Leveraging An Audience - Business Ideas?

[Insight]

Hi there, I'm new to the forum and I'd like to give a brief background for context

I'm a designer but I've been grinding hard on Youtube for 2-3 years. I currently have a Youtube channel with a little over 200k subscribers, and I pull in around 700k video views per month at the moment. I turn over a nice amount of revenue per month from this and sponsorships, and I've only been able to focus on this for the last 2-3 years. Getting a Youtube channel to succeed like this requires a lot of time effort and patience; it's pretty intense.

However now I have a substantial audience based around graphic design and tutorials, I'm looking at venturing into other sectors of business, and to try and leverage this traffic. I already have employed a part time editor which has freed up some of my time. Youtube isn't going to be around forever, and my channel could technically be taken away tomorrow, crazier things have happened. I've made attempts at a few things business wise, but nothing has really worked out so well.
I made a subscription based website where people can come and sign up for monthly tutorials and content for $5 a month. This was external from YouTube and my own website and domain name. It saw a poor response in the first 2 months, but looking back on it, I didn't have the time to create awesome content for it. I didn't market it very well simply due to lack of time and sheer mental / physical energy.
I also have made an eBook based around typography, a sort of guide if you will. That hasn't done so well either. But again I haven't marketed it that well or at all.

So I'm here to ask for advice on leveraging an audience from Youtube, specifically an audience that is interested in graphic design. But also as a side question, wise things to be investing my money into as side hustles maybe? Thanks in advance!

 

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[Merging Left]

Why don't you ask your audience what they need? Have you considered Patreon?

Your channel is based on graphic design & tutorials. Is it just tutorials, or do you focus on other graphic design related topics, such as "How to find your first customer" or "How to price your services"?

I'm not sure if that's appropriate for your audience or not, but if you made a small series within your channel on how to actually make a living as a freelance graphic designer, you could work your way towards a more in-depth paid course on the subject. And/or one-on-one or small group consulting. Similar to what @Fox does with web design and his web design school.

 

[Kybalion]

Create a well-structured course on graphic design. Include info on how to do things You do, how You get graphic design clients, etc.

Create a landing page for Your info product, drive traffic to it from YouTube, and begin testing different price points, headlines, propositions, overall copy, etc. (If You want to save time and get higher ROI I highly suggest paying for a great copywriter. Don't save money on getting a professional copywriter. And if You decide to hire please avoid Fiverr or Upwork )

As soon as You get a list of people, who bought Your course up-sell them on a high-ticket consultation/coaching.

Another tool You should probably investigate is Facebook groups. You can drive traffic from Your channel to Your own group and post ''exclusive'' content for members only. This group will also work as a list of pre-qualified leads.

You can also create a Udemy course on gaining traction on Youtube.

Gosh, there are so many cool things You could do.

 

[Boychamp]

First, CONGRATS on such a solid channel, very admirable.

But wow I'm a broken record in my responses but my first suggestion would be to start building an email list ASAP. Not 100% sure what kind of graphic design type videos, but I would assume you can create unique lead magnets based around the videos or topics that people would be interested in that you can use to start building this email list (if they're tutorials, you could do PDF breakdowns, you could do your top font lists, your guide to how to use fonts, color guides/when to use specific colors, the list goes on and on). This will at least give you a much stronger amount of control - as you own that traffic. From there, you can take more time in determining what your viewers want. At that point, you can simply ASK them.

For example, if you're at all interested in an online course, you can ask your email list for topics they're interested in/struggling with, and give it to them.

Also, I just saw Kybalion's note about a Facebook group. That's a great idea - in tandem with the email list. You can also require emails to join the group (one of the required questions) and then put them into your email list from there.

 

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[Insight]

Why don't you ask your audience what they need? Have you considered Patreon?

Your channel is based on graphic design & tutorials. Is it just tutorials, or do you focus on other graphic design related topics, such as "How to find your first customer" or "How to price your services"?

I'm not sure if that's appropriate for your audience or not, but if you made a small series within your channel on how to actually make a living as a freelance graphic designer, you could work your way towards a more in-depth paid course on the subject. And/or one-on-one or small group consulting. Similar to what @Fox does with web design and his web design school.

Thanks for the reply!
I supply tutorials, advice on freelancing and the business side of things, as well as graphic design theory and how psychology ties into that as well.
The main issue for me as been alack of time, but then also not fully understanding marketing, and how to do it effectively. But I've already received some solid ideas from this forum

 

[Insight]

Create a well-structured course on graphic design. Include info on how to do things You do, how You get graphic design clients, etc.

Create a landing page for Your info product, drive traffic to it from YouTube, and begin testing different price points, headlines, propositions, overall copy, etc. (If You want to save time and get higher ROI I highly suggest paying for a great copywriter. Don't save money on getting a professional copywriter. And if You decide to hire please avoid Fiverr or Upwork )

As soon as You get a list of people, who bought Your course up-sell them on a high-ticket consultation/coaching.

Another tool You should probably investigate is Facebook groups. You can drive traffic from Your channel to Your own group and post ''exclusive'' content for members only. This group will also work as a list of pre-qualified leads.

You can also create a Udemy course on gaining traction on Youtube.

Gosh, there are so many cool things You could do.

Hey thanks a lot on the heads up concerning a copywriter, I would not have thought that myself!
I already have a growing email list from Youtube, with around 800 people on it. However I'm using MailCheat(Chimp) and the free version, which I think caps out at 1 or 2k people?

For the Facebook groups, do you mean setting up a business account and creating a group there dedicated to my channel? Or do you mean getting active in existing groups, and driving traffic from there? I don't use Facebook for personal or social reasons, and so I've neglected it for business.

I really need to find time to create high quality courses and then market them I guess. I take pride in my content on Youtube, and so I do spend a lot of hours on each video, which is why I've found it difficult to make time for the other things as well. If you take a break from Yotube that extends past 1-2 weeks, you're in danger of losing traction and the algorithms punish you for it, it truly is a grind lol

 

[Insight]

First, CONGRATS on such a solid channel, very admirable.

But wow I'm a broken record in my responses but my first suggestion would be to start building an email list ASAP. Not 100% sure what kind of graphic design type videos, but I would assume you can create unique lead magnets based around the videos or topics that people would be interested in that you can use to start building this email list (if they're tutorials, you could do PDF breakdowns, you could do your top font lists, your guide to how to use fonts, color guides/when to use specific colors, the list goes on and on). This will at least give you a much stronger amount of control - as you own that traffic. From there, you can take more time in determining what your viewers want. At that point, you can simply ASK them.

For example, if you're at all interested in an online course, you can ask your email list for topics they're interested in/struggling with, and give it to them.

Also, I just saw Kybalion's note about a Facebook group. That's a great idea - in tandem with the email list. You can also require emails to join the group (one of the required questions) and then put them into your email list from there.

I appreciate the reply
I do have an email list, but it's on Mail Chimp and the free version at the moment. Should I stick with this service and upgrade, or move to a different service?
I like the top font list suggestion, that's actually a really neat thing to send out actually.. thanks!

 

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[Boychamp]

I appreciate the reply
I do have an email list, but it's on Mail Chimp and the free version at the moment. Should I stick with this service and upgrade, or move to a different service?
I like the top font list suggestion, that's actually a really neat thing to send out actually.. thanks!

Glad to hear you've got one going already! If you can get away with using MailCheat(Chimp) while it's free that's fine but eventually, I would suggest moving off MailCheat(Chimp) to something better. There's a lot of softwares out there, ActiveCampaign is a good one but do your own research.

But you're going to need landing pages to provide an opt-in form (where you say get this thing for your email address). You're also going to need automated flows triggered by someone signing up - for multiple things. Not sure you'll be able to do that w/ MailCheat(Chimp) - but basically, as you start to create multiple opt-in forms for your different lead magnets, you'll need to be able to send them automatically. And you'll want to keep them up as old videos get traction and people come in.

Of course! If you ever need more ideas, feel free to reach out. I like to think I have a knack for ideas like that. On the side note of that, that's a potentially easy way to generate some revenue - using affiliate links for products you use and like. Such as, but not limited to: fonts, textures (idk if you use photoshop textures or things of that nature), brushes, or anything relating to the things you do that you've had to purchase.

 

[Kybalion]

Hey thanks a lot on the heads up concerning a copywriter, I would not have thought that myself!
I already have a growing email list from Youtube, with around 800 people on it. However I'm using MailCheat(Chimp) and the free version, which I think caps out at 1 or 2k people?

For the Facebook groups, do you mean setting up a business account and creating a group there dedicated to my channel? Or do you mean getting active in existing groups, and driving traffic from there? I don't use Facebook for personal or social reasons, and so I've neglected it for business.

I really need to find time to create high quality courses and then market them I guess. I take pride in my content on Youtube, and so I do spend a lot of hours on each video, which is why I've found it difficult to make time for the other things as well. If you take a break from Yotube that extends past 1-2 weeks, you're in danger of losing traction and the algorithms punish you for it, it truly is a grind lol

What I meant was creating a group for Your followers and positioning it as a special community for those who want to learn graphic design. You can position this group as a place, where graphic designers come together to get and give feedback. Something, similar to this forum. That way You'll be able to interact with Your fans by posting Your insights and to promote more exclusive products.

You have 200k subscribers. That means You have at the very least 1000 passionate fans, who want You to succeed and who want to buy Your stuff. And this is a conservative guess. A Facebook group would be an effective way to sort out most engaged followers and improve targeting. You would drive traffic to it by promoting it on Youtube.

Think of it this way. Can You convert 0.5% of Your followers to pay at least 100$? I am willing to bet my left testicle YOU CAN convert even more if You do it right! [1000 sales] x $100 = $100,000. This is a very conservative guess, You could make a bunch more.

I think being active in Facebook groups can also be very beneficial, but I'd say You should focus on what will yield the most gold in the least amount of time. Gaining traction in FB can be as tedious as it is in YB.

 

[zoeyallen6]

You are doing a great job. Keep doing this, keep teaching your audience new things of designing. Do you work well, one day you will be able to get on high because the person who struggles, only he progresses.

 

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[danbui]

This is so impressive. Most people wished they could be in your shoes.

This is just thinking out loud...what if for each video you create, at the end offer something thing that they can only get if they register to your subscription site. Once you have the members on your site, now you have their email address and start a monthly news letter. So if something were to happen to your youtube account you are protected.

Now, the trick is baiting members on your site to pay for certain content on the site.

ikd...like I said just thinking our loud. Keep us updated. curious to see how you eventually monetize.