Got any tips for running a youtube channel?
- Thread starter Kyriakos
- Start date
^And he paid 3 pounds for that advice 
Re Pewdiepie (or how it is spelled), obviously that isn't at all the angle I am going for. That said, troll channels (I think he started as one, or was that middle-of-the-road, starting as childish reaction let's plays) are very successful. Currently it seems the easiest route to success for a random youtuber would be to make videos about politics - but that would disgust me.
There are also loads of youtube channels with significant number of subscribers who just comment on other youtubers/twitch/twitter. Again, pretty stupid in my view.
Ideally I'd like to have a niche channel. I don't aspire for it to ever be really big, but something around 2K subscribers will be more than enough for my own plan (tie to Patreon). I already got one new Patreon supporter out of the channel!
Re Pewdiepie (or how it is spelled), obviously that isn't at all the angle I am going for. That said, troll channels (I think he started as one, or was that middle-of-the-road, starting as childish reaction let's plays) are very successful. Currently it seems the easiest route to success for a random youtuber would be to make videos about politics - but that would disgust me.
There are also loads of youtube channels with significant number of subscribers who just comment on other youtubers/twitch/twitter. Again, pretty stupid in my view.
Ideally I'd like to have a niche channel. I don't aspire for it to ever be really big, but something around 2K subscribers will be more than enough for my own plan (tie to Patreon). I already got one new Patreon supporter out of the channel!
@Kyriakos: This (Wuauquikuna) is why I asked if you sing and play. I watch these two every Saturday and Sunday, even though I don't understand a word of what they sing and not much of what they say if it's not in English. They have an international following, and when chat is enabled, you can see conversations going on in several languages (mostly English, Spanish, Polish, and Russian).
Not sure if you like this style of music, but take a look on the wall to the left side of the screen; you'll see the plaque they received from YouTube, commemorating 400,000 subscribers:
For me, the appeal is good music, two cute and personable guys who are nice to their fans, and it's a great way to relax. Occasionally they will mention bits of information about the instruments they play, or how to say stuff in their original language, Quechua. If you get to the point where you're doing a monetized livestream, always thank your donors, as these two do - people remember that.
I've noticed some people with regular YT updates sometimes bring personal stuff into it; depending on the audience they will either appreciate it or it might detract from what you're doing. In the case of these musicians, a couple of weeks ago their show was titled "Happy Birthday" so of course everyone was wondering which of them was having a birthday (it was Fabian, the younger guy on the right; his brother's name is Luis). And when we found out, the next question was, "How old are you now?"
He wouldn't answer... but the beans got spilled when their little daughters came in with a birthday cake with a "40" on top (a surprise arranged by the other one), and then of course the chat was filled with "You don't look 40!" comments.
This took time away from the music, and so they extended the show another 15 minutes or so... but did the donations pour in? You betcha. If that was anticipated by the brother who arranged the surprise birthday cake, I don't even care, because it was so much fun to be a vicarious part of a surprise birthday party halfway across the world, with people from every continent except Antarctica.
So... maybe you should consider dropping in a Greek language lesson now and then? Celebrating your birthday in front of hundreds of livestream participants and even more who watch it later?
Not sure if you like this style of music, but take a look on the wall to the left side of the screen; you'll see the plaque they received from YouTube, commemorating 400,000 subscribers:
For me, the appeal is good music, two cute and personable guys who are nice to their fans, and it's a great way to relax. Occasionally they will mention bits of information about the instruments they play, or how to say stuff in their original language, Quechua. If you get to the point where you're doing a monetized livestream, always thank your donors, as these two do - people remember that.
I've noticed some people with regular YT updates sometimes bring personal stuff into it; depending on the audience they will either appreciate it or it might detract from what you're doing. In the case of these musicians, a couple of weeks ago their show was titled "Happy Birthday" so of course everyone was wondering which of them was having a birthday (it was Fabian, the younger guy on the right; his brother's name is Luis). And when we found out, the next question was, "How old are you now?"
He wouldn't answer... but the beans got spilled when their little daughters came in with a birthday cake with a "40" on top (a surprise arranged by the other one), and then of course the chat was filled with "You don't look 40!" comments.
This took time away from the music, and so they extended the show another 15 minutes or so... but did the donations pour in? You betcha. If that was anticipated by the brother who arranged the surprise birthday cake, I don't even care, because it was so much fun to be a vicarious part of a surprise birthday party halfway across the world, with people from every continent except Antarctica.
So... maybe you should consider dropping in a Greek language lesson now and then? Celebrating your birthday in front of hundreds of livestream participants and even more who watch it later?
Hygro
soundcloud.com/hygro/
Ahahaha yes
Old Hippy
Deity
- Joined
- Oct 14, 2011
- Messages
- 3,606
no your at 50
no your at 50
Yay ^_^
sophie
Break My Heart
My impression of what works based on following lots of youtubers on twitter (who complain constantly about youtube), and from the handful of videos I've seen on the topic:
1) regular uploads. Set a schedule. Rarely, if ever, deviate from it.
1a) If you're planning on making a living from this, super frequent uploads (at least 1 per week) in the early stages. Once you have a patreon base, you can ease off a bit if you want to go more high-concept. For instance, this is basically what all of the big lefttubers did (ContraPoints, PhilosophyTube, hbomberguy, Sean, etc.)
2) good thumbnails and titles
3) cross-promotion and regular calls to action - get a twitter (and possibly an instagram). Post frequently. Follow producers who have audience overlap with your niche. Don't be thirsty or spammy in their replies, but have a presence. Make sure you remind people to thumbs-up and subscribe at least once per video. It seems cringey and weird, but it really does make a difference.
3a) Just because I forgot to mention this originally, but big and easy one: find subreddits that cater to your target audience (especially if there's a subreddit that caters to a specific youtube subculture you're trying to break into), have a presence there. Make posts linking to your videos (assuming it's allowed, typical, and not done in a spammy way).
4) have realistic expectations. If you're making videos on a niche subject or in a niche/unpopular style, recognize that you're probably not ever going to be "big." Look around for other channels making similar content, get a sense of the subscriber range you can expect.
4a) If you want to be "big" (or bigg-er), then look around at what's popular. You don't have to completely abandon your own voice, but it can be really helpful if, say, you're a video essayist and everybody is doing videos on para-social relationships, to do your own video on that topic. (Of course that doesn't matter if you aren't interested in being big)
5) be patient. Based on what I've heard, the first 6 months (at least) of a channel's lifetime are typically very rough. Virtually no growth, often. But if you keep at it, eventually the algorithm will sort of "figure out" what your audience is, and will start sending new subscribers your way (a big reason why steady, frequent uploads, especially early on, are important). Once that "click" happens, you'll see steady gains for awhile until you sort settle at an equilibrium. From there, the sense I get is that further growth depends on other factors: is your quality and quantity still consistent/improving, was your growth part of a trend that is fading, do you have a presence and sizeable following on social media, did you have a viral hit? etc.
1) regular uploads. Set a schedule. Rarely, if ever, deviate from it.
1a) If you're planning on making a living from this, super frequent uploads (at least 1 per week) in the early stages. Once you have a patreon base, you can ease off a bit if you want to go more high-concept. For instance, this is basically what all of the big lefttubers did (ContraPoints, PhilosophyTube, hbomberguy, Sean, etc.)
2) good thumbnails and titles
3) cross-promotion and regular calls to action - get a twitter (and possibly an instagram). Post frequently. Follow producers who have audience overlap with your niche. Don't be thirsty or spammy in their replies, but have a presence. Make sure you remind people to thumbs-up and subscribe at least once per video. It seems cringey and weird, but it really does make a difference.
3a) Just because I forgot to mention this originally, but big and easy one: find subreddits that cater to your target audience (especially if there's a subreddit that caters to a specific youtube subculture you're trying to break into), have a presence there. Make posts linking to your videos (assuming it's allowed, typical, and not done in a spammy way).
4) have realistic expectations. If you're making videos on a niche subject or in a niche/unpopular style, recognize that you're probably not ever going to be "big." Look around for other channels making similar content, get a sense of the subscriber range you can expect.
4a) If you want to be "big" (or bigg-er), then look around at what's popular. You don't have to completely abandon your own voice, but it can be really helpful if, say, you're a video essayist and everybody is doing videos on para-social relationships, to do your own video on that topic. (Of course that doesn't matter if you aren't interested in being big)
5) be patient. Based on what I've heard, the first 6 months (at least) of a channel's lifetime are typically very rough. Virtually no growth, often. But if you keep at it, eventually the algorithm will sort of "figure out" what your audience is, and will start sending new subscribers your way (a big reason why steady, frequent uploads, especially early on, are important). Once that "click" happens, you'll see steady gains for awhile until you sort settle at an equilibrium. From there, the sense I get is that further growth depends on other factors: is your quality and quantity still consistent/improving, was your growth part of a trend that is fading, do you have a presence and sizeable following on social media, did you have a viral hit? etc.
Pretty much my own view. I don't have a twitter (I have instagram but never used it). Up to now I did present videos on relevant subreddits and facebook groups.
My goal is to have at least 1K subs, and not above 2K at any rate (this isn't a viral channel; it is relatively monocle-wearing). But around 1K subs will allow me to do what I want, assuming it comes with a few more patrons (currently have 4, and only 1 came from my youtube channel).
My goal is to have at least 1K subs, and not above 2K at any rate (this isn't a viral channel; it is relatively monocle-wearing). But around 1K subs will allow me to do what I want, assuming it comes with a few more patrons (currently have 4, and only 1 came from my youtube channel).
My new video, this time on Borges
I think the intro, asking to subscribe, is ok. The overall sound quality isn't that good in this video, because I had to almost whisper... Also, it is 9 minutes long, which is a lot of work, but I was narrating one of my articles so it couldn't be smaller...
Feedback would be welcome
I think the intro, asking to subscribe, is ok. The overall sound quality isn't that good in this video, because I had to almost whisper... Also, it is 9 minutes long, which is a lot of work, but I was narrating one of my articles so it couldn't be smaller...
Feedback would be welcome
Old Hippy
Deity
- Joined
- Oct 14, 2011
- Messages
- 3,606
we have a difference of opinion on ''almost''..because I had to almost whisper..
Feedback would be welcome
I set my volume on my laptop to 100 and still felt we were sharing some conspiracey...
the artwork was good
I look forward to hearing your future work
Your voice, although too soft, did set a very nice tone to go with the art. The connection to Borges escaped me.
Thanks
The connection to Borges is that this is a reflection on his story about two labyrinths. It is a 1,5 page long story and you probably will be able to find it online.
warpus
Sommerswerd asked me to change this
There's probably a whole bunch of articles and youtube videos explaining all the things to do to to increase your odds of being successful on youtube. So my first recommendation would be to look those up and do that research and see what people are saying. Make a list of try to make some of those changes to your channel.
From my personal experience, which isn't worth much.. I'm more likely to watch something if it's to the point and interesting. The speaking voice has to be good, otherwise I might tune out. There's guys who introduce their videos with some sort of a hand movement thing where they say "YO!" afterwards, and no, just don't do that, just get out there and imagine you're watching a professional production on TV starring a lively version of David Attenborough or something - be that guy. Be interesting and to the point, don't go on tangents, speak in a crisp, smoothy, silky, and/or sexy voice (i.e. not an annoying or quite one), make sure there's no weird clothes hanging behind you, and actually make sure that the backdrop is appropriate to the tone you want to set. Create some graphics, like text that shows up that helps along with whatever you are trying to present, such as visual cues or text or outright pictures or whatever. Whatever a show would do that a livelier version of David Attenborough would be on. That's the sweet spot, for me.
But that's me. If you did all that well, and your subject matter is interesting, and the videos are short and to the point, and it's something I can learn, hell yeah I would watch. But I'm just one person. So instead you should probably look up what the lowest common denominator is looking for in a youtube video. That's your target audience maybe? If your target audience was me and only me then I would do what I recommend in the above paragraph. Otherwise do the research and spruce up your videos and good luck!
And make sure you post a link to your channel here so I can subscribe.
From my personal experience, which isn't worth much.. I'm more likely to watch something if it's to the point and interesting. The speaking voice has to be good, otherwise I might tune out. There's guys who introduce their videos with some sort of a hand movement thing where they say "YO!" afterwards, and no, just don't do that, just get out there and imagine you're watching a professional production on TV starring a lively version of David Attenborough or something - be that guy. Be interesting and to the point, don't go on tangents, speak in a crisp, smoothy, silky, and/or sexy voice (i.e. not an annoying or quite one), make sure there's no weird clothes hanging behind you, and actually make sure that the backdrop is appropriate to the tone you want to set. Create some graphics, like text that shows up that helps along with whatever you are trying to present, such as visual cues or text or outright pictures or whatever. Whatever a show would do that a livelier version of David Attenborough would be on. That's the sweet spot, for me.
But that's me. If you did all that well, and your subject matter is interesting, and the videos are short and to the point, and it's something I can learn, hell yeah I would watch. But I'm just one person. So instead you should probably look up what the lowest common denominator is looking for in a youtube video. That's your target audience maybe? If your target audience was me and only me then I would do what I recommend in the above paragraph. Otherwise do the research and spruce up your videos and good luck!
And make sure you post a link to your channel here so I can subscribe.
The lowest common denominator probably won't be very interested in videos about Kafka, Borges and similar
The link is in my signature - also you can just click on any of the videos, like the last one which is very brief and you may like it ^_^
warpus
Sommerswerd asked me to change this
Oh yeah, I see the big youtube link now I will check it out and subscribe
I checked out some of your videos. Some of them remind me of ASMR stuff - there's lots of whispering and sounds like that. The little fable, if it was slower, it could easily be an asmr video.. I'm not saying you should be doing that, just pointing out the similarities. It's a similar vibe. All the other videos I checked out so far seem long and the style/vibe doesn't seem to work with that as well, but that's just my initial reaction. I guess I am saying the little fable is the best one for me so far, out of all your videos I looked through.
I will check it out and subscribeI checked out some of your videos. Some of them remind me of ASMR stuff - there's lots of whispering and sounds like that. The little fable, if it was slower, it could easily be an asmr video.. I'm not saying you should be doing that, just pointing out the similarities. It's a similar vibe. All the other videos I checked out so far seem long and the style/vibe doesn't seem to work with that as well, but that's just my initial reaction. I guess I am saying the little fable is the best one for me so far, out of all your videos I looked through.