- It's a new year with a ton of opportunity.
So in this video we're talking about
some things that you need to think about
and some ways to approach the content that you're creating
so that you be a successful creator.
Let's get into it.
(intense music)
So for the last week I've been here in Maui,
taking a break just from everything.
Last year was kinda crazy
with the content that I was creating and just
the amount that I had to get done before the year was up.
It was a rough end of the year for me in terms of just
time and all the things that I said yes to.
And that's one element that we're gonna
talk about today in this video but
I do wanna start with something
that I think is super important.
And as a creator, when you start the new year
it's a good opportunity
to kind of set your intention for the year,
so what do you wanna get out the year?
You're here to be a YouTuber,
you're here to be a creator,
you're here to find that secret sauce
that's gonna make you successful.
But honestly there's just not like one thing
that's gonna make you a successful YouTuber.
It takes time, it takes a lot of dedication
there's a lot of just other elements that go into it but,
you can set yourself up for success.
So at the beginning of every year
I like to sit down a choose one word
that's gonna help me define what
my goals are for that year.
So one year my word was create,
another year it was consistency,
last year it was expand and my idea was
that I just wanted to expand my brand.
And so every morning I wake up
and I think about this idea,
what am I doing to expand what I'm doing.
So this year for me my word is intent
because I wanna have a clear intent
and I wanna have a reason for everything
that I'm doing so that I can be more specific
with what I'm creating and be more specific
with the direction that my channel is going
and just everything around my channel.
Because I've been just going after it,
go as hard as I can and just
trying a bunch of different things
and that's a good technique to get going,
get the momentum rolling,
but eventually you can't do everything.
And last year I was starting to feel that burnout,
I was starting to feel the effects of just saying yes
to too many things and now,
my idea is that I wanna have more of a clear intent
with the videos that I'm creating.
So, for you, no matter what stage you are as a creator
one of the things that you need to do right now
is just think of what is gonna be your word.
So instead of having a New Year's resolution
and having goals that are kind of unattainable,
a word is simple.
And it's something that you can practice
in different elements of your life
it doesn't have to just be this one specific goal.
What I want you guys to think about
is your one word that's gonna help you
define this next year for you.
And it's actually gonna help you
find more success in that way.
Now, let's go into some tips
on how to be a successful YouTuber this year,
and there is some things that I want you to think about.
We have to understand, A, what the algorithm wants,
and then B, I have a list of a few things
that's really gonna help you be successful
if you just focus on this and not
all the stuff you see online.
There is just some much noise out there
and honestly when you simplify it down into what's important
it's actually not that hard to be successful,
it just takes time, it takes consistency,
all of that good stuff.
All right so let's talk about the YouTube algorithm
and this is probably one of the most
misunderstood aspects around being successful
on YouTube because people are always saying
the algorithm is out to get you, in reality it's not.
You just have to understand how the algorithm works
and then you can be a successful creator.
So let's just break this down
into the most simplest form possible.
So what the algorithm wants is basically
for a viewer to stay on YouTube and watch more videos.
The idea it that algorithm wants people
to binge watch content.
So if your videos help satisfy that need
then you're gonna satisfy the algorithm
and you're gonna get boosted higher in the ranking system
and you're gonna get suggested and all of that.
So you have to make sure you're creating
within YouTube's terms of service
and you're not doing anything
that's gonna violate their policies.
If you're going against whatever YouTube
is saying is okay to create
then you're not gonna find success
and with that also comes advertiser friendly.
So you have to make your content advertiser friendly,
so that you can get paid off the videos that you're creating
and then you have to make sure
you're within the terms of service.
Now, there's obviously exceptions to the rules,
but what I'm saying, for a general blanket,
if you wanna find success on the platform
you gotta play by the rules.
So the key to satisfy the algorithm
is basically get people binge watch a ton of content,
get them to watch the entirety of each one of your videos
and play by the rules and then you will find success because
if you're doing that
then you're satisfying what YouTube wants.
So let me go through some specifics tips
that's gonna help you this year on YouTube,
and the first is understand your why.
So what are you creating,
like what's the purpose of your videos?
Are you there to entertain, are you there to educate?
Do you know the type of people
that are gonna be interested in the videos
that you're creating?
Once you can find your target audience
and you understand your why,
then every video you make is going to make sense
because you're like, "Oh, this satisfies
"the reason why I'm creating, so I'm gonna create it,"
and you're not gonna be so focused on the numbers.
Which that's my second point is
don't focus on the numbers,
don't look at subscribers,
don't care how many subscribers you lose, how many you gain,
don't care about the amount of views
and all of that per video because
if you're more focused on your audience,
who is interested in the videos that you're creating,
then you will generate the views,
subscribers, and all of that.
Yes, you do wanna look at your analytics
to see like, how good your watch time is,
how many views you're getting,
how many subscribers you're getting
off of certain times of videos but,
if that's all you're focused on
then you're never gonna actually grow because
all you're focused on is a number.
Which comes down to a transactional experience where
if I create x, I'll get x amount of subscribers.
Well, you're not actually going to be
satisfying you're audience to the degree
of giving them something that they want to be a part of,
a part of the community,
and so that comes to my next point
which is build a community.
So instead of just creating videos
that you know will get views and subscribers,
create for an audience.
And also with that do things like
comment back to everyone that comments on your videos,
as much a possible.
When you get to a certain point
it's gonna get harder and harder to comment back but
as a smaller creator
you wanna make sure that you're building a community
and you're satisfying a group of people,
rather then just trying to get people
to hit that subscribe button.
You really want to build a group of people around you
that actually care about the content that you create
so that if you create different styles of content
within the same kinda category,
people are gonna be interested in everything
that you're creating and not just the main topical video,
like how to shoot epic B-roll.
That's like been one of those trends
I've been seeing lately because
a lot of people are shooting these videos
on how to shoot epic B-roll, which is great,
that's a cool topic to shoot.
But if you're just doing it to boost your channel
and then you don't have other videos
to follow-up that kinda build on that topic,
and are around that topic, then it's gonna fall flat.
So you wanna make sure that
if you're gonna go after a trending topic
that it fits within your brand or your niche.
And so that comes down to my next point which is,
focus on an audience and not a single niche or topic.
Now everyone talks about how you have to
pick your niche, you have to find your niche,
yes, that is super important
if you have a variety channel
where you have a bunch of different ideas
you're not gonna grow
because you have to satisfy one audience.
But instead of thinking about it
in terms of just a single topic,
or just a single idea,
think about it more as a single audience.
So if you were to put yourself in your audience's shoes,
what kind of videos would they
want to watch on your channel.
And so when I think about my audience I don't think,
"Oh, my audience just wants to see filmmaking tutorials
because my audience is creators,"
so there's actually a whole world
of videos that I can create
that my audience is gonna be interested in.
So you have to think about
who is your target audience?
Who are the people that are watching
and what are the types of videos
that they would like to see.
Now, if you're a filmmaking channel,
yes, a cooking video probably is not going to work.
But if you're a filmmaking channel
then maybe a photography tutorial would work,
or maybe a vlog where they go behind the scenes
on an adventure would work
because it still satisfies that one audience.
All right, I'm gonna pause the video right here
because a lot of people been asking me about my
vlogging set-up because everyone thinks I'm on a Gimbal,
but in reality I'm just using the Olympus E-M5 Mark III,
which is this cameras right here.
It's a pretty amazing camera,
I got my massive lens on it.
But this camera has amazing stability,
it's got awesome auto focus so I know
my shot's always in focus,
I know it's always gonna be stable,
but, yeah, I have it on a SwitchPod
I don't have it on a Gimbal.
I just wanted to show this because
I've been using this on a few video recently
and I keep getting this question over and over.
My next tip is easy to say
but it is harder to put in practice
but that is have zero expectations.
If something fails you don't want it to destroy you,
you don't want it to make you feel awful.
But the same way,
if you have something that does amazing
and the video just takes off,
you don't wanna like get so excited
and then that's all you do and you end up forgetting
about everything else that you wanted to create so,
have zero expectations and focus more on the audience.
And when you do that, yes,
you will start seeing success,
you'll start seeing the numbers build and all that
but don't let that get to your head.
Just approach the videos you're creating now
and the the videos you're creating years from now
with the same kind of expectations.
Create because you wanna create
and create because you know that your audience
wound be interested in seeing those videos
and you will see your channel start to build from that.
And my next tip is be known for something.
So understand you're why, why are you creating,
and what value you're bringing to the community.
And what is that one thing that people
are going to remember you for?
So someone like Picasso,
he made thousands, and thousands of paintings
but he's really only known for a handful of paintings.
So you're gonna create hundreds, if not thousands of videos
but there's really gonna be certain things
that people will come to your channel for.
So what is one thing that people
are really going to pull out of your channel,
and what is something you're gonna be known for?
And once you can start identifying that
you can start building more content around that
and really get hyper-focused.
And that comes back to everything I was saying,
understand your why, understand your audience,
and understand what kind of videos satisfy your audience
and then you can be known for something.
Another tip is always be learning.
So don't ever think you're the most skilled person at x,
there's always something that you can learn.
So in this next year focus on improving
your audio, focus on improving your visuals,
what are things that you can do
that's gonna take your videos
and make them look and sound a little bit better?
What are some things that you're gonna do
that's gonna a help your presentation,
or the information that you're sharing,
or what is gonna make you more entertaining?
You need to just keep that learning cycle going
and don't stop and just get stagnant,
doing the same thing over and over.
And with this idea of just getting stagnant and being lazy,
don't be lazy with your thumbnails.
So actually put effort into the thumbnails
and the titles.
So you could create the best videos in the world
but you need to create engaging titles and thumbnails
so that people will actually click on your videos.
So one thing to really focus on this year
is improving your titles and thumbnails,
what's gonna make you stand out
among all the videos, in that topic,
that you're creating for.
So start doing research
and looking at other titles and thumbnails,
and start figuring out where you can stand out
and where you can create visuals that are engaging
so that someone's like,
"Oh, that's interesting, I'm gonna click on that."
So I've got two more tips for you,
number one is make content that's shareable
because if people want to share your content then
it's not only gonna get spread to more people
but also it's gonna satisfy the algorithm
because essentially that's what the algorithms wants
is sharable content.
Videos that actually get people to watch more content
and videos that get spread
because the more people are on the platform,
the more YouTube is gonna be happy.
Now, my final tip is be consistent and keep uploading.
Super simple to say but it is something
that you need to keep working on.
So, try to put out a video once a week,
try to put a video out once every other week.
But try to stay consistent and keep going.
It took me over 200 videos before I found out
which videos work for me and what kind of content
I like creating, so it's not gonna happen overnight.
As everyone says, it's a marathon, not a sprint,
but in reality, yeah, it's like an ultra marathon,
it's like a crazy ridiculously long-distance marathon.
But you just need to keep going,
keep uploading, be consistent,
think about your audience, think about our why,
and you will find success on the platform this year.
All right guys, I know you are gonna have a successful year
if you put in the time and you put in the work
it just takes doing the steps
and focusing on the things that matter
and stop focusing on the things that don't.
Now, if you wanna see a 'nother video series
that I did on how to get you first 1,000 subscribers,
I'll put a link right here.
And guys, also if you wanna just jump-start
your YouTube career,
I do have a step-by-step guide,
I've created an online school
called the "Creator Film School."
And I have a course on there
that goes through my entire technique
on how I was able to build my channel
from zero to where it is now.
All right, I will see you on the next one.