- I've got 20 of the biggest mistakes
that you can make as a Youtuber.
And yes, that's a Joshua tree.
I'm out in the middle of the desert.
(lively music)
So I'm out here doing some desert exploring,
hanging out in Joshua Tree, Yucca Valley, this whole region.
But I wanted to put together a video
about some of the biggest mistakes
that people make on their Youtube channels.
And hopefully from this video
you'll be able to create better content
and make engaging videos that people want to watch.
If you're new here to this channel, my name is Jeven Dovey.
I do a lot of awesome filmmaking tutorials,
camera reviews, some Youtube training,
all that good stuff.
Also I like to make adventure films in places like this.
So let's talk about some of the biggest mistakes
that beginner Youtubers make.
Number one is copying other Youtubers.
Now this is something that I see more and more
and it's one of those things
that it might seem like a great idea
to basically copy someone, because obviously,
they're doing it right,
so if you copy them you could get
the same kind of fans and fame and all that good stuff.
Well that's not the case.
You can definitely get inspired by other people
but as soon as you start just straight copying other people
that's where you're gonna fail
and that's where people are not gonna enjoy your channel
and they're gonna click off.
They're not gonna subscribe, none of that good stuff.
There's people out there I've seen
that are copying big Youtubers,
like literally doing the exact same videos,
and in the same style with the same kind of content in it.
There's one thing to be inspired by people,
but to straight up just copy someone
and then use that as a template for your own videos,
that's not the way to do it.
Number two is having no plan or no story
for what it is that you're doing.
So you need to plan out your content.
You need to think about what it is that you're shooting
before you actually start shooting
so that when it comes time to turn on the camera
you have a plan or you have like a story
that you're following.
Just if you're shooting content
and it's just kinda like following through the day
doing whatever it's not that exciting.
The Youtubers that really do well create a plan
before they actually hit that record button.
So bad sound is number three on the list
because having good sound is essential
to keeping people engaged on your videos.
If you hear wind noises or you can't hear the audio
people are not gonna watch your videos
so you need to have good sound.
This is why you use a microphone
like a shocker microphone on top of your camera,
and then use that big wind cover, that big furry thing,
because that gets you better sound
because you're not hearing all the external wind
and sound is important.
If you have good clear sound
then people wanna watch your content.
If you have bad sound people are gonna click off
pretty quickly.
Number four is shot composition.
So depending on what it is that you're shooting.
If you're too close, if you're too far,
if someone's not centered properly in the frame
or they're too far off to the side,
something will feel off in your content.
So you gotta think about your composition.
You gotta use good rules of composition to get good footage.
And guys, one thing before we continue on with these tips,
I do have some additional content per tip.
I'll put some links down below in the description
where you guys can check out more in depth videos
about each tip.
So I highly suggest checking some of those out
if you want some more training
on some of these specific tips.
Okay, number five is bad lighting.
So for example if I walk out to the sun,
right now I'm exposed for the shade.
This is bad lighting.
It's over exposed.
And the same thing happens if you are in the shade
or something and you go under exposed,
that's bad lighting.
So you gotta make sure that your exposure's correct
and then also if you're doing sit down videos,
like I do a lot of content
where I sit down in my home studio office,
you need to make sure the lighting's good.
You need to make sure that you can see the face.
You make sure that you have good lighting behind you.
There's not like weird bright windows
that are completely over exposed behind you
and not something super dark.
You just need to have good looking lighting
for the content that you're shooting.
So it has to work with the content that you're shooting.
Something to think about.
Okay, the next one is unnecessary insert shots.
So for example, that really had no reason whatsoever
for this video except that I'm out here in the desert.
But it really didn't make sense
with what it is that I'm shooting
'cause I'm doing tips on Youtube.
So that was an unnecessary insert shot.
So if it really detracts from what you're shooting
and it pulls your audience out
people might just click off your video.
So make sure when you're using insert shots
or you're putting some additional footages
that it makes sense with the story line
that you're going about or the video that you're creating.
You wanna make sure that it fits
in the whole scheme of things.
So I mean technically, yeah,
an insert shot of me walking on a log works
because I'm hanging out in the middle of the desert
but it doesn't necessarily work
'cause this is a tip video.
Number seven is too many transitions.
So if you're all the time going from here to here
and you're just kind of whipping around
and you're just kinda doing all these crazy transitions,
they look cool but at a certain point
it does get annoying after a while.
So limit your transitions to what makes sense
for your content, not just putting them in there
just to put 'em in there.
You wanna put 'em in so it makes sense
or that it keeps your audience engaged.
But you definitely have to think about it
and not just put 'em in all the time, everywhere.
Sometimes they don't always make sense.
Okay so number eight is too much b-rolling.
And you'll see this all the time.
People are really b-roll happy.
They're just putting a ton of b-roll in your video.
Well unless your video is like a cinematic
kind of experience type of video,
then if you do too much b-roll
then people are gonna lose interest
because they want more story.
So you gotta have a balance of good story, b-roll,
but not just do these ridiculous cinematic sequences
that go on forever with tons of b-roll
because too much b-roll is not a good thing.
So if you're gonna do cinematic sequences
kind of throughout your video, that's cool, but limit it.
Don't do like 30, 40 seconds all the time.
Maybe do like a 10 second one or five second, maybe 15,
something shorter so that
when someone's watching your video
they're not sitting there being like oh,
another b-roll sequence.
Here we go.
This is kind of boring.
Yeah, you don't want that.
You know what?
I'm gonna do another one here
So number nine is using cinematic
in everything that you do: cinematic b-roll,
cinematic style.
I'm gonna shoot a cinematic color.
I'm gonna do cinematic color setting.
It gets old after a while
and yes, I definitely do it sometimes on my channel.
I'll say I'm doing a cinematic this or that.
Obviously it's a good keyword to use.
But if all of your stuff is cinematic
but it's not actually cinematic
people will lose interest.
I've seen this a lot on Youtube
where people are commenting on good cinematic videos
and they're saying things like
oh it's great to finally see a cinematic video
that's actually cinematic
and not just saying it's cinematic.
So don't put cinematic in everything that you do.
For those of you who are tutorial creators,
for those of you who create this kind of content,
don't just use that keyword.
You gotta make sure it makes sense
when you're actually producing cinematic tutorials
and those kind of videos.
Okay let's go somewhere else.
Okay so let's go on to number 10
and that is lingering or just kind of
holding on shots for too long.
You gotta move quickly with Youtube content
and just things wanna move quickly.
So if I was just to, like if I was to,
like if I was thinking and then
I didn't cut out some of the dead space
or you're having a conversation,
unless the time in between shots is motivated
then you shouldn't put like a bunch of dead space
in your video.
You're gonna lose the interest of different people.
It has to make sense to put dead space in.
That's why you see Youtube content move so fast,
is because people want quick.
They want concise.
They want things happening now.
If they're getting an information piece,
they're getting a tutorial like this,
then they want it quick.
They don't wanna push 20, 30, 40 minutes of content.
Another one is way too much chit chat.
So just having a long conversation on camera sometimes,
you need to cut it down a little bit.
And I do this a lot.
I'll talk a lot and then I end up
cutting more and more and post.
Like I'll talk for 20 minutes
but cut it down to a 10 minute video.
How weird are these by the way?
This is a very odd plant.
All the plants out here are out to get you in some way.
Okay number 12 is the wrong music choice.
So you need to figure out what your video's about,
what kind of content that you're creating
and find a type of music that fits that theme.
If you have music that doesn't fit your theme
it will feel off.
People will click off.
They don't wanna watch.
I get all my music from Musicbed.
They are a great resource for Youtubers
to get quality music, but also all that is
licensed for your channel,
because when you use unlicensed music
then you can't get paid for the content
that you're creating.
You don't wanna do that.
You don't wanna have copyright claims hit your video.
So music choice in two different ways.
First of just getting the proper content
that's gonna fit your channel,
and two, licensing so that your stuff
doesn't get flagged and so you can make money
off of your videos.
Okay number 13, okay so number 13
is not uploading enough content.
I highly suggest uploading a new video
at least once a week at the bare minimum.
Now you can do more than that
if you can create more content.
But if you do one a week you stay relevant.
You'll keep your subscribers happy
and you'll continue to grow.
If you are uploading like once a month
or if you don't have a schedule at all
and you upload like five videos one week
and then nothing for a month
you're gonna lose the interest of your subscribers.
They wanna know that there's consistency.
They wanna know that you're creating content
and you're gonna continue to create content.
You're not just gonna leave them hanging.
So I highly suggest doing at least once a week
and then schedule.
Make it like a Monday or a Tuesday
and do that every Tuesday.
When you create that schedule within your content
then people are gonna be expecting it
so people will come back
and they're gonna keep watching.
That's how you build a fan base and the subscribers
and all that good stuff.
So number 14 is try new things.
Like you just wanna keep creating new content
and just trying different things with your channel.
For example a lot of times
when I'm shooting these kind of talking videos,
doing tutorials and all that,
I'll be in my Youtube studio that I've built
and then I will add b-roll to it,
whereas I wanna try something different.
I wanna come out here to the desert
and shoot while I'm out here.
So you just gotta constantly be trying new things
with your channel because Youtube gives you the opportunity
to kind of shoot whatever it is that you wanna shoot
and be as creative as you wanna be.
So use that to your advantage
and just create awesome content and just try things.
It'll keep your channel fresh.
It'll inspire you to do different things.
And maybe you'll find like a new style of content
that you weren't producing before.
I know I started out this channel just shooting vlogs
but now I shoot tutorials.
Now I shoot some short films.
I do a bunch of stuff and it's opened so many more doors
because I have just tried different things
and seen what works well
and seeing what people like to watch.
So number 15 is a super important one.
One of the biggest mistakes that you can make
is just doing it for the money.
And that's kind of one of those things
that this is a creative platform where yes,
you can make money and you can make this a job.
There is a lot of potential in Youtube.
But if you get started because you think
you're gonna get rich and famous
off of being a Youtuber then think again.
This actually takes a lot of work.
It takes a lot of time.
And for my first year of Youtubing,
my first year, which I shot almost 200 videos,
I made like $48.
So in reality, you're not gonna make
a ton of money right away.
Now there is potential, like I'm saying.
You can make money doing this
but if you do it for the money
then I would say go into a different profession.
You do this because you like creating content.
You do this because you wanna be part of this community.
You don't do this for the money.
But there is a potential to make money doing it.
That is a big positive.
Number 16 is just not being human.
We are all people so act like you're a person.
Don't be a robot.
Also have a conversation.
Talk to your viewers.
Talk to your subscribers.
Be a person and actually be part of their lives
as much as you're a part of their lives.
Because people want to follow other people
and that's why Youtube has become so big
is that we're all individual creators.
So one of the things you need to do
is actually be a person when you're creating content
on this platform.
Number 17 is just riding new product waves.
And this is for everyone who wants to shoot products
to get views.
Now I'm not saying don't do this.
As you can tell on my channel I'll shoot products.
I'll shoot the new thing that's coming out.
But if all of your content is just the newest product
then you're always relying on the new products
to basically drive your channel.
And that's not necessarily the way to go about doing it.
I have an idea that you wanna create content
that people will search for now
but also content that people will search for
down the road, because that's the beauty of Youtube.
It is a giant search engine
and your videos live as long as you keep them
up on your channel.
Another big mistake is when you're just stressing
about gear and having the latest gear.
That's not important.
What's most important is the content that you create,
the stories that you create.
It's not about the gear.
I mean the gear's obviously the fun part.
We like talking about gear.
We like getting new gear.
But you could shoot with your phone.
You could shoot with your Go Pro.
You could shoot with whatever camera you have right now
and start creating content.
You don't have to have the latest and greatest
at all times to create good content on Youtube.
So number 19, we got two left guys.
Number 19 is burnout.
So this has been a popular topic
in the Youtube community recently.
And it goes along with number 20 as well,
which is impatience.
So what happens is creators will get impatient.
They want to see that subscriber count jump.
They wanna see the ad revenue coming in.
They wanna have everything start happening.
But it doesn't just happen overnight.
It takes time.
It takes time to build your channel.
It takes time to build your following
before you actually can get to
whatever level it is that you're trying to get to.
And a lot of times that's never ending.
So what happens is creators get burned out.
They create too much content.
They're on too much.
They're always having to be engaged, creating content,
sharing it, always being in part of the hustle,
which in reality, when you work that much
you're gonna burn out.
You can't do that.
You have to have balance.
You have to be able to take time for yourself
and do the things that you wanna do
that are outside the camera.
This is one aspect of your life
but there's a lot of different aspects of your life.
There's people in your life.
So you don't wanna burn yourself out by being impatient
and just always focusing on creating.
You need to give yourself some work life balance
because this, at the end of the day, yes it's fun,
but it's still a job.
But you can't do it effectively all the time
at all times of the day every day 365 days a year
because eventually you'll burn out
and you'll get tired of it
and you won't wanna do it anymore.
So create yourself a schedule.
Be realistic in what you can create
and just have fun creating.
And guys that's the 20 biggest mistakes
that I see creators making on Youtube.
Like I said, down below in the description
I have some additional videos
that covers some of the different topics
that we talked about in this video
so you can see some more videos on that.
And guys I also have a video
all about how to make more money with ad revenue
on your channel.
I'll put a link down below to the description of that.
And guys that is it.
If you're new to this channel
make sure you hit that subscribe button.
There's a lot of awesome filmmaking tutorials,
Youtube tutorials, camera reviews,
a bunch of different stuff on this channel.
I also like to do adventure films,
go places like this and go exploring.
I also have thecreativefilmschool.com
which is a nuts and bolts guide
on how to make money as a creator
and do this for a living.
So guys make sure you check that out
at creativefilmschool.com.
And you know what, I'll see you on the next one.