Figuring Out YouTube (and TikTok)

[MaxT]

Ha. I'm not sure I'm the right guy to ask but I'll try to answer.

What's your goal?

What stage are you at? Are you just getting started and figuring out how to create videos, increase watch time, etc?

Join the fastlane ahah. I live from my projects already with my book and my apps. But I want more. Currently I pay all my bills and can set aside monthly. I would like to earn more to buy a house and realize my dreams.

I'm at the very beginning, I've already experimented in the past but I couldn't find what I really liked.
Here, knowing that I'm going to talk about my passions, I think it will be more pleasant to shoot videos
So I have good basics, but I am far from being an expert. I'm testing the shorts format precisely to see what it gives

 

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[MaxT]

Not a YouTube expert but to me that would only work if you were to publish vlogs. Otherwise it's way too unrelated to work as your fans would have to enjoy all of these things at the same time (or they would have to ignore 75%+ of your content).

That's exactly what I thought .. I'll try to find similar channels to help me, it may give me ideas.

 

[Andy Black]

I agree with @MTF. Go deep rather than wide.

Short video is what I'm focusing on too. I think it's a great way to publish more often and get feedback quicker. I also think being able to add value in 30 seconds is an under-rated skill.

 

[BigRomeDawg]

This short video resonated. I've come to the same conclusion. I'd rather create short videos from scratch than edit down longer videos.

Todd C. ️ Content Strategy on TikTok

A few extra minutes makes for a way better content experience. Give it a try. #podcasting #marketing #b2bmarketing

www.tiktok.com

I agree 100%.

We were repurposing content like crazy. I quickly realized that it only has utility sometimes. If you force it, the quality just isn't there.

And, it's more expensive, because of having to scrub loooong content to find nuggets, and how often people go on tangents mid-nugget.

So, it's more expensive AND lower quality. No thanks.

I have my clients creating separate content specifically for Shorts, now. It's less expensive to edit and of higher quality.

OR, script "short" moments into the long-form videos to make them easy to pull out.

Quality will always win.

 

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[Andy Black]

I agree 100%.

We were repurposing content like crazy. I quickly realized that it only has utility sometimes. If you force it, the quality just isn't there.

And, it's more expensive, because of having to scrub loooong content to find nuggets, and how often people go on tangents mid-nugget.

So, it's more expensive AND lower quality. No thanks.

I have my clients creating separate content specifically for Shorts, now. It's less expensive to edit and of higher quality.

OR, script "short" moments into the long-form videos to make them easy to pull out.

Quality will always win.

Thanks for this insight and confirmation.

I think people like Gary Vee recommend busy business owners do podcasts/workshops/presentations and extract nuggets because it works well for them.

But when you see videos of him speaking he knows full well when he's just said something quotable. He pauses for effect but it also makes it easy for his editors to pull out a nugget.

I'm sure it's a skill we can improve, but why bother? Script and create the best 30s video you can and improve *that* skill if you want to publish short-form content.

(Descript helps a lot finding quotable in long scripts, but editing where my mind goes off at tangents is super hard.)


I've not published a video in the last week because I had one YouTube short get 800+ views in the first 48 hours and then tail off.
Feedback in this thread was to include a hook, that it was a bit long, and that the animated captions were a bit distracting.

I've been binge watching business related TikTok videos and making notes, trying to find a style I like, that's natural, and that could be frictionless for me.

It's also lead me down the rabbit-hole of how to create content that matches what is already getting views on platforms... which is very different from extracting useful nuggets from my long workshop that people should watch but isn't wrapped up so it gets in front of audiences that are already out there.

Just because it helps people doesn't mean a video deserves to get views. We have to give the market and platform what it wants, while delivering our message.


Tactically, I've decided to script first, do short-form vertical video for now, talk direct to my phone, go outside and use natural light, and maybe use a teleprompter on my phone to stay on script.

I'm creating videos but not publishing them just yet. I'm still ironing out some issues ... like how my phone has the damn camera top right so it doesn't look like I'm talking to the viewer when I read text scrolling up the left. Etc.

 

[Andy Black]

I just had a massive aha moment watching someone's TikTok.

She said too many content creators educate people on problems they didn't know they had.

Her advice is to use frameworks like this:

If you feel this ______
Here's why ______.

If you're getting this _____
Then it's because ______.

 

[Andy Black]

Another facepalm moment from a video someone shared with me:

Rand Fishkin on LinkedIn: 99% of content marketing fails. That LinkedIn post, Tweet, YouTube video,… | 132 comments

99% of content marketing fails. That LinkedIn post, Tweet, YouTube video, TikTok, blog post... The biggest reason they fall flat is that you didn't have a… | 132 comments on LinkedIn

www.linkedin.com

 

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[BigRomeDawg]

I'm creating videos but not publishing them just yet. I'm still ironing out some issues ... like how my phone has the damn camera top right so it doesn't look like I'm talking to the viewer when I read text scrolling up the left. Etc.

Why hold back? You're creating content that is scripted, concise, thoughtful, and has the viewer in mind (this is what I meant by quality above)

You're worried about where your eyes are looking, meanwhile, there is someone out there who really needs to hear what you have to say. Let the market decide

 

[Andy Black]

Why hold back? You're creating content that is scripted, concise, thoughtful, and has the viewer in mind (this is what I meant by quality above)

You're worried about where your eyes are looking, meanwhile, there is someone out there who really needs to hear what you have to say. Let the market decide

Damn, you're 100% right. I'm doing people a disservice by not publishing because I'm not looking at the lens how I wanted to.

PS: I found a teleprompter that allows me to move the text below the lens. I'll use that tomorrow on a walk or something and capture my A-roll.

 

[Andy Black]

Interesting. LinkedIn prioritising video?

TikTok - Make Your Day

TikTok - trends start here. On a device or on the web, viewers can watch and discover millions of personalized short videos. Download the app to get started.

vm.tiktok.com

 

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[DMass]

Damn, you're 100% right. I'm doing people a disservice by not publishing because I'm not looking at the lens how I wanted to.

PS: I found a teleprompter that allows me to move the text below the lens. I'll use that tomorrow on a walk or something and capture my A-roll.

I’ve literally just bought a Teleprompter so I can record better videos too!

I’ve found that sometimes the content you don’t think has that much value actually has the most value. Something I struggle with often is getting out of my own head, just because something seems quite obvious and basic to you doesn’t mean it is to others.

It could be their Aha moment.

Execute now, perfect later

 

[James007Hill]

Interesting. LinkedIn prioritising video?

TikTok - Make Your Day

TikTok - trends start here. On a device or on the web, viewers can watch and discover millions of personalized short videos. Download the app to get started.

vm.tiktok.com

Feels like all platforms are, it’s like we are seeing a gold rush towards video and especially short form video across all platforms!

 

[DMass]

if LinkedIn are prioritising Videos we’ll have to work out the best way to use it to our advantage. LinkedIn tends to penalise posts with links in them (hence the number of link in the first comments posts). Perhaps a short video preview (60 seconds) and then a link in the first comment to the YouTube video.

 

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[Andy Black]

if LinkedIn are prioritising Videos we’ll have to work out the best way to use it to our advantage. LinkedIn tends to penalise posts with links in them (hence the number of link in the first comments posts). Perhaps a short video preview (60 seconds) and then a link in the first comment to the YouTube video.

Why send them to YouTube from LinkedIn?

 

[DMass]

Why send them to YouTube from LinkedIn?

Good Question.

I perhaps didn’t think that through.

My initial thoughts would be building up your YouTube Channel where the content can last. I’m not sure how long LinkedIn videos will be available or if you have a library where people can find all your content?

Unless you can build a Channel like YouTube? I’m not sure. More exploration needed I think.

 

[BigRomeDawg]

PS: I found a teleprompter that allows me to move the text below the lens. I'll use that tomorrow on a walk or something and capture my A-roll.

PromptSmart Pro is solid.

 

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[Andy Black]

Nearly 2am Sunday morning. Lots of fiddling trying to get a short vertical video out before going to bed.

• I tried two different lights and just went with a simple ringlight. It's not great, but it will do.
• I'm stood up.
• I'm using the free Speechway teleprompter app which allows me to move the text below the lens.
• Reading from a script was GREAT, so much faster than trying to memorise a line, deliver it, then repeat.
• Descript was great too for editing fast and adding fancy captions.
• I could add b-roll I suppose, but wanted to hit publish before hitting the hay.
• It's good enough for now. I think I can knock these out quite quick going forward. Writing the script took the longest time.

View: https://youtube.com/shorts/d2qGwBBJQ4c?feature=share


Oh, and I also published that as my first ever TikTok.

EDIT: Published to LinkedIn too. Probably at a dumb time but I'll be busy tomorrow.

 

[BigRomeDawg]

Nearly 2am Sunday morning. Lots of fiddling trying to get a short vertical video out before going to bed.

• I tried two different lights and just went with a simple ringlight. It's not great, but it will do.
• I'm stood up.
• I'm using the free Speechway teleprompter app which allows me to move the text below the lens.
• Reading from a script was GREAT, so much faster than trying to memorise a line, deliver it, then repeat.
• Descript was great too for editing fast and adding fancy captions.
• I could add b-roll I suppose, but wanted to hit publish before hitting the hay.
• It's good enough for now. I think I can knock these out quite quick going forward. Writing the script took the longest time.

View: https://youtube.com/shorts/d2qGwBBJQ4c?feature=share


Oh, and I also published that as my first ever TikTok.

EDIT: Published to LinkedIn too. Probably at a dumb time but I'll be busy tomorrow.

Dude, great video. Props for going for it!

TikTok is insane right now.

Just had this post pop off on Z's 1-month-old account:

 

[DMass]

Nearly 2am Sunday morning. Lots of fiddling trying to get a short vertical video out before going to bed.

• I tried two different lights and just went with a simple ringlight. It's not great, but it will do.
• I'm stood up.
• I'm using the free Speechway teleprompter app which allows me to move the text below the lens.
• Reading from a script was GREAT, so much faster than trying to memorise a line, deliver it, then repeat.
• Descript was great too for editing fast and adding fancy captions.
• I could add b-roll I suppose, but wanted to hit publish before hitting the hay.
• It's good enough for now. I think I can knock these out quite quick going forward. Writing the script took the longest time.

View: https://youtube.com/shorts/d2qGwBBJQ4c?feature=share


Oh, and I also published that as my first ever TikTok.

EDIT: Published to LinkedIn too. Probably at a dumb time but I'll be busy tomorrow.

I think the production quality on your video is brilliant. You come across at ease, and more importantly to me, as a expert as your not trying to find words. It doesn’t appear scripted to me at all.

I’m going to give my teleprompter a go this afternoon, I’ll upload the video to YouTube and put a link in here so we can analyse it.

Did you find it saved you time having the teleprompter?

My thoughts are that it will reduce recording time, editing time, and reduce any anxiety or uncomfortableness (I don’t like being on Camera at all)!

 

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[Andy Black]

Dude, great video. Props for going for it!

TikTok is insane right now.

Just had this post pop off on Z's 1-month-old account:
View attachment 44900

Wow. That's doing great! How many videos does he have so far? I ask because @ZCP must be getting better and better at delivering them. And you're both likely getting better at giving the audience what they want.

Do you have a link to that TikTok? I'm curious about the hook and pacing. Plus want to follow. (EDIT: Found it and replied.)


Thanks for the feedback and support.

I'm still at the stage of figuring out a frictionless way for me to create videos.

I'm pleased with the lack of rambling in my video. The teleprompter is a real eye-opener. I can imagine going for a walking I used to, and talking to my phone for 30s.

I wanted captions like you're doing, but Descript does those captions super quick so I'll go with those and figure out if it can make them capitalised (I think capitalised without punctuation looks better and is easier my end).

The video has had 7 views on YouTube and none on TikTok when I look at 9am this morning. But I genuinely laughed at that and am wondering what the difference is between that one and the previous that got 800 views on YouTube super fast.

My next goal is to get to posting daily.

I don't know if I was too close to the camera, or I just lift my hands a bit more for them to be in picture when I'm talking.

 

[Andy Black]

I think the production quality on your video is brilliant. You come across at ease, and more importantly to me, as a expert as your not trying to find words. It doesn’t appear scripted to me at all.

I’m going to give my teleprompter a go this afternoon, I’ll upload the video to YouTube and put a link in here so we can analyse it.

Did you find it saved you time having the teleprompter?

My thoughts are that it will reduce recording time, editing time, and reduce any anxiety or uncomfortableness (I don’t like being on Camera at all)!

I love the teleprompter!

My natural inclination is for thoughts to pop into my head as I speak and to go off at tangents. It can work very well on podcasts and live workshops, but is a nightmare if I want to create short and focused pieces.

The teleprompter allowed me to hone the script (and try to include a hook), and do a few passes to try and get the flow right and try to add a bit more natural looking movement/intonation.

I'm sure using a teleprompter is a learned skill and I'll get better with practise.

Using Descript made it so easy to edit that I don't panic if I have to redo a sentence. I just tap the text and scroll back up up bit then redo that part.

A tip someone gave me was to try to break chunks into max 7 words. I think that's for when delivering a line at a time teleprompter. I tried that without a teleprompter and I just couldn't get into a flow. I was able to get into a flow with the telepromoter.

I like that it starts with text. I have so much written content already that I can imagine writing hooks for them and churning out content daily.

My gut says that using the teleprompter will teach me to keep going rather than stop/start, and maybe I'll eventually almost be able to deliver with just bullet points, and edit out the retakes.

 

[Andy Black]

Meanwhile, on LinkedIn where I have over 11k followers:




Oops. I forgot to post to my Facebook page (which only has about 200 followers and has been dormant for years).

Maybe I'll look at repurpose.io so I post one place and it distributes everywhere automatically.

 

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[Andy Black]

A quick write-up to my private newsletter:

I'm learning how to create 30s vertical videos from scratch.

My learnings so far after publishing my first video this morning:

1) Start with WHO you want to see your video, and WHY they'd share it.

2) Have ONE aha moment you want to share.

3) Script it. This took me the most time in the process, but it made editing much simpler. I'd spent hours extracting a nugget from a long video, and this was so hard because I kept going off at tangents mid-thought. I also ended up with a video that didn't start with a hook. Which leads to...

4) Hook people in the first sentence. I like the simple hook of: "If (result your getting) then (reason)". People interested are inclined to watch, and people who aren't are inclined to skip. I'd rather learn who's interested enough to watch, and I guess platform algorithm's would get more data this way.

5) I'm talking to my phone with a simple ring-light behind. It's not perfect, but it's good enough. I'd like to do these out and about with natural daylight rather than artificial light.

6) I'm stood up as it gives me more energy.

7) I'm using a free teleprompter app on my phone called Speechway. It allows me to move the text below the lens so it looks like I'm looking at the viewer.

8. I did a few takes to get comfortable and to adjust the teleprompter speed. I also had to amend the script slightly due to sentences feeling clunky when said out loud.

9) Descript is A-M-A-Z-I-N-G for editing. It transcribes the video and you edit the transcription like a Word doc to edit the video. Like WTF?!?

10) Descript automatically added the animated caption. I chose the position, colours, etc.

11) I created one video I wanted to post to other platforms.

• So far it's my first ever video on TikTok and had ZERO views (lol).
• It's had maybe 10 views on YouTube, and probably because I linked to it in thefastlaneforum.
• It's had 822 impressions on Linkedin, 18 reactions, 2 comments, and one share (I have 11k+ connections/followers on LinkedIn mind).

 

[BigRomeDawg]

Wow. That's doing great! How many videos does he have so far? I ask because @ZCP must be getting better and better at delivering them. And you're both likely getting better at giving the audience what they want.

Do you have a link to that TikTok? I'm curious about the hook and pacing. Plus want to follow.

29 videos on TikTok. Still just getting started! Yeah, he is improving a lot on his delivery. He gets a ton of feedback from his audience on the editing and topics which has helped us immensely.

@ZaneEngineersLife

Zane Engineers Life (@zaneengineerslife) | TikTok

Zane Engineers Life (@zaneengineerslife) on TikTok | 63.2K Likes. 1.8K Followers. Owner of Phoenix Engineering Engineering stories and career advice on YouTube.Watch the latest video from Zane Engineers Life (@zaneengineerslife).

www.tiktok.com

Thanks for the feedback and support.

You're welcome. You're going to absolutely crush it.

 

[Andy Black]

29 videos on TikTok. Still just getting started! Yeah, he is improving a lot on his delivery. He gets a ton of feedback from his audience on the editing and topics which has helped us immensely.

@ZaneEngineersLife

Zane Engineers Life (@zaneengineerslife) | TikTok

Zane Engineers Life (@zaneengineerslife) on TikTok | 63.2K Likes. 1.8K Followers. Owner of Phoenix Engineering Engineering stories and career advice on YouTube.Watch the latest video from Zane Engineers Life (@zaneengineerslife).

www.tiktok.com

You're welcome. You're going to absolutely crush it.

I noticed the videos blowing up help the masses get jobs or work. This makes sense as it doesn't just help people trying to become engineers.

Curious if his bio shouldn't mention YouTube though:




Even though I make my living as a Google Ads freelancer I help more people in this forum get started in business than get started in Google Ads.

I'm still trying to figure out which to focus on:

• Helping business owners run their Google Ads.
• Helping people become Google Ads freelancers.
• Helping people get started in business.
• Helping people sell.
• Heloing people build their personal brands.
• Helping people get jobs and/or go freelancing.
• All of the above!

The fun part is I see this as a fascinating experiment and a way to help more people so will just see where it goes.

My current bio. I seem to have a business account because I have a link? I've no idea the pros and cons for that.

 

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[Andy Black]

My second short video is up! I scripted it last night, recorded it this morning, and edited it this afternoon.

View: https://youtube.com/shorts/kYkDwJJfXPY

 

[Cameraman]

My second short video is up! I scripted it last night, recorded it this morning, and edited it this afternoon.

View: https://youtube.com/shorts/kYkDwJJfXPY

Great content and nicely done. The pacing was a little too fast for me personally but then I'm just an old man.
I hope you share the results. It will be interesting to see how these do.

 

[Andy Black]

Great content and nicely done. The pacing was a little too fast for me personally but then I'm just an old man.
I hope you share the results. It will be interesting to see how these do.

Yeah, I thought it was a bit fast as well but we'll see how it goes. If people can't quite catch something I said they can loop round and relisten, which would help watch time I guess.

 

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[Cameraman]

If people can't quite catch something I said they can loop round and relisten

You got four watch stats from me but then I'm half deaf from playing the Banjo.

 

[MattL]

My second short video is up! I scripted it last night, recorded it this morning, and edited it this afternoon.

View: https://youtube.com/shorts/kYkDwJJfXPY

The title of the video reminds me of a copywriting gem by a legend writer.

In short:
Proof should follow claim. A big claim (Get clients fast) will fall like a house of cards if it's not supported by equally big proof ("6-fig freelancer reveals how to..." or something).

Almost no one does this online, it's easier to come up with outlandish claims and ignoring the proof element.

Which is also why words like clickbait have been invented. And why skepticism is at an all-time high.

If you want the long version, you can check out this summary I wrote a while back.