Creating a Thriving Personal Brand w/ YouTube - A Journal & A Personal Guide.

[Andy Black]

Damn... hit the nail right on the head with that one.

Perhaps that also explains the lack of energy. In an attempt to cover up the nerves, I tried to have a more relaxed body language which translates to less energy. Cheers for that, Andy!

I've had a few peeks at your Youtube thread as well, but haven't had the time to have a good read through - I'll get to that as soon as possible. Thanks a ton

Use the nerves. Even stand up to have even more energy. Go into “panto mode” and go over the top (in places).

When you look back on it you’ll realise it looks more like you’d expect a presenter to look, and doesn’t look as odd as you think it will.

 

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[Andy Black]

I think you’ll learn good things and pick up good skills working on your personal branding videos.

Just consider this though:

• Gary Vaynerchuk: How to build a personal brand from nothing

 

[Valier]

mate, this thread deserves a lot of attention, wow, I said before but keep smashing it.

1 question, on your recent ‘Money’ video, how did you get around using clips from movies and tv shows? Do you think monetisation will be an issue for that?

Great question!

As far as the fair use guidelines are concerened the way in which I use the movie clips in my videos is fine.

There are also many other channels on YouTube that include movie clips that have been around for a long time and are still monetised, so I don't think it's a huge concern.

However, issues like fair use can have quite a grey area, so there is a slight risk there...

I'm thinking of ways around this, but that's much more down the line, and I'm not too worried about it at the moment.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

Earnings from YT Ad Revenue: £114,900
Earnings from Sponsors: £6,300 (Skillshare)
Earnings from Affiliate Stuff: £720 (Amazon links in description for gear used, books read, and others)
Earnings from Patreon: £2,500
TOTAL: £124,420

Damn! For those not familar with GPB, that's around $170,000 USD.

You still live with the Ps... what have your parents said about your venture? Are you earning more than them?

 

[Valier]

It all happened cause you did the research, made good content, figured out how to use the algorithm correctly, and kept up the work. Your videos are a productocracy, and now you've got raving fans.

Also congrats on 100K subs!
It's been really cool to watch all this unfold over the last few months, I was sub #35 haha. Keep up the good work.

You legend, Tubs!

Aha, yeah - I remember when first starting this thread thinking "damn, looks like it's only Andy that's been reading any of these entries LMAO", and then you chimed in with the support and that gave me a little boost to continue posting.

Super grateful man... and I'm glad that you've seen this whole thing unfold as well

 

[Valier]

Check out this site: www.socialblade.com

You can type in a YouTuber's name & see approximate revenue. Their range given is pretty wide, but would you say it's accurate at all?

Does amount paid vary with the country the youtuber is IN or just the country from ppl watching?

You are the most inspirational poster ive seen on here yet.

19 yrs old.. Already unscripted , and making more than what most adults make person month over their life time- amazing!!

Ah, yes - I'm familiar with socialblade!

I can confidently say that social blade's estimates on a channel's earnings are VERY inaccurate (at least on my part). I don't know what calculations they're making to get their figures, but the earnings of every channel vary so much that it's damn near impossible to accurately predict how much they earn.

And I'm pretty sure that the amount paid varies with the country the people are watching from, not what country the user is in (although I may have to double check on that one!).

And I'm so glad to have been an inspiration to you - not in a million could I have imagined to be in this position right now so soon, and we're only getting started

 

[Valier]

This seems ridiculously high, where are you finding this number?

On the YouTube backend, in your analytics!

 

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[Mario~]

Congratulations! You've been a great student of how YouTube works and I'm glad the algorithm caught up. The content is high quality and very likely to cause the "binge-watch" effect which is one of the main triggers for viral growth on the platform.

I run a 130k+ channel and have built a pretty successful business around it among other things. Happy to share some thoughts with you and help out a young entrepreneur who's in it for the right reasons. Just gave you a follow on IG, my username is mariotomich

Cheers!
-M

 

[Andy Black]

As I already expected, other big YouTubers are noticing James and are now creating videos about him left and right.

@Valier, on top of all the other staggering influence you've exercised on everyone so far, you are also a huge source of inspiration. I mean, the growth you are experiencing on YouTube is almost unheard of.

We all got absolute GOLD on our hands, because, really, all that you need to know to do the same can be found by analyzing James' first posts in this thread as well as his YouTube channel and videos.

Don't wait for his course; do your research and produce.

Good find. I've watched that guy's videos before.

In this particular video he was asking for more information about @Valier's background or journey because he's going to do a video breaking down how James grew his channel.

Sooo...

 

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[Andy Black]

Someone doing a breakdown of how @Valier grew his channel.

A quote that @MJ DeMarco will like is “I didn’t promise easy. I promised fast.”

View: https://youtu.be/Tyvq7F5e0r8

 

[Valier]

Great progress man and videos!

If you don't mind me asking, how are you able to gather all these movie clips? Are they just from Youtube? Torrent?

Any issues with copyright claims? I understand the work you're doing falls under "fair use", but still seems like it can get hairy.

It's a fair concern to have!

I'm slowly starting to adapt my content so that less and less move clips are used, and are instead replaced with animation (and hopefully down the line) 3D models/graphics using Cinema4D (the YT channel Lemmino does this beautifully).

With that being said - I'm still not too worried since there have been countless amounts of YT channels out there that have been doing the same thing for years without any monetisation issues.

 

[Valier]

Great to see that money coming in for you @Valier.
I hope it helps you make more great content and see even bigger growth.
Are you planning on reinvesting anything back into production for now?
(not that it needs it but just curious)

---

Just a quick note on CPM's - making any video that is closely related to a product or service is going to get you very high numbers. I made a quick video on Wix once (not even promoting it) that has a CPM over $100..

View attachment 33535

Wow...

What the f*ck. I had no idea that doing a video on a specific product gave a CPM THAT high. That's incredible.

I can only imagine what some of these kids' toy channels are getting. Thanks for this info @Fox!

As for re-investing back into production: 100% yes.

I don't intend on spending my money on anything other than improving my videos at the moment.

I'm going to be getting a new mic & video camera for sure, and I'm looking to either buy/rent a proper studio to record these videos, or just save up for a house and live/work there as well. That will include some lighting purchases as well.

My biggest issue as of right now is having my bedroom as the "backdrop" for when I physically appear in my videos, not to mention the terrible acoustics of the room. And yet it's still the best room in the house for me to use at the moment... :/


I could also rent a place for the short term, but I'd prefer to just save that money for a deposit.

 

[Valier]

Unexpected to see you doing a vid on Tyler1, my friends and I are pretty big Tyler1 fans. Didn't even get into him for League content, he's just such a good entertainer its fun to watch.

Yeah - I know. It's definitely "out there" comparing it to my content on the channel. I'd already been scripting it and editing it before the channel took off like it has now, and if I could go back I maybe might have picked a different topic to suit my audience more, but I'm super proud of how this one turned out, and it looks like there's no changing now

In one of your first posts you mentioned how important the click-through rate and the playback time are. Would you now confirm that afterwards?

Yes!!

So, I've actually been talking to some other YouTubers on the platform, and the general consensus is:

A click-through-rate of around 10 - 15%, combined with a watch time of 40-50% (depending on the length of the video, of course) is generally the recipe for a video that will be pushed by the algorithm.


Bare in mind though, that as the algorithm continues pushing your video, you can expect the CTR to start decreasing i.e my "Untold Truth about Money" video has a CTR of around 3%, but is still getting thousands of views per hour.

Hope that helps

 

[MJ_Huggles]

This guy is insane. Sets a goal for like 1000 subs smashes 200k. I just turned 21 and I am absolutely terrified of life and ashamed for not being anywhere yet but just looking at this post made me feel great and I don't know if that is a good or bad thing. I finished unscripted like yesterday and applied to fox's course today and I'm so scared yet optimistic right now.

I'm so happy for you tho James, really you deserve all the success in the world. Likable guy and good content. Your video on gurus was my favorite one and the Tyler1 vid looks super hype. I think you're gonna make millions one day and people will be willing to pay you for brand knowledge and such.

Edit: the tyler1 vid is the best vid I've seen on youtube hands down. One of the most captivating docs I've ever seen and easily the best video on branding ever made.

 

[Valier]

Hey @Valier - It is clear in this thread your approach is working and is how growing channels need to be thinking... if you already had a channel with a weekly/daily content approach how do you think you might switch over to this approach?

- Take a break and then relaunch?
- Just start rolling out the new approach and see how it goes?
- New channel or unlist past videos?

I am very tempted to dramatically switch how I have been making/releasing content and wanted to see what your thoughts might be. Thanks.

I guess there's no best answer to this question, but I wouldn't unlist past videos for now (maybe after you've built up more of a catalogue of your newer content).

If I was in your position I would probably just start rolling out the new approach and see how your audience reacts to it!

With that being said, a channel with weekly/daily uploads isn't necessarily a bad thing - it's just a matter of the content being engaging and worth watching that normally means more time spent between uploads.

 

[Mr Cracker]

lolololol, I was just reading this thread again from the very beginning and this caught my eye:

If you're looking for some specific targeted goals, here's my main objective for the year:
Reach 1,000 subscribers by 2021.

If we look at @Valier 's current status we can see:



Overkill!!!

Also, worth noting, this didn't happen in a week, he didn't post his first video and gave up after 2 weeks. This was a ~ 6 month "overnight" success.

 

[Valier]

wow, your growth is absolutely insane!

It just backs up the fact that quality is everything with youtube. Hope you keep updating us with this!

The next update will be uploaded today...

Things have been absoloutely insane, and I've been trying to make sense of it all. I intended to make the next update after the next video upload, but I've got no choice but to make one now, for sure.

Keep an eye out for it in a few hours, my friend

 

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[Valier]

Just curious, as I'm planning out my own channel I'm a bit worried about future copyright strikes. Especially as I, just like you, also want to highlight the 'toxic' sides in certain niches and influencers. What do you know about this and how do you ensure your video won't be taken down? Each and every clip you use under fair use policy can be used by the original creator to make a copyright claim, and from what I've heard YouTube doesn't really bother digging into the matter and simply favors the bigger entity (usually a corporation, but could be one of the guru's you're 'exposing' just as well). Thoughts?

And one more thing, where do you find the inspiration for all the different footage? It's al really relevant to what you're talking about. What is your process for finding relevant footage from previous works?

Huge thanks.

It's always a concern, of course.

YouTube breaks the "C" part of the CENTS framework. But from what I've seen: it's not as grave a concern as you may think it's made out to be.

Many YouTubers have overexaggerated the state of demonisation for sympathy points, and more views (not all, but this is quite common) .

It's true that a "fake guru" ro someone else can come in and try to take down my video...

But I can just as easily dispute that claim, and I'm sure that I'll win out. If not: I make a small video about guru's trying to silence me, and the streisand effect works in my favour.

I often think that the whole fear of being demonitised or copyright striked just prevents people from starting. As long as you make sure you are abiding by the licenses of the music you are using in your video, as long as you are using clips under fair use, you should be fine for the most part.

As for finding the movie footage... yeah, it can sometimes be a gruelling process. Sometimes I might have a scene in mind, and can search for a HD clip of that scene on YouTube and download it from there. Sometimes I just might not have a clip and will have to scour through different movies in order to get something I'm looking for.

 

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[Valier]

You're impacting lives my friend, even mine!

Got this via email...

View attachment 33214

That is amazing!

Ahahaha, well - as I said, I'm glad I've put people on your books.

Just like Andy said, it's a perfect example of a productocracy.

I was paid a grand total of NOTHING from MJ to not only reccomend his books on three of my videos, but also dedicate an entire video to it - all because I believed in the messages and principles of those books and thought it was worth sharing and creating a video about.

Productocracy for sure.

 

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[CBuck03]

Just came here to say that if it wasn’t for James’ amazing videos on YouTube and his recommendation to read The Millionaire Fastlane ... I wouldn’t have found this community!

Keep up the great work!

 

[AdamB]

Agreed, This and the fact that this is a front row seat of a productocracy in action. So far, Valier has mentioned MJ's books in 3 videos which at the moment have around 1.5 million views total. This will probably reach to around 10m+ once he reaches a few mil subscribers with $0 marketing on MJ's part. I can see this cycle being repeated with Valiers channel and fans as well. Shows how important it is to have an *EXCELLENT* product which provides massive value and stands out from the crowd.

I'm seeing so many new users state on their first post that they are here because they heard about the forum in a video that they saw on Youtube.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

It's a fair concern to have!

It is, also of concern is the use of public figure faces, in your thumbnail. There's case-law that says public figures can defend use of their images, especially if used for commercial purposes.

Michael Jordan sued Domincks for using his name and likeness, and it was with good intent.

Jordan says ‘it was never about the money’ after $8.9M jury award

A delighted Michael Jordan said “it was never about the money” Friday night after a federal jury ordered the owners of the defunct supermarket chain Dominick’s to pay him $8.9 mil…

www.chicagotribune.com

This was all they did (and it was favorable.) Considering James is not speaking highly of the two individuals in the thumbnail, my guess is they could bring a case. I'm not a lawyer and I understand that James is in the UK, but there is some above average risk here as opposed to just some standard video.

Nonetheless, this has become one of my favorite threads as I look forward to reading the unfolding story!!!! Congrats on the big first check!

 

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[Fox]

Update 9. Reflection, & My Complete Story [this one is going to be long...]

Well well well, look what came in the post today:
View attachment 33819​

Since I'm almost finished with everything for this next video, and it's been a fairly good day, I figured there's nothing better to do than to tune in to my favourite community, and give you guys another update on things, and reflect on all that's happened.

But I also realise I haven't given you guys a whole lot of context behind everything that I'm doing, why I'm doing it, and what led me to here in the first place.

This one is going to be a long, and I apologise if it feels like I'm rambling, but here it is:

***

I mean it when I say this: without MJ's works, I doubt I would be here right now.


"I WANT TO BE THE WORLD'S BEST ACTOR"​

I dreamed of being an actor. I don't know where this dream initially started out - I think it might have to do with my Mum taking me to theatre classes on a Saturday when I was young to keep me busy with something.

I also loved writing - I can vividly recall my Mum getting me blank notebooks when I was younger (before I even knew how to write properly) and I would just start scribbling lines, imagining what I would be writing about. When we got a computer for the family, I did the same thing on Word - just smashing away at the keyboard, not writing actual coherent sentences, just imagining the story that I was writing.

But by the time I was 11/12, my dreams of being an actor went to the forefront of my mind - I think the catalyst for this was being complimented on my acting ability in drama class, and constant comments like "you should be an actor" that convinced me that I really should be an actor, and that it shouldn't just be a dream.

By the time I was 15, I was taking it far more seriously. I started considering what Drama schools I would audition for, I started learning more about how the industry works, etc etc.

When I was 17 I failed that year to get into drama school, forcing me to take a "gap year". I knew that it was a tough game - the UK has some of the best drama schools in the world, and those were the ones I was going for, it wasn't going to be easy. Thankfully, I was accepted into a Gap Year Diploma course at a reputable Drama School (this would be a one year course designed to help me get into drama school, whilst teaching me more about the craft).

GOING BROKE IN PORTUGAL​

That summer holiday (just before starting the course) I went on a trip with some friends to Portugal. I had around £400 cash, and £600 in my bank account. I came back to the UK with 0 cash, and 15p in my bank account, as well as a broken phone.

I needed money.

And just like that, a desire had sparked that I hadn't really thought about before: a desire to make money. When you want to be an actor, I guess you just accept you'll be broke, until you make it. But now I had lost all my savings in one holiday, and something needed to change.

I started searching online for help, came across people like Gary V who convinced me to sell/flip items on ebay. I first started by selling items in my own room: video games, consoles, etc etc. Then once that was done, I went down to a car boot sale (garage sales of the UK) with a friend and went about looking for items that I could flip for a good profit. After 2-3 months of this, I had about £1000 in my bank account. And suddenly I felt this weird feeling: something like... freedom?

THE FIRST TASTE OF MONEY​

I didn't have to ask my parents for travel money, I didn't have to ask them to buy me clothing items, or any item for that matter. I felt independent. I was hooked to this feeling.

As I started my Drama course and began progressing with it, I grew more and more interest in money, personal finance, and entrepreneurship. Then two things happened: I started listening to what I consider to be bad advice from "fake guru's" who would bombard my YouTube recommendations with dreams of financial freedom, working on the beach, being my own boss, etc etc. I started hating the concept of having a job.

"Make your money work for you" I would often regurgitate, as Kiyoaski had told me. And I continued plowing through the typical personal finance books constantly reccomended to me.

Suddenly the desire to have money turned into desperation. My parents came to this country to give me huge opportunities, I needed to make money to give back to them all that they had given me.

LOSING MY PASSION​

Then the second thing struck: I started to lose my passion for acting. Maybe it was the constant grind of non-stop rehearsing, or maybe the final straw was when I got into the final round of auditions for the Drama School I had so despereately wanted to get into, only to be told "thank you, that's all for now" after I was only JUST beginning to get into the scene for my monologues that I had to perform. Maybe it was realising that I only got into this industry from a childhood dream, and validation from when I was a young teen. That I was only doing this for the fame, and egotistical reasons...

Either way, a combination of these two things led me to desperately seeking the help from these "guru's" online. I couldn't afford their courses, so I pirated them, and it led me to wanting to create a Social Media Marketing Agency.

I called up a good friend of mine asking if he wanted to start this "venture" with me together, and he agreed. We had dreams of making so much money from it. "It'll be easy" is what I had told myself, "just 10 clients paying us £1,000 a month means a six-figure salary".

THE BOOK(s) THAT CHANGED EVERYTHING​

Then I picked up a book that changed everything for me.

This "Millionaire Fastlane " book had been recommended a few times now, and although I didn't like the title and thought it sounded super cheesy and scammy, I decided to make the purchase.

I can still vividly recall being sat on a train where I was about to go and get my acting headshots done, and opening the first page and reading, then continuing to read, then realising that I had stumbled upon a gem.

I started realising the faults in my thinking, and how my mindset surrounding money was so foolishly deluded. And I also felt angry: angry at all the other personal finance books that never talked about something so simple as solving problems in a market, or that you are paid in proportion to your perceived value - why didn't these "business gurus" tell me this? Why did they make me think business is about catching the next fad/trend? Of course, later in the book I realised that they were the ones selling the shovels, MJ's words helped me see that.

Shortly after reading TMF I went on to Unscripted , and enjoyed it just as much.

Around this time I had finally grown to accept that I had lost my passion for acting, and as my drama course concluded for the year, and I said goodbye to my actor friends I went back to my friend who I had started this marketing business with and told him that we needed to take this seriously.

Despite MJ's advice, I felt like I had to try something. I knew that the premise for this business was built on a desire for money, not an attempt to solve anything. And yet I continued with the business because I had nothing else.

We didn't get far - although we tried. We made cold calls, cold emails, set up meetings, but never landed a single paying client in the end. Only a "free-trial" client that ended up ignoring us after we spent a month working on their socials.

It was time to call it quits. He knew it. I knew it. And so we did (this was around October 2019).

SWALLING PRIDE & GETTING A JOB​

From there I swallowed my pride and got a job as a customer service assistant and at a call centre.

It felt good to be earning money again, and the jobs weren't that bad. I met some really nice people. But boy did I hate the idea of doing this for a living.

At the same time, I felt a sense of freedom. Leaving the marketing business allowed me to really start applying what MJ's books taught me and to start looking for an actual problem I could try to solve.

I remember coming to this forum so many times and reading some incredible threads to keep myself motivated during this period. I remember printing out @Envision's thread on how the forum changed his life, and reading it during my lunch breaks feeling inspired and motivated as hell to do something with myself.

NEW IDEAS & BEGINNINGS​

One thing led to another and I found myself with the business idea for Quidemy - an online finnancial learning platform that taught finanncial related subjects in a clear, concise, and digestible way.

As I started progressing with the idea, arond Nov/Dec the idea of starting a YouTube channel popped into my head frequently.

I wanted to "build up my personal brand" I told myself, I wanted to also indirectly promote Quidemy, and I knew the entrepreneurship niche on YouTube was crowded with so much snake oil, bad/misleading advice, and ingenuine people [the problem] - I guess I kinda understood how MJ must have felt seeing all the books about money/finance regurgitating the same slowlane dogma, and feeling as though I wanted to give my own genuine voice into the mix [my solution].

And so, leading up to the creation of the channel I started learning how to edit videos - after finishing a course on Udemy I gathered the bare basics, and just figured I'll learn things as I go along.

STARTING YOUTUBE & GOING ALL IN​

By the end of January I had started creating my first ever video, and was nervous as hell. All I could think about was what people were going to say behind my back ("James is starting a YouTube channel? Ahahaha, good luck wiht that..." etc etc) but I had to brush aside these thoughts and persevere.

Once I uploaded it I breathed a sigh of relief - I had finally gotten the first bit of content out of the way. I was too scared to post the video to my socials at the time, for fear of what people would say, I chose not to. I only sent it to a few friends. And then they started to share the video on their own socials, and overall people were supportive (contrary to my irrational fears of being mocked).

The story from here on has already been recorded in this thread.

I also had gotten a job as an estate agent after that first video was released, a job that I burnt out on within 2 weeks because I hated it so much. The people were fine, the job was fine, but I hated every working hour thinking "I could spend this time working on Quidemy, or a YouTube video".

My least favourite video on the channel is my Instagram video - just because of my mental state when filming it: I had come back from a day of work, it was late at night, I was feeling incredibly stressed, and yet I forced myself to make that video because I knew I couldn't make an excuse to delay it any longer.

Then I quit the estate agency job, lockdown happened, my focus turned to the channel and Quidemy - and shortly afterwards I dropped Quidemy and focused solely on the channel realising that it combined both my business side, and my creative side together almost perfectly.

IT ALL HAPPENED FOR A REASON?​

Leaving us to the crazy events that transpired over the last month and a half, and just an overall realisation of "wow, there were so many seemingly unrelated events, hobbies, or 'faliures' that have brought me to where I am right now":

- Always loving to write.
- Practicing the craft of acting.
- Losing my money in Portugal.
- Going under the "fake guru" spell.
- Reading MJ's works.
- Getting rejected from drama school two years in a row.

Even now, I wonder how things would have been if I had gotten into drama school... a reality that I think would not have been as great as the one I am living in right now.

But without a doubt one of the biggest events was reading MJ's work and discovering this forum.

The values and principles taught in those works were what led me to where I am right now, not a single part of me doubts this.

I'm so grateful for the incredible people on this forum that have helped keep me motivated with their threads and their own journeys - to add my own journey to this forum is an honor, and to have had one of my videos dedicated to MJ's works go viral is little in comparison to how much your work has impacted me MJ.

I am also grateful to the many people who came to the channel and felt like what I had to say was worth their time. The last few months have been some of the best months of my life.

Not necessarily travelling around the world, living in a mansion, at a party...

...but sitting at my desk, in my room, during quarantine, editing these videos, and knowing that I have provided value into other people's lives, and that by first providing that value, I am now able to earn an amazing income from it.

I have so much more planned, but I think that I will always cherish these memories and remember them to be the start of something incredible.

***

CONCLUSION
​

Ah, and before I sign off this update, here are some of my personal goals that I've been writing down in my journal for the last few months and figured it was worth sharing:

- Become a Millionaire by 25.
- Become semi-retired by 30.
-Retire my parents.
- Travel around the world.
- Buy my first house by 22
- Own a Tesla by 25 (LMAO, yeah - I'm a Tesla fanboy, have to admit)
- Have my YT business generate £100k/mnth in the next 3-4 years (more on how I plan on doing this to come)
- Teach/promote entrepreneurial values to children/teens in the form of some sort of charitable work.

Much love to you all! ​

And with that, I'm off to bed (this post took me damn near 3 hours!!)

Excellent post.

Your goals seem very possible given the progress you are making.

Great work @Valier - really just feels like the beginning of a great success story.

 

[Andy Black]

Agree with @Fox.

What I love is how you’re building on a lot of your skills and experience to create your “high ground” @Valier. You love writing, understand drama, and can act (even as a voice actor), and can now research, script, produce, and edit videos. You’ve also been through the guru mill. You’ve a message you can pass on, and you’ve the chops to do it.

By stacking your skills and experience on top of each other you create a higher and higher high ground. This is instead of what a lot of people do when they flit from one idea to another and effectively start from ground zero each time (albeit with learnings and skills from each “failure”, so I’m not knocking flitting about till you find something that helps the market *and* grabs you).

 

[fastlanedoll]

Congrats on the newest video and earnings!!!

When I read your June paycheck, I was thinking: Yea. I'm so ready to just ditch medicine & start a YouTube channel.

Lol. Joking.
Sort of.

 

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[Valier]

Hey @Valier

I just read through the entire thread and feel like I have been struck by a lightning bolt of inspiration worth 10000 volts of motivation.

Congratulations, it's super impressive what you have accomplished! The growth is insane, and I can only imagine the feelings you experience. Please tell me, do you wake up and feel differently now than you did before your youtube took off?

I was on the fence with regards to starting a youtube for my own new project, but your thread and process have convinced me. Genuine thanks for sharing your journey and inspiring me.

Wish you the best!

Ahhh, I'm so glad you found inspiration from this thread my friend, that's really amazing to hear

In terms of waking up differently? It's a weird one.

For the most part, all my surroundings are the same. Same room, same bed, same parents, etc etc. But then all it takes is one thought to remind me that there are over 250k people who have watched my content and thought it was worth subscribing to. And that I'm making a 6-figure salary at the age of 20, and that I may be on track to achieving every goal that I've set out to accomplish, and then my heart skips a beat and I enter "surreal" mode and things feel so incredible and strange at the same time.

One thing's for sure though: I'm always pumped to wake up, and I'm incredibly excited for the future and wherever this journey takes me!

Hope that answers your question

This guy is insane. Sets a goal for like 1000 subs smashes 200k. I just turned 21 and I am absolutely terrified of life and ashamed for not being anywhere yet but just looking at this post made me feel great and I don't know if that is a good or bad thing. I finished unscripted like yesterday and applied to fox's course today and I'm so scared yet optimistic right now.

I'm so happy for you tho James, really you deserve all the success in the world. Likable guy and good content. Your video on gurus was my favorite one and the Tyler1 vid looks super hype. I think you're gonna make millions one day and people will be willing to pay you for brand knowledge and such.

Edit: the tyler1 vid is the best vid I've seen on youtube hands down. One of the most captivating docs I've ever seen and easily the best video on branding ever made.

Hey man, thank you so much for the high praise - glad the post could give you a little extra push and motivation - also wish you the best on your own journey!

Hi James @Valier ,

I watched the premier and well done for the effort! Your skills have improved a lot!
I got two boys, 12 and 14 both play games (Fortinte, Valorant, CSGO etc)(I join them some times playing Valorant) and they are constantly on twitch as well as streaming. I think your audience is really towards business, money etc. as your voice demands attention, demands understanding, respect and focus! Twitch is more of an Entertainment platform than anything serious. We have visited the first TwitchCon and it was magical, but the audience there needs to be entertained rather than keeping them focused and giving them facts. My kids watch only silly videos which require no attention, they are short, but plenty. Look at TikTok, this will give you a clue, but your niche looks like Documentaries, serious matters!
This is at least my two cents!

Best wishes,
Pete

Completely agree, Pete - learnt my lesson here!

 

[Valier]

Wow! Didn't notice this thread until now. It's so crazy to see one of our members blowing up.
Keep up the good work James!

One question though. Do you have other plans other than YouTube?

At the moment my primary focus is on the YouTube channel - whilst I have a lot of plans on how to expand out, I'm making sure that I focus on one thing at a time!

 

[Valier]

Another idea but you'd have to get it out a month before the US elections...How the people in the UK view Trump/Biden or something along that vein. Not quite about money, except how it might impact people in the UK if either one wins.

OR you could do two...

Deep Dive into Donald Trump and how he went from reality TV billionaire to US Pres.

Deep Dive into Joe Biden and what he has or hasn't done in the 47 years he's been in office.

Again, depending on the spin you want to put on it.

I've considered doing these myself but every time I think about having to research any politician I throw up a little. So I decided to stay away.

Ahh, politics is definitely something I'd like to steer away from for the most part on my channel.

Regardless of which side you lean, it always seems to divide people up.

Although I do think I could do either of those video ideas/both of them in a non-opinionated, matter-of-fact sort of way, I think I'd just rather opt out of doing a political video for the time being.

 

[Valier]

Dear @Valier, thank you for sharing your YouTube journey with us!

You have a unique talent, you are a great Documentary FilmMaker, and your skill is truly out of the ordinary!
In addition, you also demonstrate a profound maturity in the way you treat the themes you have chosen, and this aspect is not at all obvious given that you are only 19 years old! Chapeau!

As for the YT algorithm, in my opinion you don't have to worry too much, you have shown a lot in these months and you have a fantastic fanbase!

Anyway, I want to make 2 considerations about your proceeding.

# 1 - I believe that the common thread that unites your 3 most successful videos is to dispel myths and stereotypes. I believe you need to focus your channel on this angle.

Here are the 3 myths you debunked:

Fake gurus: "As I progress through this guru's upselling program I will become rich"

Self help: "With the next book / seminar I will get enlightened / become realized / become peaceful, etc."

Money: "To get rich I have to get a good job and work hard"

# 2 - As for a future paid course, in my opinion, in addition to a course on growth on YouTube, you should develop an elaborate course, a Masterclass-like top class course on becoming documentary filmmakers.

That's what you are, and after viewing your videos, I imagine the perceived value of this course is no less than $2,000
The course program could contain all aspects "from zero to hero":
- Research
- Scripting
- Filming
- How to's
- etc
And finally also a chapter on SEO with a particular focus on YouTube. Here you could refer to the other course entirely dedicated on YouTube growth.

I've been watching videos on YT for quite a few years now, and I really don't remember seeing videos that match your quality!

Congratulations again and continue with your work!

P.S .: At the end of June I opened Songwryte, a YouTube channel on Songwriting tips and techniques, it was something I've wanted to do for years, and I would be super happy if I only could get even one tenth of your success!

Thanks for these suggestions and the kind words, friend!

# 1 - I believe that the common thread that unites your 3 most successful videos is to dispel myths and stereotypes. I believe you need to focus your channel on this angle.

This is something that I've come to realise as well, and I think it may be the best direction for the channel too.

# 2 - As for a future paid course, in my opinion, in addition to a course on growth on YouTube, you should develop an elaborate course, a Masterclass-like top class course on becoming documentary filmmakers.

This is a great idea! Although I wouldn't consider myself a "documentary filmmaker" per-say, or at least nowhere near a qualified one.

I think my knowledge and skills translate into being able to teach video editing, storytelling, narration, etc which can all be combined into a single course.

Although I wouldn't ever price it at anything in the thousands. In my opinion that seems excessive, and is another reason for why I dislike "fake gurus", because charging thousands for an info product when plenty of information can be accessed online for cheaper doesn't feel right for me.

I've always seen the benefit of a course as being organised information coming from one source that has done the research and has the skills to condense and deliver that knowledge in a single package. To me that could be worth hundreds, but steering in the thousands range wouldn't make me comfortable.

 

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[Fox]

Amazing James.

You couldn’t be a more humble guy about it too.

Next year will be even bigger I’m sure - well done on all your progress this year.