Let's do something a little bit different here today, guys.
Omar Correa wrote and asked this question,
what's a decent ratio for subscriber and non-subscribers
views?
Great question.
Typically, you want to see around a 15 to 20
percent of your subscriber base actively engaged in each video
that you publish.
Perhaps you've seen here at Video Creators that is not
the case and I'm going to share with you one of the biggest
mistakes I've made so that you can
avoid making this mistake on your own channel.
Hey guys.
My name is Tim Schmoyer and it is Thursday.
Time to do some YouTube Q&A with you guys.
I've already answered your Q, but what
is this big mistake that has led to, here a Video Creators?
See I got 100,000 plus subscribers and each video
gets somewhere from subscribers, within the first week
of publishing, it gets somewhere between around 5,000 views
or so, maybe sometimes closer to 10.
But even so, that is like five to 10 percent instead
of the 15 to 20 percent.
Why is this audience so disengaged
and what mistake did I make?
There's two things.
Number one is that-- let's just put this out
there-- is that for DIY channels, how-to type channels
in general, the subscriber count is a lot lower
because a lot of people subscribe because they found
one video that's really helpful but they're not subscribed
for entertainment purposes.
That 15 to 20 percent of your subscriber based views
on every video is typical for entertainment channels
but on more informational base channels,
people tend to subscribe to just see what comes through
and then they watch a video if they
feel like it's relevant to them, something that they're trying
and they don't watch every single video like they would
an entertainment based channel.
So that's one thing that helped me feel a little bit better,
right?
But here's the big mistake that I made.
OK.
So my target audience are you guys as hobby YouTube Creators,
right?
And so my assumption was false going
into this about understanding my audience.
I assumed that most creators would start here.
Start.
This is my kid's white board.
And then they would just start their channel
and they would kind of just grow like that over time
because they would be persistent.
And they would keep working at it, right?
And so I felt like I'm going to take a creator from here
and I want to help them move all the way up this way as much
as I can through each of the videos that I do.
And so I thought this is a great idea
because a lot of my subscribers are coming in
at videos around this area where there's how do I get YouTube
views, how do I get more subscribers, what
kind of camera equipment, a lot of that foundational type
of stuff that beginner YouTube creators are looking for.
And then I just assumed that they would still keep growing.
That is not the case because here's the big mistake I made.
I actually did not understand my target audience that well
at all.
It's really important for you guys to do this
because here's what actually happens.
So it doesn't actually go like this.
Most YouTube creators, it actually goes like this.
They start and then they fall off.
Some of them keep going and they go up like this.
That's the more accurate portrayal.
So I get a lot of subscribers right here but then they
figure out how hard it is to grow a channel.
They started because they were super excited.
They're really inspired by their top favorite YouTuber
and they said, wow if that person can do it
then I can do it.
If Shay Carl can be a popular blogger then
I can be a popular blogger.
If PewDiePie is that way on gaming, I should be able,
you know?
So they start that way and they go up
and they subscribe to Video Creators around here.
And then they realize how hard it is
and then they just drop off completely.
A much smaller percentage of creators
actually push through this dip down here in order to get back.
So the audience that I actually keep, which my understanding,
remember, I thought it was going to go like this.
So there are some of you here and those
who like the 5,000 and 1,000 of you guys who are watching
almost every video, you are right here
but it's a much smaller percentage than I
thought it was.
So here's what I need to do.
Here's what I'm learning from this as I evaluate the target
audience and what's actually happening
with the creator's journey on the YouTube channel
is that I need to either stick to two
different types of content.
I need to either stick right here,
the very beginning of the stage, which
is people like how to get more views,
how to get more subscribers, like the really foundational
stuff.
And I feel like YouTube Creator Academy really
serves that really well.
YouTube's own channel that shows creators and a lot of stuff
they're doing.
I think that it fits here really well.
There's not a whole lot right here,
which is kind of more like the business side of YouTube.
People who have gone past this, they've
pushed through this dip, and now they're right here,
their growing channel.
And now they want to turn it into their full time income,
they want to turn this into their business.
They want to do something bigger like that.
And I don't think there's too many people
targeting that group nearly as well.
Now, to be fair, this is a much smaller group
of people than right here.
So if I wanted to grow a really big channel,
I should focus right here.
Not by really big but I mean like big relative to this one,
you know?
So that's what I need to do.
Or what I need to do is I need to help creators figure out
how to bridge this gap.
How to motivate them, how to you inspire them,
how to help them push through this dip
so they don't subscribe because they're really excited
and they can figure out how hard it is
and then they stop watching Video Creators, my channel,
and other content like it because they
realize this is a lot more work and a lot harder than it seems.
And so they're still active, they're still
subscribed to my channel, they don't unsubscribe,
but they're not actively watching content
because it's not as much interest to them anymore
because they're kind of bottomed out and not as excited about it
as they used to.
So what I am learning is that it is really important
to understand your target audience.
Who is it that your channel's targeting?
Who is it that your channel is going after?
So you don't make these types of assumptions
that I made in the very beginning and mistakes that
now lead to this on my channel.
So it is kind of the nature of the genre of channel
that I'm in.
But I don't feel like I want to be content with that
and just say oh well that's just how it goes.
I want to figure out how to solve this problem
by either focusing here, here, or figuring out
how to go across here.
And I'm going to be experimenting
with a lot of different stuff coming up
here over the next few months on this channel
just to kind of see what you guys respond to,
what's really helpful and valuable to you
guys, where I can offer the most value,
and all that stuff to try to figure out really
how to do this.
So here's what I want to hear from you guys in the comments
below.
One, what do you think about all this?
Because you are creators, like you are these people.
But two, I want to hear how you understand your target
audience.
What helps you understand them so
that when you craft your content,
you can serve them as good as possible
so that they stay engaged to your channel?
The other thing they think about all this guys--
and this applies in any genre channel
and myself included, right now, I
feel like I'm in the middle of this phase--
is that most channels when they get to around here or maybe
a little past here, I don't know somewhere along there,
they need to start reinventing themselves.
There's no top YouTube channel that
exists that's the same now as it was when it started,
that's even the same now as it was maybe a year
or two years ago.
Each of these channels has to keep reinventing themselves,
experimenting with new things.
Otherwise, they become really stagnant.
They become stale.
Their subscriber base becomes disinterested
and they become bored with the content
that they're making, right?
So I am a little bit scared, to be honest with you,
to try to start reinventing Video Creators with 100,000
subscribers and millions of views coming in.
That's a big thing.
So if you're a small channel, that
is the perfect time to experiment.
Get into a rhythm.
I feel like I did that but every channel
when they get up and start growing,
they need to start reinventing themselves
and risk becoming in irrelevant.
Yeah .
So again, I'm looking forward to hearing all your feedback
both for this channel here at Video Creators
and also what this helps you think through
in your own channel.
Let me know if you like experimenting
with a white board-- I stole this from my kids--
experimenting with a new type of format.
Let me know what you guys think of this also.
If this is your first time here, I'd love to have you subscribe.
Every week I do some YouTube Q&A with you guys.
This was kind of half Q&A, half self-reflecting
and a little update on some mistakes
I made about my audience and things like that.
So anyways, subscribe.
I love helping you guys grow your YouTube channels
and your audiences, regardless of where
you are in this process.
And I look forward to doing that with you more next week.
So subscribe to get those videos and I'll see you guys there.