- Every few years, YouTube goes through a journey
where people start to question
whether or not it's here to stay.
Everyone's talking about TikTok,
everyone's talking about Instagram.
Is YouTube still going to hang on?
Insert dramatic music.
But this still remains the number one platform
for long forum video.
And if you're smart, then when everyone's looking elsewhere
you're paying attention
to what you can do to build a brand here.
But what does it mean to take YouTube seriously
and make a really, really good YouTube video,
even if it's only as good
as the resources you have right now.
In this video, I wanna share 13 questions.
Yes, it's a lot, but I promise you
it is gonna be very useful
to anyone taking YouTube seriously.
These are questions that I ask myself
before I make any video to make sure
that it is a great idea and that I present it
in the best way possible to help my community.
Good morning, good life.
Welcome back to The Inspiring Influencer here on AmyTV
where we help ambitious professionals like you
to share your knowledge with the world
and spark motivation with a captivated community.
Okay, so the first one's gonna sound a little funny
but I'll explain.
Number one, what does "Charlotte" want to know
about this subject?
If you're wondering who Charlotte is,
Charlotte is the person that I talk to
every time I look at the lens of a camera here on YouTube.
I know who she is, I know what she likes.
I learn more about her as I go every time I make a video
and I continue to serve her.
I make videos for me
but I really make videos for my avatar.
Having a lot of clarity
around who you're talking to
is going to make any video so much better
because you will know how to do it
in the way that that person needs to receive it from you.
So we wanna know whoever your avatar is,
give them a name or don't.
I like to name mine so it makes it more real in my mind.
What does Charlotte wanna know about this subject?
How can I unpack that idea a little bit more
so it's not just some potential fleeting idea,
it's a little bit more fleshed out
so that it will be delivered
in a way that somebody's actually interested in it.
By the way, if you wanna know more about
building out the person that you talk to, your Charlotte
that's in my book as well.
Question number two,
why do you need to talk about this right now?
Even when you're building a channel
that is meant to be fairly evergreen
I would consider my channel to be one that's very evergreen.
You could tune into any video at any time
for the most part.
They're gonna be dated things
just because technology changes, people evolve
but for the most part, you can tune into something
and it'll still have an effect on you
in a year from now than it did the day I released it.
That being said it is very important to recognize
what are people thinking about in this moment?
Because the immediate liftoff of that video
once you post it is really helpful for its trajectory
over the long term.
The third question is,
does this video deliver on the promise of your channel?
When we create a YouTube channel
you've gotta think about it like a TV channel.
Whatever type of content that you want to post
on that channel should be something
that you've articulated to your audience
that can come to expect from you.
So you might have different buckets of things
that you talk about.
I have buckets of things that I talk about on this channel
but I'm not gonna get outside of those buckets
or at least too far outside of those buckets
because then if you upload something
that your audience did not come to expect
when they subscribed,
you're basically giving them a chance to say,
I'm not interested.
And anytime you upload a video
that your subscribers may consider not watching,
then you're not really helping the channel
to flourish to the best of your ability.
Will everyone, like every single video that you post?
Of course not.
But if you really know who you're talking to
most of them that you post should apply
to that community who decided to subscribe.
So if you thought about
what the promise of your channel is
and does this video, deliver on that.
The fourth question is,
what is the basic framework or strategy of this video?
If you're like me, you might be a little bit of a talker
and you need to be reeled in a little bit
so that whatever you create for someone to watch
is digestible, memorable.
And so having a framework or having an outline
of what you intend to talk about is extremely helpful.
And if you can't come up with a few basic bullet points
that are meant to be the pillar
of how you'll deliver the information
then it might be a little bit too broad
a little bit too messy
and hard for somebody to really absorb.
Okay, before I get to my next questions
I wanna share the sponsor of this episode.
I think you're gonna find it very useful
because it is where I am able to flesh out
all of my ideas for YouTube videos.
It's where I keep all of those ideas
and it's where I go to answer these questions
before I sit down to film.
- So you'd have to be hiring underneath a rock
to not know that one of the best,
most visually pleasing tools out there
for staying organized is Notion.
We use Notion on my team because not only do we love it
for being so approachable for the individual
to try for free, there's also the ability
to activate team spaces.
And because we do a lot of creative planning in my business
you need a place that feels appropriate
for planning creative things,
and Notion really helps us do that.
So I wanna show you my Notion.
You can clearly see here that I have both a private space
and a team space, and this is the homepage check in
for my whole team to see what we're focused on.
We have everything here from content priorities
to social strategy,
and some really important team references
when it comes to what it means to work for GATLUW House.
Let's start there.
Just by being reminded of what our mission and values are
you can click here and see what our core values are.
These are things that I really
score people's performance on.
So making sure that our top of mind
is really important for everyone that works here.
Probably one of the most used areas
is the content priorities.
You can see here the way we map out
the AmyTV content calendar.
We've got a bunch of cards here in columns
and they help us to see what the status is
of different videos and how things are going in the process.
One of the biggest things is calling attention to something
to another team member if I need help or support
on one of our videos that we're working on.
So if I'm on a page in Notion
working on a YouTube video idea,
then I can tag a team member that's in my team space
and let them know something I might need support on
that they can help me with
and they can jump right in and do that.
And look at this soundbite collection.
Okay, can we just talk about how beautiful this is designed?
I mean, like you can't get this on other platforms.
If I wanna think about a really great quote
that I heard from Ryan Holiday
when I did an interview with him
we've got that all broken out on this page in Notion
and time coded so that I can call attention to it
when I reference it in other forms of content.
This is so much easier to build out
when you have a team supporting you in creating it.
And so being able to collaborate in real time
where we reference these things
is what makes Notion amazing.
Whether you have a team right now or not,
I highly suggest you try Notion.
It's free for personal use.
Start making some things you're excited about
so that when you do have people to collaborate with
you've got something started already.
Try Notion for free by clicking the link
in the description down below.
And if you identify as a startup
you can apply to get a thousand dollars off
your team's Notions plan.
Check it out.
The fifth question is, who could help you articulate
the importance of this subject in your video?
Whether it be a featured guest or a mentioned expert?
This could be literally anything,
but think about the people who have taught you thus far.
Maybe you read a book, maybe you heard a podcast interview.
Maybe you've watched another YouTube video.
How can you refer to someone else
that has mentioned ideas in the area
of what you intend to unpack in this video
so that you can offer a little bit
of spotlight to someone else,
pass the mic, if you will, or just make it more interesting
that it's not all of your ideas that are in this video
and that you're willing to share the love with others
who have taught you as well.
The sixth question is,
how can you show to tell the story of this video?
Keeping video attention can be pretty tough.
And so even, if you can sit and say something
and talk for a really long time,
sometimes we have to do a little bit more
to keep the attention on the video
so that people don't get bored and leave,
especially with long form video.
So there's a number of ways you can do this.
Your frameworks and your bullet points
and numbering things is really helpful.
But what else can you do?
Maybe showing something that you're talking about
with B-roll footage or using graphics
to write on screen what you're saying
to make it easier for people to digest.
The better you can show to tell,
the better it's going to be absorbed
the more you're going to be able to retain attention.
The seventh question is, how will you attract the attention
of your audience with your title and thumbnail?
It is so, so, so important that this is not an afterthought.
If the video is a great idea,
if you think someone's really going to enjoy it,
you've got to be clear as day, articulate
as to what somebody is signing up for
when they decide to click on your video.
And you're going to be best supported by that
when you have a great title and a thumbnail
that backs up the title and again,
shows to tell the story.
So what do you need to write
to make it very clear what people are signing up for
when they decide to watch?
And what do you need to show to prove
that you do deliver on that subject
that is written in the title, that's in your thumbnail?
These two things need to be on the front burner, okay.
Plan the title and the thumbnail
in advance of sitting down and making the video
even if the thumbnail's going to get
further fleshed out by the actual footage itself.
Having a good idea of what it could look like
based on some inspiration you've seen
or just an idea that you have is a great way to make sure
that you stay focused on the subject
and have a great way to attract people
when the video's ready to go.
Number eight's pretty simple.
When will the video need to be published?
Maybe there's something a bout what you talked about
that is relevant to a timely matter.
So for instance, a lot of people
are talking about the holidays,
things that refer to the holidays or starting a new year.
Then you're gonna need to post that video
pretty much on time, otherwise it's gonna be irrelevant
if you wait too long.
The ninth question is, where will you shoot the video?
Based on what you've written here
and what you're starting to unpack
about how to do something great with this video idea
you're probably getting a good idea of
where it should be shot to do it a justice.
So can you make sure that you can go to that place?
Can you make sure you can set up your gear to shoot?
Can you make sure you have all of the locations figured out
that you need to go and get it scheduled on your calendar?
Because as we all know, a to-do list is nothing,
your shot list is nothing
if there is no time to allocate toward it.
The 10th question is very personal to me.
(laughs happily)
I don't know why I put it that way
but maybe this will resonate with some other creators.
The 10th question is, will you remember this video?
I find it fascinating that we live in this world
where we're constantly having to publish
as much as possible as fast as possible.
And it's like new idea, new idea, new story,
new idea, new framework, new strategy, new experience.
And it's just like all the time,
you're on this hamster wheel.
And I'm always really bummed out when somebody says,
"I saw this video of yours and it was so good."
And they tell me the title
and I'm like, I don't remember making that.
Like it sounds like me, but I don't remember making that.
So part of that is just life.
That's just the grind and making sure
that you're always creating a lot of value
and reworking ideas and updating ideas
but you really do want to feel
like your work is memorable
and not just for the people watching it,
but for you as the creator.
And that leads me to question number 11, which is,
will you enjoy making it?
Again, we don't just want
this content creation thing to be a grind.
For some people, it is just marketing
and they really don't care.
For others, they take their video craft really seriously.
And because this is a lifestyle decision
of your line of work in a lot of cases
for somebody who's a full-time YouTuber
or at least a full-time content creator
you want it to be an enjoyable experience.
Like, we're doing this because we wanna have fun.
So when you think about the video idea
what gets you jazzed about it?
Like why are you going to have fun?
Because ultimately, if your personality is in it
but not the fullest version of what it could be
I really don't believe that
it's going to fall well with your audience.
Because what I've noticed
anytime I make something just to make it
and I didn't care about enjoying it,
I just had to get it done
and it was like quick and dirty and whatever,
I don't remember it and I definitely don't enjoy it.
Question number 12
is inspired by the landscape of video right now.
We see the TikToks of the world
the Instagram reels, and of course YouTube shorts.
So number 12 is, if you looked at your video
once it was done and decided you wanted to cut it down
shrink it to a 60 seconds version, could you do that?
Or could you at least take a few different snippets
of your video and turn them into 60 seconds versions?
I say this because while long form is great
and there's so much opportunity in posting on YouTube,
could you also share just as much value
in a shorter period of time
so you can cross promote and spread the love a little bit
in some of these other venues?
Certainly, even if you didn't leave YouTube at all
and you just had your full form video
and a 60 second compacted version or highlight of it
to post to YouTube shorts you'd really be leveraging
a lot of the important features of this platform
to get in front of new eyeballs.
And so can you take your video and shorten it?
And the 13th and final question is
one that I learned from my dear dear friend
and amazing animator YouTuber storyteller, Suzy.
I asked him on a podcast once,
what's the best advice that you've ever been given
or you've ever come up with throughout your YouTube career?
And he said, anytime you make something
you've gotta ask yourself, would you share it?
So of course, as the creator, we're gonna share our video.
Like, I'm gonna tweet it, I'm gonna post it on Instagram.
Go watch it, please subscribe to my channel.
But if you think about when you see
a new TikTok that cracks you up
or a YouTube short that just caught you off guard
it was so amazing.
Or a video that you saw somewhere and you immediately
hit that little paper airplane button
and ship it off to someone
because they absolutely have to watch it
and have this same experience that you did.
Do you feel like that would happen
with this video that you're making?
It may not be because it's
the most entertaining thing in the world.
It may be because it's just super valuable.
Can you think of two or three people
that you genuinely would want to tell them
the same information that you said
in this video you made
and so therefore you would share it with them?
This is how you start to understand
the psychology of what makes video great.
I gotta share this with Joe.
I have to share this on my Instagram story,
my audience will love it.
I have to share this with so and so.
I'm gonna play this for my grandma, the next time I see her.
Those are the moments that make a video presence.
It's that shareability.
It's not just likes, it's not just comments.
It's someone wanting somebody else
to be in the audience with them.
Those are the 13 questions
to ask yourself so that you make better YouTube videos.
That's all for today.
Thank you so much for tuning in.
I appreciate it.
As always, remember, subscribe for good vibes,
kiss the ones you love, and go after the life you want.
Cheers.