In this week's YouTube Channel Review,
we are going to take a look at a vlogging channel
and talk about some of the ways that your storytelling can
impact your vlogging channel's and growth.
And this will apply to many other channels too.
That's coming up.
Hey, guys.
My name is Tim Schmoyer, and welcome to "Video Creators,"
the channel that is all about helping you
guys grow your YouTube audiences so
that your message can spread, reach people, and change
their lives.
We've been looking at a couple different genres of channels
recently.
You guys have seemed to be loving it in the comments.
And so we're going to keep going with it, this series.
Today, we're going to look at a friend of mine.
His name's Amen.
His channel is linked up below, or you can see it right here.
I'm going to look at his vlogging channel
right now, just like we do every week.
We're looking at channels of 1,000 subscribers or less,
giving them tips to help them improve and grow their channel
in a way that also helps you guys with your channels
as well.
So 356 subscribers as of the time of this recording.
And I was watching some of his videos,
catching up on a lot of his stuff.
And he's making a lot of the same common mistakes
that a lot of new YouTubers make.
Let's talk about some of them.
We've already talked in previous channel reviews
how important the title and the thumbnail
are for helping people just click
on your videos in the first place.
Because it doesn't matter how awesome your content is
if your title and your thumbnail don't entice them, right?
So he's working on some of that stuff
here, as I can see already.
Let's look at his videos over here.
But there's another element to that
we want to talk about today.
So let's watch a little bit of this one,
this most recent one-- Ridiculous Return Policy Got Me
Angry.
See how it starts off.
Hey, guys.
I don't know if you can here that.
I'll try to zoom in.
How many of you guys can hear that?
There's like a million crows in that tree straight ahead,
just freaking out.
OK, so nothing to do with Ridiculous Return Policy Got Me
Angry, right?
That actually doesn't come until-- right about here
is when he starts talking about it.
So 8 minutes 11 seconds in, he starts talking about it.
For any YouTube channel, whether vlogging or not,
one of the things that I've learned
is really important is that the first 15 seconds of the video
should tie-in very closely with the title and the thumbnail.
Because what's happening is your title and your thumbnail set
someone up to expect some sort of value.
They click expecting to watch that.
But if it doesn't come until 8 minutes later,
you might have your dedicated, hardcore subscribers
watch that video.
And they're going to watch any video you publish anyway.
But it's going to be really hard to hook
your more passive subscribers.
And especially, it'll be almost impossible to really capitalize
on related videos.
That's where, if you're a vlogger,
the majority of your traffic probably
comes from related videos.
People just clicking on enticing titles and thumbnails that
pitch and tease a story.
So here's an example.
Let's go to one day ago.
Are You Always This Annoying?
The thumbnail doesn't look that annoying,
but let's just go with it.
See how it starts off.
Did you edit your video?
I edited the first part.
Did you edit your video?
I edited the first part.
Did you edit your video?
Are you always this annoying?
OK, so a little bit better.
That actually had something to do with annoying.
But the rest of the vlog has nothing to do with that.
That is the end of this story that
has to do with being annoying.
And the problem with that is that it's
hard to continue to have your videos
rank well in related videos.
Because when someone sees it there,
they click on the title, the thumbnail,
expecting a certain story, and you only
give it to them for the first 15 seconds,
and then the rest of the video is completely about something
else, you're going to see high audience retention drop off
at that point, which is going to make
it very hard to accumulate enough watch time on your video
to make that video continue to perform well
in search and related videos.
So from a discoverability standpoint,
it's best to have a story that's teased at the beginning
and is played out through the entire episode of your vlog.
One of the things that I feel like Amen is doing here
in a lot of his vlogs-- and this is very common across vlogging
channels-- is they're just giving status updates
about their day.
Like, video status updates is really all it is.
It's more of like a reporting, and you're telling me
what you did that day, rather than telling an enticing
and engaging story, and making me feel like I'm a part of it.
Hey, guys.
It's like, oh, I don't know, almost 2 o'clock.
And it's been absolutely hectic.
Was working, quickly went upstairs, made lunch
for the girls and stuff.
Quickly ate, came back downstairs.
All right, to be honest, guys, I was watching the United game.
They're playing Shrewsbury today.
The story arc for vlogs that I found
that do this really well need to have three stories actually
going on, three narratives.
The big one is the overarching narrative of the channel.
And I couldn't figure that out, really, on Amen's channel.
I watched several of the videos, and there
wasn't a consistent theme that said, this is why I like Amen.
Now he has some things that he does really well,
which I'm going to talk about here,
that I think we could replicate and learn from.
But there wasn't like, this is what
I stand for, this is what I believe,
this is what I'm all about.
There wasn't anything about, like, is it mostly for parents?
Is it mostly for young kids?
It just kind of seemed to be general.
And when you do that, when the target audience isn't really
clear, and the value of why I should care isn't very clear,
it becomes hard for me to want to subscribe and engage.
A second story arc beneath that that is more like-- all right,
this is the big overarching theme,
but what's the season of life that you're in right now?
And what is the thing that's your main problem
right now that you're trying to solve, overcome,
that I'm following you through?
I'm rooting for you.
Are you going to get there or not?
And then there's the third story,
and that is each individual vlog also
has to have its own story as well that stands alone,
that can hook and entice people, but that
also is pointing and alluding to this bigger story
arc, the second one, that people would
want to subscribe to see how it unfolds and watch the story.
And then the big one that this is
why I'm here in the first place, because seasons of life, vlogs,
those are going to change.
But this big thing, that's what it's all about.
And so that, if you think about it that way,
and you start each video knowing this
is the story I want to tell today,
and you even have the thumbnail and the title for the vlog--
oh, my hat's crooked-- in your head before you even start,
then you'll know what to share, what not to share, and help you
eliminate a lot of content, and actually make
a really focused story.
Two other things that I'm going to pick on Amen
for-- actually, one of the things I'm
going to pick on him for, and one of the things he
does really well.
Let's go back to this latest video.
This is something that he does a lot.
Let me just show you.
Hey, guys.
It's almost 9 o'clock.
He says that "hey, guys" thing a lot through the vlog.
It's kind of like, I feel like I'm hanging out.
I'm talking to you.
And then the next clip, you're reminding me, oh, you
weren't just with me, you're actually in a different part
and reintroducing me.
So personally, I was just like, stop saying, "hey, guys"
so much.
Tell a complete story and make me
feel like I'm a part of the whole thing
rather than for you and the camera,
like it's your first time, you haven't been with me
for 2 and 1/2 hours because you've been doing other stuff.
But every time you say, "hey, guys," you
remind me of that rather than making
me feel like I'm with you through the whole thing.
So I'd probably just cut the "hey, guys" out.
And then the other thing that he does really well, he often
sits down and just talks about something that's
really meaningful, and really valuable, and really helpful,
and even just inspirational that he shares from his own life
experience and things that he's thinking through.
I just quickly came and refill up my cup of ja.
You know what that means, man.
Ja talk, guys.
Stay motivated by being in that market that you
want to be successful in.
It's actually not that hard, guys.
And remember this-- the day you stop learning
is the day you should hang up your boots.
That's the motto that I live by every single day.
So I found that really valuable.
And I would watch his vlogs just for that.
Problem is it's inconsistent.
It doesn't happen in every vlog, so I
don't know which one's going to have and which one's not.
It could either be a thing that he
does for a few minutes in every vlog,
or it could be something that he can label them certain ways.
That's the main value I personally
got from watching his vlogs was when he would sit down and just
talk.
Comment below and give your advice, your help for Amen,
and me, and other people who are learning to vlog.
How do you improve and grow your own vlogging channel?
And as far as the storytelling techniques,
it really is all about story.
So what's that all about for you and how
do you think about that?
Share those below.
And the rest of you guys, if this is your first time here,
I would love to have you subscribe.
Every week, we're doing these channel reviews,
looking at different aspects that help you guys improve
your own channel.
If you want to book your own consultation with me,
there's a link in the description
below where you can do that.
I'd love to get into a video call
and review your channel with you.
But in the meantime, subscribe so we
can hang out here and help you guys just grow
your YouTube audiences and your channel
so that your message spreads and you can change lives.
Thanks for hanging out today, guys.
And we'll see you guys again next week.
Bye.