I've posted 2 videos on YouTube. Have 8 Subscribers. And a total of 206 views. I'm almost finished with my 3rd video.

I know, it's not a lot. But I'm in this for the long game. Numbers don't mean anything to me(although it does make me feel good shortly). It's all about momentum. I don't give a damn how fast my channel grows at the moment because the right people will find my channel when they do as I provide value. I cannot control when my audience will grow, but I can control how I will improve my content.

Reading threads on here, I understand growth happens when I'm consistent and have a system in place to pump out amazing useful, impactful, and life-changing content.

My plan is to post 2-4 videos a month. They're highly edited and cinematic so it takes a bit of time at the moment. It's an experience thing as far as I know because the more I produce, some systems will become streamlined. Faster, Better, AWEESOMEr videos will be produced MUCH quicker.

I'm doing no self-promotion at the moment, because it makes no sense to push content when you can build content that naturally pulls.

With all that being said, I've heard back from the market, if ever so slightly.View attachment 44702
Imagine thousands, if not millions, of these people are waiting for you to enter their lives and change it for the better.

Well done and good luck.

Thread added here:

• [Master List] YouTube Progress Threads & Chat Thread

 

[ElDiablo]

There is never a perfect time to build anything. You must start when you don't know how to start. Only then can you know what the next steps are. Does it make logical sense? No.

It's circular logic, does the chicken come first or the egg?

facepalm, who the hell knows? And why does it matter Karen?

So, is it dumb to build a personal brand on YouTube in 2022? I think it's dumb only if you think it's dumb or let people convince you it's dumb.

Now, who's the big dummy? YOU for listening to others or YOU for not trying because of self-doubt?

I see others saying it's too saturated on YouTube to become successful. The damn loser I was, believed it too. But I think it's a big excuse and a great filter for those who don't believe in themselves fully. Not believing in yourself fully is the worst crime against yourself.

I've been on that end for a long time and it does not feel good.

There is never a better time to create something great on the internet. There is always room for something great. The only thing that is holding you(or rather me..) back is the mindset and beliefs. Think about this "competition" and "saturation" as a way for you to stand out if you can offer something AMAZING.

This is my mindset right now. I believe that my work can touch many lives because I will make GREAT valuable work. I might not have the skills yet, but I will put in the time to develop those skills. I will not stop until I reach, well there is no end .

My name is Matt by the way.

So far I've posted 2 videos on YouTube. Have 8 Subscribers. And a total of 206 views. I'm almost finished with my 3rd video.

I know, it's not a lot. But I'm in this for the long game. Numbers don't mean anything to me(although it does make me feel good shortly). It's all about momentum. I don't give a damn how fast my channel grows at the moment because the right people will find my channel when they do as I provide value. I cannot control when my audience will grow, but I can control how I will improve my content.

Reading threads on here, I understand growth happens when I'm consistent and have a system in place to pump out amazing useful, impactful, and life-changing content.

My plan is to post 2-4 videos a month. They're highly edited and cinematic so it takes a bit of time at the moment. It's an experience thing as far as I know because the more I produce, some systems will become streamlined. Faster, Better, AWEESOMEr videos will be produced MUCH quicker.

I'm doing no self-promotion at the moment, because it makes no sense to push content when you can build content that naturally pulls.

With all that being said, I've heard back from the market, if ever so slightly.View attachment 44702
Imagine thousands, if not millions, of these people are waiting for you to enter their lives and change it for the better.

Hey @Matt Lee!

It's cool to see that you decided to take action and learn as you go. It's even better that you're already creating an audience, even with few videos.

I'm also in a similar position, as I also decided to start creating content this year. I also had similar before I started, specially about my capacity to create quality content that could compete with more established channels.

It takes time to get good at something new, but I believe is worth it in the long run.

I may be overstretching this idea, but I think that when you leverage media, you get an audience with insights regarding more accurate market needs.

Hopefully there's someone in the forum that has done something similar, and with whom we can give something of value in exchange for some guidance

P.D. What's the name of your channel?

 

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[Matt Lee]

Awesome. What's your goal for the channel?

The direction is creating an effective system for high-production videos on evergreen contents: money, power, and health. Effective system = easier to be consistent. And consistency will build momentum.

The numerical goal is 100 subscriber by December. From how I see things, growth is pretty asymmetric if I improve on every video.

It will be my own game of leveling up and grinding for these numbers. 100, 200, 300, 500, 1K etc…

Well done and good luck.

Thank You Andy.

I'm also in a similar position, as I also decided to start creating content this year.

All the best.

P.D. What's the name of your channel?

I don’t find it relevant to insert the channel at the moment. Maybe down the line just not now. No reason other than I don’t think it’s fitting.

I want my updates on here to be unbiased by the direct viewers coming from the forum. They’ll be organic and raw. It’s more challenging this way too, so every number of subscriber I get will mean more

P.S thanks for replying you three.

 

[Mikkel]

I haven't been around social media as much recently, so I don't know all the most relavant social media channels.

Have you though about posting clips of your two previous videos on social medial channels that are built for new people to find you?

Each social media app tends to be good/bad at different things:
Content
Discovery
Community Building
etc

Youtube is great for building quality content and building a community due to its long format but not so great for discovery, meaning new people finding your content.

I am not a fan of Tik Tok for many reasons, however, for the sake if this example, Tik Tok is built to help push huge volume of new and unique content to a bunch of people even if they are not following you. Using social media that is strong with discovery can be massively benificial to any youtuber.

Don't rely on Youtube to help gain new subscribers.Use youtube as your central hub to keep and maintain your community.

 

[Andy Black]

I haven't been around social media as much recently, so I don't know all the most relavant social media channels.

Have you though about posting clips of your two previous videos on social medial channels that are built for new people to find you?

Each social media app tends to be good/bad at different things:
Content
Discovery
Community Building
etc

Youtube is great for building quality content and building a community due to its long format but not so great for discovery, meaning new people finding your content.

I am not a fan of Tik Tok for many reasons, however, for the sake if this example, Tik Tok is built to help push huge volume of new and unique content to a bunch of people even if they are not following you. Using social media that is strong with discovery can be massively benificial to any youtuber.

Don't rely on Youtube to help gain new subscribers.Use youtube as your central hub to keep and maintain your community.

Makes sense. I'm pulling out YouTube shorts from a 90 minute workshop and will likely direct people to the full workshop.

 

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[Matt Lee]

Have you though about posting clips of your two previous videos on social medial channels that are built for new people to find you?

I have not at the moment because I believe I must put my efforts where it counts(creating a strong catalogue of content and building momentum). Once I get a hang of a format and system where I can produce consistency 8-10 minute videos of quality, I will look into 30 seconds short-form.

I think the ideal system would have me post consistent long form (2-4 times a week) and have a team turning the long form into shorts.

As of now, it divides up the time that I can use to focus on the next video since I’m a single man team. I haven’t gotten into the rhythm of posting consistently yet, as my systems are still flawed and have rooms for improvement. So the more I produce, the better I’ll get, the faster I’ll be, and the easier it is to look from a birds eye view so I can streamline.

 

[Andy Black]

the more I produce, the better I’ll get, the faster I’ll be, and the easier it is to look from a birds eye view so I can streamline.

I'm thinking the same, hence contemplating just doing shorts for the moment. It's easier to create a short, and maybe I can even do one a day.

 

[Mikkel]

Once I get a hang of a format and system where I can produce consistency 8-10 minute videos of quality, I will look into 30 seconds short-form.

Consistency on social media like youtube is critical. I agree, build your system, and make sure it can be executed properly. Just don't get hung up on making this perfect. If you focus too long on the quality and not enough time reaching new people, you might burn out. Also, you are missing opportunities as social media is big on sharing and reposting videos. If you make awesome videos and only a couple of people are watching them that would be unfortunate.

As of now, it divides up the time that I can use to focus on the next video since I’m a single man team.

If you are making 8-10 minute videos, there should be a few 10-30 second clips that have already been edited that you can use to post on Tik Tok(or some other social media app). This might take an extra 15 minutes of your time, but the returns might be outsized.

 

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[ElDiablo]

All the best.

Thanks, you too!

I don’t find it relevant to insert the channel at the moment. Maybe down the line just not now. No reason other than I don’t think it’s fitting.

I want my updates on here to be unbiased by the direct viewers coming from the forum. They’ll be organic and raw. It’s more challenging this way too, so every number of subscriber I get will mean more

P.S thanks for replying you three.

Got it.
Let us know when you hit another milestone and/or have an established audience.

 

[DavidePaco00]

There is never a perfect time to build anything. You must start when you don't know how to start. Only then can you know what the next steps are. Does it make logical sense? No.

It's circular logic, does the chicken come first or the egg?

facepalm, who the hell knows? And why does it matter Karen?

So, is it dumb to build a personal brand on YouTube in 2022? I think it's dumb only if you think it's dumb or let people convince you it's dumb.

Now, who's the big dummy? YOU for listening to others or YOU for not trying because of self-doubt?

I see others saying it's too saturated on YouTube to become successful. The damn loser I was, believed it too. But I think it's a big excuse and a great filter for those who don't believe in themselves fully. Not believing in yourself fully is the worst crime against yourself.

I've been on that end for a long time and it does not feel good.

There is never a better time to create something great on the internet. There is always room for something great. The only thing that is holding you(or rather me..) back is the mindset and beliefs. Think about this "competition" and "saturation" as a way for you to stand out if you can offer something AMAZING.

This is my mindset right now. I believe that my work can touch many lives because I will make GREAT valuable work. I might not have the skills yet, but I will put in the time to develop those skills. I will not stop until I reach, well there is no end .

My name is Matt by the way.

So far I've posted 2 videos on YouTube. Have 8 Subscribers. And a total of 206 views. I'm almost finished with my 3rd video.

I know, it's not a lot. But I'm in this for the long game. Numbers don't mean anything to me(although it does make me feel good shortly). It's all about momentum. I don't give a damn how fast my channel grows at the moment because the right people will find my channel when they do as I provide value. I cannot control when my audience will grow, but I can control how I will improve my content.

Reading threads on here, I understand growth happens when I'm consistent and have a system in place to pump out amazing useful, impactful, and life-changing content.

My plan is to post 2-4 videos a month. They're highly edited and cinematic so it takes a bit of time at the moment. It's an experience thing as far as I know because the more I produce, some systems will become streamlined. Faster, Better, AWEESOMEr videos will be produced MUCH quicker.

I'm doing no self-promotion at the moment, because it makes no sense to push content when you can build content that naturally pulls.

With all that being said, I've heard back from the market, if ever so slightly.View attachment 44702
Imagine thousands, if not millions, of these people are waiting for you to enter their lives and change it for the better.

Hello!

Can You link Your youtube channel please? I'm curious!

Also, I don't think it's about uqantify, but it's more about quality...

Let me explain...

aIf You offer a seervice, You can earn good money even a few hundred subs.

You see,

it's not about numbers, but the quality and engagment of each one of subscribers.


How many people subscribe to a channel, without whatching it's content ever again?

You see what I'm trying to say here?

Algorithms are going to count less and less, gotta work on the quality of the work , think of You as an artist, not a content creator.

Hope that helps,

Davide

 

[Matt Lee]

I'm approaching the end of this 3rd video. Finished the thumbnail. About to finish exporting the video.

My goal by the end of today is getting this video published, polish my next video script, and film. Ideally, I'll be able to complete 1-2 minute of editing today and we'll see how it goes. I'm aiming to publish this next video around the same time next week.

SO far my process looks like this.

Pick a topic(evergeen topics: money, power, and health) that solves a problem either for someone else or myself.

Free write script nonstop following the 3 act story guide line(beginning, middle, end). The way I've been thinking about it is walking the audience through a journey of struggle. Start off with the person in a pitt. Then describe the process/guide that will get him out if he follows it, or (plot twist) he stays in there.

I've been doing 2-3 revisions and outlining motion graphics that come to my head as I go.

Script polished, great. Now comes the filming. I read my script and record myself(video+audio) as many time as it takes to have a great flow in the video. I find that flow is everything, because you will sound like a passionate person and not monotonous.

Once the video+audio is recorded, I send the audio into Adobe Audition. This is where I trim out uhms and ahs. I also adjust my voice with a preset I created to remove background noise and create a smoother and bassed voice.

Next is using Adobe Premier Pro to assemble the meaty chunks: the enhanced audio, A-roll(my face talking), and B-roll(motion graphics or visualizers). I like to alternate between A roll and B roll. A roll is usually when I want to emphasis a point and B roll is when I want to build up a point.

Premier Pro is a great place to assemble in my opinion but not so much animating. I like to segment what I have to edit in 1-2 minute chunks and upload it into Adobe After Effects.

I create as many segments in PP as it takes and edit them in AE until I reach the end of the timeline.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Things I keep in mind while animating:

Always have something moving in the background. Either something scaled up or scaled down. Something wiggling or rotating. It doesn't matter, just make sure to have motion in every cut. Dead silence is the DEATH of attention!

If you run out of ideas for visualizer, use a moving background + subtitle.

Always ask how can I make this more interesting.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After the video editing is finished, I follow up with music and sound design.

I'll have to create a few more projects to give you guys a clear guide. Much of what I'm doing now is intuitive.

This is the best tutorial I watched when I looked into sound design.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwksKUJSZ9s&t=70s&ab_channel=MrBrynnorth



Cheers.

 

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[Martin Z]

There is never a perfect time to build anything. You must start when you don't know how to start. Only then can you know what the next steps are. Does it make logical sense? No.

It's circular logic, does the chicken come first or the egg?

facepalm, who the hell knows? And why does it matter Karen?

So, is it dumb to build a personal brand on YouTube in 2022? I think it's dumb only if you think it's dumb or let people convince you it's dumb.

Now, who's the big dummy? YOU for listening to others or YOU for not trying because of self-doubt?

I see others saying it's too saturated on YouTube to become successful. The damn loser I was, believed it too. But I think it's a big excuse and a great filter for those who don't believe in themselves fully. Not believing in yourself fully is the worst crime against yourself.

I've been on that end for a long time and it does not feel good.

There is never a better time to create something great on the internet. There is always room for something great. The only thing that is holding you(or rather me..) back is the mindset and beliefs. Think about this "competition" and "saturation" as a way for you to stand out if you can offer something AMAZING.

This is my mindset right now. I believe that my work can touch many lives because I will make GREAT valuable work. I might not have the skills yet, but I will put in the time to develop those skills. I will not stop until I reach, well there is no end .

My name is Matt by the way.

So far I've posted 2 videos on YouTube. Have 8 Subscribers. And a total of 206 views. I'm almost finished with my 3rd video.

I know, it's not a lot. But I'm in this for the long game. Numbers don't mean anything to me(although it does make me feel good shortly). It's all about momentum. I don't give a damn how fast my channel grows at the moment because the right people will find my channel when they do as I provide value. I cannot control when my audience will grow, but I can control how I will improve my content.

Reading threads on here, I understand growth happens when I'm consistent and have a system in place to pump out amazing useful, impactful, and life-changing content.

My plan is to post 2-4 videos a month. They're highly edited and cinematic so it takes a bit of time at the moment. It's an experience thing as far as I know because the more I produce, some systems will become streamlined. Faster, Better, AWEESOMEr videos will be produced MUCH quicker.

I'm doing no self-promotion at the moment, because it makes no sense to push content when you can build content that naturally pulls.

With all that being said, I've heard back from the market, if ever so slightly.View attachment 44702
Imagine thousands, if not millions, of these people are waiting for you to enter their lives and change it for the better.

Good stuff man! Most people say that shit that they're gonna their own YouTube channel but they never do. So you're in the 1% that does the work already.

You can also use other platforms like TikTok and IG to direct traffic into your YouTube account. YouTube grows much faster once it gets to let's say 10k or 20k subscribers because of SEO and watch time while Instagram grows faster from 0-10k followers because it's easier to target a certain niche and with Reels, you can grow very fast with the right content.

 

[Cameraman]

I'm approaching the end of this 3rd video. Finished the thumbnail. About to finish exporting the video.

My goal by the end of today is getting this video published, polish my next video script, and film. Ideally, I'll be able to complete 1-2 minute of editing today and we'll see how it goes. I'm aiming to publish this next video around the same time next week.

SO far my process looks like this.

Pick a topic(evergeen topics: money, power, and health) that solves a problem either for someone else or myself.

Free write script nonstop following the 3 act story guide line(beginning, middle, end). The way I've been thinking about it is walking the audience through a journey of struggle. Start off with the person in a pitt. Then describe the process/guide that will get him out if he follows it, or (plot twist) he stays in there.

I've been doing 2-3 revisions and outlining motion graphics that come to my head as I go.

Script polished, great. Now comes the filming. I read my script and record myself(video+audio) as many time as it takes to have a great flow in the video. I find that flow is everything, because you will sound like a passionate person and not monotonous.

Once the video+audio is recorded, I send the audio into Adobe Audition. This is where I trim out uhms and ahs. I also adjust my voice with a preset I created to remove background noise and create a smoother and bassed voice.

Next is using Adobe Premier Pro to assemble the meaty chunks: the enhanced audio, A-roll(my face talking), and B-roll(motion graphics or visualizers). I like to alternate between A roll and B roll. A roll is usually when I want to emphasis a point and B roll is when I want to build up a point.

Premier Pro is a great place to assemble in my opinion but not so much animating. I like to segment what I have to edit in 1-2 minute chunks and upload it into Adobe After Effects.

I create as many segments in PP as it takes and edit them in AE until I reach the end of the timeline.

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Things I keep in mind while animating:

Always have something moving in the background. Either something scaled up or scaled down. Something wiggling or rotating. It doesn't matter, just make sure to have motion in every cut. Dead silence is the DEATH of attention!

If you run out of ideas for visualizer, use a moving background + subtitle.

Always ask how can I make this more interesting.
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

After the video editing is finished, I follow up with music and sound design.

I'll have to create a few more projects to give you guys a clear guide. Much of what I'm doing now is intuitive.

This is the best tutorial I watched when I looked into sound design.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MwksKUJSZ9s&t=70s&ab_channel=MrBrynnorth



Cheers.

I've only just spotted this thread and it looks very promissing. I love the video you share by the way - the intro was like being in the cinema.

I also like your development process for the videos and the idea of producing quality content. It seems to take me around 7-10 hours to produce a 5-10 minute video. What are your timescales?

I then spend another few hours each week watching and more importantly analysing other peoples videos. Learning from others (preferably the best) is important. Learning from the feedback in the YouTube Analytics is vital.

The only better time to start YouTube channel than today is yesterday.

Keep going and posting updates. Your attitude is a breath of fresh air.

 

[Matt Lee]

You guys are giving me great ideas on short-forms videos. Thank You.

My thought process is this at the moment: long form, build a kick-a$$ catalogue, solve problems with my videos.

Although it will take a while for the audience to grow, the right people will come and they will love the work.
Either they love it or hate it, I'm only concern with those who will become fans. It's these people that I'm creating videos for.

The proposition I'm thinking over: Get eyes on whatever catalogue I have currently via short-forms, create fast-food type of content(fast cut, quick paced, 30 second videos, targets short-attention span individuals) to attract an audience, then direct the audience to the channel.

I love this idea, I can envision the channel growing very quickly with this method. I only have one thought against it.

Assuming my catalogue is a bit bigger, 10-20+ videos, I will have a place to direct the traffic. Right now, my catalogue is 3 videos.

Do you see what I'm getting at?

If I have a strong catalogue then short-form videos will be AMAZING. Because some viewers from the shorts will watch my other long-form videos.

Because I have nothing to promote at the moment, the audience(coming from shorts) will expect to either see MORE short or see that I don't have consistent content and leaves.

Let me know if I have holes in this thought process.

What are your timescales?

Still new to editing and creating motion graphics and the stuff in between. The type of video I want to create takes quite a bit of time too. Roughly 30-40 hours if not more.

To give you an example and a clearer picture of quality, I take many elements I find amazing from the channel Jake Tran, Lemmino, internet historian, and James Jani. Not a lot of the things from these quality over quantity channel can be replicate in 7-10 hours of work(at least right now with myself as the only person scripting, filming, editing). I can see how presets and templates can be used to speed things up, and even then it still takes time to map out what goes where.

These channels offers the goal of how much quality I want to bring to audience.

It'll be super cool to reach the point where my videos leave the viewers flabbergasted by the quality and actionable advices that's not filled with fluff.

 

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[Andy Black]

You guys are giving me great ideas on short-forms videos. Thank You.

My thought process is this at the moment: long form, build a kick-a$$ catalogue, solve problems with my videos.

Although it will take a while for the audience to grow, the right people will come and they will love the work.
Either they love it or hate it, I'm only concern with those who will become fans. It's these people that I'm creating videos for.

The proposition I'm thinking over: Get eyes on whatever catalogue I have currently via short-forms, create fast-food type of content(fast cut, quick paced, 30 second videos, targets short-attention span individuals) to attract an audience, then direct the audience to the channel.

I love this idea, I can envision the channel growing very quickly with this method. I only have one thought against it.

Assuming my catalogue is a bit bigger, 10-20+ videos, I will have a place to direct the traffic. Right now, my catalogue is 3 videos.

Do you see what I'm getting at?

If I have a strong catalogue then short-form videos will be AMAZING. Because some viewers from the shorts will watch my other long-form videos.

Because I have nothing to promote at the moment, the audience(coming from shorts) will expect to either see MORE short or see that I don't have consistent content and leaves.

Let me know if I have holes in this thought process.

Still new to editing and creating motion graphics and the stuff in between. The type of video I want to create takes quite a bit of time too. Roughly 30-40 hours if not more.

To give you an example and a clearer picture of quality, I take many elements I find amazing from the channel Jake Tran, Lemmino, internet historian, and James Jani. Not a lot of the things from these quality over quantity channel can be replicate in 7-10 hours of work(at least right now with myself as the only person scripting, filming, editing). I can see how presets and templates can be used to speed things up, and even then it still takes time to map out what goes where.

These channels offers the goal of how much quality I want to bring to audience.

It'll be super cool to reach the point where my videos leave the viewers flabbergasted by the quality and actionable advices that's not filled with fluff.

What if your catalogue was of short form videos initially? Of the quality to leave people flabbergasted?

How much quicker can you create a 30s video than a 10 minute video - with the same style and quality?

How often could you then publish?

What advantages would you have publishing 10x more videos?

 

[BigRomeDawg]

That is a lot of time per video. Surely there is some point of diminishing returns on that? Is it possible to create the same impact in 6 hrs per video instead of 30?

I still don't understand your goal. What is the purpose of getting views and subscribers?

 

[Cameraman]

The type of video I want to create takes quite a bit of time too. Roughly 30-40 hours if not more.

That seems like a lot of work.

I would be wary initially of putting in so much effort unless you are getting a lot of traction. If the content is evergreen then it may take off in the future. If not, you could be wasting time that would be better invested in producing additional videos.

Personally, I think most new channels are better off creating more but shorter videos to build a presence (although there will always be exceptions).

The more videos you put out, the more you will learn from feedback and your analytics. It's not enough to just create more content of the same level. You need to constantly raise your standards based on the feedback from your audience.

 

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[Andy Black]

That seems like a lot of work.

I would be wary initially of putting in so much effort unless you are getting a lot of traction. If the content is evergreen then it may take off in the future. If not, you could be wasting time that would be better invested in producing additional videos.

Personally, I think most new channels are better off creating more but shorter videos to build a presence (although there will always be exceptions).

The more videos you put out, the more you will learn from feedback and your analytics. It's not enough to just create more content of the same. You need to constantly raise your standards based on the feedback from your audience.

Also... "Catch mistakes earlier." 60 hours later you realise you did something wrong, or could do something better.

 

[tactfully]

Hey Matt, welcome to the forum. Just wanted to drop my 2 cents here, from doing YouTube for 5 years (2015-2021).

Some useful tools I suggest you look into are SocialBlade, TubeBuddy / VidIQ (I used both but like TB), Photopea which is basically a free browser-based PS. I used Sony Vegas Pro and Movie Studio 16 but heard good things from Premiere Pro, never used it as I don’t like monthly subscriptions, prefer pay once and forget. If you’re looking for music, YouTube’s library + free YouTube music compilations are a good start and I recommend Epidemic Sound later on. Thumbnail wise I suggest you look into Thumbnail Packs, basically a collection of things to make your life easier such as arrows, fonts you can load into PS etc, which you can usually find for FREE or get by paying $2-5 / creating your own.

Moreover, something to keep in mind that I as a YouTuber and someone who watched a lot of videos knows, what you feel when you are recording can transfer into video. If you feel anxious or fidgety, people notice that through the face or voice. People want to see / hear someone they can look up to. It’s something hard to explain but it turned me off sometimes when I was watching a video.

I currently don’t do YouTube for various reasons such as being burned out, it not following CENTS and I don’t want to be on YouTube and just pump content because I need to. When I’m looking for videos on any topic, especially money, stocks etc nowadays as a viewer, so many people just pump videos that are 8-10 mins, whatever, that don’t have any value and are just a time waste. But they have to keep pumping them because of their schedule etc. I saw it with Graham Stephan, I just stopped watching him because he does a lot of clickbait and waffling to make a video that has no need.

Anyway, I see a lot of people write here about doing YouTube but not a lot of people mention how, in my opinion it fails CENTS. You don’t control much on YouTube and anytime you could be striked, change of policies, or they change the ad revenue system. Entry is VERY EASY, to the point that my little sister can make a channel and post random stuff. The need is subjective and tbh you have a very big selection of what to watch on YouTube. Time is also something that’s mixed as you are the brand of the channel unless it’s a cash cow channel / no face, fully outsourced. If you’re like MrBeast, MrBallen, Kwebbelkop, you’re the face of the channel so detaching yourself is very hard, especially to make an exit. The one thing that is solid is Scale because YouTube handles everything from traffic, security, maintenance etc. As someone who currently hosts some websites, I can tell you it’s not as easy as it sounds and people attempted to overload my server, daily attempts of admin password cracking etc.

YouTube is all about CONTENT and if you have good content people will come anyway. Just keep the above in mind and take full advantage of monetization as you have TONS of ways to make money. Merch, Ads, Sponsorships, Affiliate marketing, Courses, Mentoring, Donations, YouTube monthly Membership, funnel to your website. Also, I would suggest to have a look into YouTube’s policies and keep them in mind, such as the change for mid-roll ads being allowed for 8 min vids instead of 10, a while back.

I also sent you a DM with my discord username if you want to add me and we can talk, give advice and help each other on our journeys, keep each other accountable and on track.

-Mike

 

[Matt Lee]

Quick update.

The last video brought the channel from 8 subscriber ->18 subscribers and 206 views ->451 views. The video is still pulling in numbers everyday so I'm not sure when the traffic will cease. It's looking pretty good though.

I'm currently finishing up the 4th video. It's long overdue and I missed the deadline twice. My aim is to get published by 9/6.

With the trends I'm seeing with the 4 videos, I will push myself to publish 1 video a week at 8-10 minutes length, perhaps shorter. By the end of this December I will have a catalogue of 20 videos.

The more video I have in this YouTube machine, the better the odds that one of them will pick up traction and blow up.

With the missing deadlines in mind, I think I got covid, a bad flu sometime, or drank too much lake water after recording the video. For the past 2 weeks, I couldn't sleep right. I looked like a damn zombie despite sleeping 8-10 hours. Like WTF? Then there's eating too many carbohydrates. Didn't journal and losing sight of my daily to-do lists.

I'm getting back to the basic: sleep early and get up early, eat 1 meal, lift/stretch, knowing what I need to do everyday, and work/research whenever I can.

My point here is shit happens and I either mope around crying about wasted time or move forward. Just because shit happens does not give me an excuse to cease momentum. Now is an awesome time to get back to the basic basic basic.

So here we go.

Final note, when I was feeling like shit the past 2 weeks, I wrote out and brainstorm the next 6 videos while being in be. One of them has some good odds at picking up traction. How do I know?

I'll write more about it when times come,

Back to work.

 

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[Nopk]

Hey Matt,
first congratulations on that success!

I hope that it went according to plan afterwards.
It is very inspirational and interesting to see your thoughts throughout your posts, as i'm right now also in hte process of starting a channel.

And we words about routine, to pick yourself back up are very true. I'm currently in quarantine
and also strictly have to stick to it, or the monotonous days will turn unproductive.

Looking forward to hear more from you.

 

[Matt Lee]

Just finished the video and thumbnail, 2 days earlier than expected.

Will publish soon today. It's crazy how much stuff you can get done when you eliminate the need for snacking, carbohydrates, social media, and porn. Lifting first thing in the morning helps too. Knowing your goals helps too. Knowing what you want and who you are helps too.

It feels good, better than all these cheap thrills, when you can have the ability to create something from nothing. When you internalize that you CAN create something from nothing. And you will do it. And not a single being can stop you.

That aside, here's some food for thoughts that I learned while wrapping up my 4th video.

1) Overlaying layers & sound is a cheat code. You can make a boring scene 10x more interesting simply by slamming in some dust/particles/grunge. Ambient noises and SFX also do some heavy lifting when it comes to making a boring scene stand out.

Ex. if it's a serious scene, either remove music entirely & use wind noises. If it's a scene of you mocking some dumb ideas, use cricket noises.

I'm consistently in the mindset of "how can I win this war on the viewer's attention"?

2) It's not about the idea all the time. It's about the execution. MJ says this but I didn't see it first handed until recently. While I was sick, I researched quite a lot on channels with quality contents. Sometimes, the idea and script suck a$$ but the narration, editing, and pace of the video kept me glue to my seat.

How can you make use this?

Take it easy on yourself if your skills is not up to par with the vision you want to bring to the viewers. In art and in anything creative business wise, there is a discrepancy between the creator's skill and his grand vision at the beginning. It's okay, because the gap will bridge when you are consistent and work nonstop to pump out better product each time.

Momentum baby.

Even if you suck and sound boring at times, EDIT EDIT EDIT and jokes can turn everything around.

F*** YOU MATT YOU LIAR, I'm TRUELY boring!

If you are dull and boring, jokes on you, that is pretty funny too if you know how to use zooms and rainy overlays.


3) Trust your gut. Believe in your content before anyone can believe it. I think this sound pretty cliché, but it is something growing on me every single day.

I believe in my work. This is the very same no bullshit content that's entertaining I wish I had when I was 18. The only thing is I was a pussy back then and was too afraid to actually scratch my own itch. Seeing that I'm improving on each video helps greatly with this too.

Every video the views are increasing by multiples of 2. Dislikes are coming in too! That's how you know you are doing something right when people start to criticize and try to make you feel bad. Feels bad for them, I'm in it to win it and this is only the beginning.

 

[Matt Lee]

Quick update.

Wrapping up my next video. Lots of things are happening behind the scene in terms of planning and actually getting stuff done. I'm planning to expand my catalogue to 20+ videos by the end of December. With the same speed, I will have more than 60+ video by the end of next year.

Whatever it takes.

I'm finishing up my 6th right now. And have plans and script for the next few.

A big argument I've seen people have is not being able to monetize a following or not knowing how.

Here is a quick generalization of what I have in mind that I pulled from a conversation I had with a Fastlaner.

My monetization strategy is dependent on getting really good at delivering consistent GREAT content and nail down a assembly line like system, something I can have control. Then create the best service and product I can in either of 1 of 2 category, a skill course that teaches how to use my system and strategy in their own niche or an agency that coach or create content for others. Both is entirely online based. The first option is slightly more hands off because it's basically an online course that takes initial time investment. The second one is more of an agency styled approach and offers a lot more ways to upsell and build trust.

Depending on how the audience love the brand, you can surely come with a slogan and sell merch, bumper stickers, etc.

I'm NOT worrying about monetization at the moment. But this is my plan.

When people see that my content is valuable, they will hand me money in exchange for what I can bring into their life. Worrying about monetization when you're not creating anything valuable is … well like begging with nothing to offer. You have to do the math work, see that your odds increases the longer you stay in the game, commit to the game, believe in yourself fully, and see your vision is possible before any cent comes into your bank account. That's what I think.

The idea of an assembly line also lets you hire out very quickly, create time for more creative work, and lower the cost of the hiring.

Example. A rough sketch looks something like this.

Either you write the script or have someone else write it. You can do the voice over, your voice is a must unless you want to become a media studio, or a sell out. Have someone come up with animations and motion graphics. Have another pick out B-rolls for certain scenes, preferably he loves watching movies and know what scene to pick to have the best impact. Have another pick music and SFX. Then have someone to create the animations in AE. Then have someone do the sound design. Lastly, there's the polisher, someone that comes around to clean things up and make sure cuts are on beat of music. You could also hire someone to do your thumbnails and optimize your titles.

I'm doing all of this myself right now and I'm looking to get damn good at it so I know who I'm hiring.

I think there's a big market for those who can educated none BS content that's entertaining. Imagine the next Mr. Beast in self-help. Streamlined, consistent, and damn impactful. That's what I want to offer in value.

I'm not sure if you know the youtuber Jake Tran, Lemmino, or Internet Historian, but it'd be damn cool to see those type of content in the form of no BS self-improvement videos, consistently.

Money. Indoctrinations. Lies we're been fed. Pride. The value of knowing what you want. There's no "rule"... Etc.

You INC. baby. Whatever you think will be helpful, create value, put everything on the table for the work, and make sure you always consider people time.

Other than that I think it just comes down to time, effort, and adjustments.

Last nugget: I've learned a lot more about saving presets and plugins. My work speed has significantly increase because of being able to drop an effect with two clicks! If you've been using a specific style of animation in AE or Premier, consider saving it as a preset so you don't have to redo everything the next time. Saves you time.

 

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[Matt Lee]

Hey everyone, it's been 3 months since the last update. Here's a quick rundown of things and a chance for me to document the progress so far.

The channel sits at 130 subscribers with close to 200 hours of watch time. All of the growth is organic.



As you can see lots of those numbers came in the previous 30 days even though I posted less than usual. If I'm being honest with you, most of it came just last week from 1 video.

One of the videos I posted last month that I thought was not performing well got picked up by the algorithm.

Here's what I did differently when I posted that video.

1) Instead of pulling content out of thin air like I usually do, I picked a topic that has worked in the past for my channel and elaborated on it. Thankfully I've built a large enough catalog to see what has worked and what has not.

Most of my videos hover around 50-100 views primarily because they're all organic traffics.

There were 3 videos that hover above 100 views. Of the 3 the highest video 1 sat at around 400 views, so I chose the topic in that video to make their previous video on.

And it worked.

The idea here is, if there is a type of content that worked better than the rest, then I should farm it out until I reach a loyal fan base to test new content on. I've been trying new content in the last few months, throwing things to see what sticks, and I neglected this idea.

This is what I'll be doing for my next couple of videos, farming the hell out of what worked!

Something to remember(that I wrote to myself): If X followers watch your content for A, keep making A content even if you want to make B content until you have a significant number of followers to test new content on. With a small number of people following your brand, diversifying the topic does nothing but send out mixed signals. Confused viewers don't return and if you're a small channel, no returning viewers no positive feedback. No positive feedback = dessert of desertion.

2) Run your titles and script through chat-GPT and ask for feedback.

This has been one of the most useful things I've incorporated into my workflow. Basically, instead of having 1 title or 1 version of a video script, ask C-GPT with a prompt like
"Hey, C-GPT. This is the script of my youtube video on ___. (input)/br

Here is the current title of the video ___. /br

Can you give me some suggestions on 1) how to make a viral title or 2) some better ways to improve the video script for youtube/br
"

to brainstorm at least 3 titles or revise your script. The AI should give you some direction, but it is your job to judge what will make sense and work best for you. Keep in my the AI will give you a prompt saying that virality has many factors influencing it, but it will still give you suggestions.

Having a proofreader and a thing to give you free feedback is an awesome opportunity you need to monopolize.

You could brainstorm thumbnail ideas with the AI too, but I haven't done it yet. Bu speaking of thumbnails.

3) WTF THUMBNAILs & open loop titles

So in the past, I treated the thumbnail as a piece of art and made it look really good without thinking about the psychological aspect of it. Big mistake.

The thumbnail should make you go "WTF" and then lead your eyeballs to read the open-loop title.

So do what gets attention.

Bright colors(yellow, green, red, blue). High saturation. Keep the thumbnail simple(3 elements max).

There's this guy named Jay Alto on Twitter that could probably do a better job at explaining the psychology behind this, so you should check him out. I made a Twitter account just to read his threads.

View: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S2xHZPH5Sng&ab_channel=Veritasium


This video also does a really good job of explaining it too.

But the bulk of it is, it's mostly psychology and not so much design. Don't go with what looks good if what looks good will not get clicked on.


---------------------------------------------------------

With these lessons in mind, I would like to push to upload about seven 8-10 minute videos a month. At that pace, I should hit the monetization requirements by June if not sooner.

Breaking the goals down it looks like this.

I can edit 5 minutes a day now. 7 videos will hover around 56-70 hours or 11-14 days of work.

This leaves roughly 15-19 days for scripting and filming.

On paper, it's pretty doable. I'm pretty confident I can pull this off as long as I keep my sleep and health in check.

Anyways, see you next time.

 

[Matt Lee]

Thought I'd write this early update. For anyone following this thread, I think I just tasted real positive feedback from the market.

My channel currently stands at 302 subscribers and 557 hours of watch time. That's literally more than double what I had a few days ago so I can't help but feel excited. Maybe it's beginner's luck, maybe my work is paying off, maybe I need to go at it harder, I'm not entirely sure. There is one thing I'm sure of though. This is what I've wanted since starting this thread and this is a sign that I can make this into something great, creating something that somebody will find value in.

For the past few days, like a kid discovering sweets for the first time, I keep refreshing the stats every now and then and see the numbers going up(this shit is bad for my mental health for sure!). The hourly views went from 1-10 to hovering around 30-130.

The dark side of all this is that stats-checking has an addictive quality to it. I don't have social media so this change of pace literally sent a dopamine explosion in my brain for the past few days. My plan is to budget out checking stats to once every morning or only when I upload or else it'll just become a big distraction. I will not lose sight my the big catch because of comments and numbers.

Another good news is that my latest video sits at 820 views all organically despite only being up for 31 hours. My typical videos usually get 3-10 views on the first day. This if anything is showing that my formula is working or that my videos are starting to get picked up by the algorithm.

I shouldn't be counting my chicks before they hatch so I'll be putting my head down and continuing working until I hit my milestones. I really believe that if I can hold up to 7 videos a month plan, the channel will hit monetization requirements(1,000 subs and 4,000 hours of watch time) by June.

Speaking of which, I gotta sleep and then work more. Stay tuned for the next update,

 

[Matt Lee]

It's the end of January so I thought I write this short update, the channel currently sits at 1,024 subscribers and over 2.6k watch time.

We already hit 1 of the benchmark before June so I'm pretty stoked! It's 1 less thing to think about.

Things are slowly coming together. It's a surreal feeling to see the market responding positively. I'm getting to the point where the rising stats are becoming my new normal so it's not as distracting as I wrote in the last update. If anything, I find peace in the change of pace because I can focus more on creating and producing and not worry about the numbers. This may change in the future if the numbers grow exponentially higher, but I'm sure I'll adjust.

It's a nice feeling to know that more than 1,000 strangers tuned in to what I make and choose to subscribe.

With that being said here's what I'm working on now.

1)keep improving my production quality and nail down a system to create quality content

2)keep a consistent upload and forget about the rest.

For these 2 things to be successful, I'll pay more details to my workflow and schedule. If I can get 2 of these things in check, I will be able to make the whole process smoother and not have to worry about downtime. Ideally, this is something replicable. That's where the bulk of my time will be spent until the next update.

 

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[heavy_industry]

The channel sits at 130 subscribers

My channel currently stands at 302 subscribers

the channel currently sits at 1,024 subscribers

My friend, you are about to enter escape velocity.

It's a surreal feeling to see the market responding positively.

This + looking at a chart displaying the steep upward trajectory of an exponential growth. The best feeling in the world.

I'm so happy for you.

Whatever you are doing, keep doing it.

 

[tactfully]

It's the end of January so I thought I write this short update, the channel currently sits at 1,024 subscribers and over 2.6k watch time.

We already hit 1 of the benchmark before June so I'm pretty stoked! It's 1 less thing to think about.

Things are slowly coming together. It's a surreal feeling to see the market responding positively. I'm getting to the point where the rising stats are becoming my new normal so it's not as distracting as I wrote in the last update. If anything, I find peace in the change of pace because I can focus more on creating and producing and not worry about the numbers. This may change in the future if the numbers grow exponentially higher, but I'm sure I'll adjust.

It's a nice feeling to know that more than 1,000 strangers tuned in to what I make and choose to subscribe.

With that being said here's what I'm working on now.

1)keep improving my production quality and nail down a system to create quality content

2)keep a consistent upload and forget about the rest.

For these 2 things to be successful, I'll pay more details to my workflow and schedule. If I can get 2 of these things in check, I will be able to make the whole process smoother and not have to worry about downtime. Ideally, this is something replicable. That's where the bulk of my time will be spent until the next update.

That's great to hear Matt, keep going!!