one way to get people past that deep canyon on your neat chart that Video Creators could do is a Channel Review. Its one thing to talk about what YT creators should do, but to show how an actual channel might improve itself could be a regular feature on Video Creators. eric.
+GardenFork Brilliant idea! Teachers are starting to use a similar method (assessment for learning) and it's been very effective when done right. I watched a teacher take student's writing samples and review them with the whole class. I would have thought that it would have traumatized kids to have their work up for everyone to see, but they all wanted there's looked at. Turns out kids want to learn (and help others learn) from their mistakes.
+GardenFork That would be a great idea but that is his other way of making money he has a training and evaluation course where he goes in depth about your channel and where you can improve but that program is like 900 dollars if I remember right. Other than that he sells his dvd course for about 30 but you have to apply it to your channel yourself. I don't have the money for either.
+TheJollyMage On the other hand, doing this could help him advertise his evaluation course. He could do a basic evaluation on channels that he selects (not as in depth as his paid analysts might be) and post it on his channel. It would help people see a bit of what he can do, but also help them understand their own channel's strengths and weakness. Plus, he could orient this towards the smaller channels, the ones who can't afford the course. When they get big enough to need more help, they'd probably think of Tim.
My channels problem is that I'm just having problems connecting with my target audience, my videos consistently get less and less views even with the fact that my most views only has 53 views. It is both motivating and discouraging, i just wish i knew how to catch and retain an audience as i am seeing no growth whatsoever
You posted this a year ago.. I checked out your channel and like the videos.. subbed and rang the bell.. Keep on .. I agree though with the quality of the music and dancing.. you should be getting tons more views then you are getting.. get youtube buddy.. it will help you grow - and it's free.. you can upgrade for additional tools...
The white board is a great teaching tool. I think the biggest problem is finding a way to actually get your videos seen in the first place. You can produce the greatest content in the world but if you're starting out with no connections and just at the mercy of the UA-cam algorithm, it's a losing game.
My channels problem is that I'm just having problems connecting with my target audience, my videos consistently get less and less views even with the fact that my most views only has 53 views. It is both motivating and discouraging, i just wish i knew how to catch and retain an audience as i am seeing no growth whatsoever
ĐNC Same, but lately my views are doing fine throughout the two years I started making youtube videos. I had made some accounts that I can share through other websites which is all good, but I think most newer videos I don't think there's ain't any engagement following a comment based of what they saw is great which mostly I may found something lacking that I kind of don't understand at first. The best way I shouldn't worry of that us just ignore it where at most parts, I guess the engagement will come most of the parts I'm making out there will be available even though I still don't rrally have anyone us consistent on replying normally than getting this stupid spam replies I keep on getting lately which is another thing I hate already.
The same thing here. youtube is simply not bringing in enough views i have to share the contents so much to get some views but i don't have much of connections and even after sharing not a lot of people are watching.. Its kinda sad after investing so much time into it. It's alright if i don't get subscribers but just getting views to videos i make is good enough for me but even that's getting hard.
You were Wondering Indeed but st this point just losing one subscriber that someone is actually not that loyal as I thought someone will be, I just don't care to get tucked off about it anymore as I learned more of other talented people who is great at making content especially Soundcloud nusicuans, they just enjoy the type of content and still doing their own thing that I already still continuing to do my own thing as i always enjoy myself than being a youtuber as the stupid grind when it comes to these things of statists when things are subtracting, I don't let it bother me other than address it again since it's still getting ridiculous that it happends to me constantly.
Thanks Tim! As always very helpful stuff, and I enjoyed the visuals. It'll be interesting to hear how your future strategies effect your subscriber-views ratio! Cheers
Family Vlogger here.. We are in the early stage group you are talking about.. I'm hoping to build more of a relationship with my audience and have them interact more with us. Still struggling with views and people finding my videos. I love your videos, keep up the great work!
I'm currently in that ugly valley...that's full of quicksand...with a boulder is on my head...and running low on oxygen. I think it's time to start trying a bunch of content that's fun. Whatever subscribers stick around, great! Whatever subscribers leave, even better. I'd rather have 1000 subs with 100% engagement than tons of subs with less than 10% engagement.
***** I used to do a show called WTFriday and it was based on all the crazy morons in the news...so basically Florida haha. Anyways, that show did great for about a month and then it died. I brought that show back a few times and viewers said "I freaking love this show!!!" but no one watched it haha.
Tim, UA-cam should be PAYING YOU thousands of dollars per video, because if people follow all of your advice UA-cam will profit HUGE! Still working through your 30 day ebook and was pleasantly surprised by the "extra content" :) Thanks again!!! My channel is turning out SO NICE.
Damn this is the video I needed to see. I'm by no means super huge at all what so ever but the idea of reinventing my shows has been something on my mind for a long long time now. It has to be so much harder for you to go through with that because you have this larger audience. Hope it works out for you
I think if creators just learn early on that you have to work hard and do a ton of research, they'll be able to determine if it is something they want to do. I've noticed many think it goes, 1: create a channel 2: ? 3: profit.. I mean views and subs. Unrealistic expectations in the beginning is what prevents growth in my opinion. They see a channel with 100,000 subs or more, but they don't see what went on behind the scenes in order to make that happen
thanks for this video , I really enjoy your UA-cam updates and it really helps me keep on top of the changes. I would love to see more content about the business side of things as well and there's not that many resources for UA-camrs that are past the beginners stage too so I'm glad you're focussing on that for my own benefit. Maybe for balance you can do more motivational content for beginners so they can use you as a source of inspiration after it fizzles out and maybe do an do this one thing this week video for them that's simple and break it down. In terms of reinventing I feel like I've done it enough times on my channel but you're right you will plateau at each point until you push past the wall by innovating. I've grown so much. What I like to do is do a new format and see the response then decide if I want to continue it. Get rid of old formats that aren't as engaging and rinse and repeat every few months or so. 😊😊 Keep doing what you're doing!
I recently had a conversation with my youtube manager also about my idea that the subscription model is still broken as the first thing youtube shows you is still suggestions and not content that you're subscribed to... My problem is kind of the opposite with 90 million views and only 60 thousand subs, trying to push the subscriber count and diversify the content while at the same time not alienating those who are already there...
+Kaysha You're so right, I have to go into my subscriptions to view content that I have already told youtube I'm interested in. The suggested videos are by random people that I am not interested in. It's broken indeed.
+New Future Builder i think it depends if their channel is from before or after the update to subscribing. Lots of my views came from way before the subscribing functionnality, so a lot of these people come again from sugested videos so, my content that get millions of views are the music videos, but the vlogs and other topics don't reach as much because of the broken nature of subscriptions
I've definitely been grinding through that dip for the past 18 months and even took a break this summer. One problem I find with my channel (or tech channels) is that the tech is so disposable so much of what I cover a three months ago is worthless now. The good thing about your channel Tim is that virtually all the stuff that's on here that's for the new youtubers is timeless so new it's always valuable. I would say that middle dip area is much of the stuff you cover outside of UA-cam with books, and the classes etc etc. My current thought is that my subscriber base (which is appalling) are not engaged with the Channel/brand/person/story at all. Like you say, they came for one video, subscribed, but never watched anything else again. But I will persist. :)
I've got a similar issue, I've got about 3% of my overall subscribers watching the show. However, those 3% are freaking epic in support. So, out of that 3% about 30-40 people per month will buy from our online store, a very small amount donate through UA-cam and a few less than that donate through patreon. I focus to try to make the best out of the 3% and are consistently trying to grow that 3% to 4% while also pulling in new subscribers as I go. Because I have a few videos that go semi-viral I get a bulk of my "one time subscribers" from there, that's my one hit wonder and it throws off my perception of the channel because I get a lot of subscribers based on that one video that they watch, has a lot to do with our how-to design I guess.
I SO appreciate your differentiating between entertainment channels and informative channels. I hear people talk about averages and not talk about how it varies based on your audience.
Because of these videos, I am getting to the point where I can actually see UA-cam being a full-time source of income within a year. Everything you put up is incredibly helpful! :)
:) My analysis and observation is that, even the channels with millions of subscribers gets only 10% of views in first couple of days. The reasons could be that 1. Some percentage of subscribers across the globe does not even know what is subscribing means. They randomly comes across the video and subscribes to it, that is it. It ends there. 2. I watch most of subscribed videos only in mobile device. It’s very rare that I watch them in PC. Some percent of subscribers around the globe does not even have mobile devices and they do not login to UA-cam every day to watch their subscriptions on their PC. Also in other parts of the world most people does not even have internet at homes and it’s expensive to watch videos in mobile devices. 3. Another reason being random subscribers do not check UA-cam every day like Facebook. I think creator's need to keep determined and keep uploading until snow ball effect takes place for your channel to cross thousands and million subs and then we do not really worry about % of views from subscribers. :)
That picture is so accurate! ^_^ I was at the bottom, but now I'm almost up there! Almost too 500 subs, and that can potentially be 1,000, then 10,000, then 100,000 and then arguably A Million if I keep things up! :D I studied all of the UA-cam Academy topics and I'm upgrading my Looks! It is also true that our channels gets changed up! At first I was about making beats, then I went into Artist Tutorials. Now I'm at the point where I'm turning into both Teaching, and Entertainment!
This was super helpful! I am definitely in the dip, struggling to push up that hill and searching for strategies that can get me the growth I'm looking for. I, too, made some assumptions about my audience that aren't really panning out and I'm currently trying to figure out if I should go broader with my content (appeal occasionally to lots more people), or go super narrow (appeal all the time to a much smaller subsection of people). I sort of thought this was a fitness-genre issue, with my target audience's fitness levels all over the map from beginners who need explanation to veterans who just want to go all out, but I can see that everybody has to figure out their niche. Good to know I'm not alone!! I'm a recent subscriber and I really, really appreciate your content. Thank you! :)
I understand my target audience and I know my videos are good but my subscriber growth is super slow. I'm averaging like 2 subs a day and can't figure out why I'm not getting views compared to other channels. Need some help here!
I guess I'm one of those that is pushing through that "dip". I've been uploading videos for over 6 years. It has been a lot of work. I'm only just now feeling like this could go somewhere for real. I now have over 18K subscribers. My sub/view ratio is going up now but I'm giving that to the fact that I have recently changed my style to be "entertaining with a bit of education tossed in" instead of "educational videos". The amount of engagement that I'm getting now is so much more! Thanks Tim for always analyzing this UA-cam thing to help us creators get to the next step!
Very great video! It is very true! My channel had a HUGE spike, then dropped, went back up, dropped, and is on the way up again! That is why they tell you to do it for the love of making videos, not the cash! Your love for making videos will really help you get back on track! Also, I made videos for two years with only 118 subscribers. I tested other genres and found the perfect one for me. In the past 3 months I have gotten over 50k subs, over 4 million views and over 40 Million watched; and have just recently been able to go full time. I have still yet to receive a payout from my partner however. I recommend to not just partner in hopes that it will make your channel boom. I partnered when I had no subs, and have had pretty minimal support and frankly I feel as if they add no value! Now that may just be my specific genre; You will need to research if a partner will be right for you. Also really research who it is you are partnering with! That is something I should have done in more depth to possibly have saved myself the stress. As of now I am broke as a rock; but I have the passion to make my content and interact with my fans, so I always remain consistent regardless if I am being paid. I really thank you for your videos Tim! I do plan on sending you a donation as soon as I receive my first payout! I really thank you for all the time and energy you put into your videos to help us! ! I WILL SUPPORT YOU IN WHICHEVER DIRECTION YOU DECIDE TO TAKE YOUR CHANNEL! :D
+urmaker Ha! Small world, seeing you here! I'm a big fan! Keep your head up with all the reddit bs going around your community atm. Best of luck to you!
Ouch! I feel for you man. :'( I'm surprised your partner doesn't pay monthly in the same way Google would if you were without a partner. I'd ditch your partner as soon as your contract will allow. Good luck ^_^
I'll back you up Tim! You can't get rid of us that easy, your wisdom is always appreciated! I'm experiencing this on my gaming channel, a subscriber rate and view drop, but I'm pretty aware of the cause. 1. I've collaborated on 2 music videos at the beginning of 2015. No others since April. 2. I'm waiting for Fallout 4 and Wasteland 2 Director's Cut for guide content; using filler content like a Let's Play, Podcast & Streaming. 3. School started back up, and a large part of my demographic is still in school/college. 4. My channel is about the long term searchable content, guides and walkthroughs, but doesn't appear that way over of the last several months. Here's the details: My channel really got started with Guides/Walkthroughs for TESV: Skyrim, Fallout 3, and Fallout: New Vegas. At the beginning of this year I collaborated on a music video, Wazer Wifle, and it BLEW UP! (Fallout pun intended) We've put up a second one, Date With a Deathclaw, but it didn't get as much attention as the first. I can't force the artists to crank out more songs, so I ended up focusing on a Skyrim guide revisit (which is now finished). Then a little later on, during E3 there was a massive spike for anyone uttering the words: "Fallout 4" upon which I released 2 discussion videos with other creators involving the continuation of the series. Around that same time, I finally got word that Wasteland 2 Director's Cut was pushed back to October 13th (thank goodness it's soon). So during this massive gap of time between E3 and now, I've been doing the Let's Play and such, but it isn't the root of my audience! Part of them want more music videos, part of them want no-nonsense guides, and a smaller part enjoy the Let's Plays/Podcast/Streams. I'm willing to bet that once brand new guides start materializing, so will the root views/subscribers.
Great video, Tim. I had to do a similar video a few weeks ago to explain a similar mistake that I made. But mine was that I tried to re-invent too early. i started to grow with one type of content and then jumped ship after you helped my get visibility with our collab. As a result, I segmented my audience and have been working to satisfy both types of viewers ever since.
Oh yeah, that's a mistake, too, if there's little predictably for viewers. I think when the creator starts feeling like its a bit bland for them it may be time to reinvent a bit. Maybe not in big steps, but in increments if nothing else.
+Video Creators I was fortunate to have re-invented my channel at the right time. I am seeing the positive effect of it now but am having difficulty in making more than 1-2 videos a week. In one of your previous vids you mentioned stages in life. Maybe I need to dip 6 months where its just content creation focus to truly build to the point that I can go full time on the channel. We'll see. Stay blessed Tim and keep up the good work.
Marinara Mannara Tried to do that this last weekend but my videos take 8-12 hours each to make, depending on the type so it makes it difficult. I am now trying one video on the weekend and another throughout the week after work. I'll make it work though. Good advice btw
While you were explaining about those who are in the valley of quit, I found you describing me and I became nervous. We have been at this a year and only have 37 subscribers and a little over 2,000 views. I realize I came into this with no actual idea of what we were doing except sharing our photos of our travel adventures and now I am looking back at what we've made and I can see that I have actually come a long way from May 10, 2015. Watching this video and another you made about the valley of quit, I have decided to hang in there and see what can be done to achieve our goal of becoming an actual business, not just on UA-cam but with the whole travel thing. So, you have another subscriber and I look forward to seeing how you figure out how to help, encourage, and teach others to hang on. Ren
+Moms Vlog80 Daily vlogging like myself is something that just will build organically. Viewers will want to build a relationship with you first before they subscribe
I'm a blogger too. Tim says we offer "relationship" value. Relationships take longer to form so growing our channel can take longer than we want it to. But once you have a relationship, it's deep and lasts. :)
Seth Godin's book The Dip? I think I am in the dip phase now after 2 years. I am still getting about 5-10 subscribers a month on average so I am content to keep grinding and creating good content until I work through it.
+New Future Builder I don't. There are very few people in my niche who do what I do, consistently, which means I am have to expand outward but the question is how and with who. Themes I could collab on, that would still be in my wheelhouse but apply other places, are building a dynamic and growing tribe, creative speaking, motivation, designing meetings that work, etc. It's tough in my position. Maybe doing a collab with a Pastor makes people nervous lol. Maybe I need to start another channel and put all these skills to work in another field.
Paul Turner Hmmm. There could be some ways to make that work but another channel would be helpful. I'm starting a bit more broad and universal so that I can leverage that audience into more niche endeavors that are related so you may be able to do that with another channel without getting too far from your goal.
Tim, this was a great episode. I feel immediate in the upper right corner. I appreciate the way you position yourself and your own work in a vulnerable way, not too much people you will here talk about their fears and mistakes, putting partly at risk everything they have reached so far. But those are the moments one is learning from each other. I'm working no for 1,5 year very hard to my music channel (classical music). In a sense it has a kind of unique place, since I produce 3 new music videos a month + 3 videos in which I share my reflections on the performances. I'm still in the phase I guess where I have to fight just... to be found! My subscriber base grow very slowly, steadily, but slowly, nothing compared to the effort and time I put into this channel. My view rate is at 10-15%, but often people comment that they 'just' have found my channel and how happy they are with that... it's hare to understand, but... it's fun to do, and I myself learn a lot by producing these videos, building a giant repertoire, keeping focus on my instrument and practising times, and learning about recording techniques, which opened the idea of building our own studio, something that never would have come up without the YT channel. And further: I'm now in a position where I devote the maximum time I can to this channel, more would not be justifiable, and I feel that I have to wait until the foundations are a little bit stronger to lead more time to it, engaging even more on some social platforms, going to Itunes etc... but I definitely want to keep everything exciting, ambitious, fun, but not too crazy that I (and my family) would get frustrated about it! Thanks for all your work, greetings from Belgium, Wim
+Video Creators I have an idea for you. Would you consider reviewing various UA-cam channels, as a series, and describing their success level in terms of your analytical knowledge? In terms of subscriber engagement, I think moderate channels such as forneverworld have a great methodology.
My channels problem is that I'm just having problems connecting with my target audience, my videos consistently get less and less views even with the fact that my most views only has 53 views. It is both motivating and discouraging, i just wish i knew how to catch and retain an audience as i am seeing no growth whatsoever
Here are some videos that might help you better connect with your audience and build a community around your channel! videocreators.com/?s=community&lang=en I hope this helps! - Catherine, vcTV
1. As part of the smaller % of growing youtube channels, I really enjoy the content you've been producing, and I hope you continue to produce helpful vids that teach me how to grow my channel! 2. To answer your comment request, I don't really cater most of my vids to a "targeted audience." I mainly just make videos that I would enjoy seeing if I was a viewer that enjoys fishing (which is pretty much the only content I post). I typically just go out and fish and then post the highlights of the day, but I've recently started adding a few things to my channel that benefit my subs like how-to vids, monthly giveaways, monthly live q and a's, and monthly subscriber tournaments so my subs have a chance to meet me in person :D
I like the whiteboard format XD I would personally love it if you were to focus more on incorporating more motivational AND higher level business videos. I think that both those styles of videos can benefit viewers in the "dip" and "post-dip" phases alike, because even creators that have achieved some level of success beyond that difficult drop off phase probably have days when they need to reevaluate what they're doing, and renew their own motivation and passion for their channel, and creators that are still pushing through the dip would benefit from learning about the business side early on, so that by the time they are ready to get more involved in it, they are already knowledgable and have less of a learning curve. So I don't think those two types of videos clash at all :)
Tim, I'm excited to see where you are going in your re-design of your channel focus. I'm lucky that I joined you after my big dip. Hopefully I'm coming out the other side thanks to your hard work bringing us the good content.
Great and inspiring video. I found you on YTTalk forum and saw your 1000 subscribers thread then decided to check your channel out after skimming through the posts in that thread. My reaction when you mentioned creators who are super interested, excited, but then went down the hill because they found out how hard it actually is was, "Wow, I can really relate to that!" even though I have mentally recovered from the downfall. I just recently decided to give it a serious shot, you know, creating and uploading videos, even though I still haven't got decent enough equipments yet. It's been that "Thing that I do from time to time" for about 5-6 years. So not getting lots from it wasn't such a big deal to me, but now I'm doing my best that I can with what resources I have in hands, and not getting much relative to my reasonable expectation out of it, had been kinda a blow to me mentally. But as I've said, I have mentally recovered, and is now ready to do even more and putting much more efforts into it :) I surely will be checking your videos out, you sure know what you're talking about.
Hey Tim , another great video - thanks !!! Having just hit 100,000 subs and on average getting 2-3000 views on new videos, this one really spoke to me !! I feel a lot better as I know my channel is a tutorial channel, and the songs I do and brand new so there is not so much interest until when they become big hits. I get a lot of people think they can do the same thing , they work crazy hard for 3 months , and don't see much money coming in, so either give up, or significantly drop their work rate. I've taken two channels to over 100,000 subs, my other channel oysterlovers took a lot longer than this one, but it is ALL about working hard (and smart if you can !) You have to be prepared to work virtually full time, and you will see near to zero return for 6 months, at least financially. You also have to LOVE what you do, otherwise you'll lose motivation quickly if it feels too much like hard work. I really hope you still focus on channels that do have quite a few subs, because I for one need all the help I can get to keep momentum flowing - also we all want to go from 100,000 to a million etc etc Your videos are an invaluable source of great info - I also love it when you talk about other sites that I hadn't thought of or heard of . Thanks !!!
FEEDBACK : Hi Tim, Im an old subscriber to your channel and i have watched this video when i was around 750 subs and i really dont remember getting your point in the 1st time but now when i watched again, i totally understood what you said and what are you trying to point out ! and i think what happen is that my channel now in that middle gape that you missed and i feel the falling too but im trying to resist especially when you are busy with other things in life ! Thank you again for everything i totally appreciate and i really would love to attend video creator events like vid summit and vidcon next year and try to share and learn especially my channel isnt in English ! so it would be great to exchange knowledge from people like you
Perfect drawing representing a UA-cam content creators timeline. I've done it with other channels I've started and seen people start off strong but not stay consistent and motivated because they don't grow fast enough. Awesome video!
Neat to see this information. You're still the only channel I watch each and every new episode of since I first subscribed in 2013. Thank you for continuing to do so.
I agree on the DIY channel idea of subs who like that one single vid where you answered their DIY question, but then that's about it for them. This is why I switched up this year in the spring and started telling a story from week to week along with my DIY tips. The story line is all about me trying to sell my house and move home to FLorida. I laid the foundation, let the audience into my personal life, built the suspense and even let them make some decisions on how the story will play out over the next few months... Now, my channel has exploded (cliche I know but true) and more of my subs just want to know how I am doing and what I am doing rather than just absorb a lawn care tip. Plus, making vids that tell a cohesive story over time is MUCH more fun for me too.
+Moms Vlog80 8k subs is already a pretty impressive number. Did you already think about going back to your older videos and re-do titles, descriptions, tags and thumbnails with the knowledge you got since today? It may give you channel just the push it needs to take off.
You broke this down beautifully, Tim. And I love that you went old school with the white board. This video was incredibly helpful. It made me reflect on my own channel, content and subscriber engagement. I have a core audience that watches all my videos and comments on them. They are there not just for the teaching, but the entertainment value as well. As you noted though in regards to your own channel, I too have a large number of subscribers that found my channel because of one particular teaching video that solved a problem for them. They subscribed, but they aren't engaged on a regular basis. So what your analysis has gotten me to realize is that I need to strike a better balance between the problem solving content (how-to info) and the entertainment content (humor, general discussion). Great topic! The tragic irony about it all is that the Video Creators subscribers who drop off as they start realizing how much hard work is involved in growing a channel do so at the very moment when they should press through and keep watching your content. Perhaps once a month you could post a video targeted directly at those subscribers who have reached that transition period from newbie euphoria to intermediate reality check. Something that will get them over the hump and help them understand that hard work isn't a bad thing and that the task isn't as daunting as they think it is. Let us not be weary in well doing. Thanks again, Tim, for all that you do.
Great info! As one of your subscribers who has "pushed through the dip" I have you to thank for much of the info behind that push. In my content there seems to be the same profile of viewers: initial excitement > the "reality" dip > the few and proud that continue. Lots to think about here. Thanks!
+Video Creators Just realizing it was actually doable if I kept chipping away at it. I guess I'm old enough to know there aren't many overnight sensations. I was looking for a reliable formula for growing bit by bit. You were instrumental in helping me put that formula together. I listen to the Tube Talk podcast too. Thanks for all you do.
That chart really hit home Tim. I am currently through that low dip of your chart, biggest mistake I learned was how important consistency is. Life hits you with obstacles and you cant control events in your life. And in a past video you made the connection of having time off UA-cam being related to your lack of searchability and exposure. This past 2 months, finding your channel is like going back to school. Thank You
I think you need to have a pictionary challenge with those artist skill! ;) I like the idea of seeing some videos that focus on what to do once you start the process of making UA-cam a career.
Good insight Tim, I too would like to see more videos for those at the top right of your graph. I've always been interested in more in depth stuff like using mental tricks and cliffhangers to engage the audience. There was a study years ago that claimed B/W high contrast thumbnails with close ups of faces were the most likely to get clicked... I'd like to delve further into this kind of stuff and whatever else you can come up with. I agree with a lot of what you were hinting at in the video... a lot of your videos are very basic and you've already covered most of that basic stuff. Time to move onto the advanced!
That is a very good example a lot of people think it's very easy to make videos until they do it for a while they discover it's more work than you think it is Love watching your videos
this guy hits the nail on the head in every video, bin subbed for a long while now and i will alway be, you give good advise and im always willing to learn and try new things... so true about this being a hard it may look easy to some people just making videos and uploading but it is not as easy as that lol, bin doing this a while now and all i can say is that i put in a lot of work and im still growing, just got to do what you luv doing and be the best at it
This was an interesting video. I get the same question about my ratio. Something I don't feel I'm doing wrong but that most people wouldn't is "content/subscriber diversity". Because my How To Channel covers a variety of topics I have that 10% ratio you brought up, which I'm overall fine with. I also know that for each individual video it is a matter of watching because that problem exist for the viewer at the time they are watching it. I think your analysis of your channel and situation were spot on and I think that there is something to be said for pivoting when you come to that kind of realization.
Cool video Tim. And interesting! There is a book called 'Making Ideas Happen' (you probs know it) by the guy who founded Behance (sold to Adobe). It has a graph like yours for any creative project in general, that slump, and often creatives will try something new and then the slump again. The book addresses how to push hard when you about to hit that slump so you can reach that third part of the graph. Perhaps tips, interviews etc on how to manage the slump and avoid it could be good on your channel. If a creative subscribed to your channel is in that slump (likely by what you say) that content may appeal and help them get back on the bandwagon and then your video creator tips become relevant again to them. Just a thought!
I haven't launched this channel yet, but I have found all of your information super helpful. It definitely makes sense having that dip as it is with growing any sort of business. Some people just get lucky and they shoot off, but I'm at least going into this knowing better that I have a huge chance to just fall to the background I already have a userbase that knows who I am and my line of work. I'm a crafter/illustrator with a small audience so far who follow my artwork, so I hope that I'll be able to take my talents to more helping people and engaging with fun stuff challenges and just generally show anyone can be creative. You're a HUGE help. Thank you for making these videos for people like us! x
I just started a youtube channel and I have no idea what’s coming my way, right now I’m in the easy part that your taking about so I hope it keeps going up and hopefully not dropping too much, anyways I love your vids! ❤️
This makes so much sense! Very useful statistic info :) I am curious how you get choose to deal with the 3 groups of audience. Surely all strategies will include some trial and error? mine certainly does. You might also consider targetting people (like myself) who are not planning to make their YT channel the main thing but more just seeing it as a part of what they do. I'd never want to do videos full time even if I have fun with what I do and getting useful stuff across to my viewers.
I am still in that beginning stage. We have had this channel a few months. I took the UA-cam Creator Academy. I watch every video you put up because I feel I have so much to learn.
I'm in this emotional dip currently. After months of creation, I'm still hovering at 100 subs with stagnant growth. I know I'll push through and find my rhythm, but damn is it discouraging to see hard work go nowhere. Looking forward to your new angle Tim. Cheers.
This may seem really low but I try to come up with a very click-baity title that entices people to watch but is still relevant to the subject. They don't have to stick around for long, but at least I hope for them to stick to the point where they at least get some value, in about 1% of the cases people will get upset about this and I have seen an audience retention drop of 2% so I think it does help for me.
+Reversal | Boom Beach & Clash Of Clans You should be ashamed of yourself... Just kidding :) You must have one heck of an intro for people to stick around after that though!
Yes granted a lot of stuff you talk about I know already! However, in many videos you are always teaching me new things. Not to mention you keep me in the loop as to what is going on with UA-cam, and give me great ideas on improving my channel.
Your awesome! I told my brother about you and I told him your tips from the other video and he's been growing ever since! Every video you make helps him. Thank you!
Hey Tim! One thing I got thinking with your explanation regarding Video Creators. You were discussing the benefit for you to focusing on either the "pre-dip" or "post-dip" audience, and you said that there's a much bigger audience "pre-dip". While of course this rings true, I think another thing to take into consideration is that the "post-dip" creators might become more of long-time subscribers and returning viewers, as a majority of the "pre-dipper's" will end during the dip. Targeting the audience "post-dip"; there's a much smaller chance for the new subscriber to drop out due to giving up on UA-cam. Just my two cent!
I've been running a UA-cam channel for over a year. I personally would like to see information pertaining to the "middle" area going from a startup channel to a full time. I know there may not be as big of an audience for this topic but for those of us in that spot it would help us push through. I appreciate everything you do and whatever direction you choose to go in I will always pull information from it. Thank you for all the work you put into these videos.
Although I am not that big, I did have a rough start with my youtube channel. I'm really glad you showed this because it got me into thinking how I should approach the content I make for my viewers.Storytelling + visual experience together is a fun thing to do but ideas are always difficult. My target audience is a bit difficult to justify but I believe many of them enjoy the quality of my videos. If the quality is good, they will engage in the storyline which is what I really want my viewers to engage in. Once the story is finished, I want the viewers to actually learn some important things in life(like morales in novels). Without the quality, the audience won't engage in the storyline. I also consider the comments I get as constructive criticism. That would allow me to make considerations about what I do in my videos. The white board actually helped me understand what you're trying to say! I like that idea! It made sense especially when you're talking about something like this.
Right on Tim, great info and things to think about. For what it's worth, you have about twice as many total video views as me, but 7 times as many subscribers, so you're doing something right!
I'm a DIY channel but also wanted to make unboxing videos. I've been growing slow but growing however I am not sure what else to do to make users more engage during my videos 😞 I want to try and be funny (like i am in real life) but I'm not that confident yet. Any tips?
Thanks Tim - an older video, but relevant while I'm searching to improve my content and get better engagement from my 50K subscriber base. The information about engagement of subscriber base was valuable. I have the same whiteboard that I use for my videos - yours is cleaner I believe. All the best, Cheers Rick
Thanks for the helpful and informative video Tim! I'm a video creator myself and when I first started out on UA-cam in 2012, under the channel name Land Of The Free Media, I created Nexccelerator as an Automotive Journalism web series, to cater viewers who have a passion for the newest automobiles. But after seeing that the channel was suffering from a lack of growth, I took the initiative to re-brand the automotive review videos, and re-upload them onto the new Nexccelerator UA-cam Channel (the channel that I'm using right now), which is now an Automotive Journalism Review UA-cam Channel. Ever since then, I've started to see a much better outcome for the most part, which began helping me better understand my target audience. In addition, I liked the whiteboard that you used throughout the video, as I found it to be a very useful visual aid. I also subscribed to your channel because I would appreciate hearing more of your advice on both UA-cam Channel and audience growth. So thanks again, and I look forward to seeing more videos. - Michael
Love your honesty Tim. I would say try to target the creators falling into the gap, it's a natural progression from your main subscriber base (the excited newbie crowd) and there's a lot of us!
I like that at the beginning you mentioned how to videos, like mine, have a less view percentage from current subscribers. Not giving up, can definitely see a difference in my channel after one year of creating, thanks for all the tips.
My channel is about 6 weeks old, and i'm about to hit 150 subscribers, Tim and Derral Eves have been such an amazing help. Let me tell you this, if you are not 100% committed to what your channel is about you will fail, god it felt like i'd never get to 100 subs, it was the hardest thing ever, but it's like a sigh of relief, and from there i've found as long as my content is consistent, of good quality, and each video having a purpose, the views slowly increase and the subscribers slowly subscribe. I will not stop nor give up what i'm doing. Thanks Tim, your videos are amazing.
I'm currently pushing past that canyon, though I'm not in it (that I know of 🙈). I'm reading both your books and taking steps to do the reinventing that you're talking about: updating channel and in-video branding, updating/redoing my channel intro with some more emphatic value prop, and really working on speaking directly to my nice. Thanks for all your hard work and helping us be successful!
I'm currently in the reinventing part of my channel. Possibly in the beginning portions of the "drop" as you say. So I would love to see more of the re-encourging videos because being down there is fun but really scary!
My channel (I think) is focused on getting people across that middle hole with kickboxing. I feel that it's not only a small target but worried the material is inaccessible. Excited to hear what you come up with!
Really informative. I guess the best way to check engagement is using the stats? Is there a video on how to read and interpret stats in order to keep creating enaging content?
Very helpful! As small UA-camrs this also really makes us feel good because we are getting about 40% of views compared to our sub count. I think most of that is because we reply back to every comment and constantly let our viewers know how much we appreciate them. We may have a small channel but our views are really good for the amount of subscribers we have. :)
My biggest mistake in terms of subscriber/viewer ratios is that I used the account I had for years to upload my new web show. I had built up a lot of subscribers (around 2,000 or so) by putting a "Subscribe to me!" button in a successful app I had made. As a result, most of these subscribers weren't interested in my videos. I think I'll be able to fully recover eventually, because 2K subscribers probably won't affect my channel in the long run. I think you have to act like nothing really happened and just keep going through it.
I like watching all of your videos because I like to see your point of view on the big picture and you always offer something fresh. But I understand not everyone is here for that.
Thanks for this video. It's nice to see someone talking about the mistakes they've made - it's very helpful. I'm still in that beginning stage, but your videos have been invaluable! Looking forward to seeing what you have in store for us in the future.
I am in the process of planning some form of on-line enterprise and I am finding all of your videos very interesting, pertinent and helpful in moulding my approach to this endeavour. From this position on the edge of doing something I have noticed that one of the main aspects you discuss a good deal is adding value and it seems to me that doing videos for the more advanced user is a great idea, considering that complete noobs are well served already, But those in the gap need to know how to get across from one state to the other; I think that serving them as well as the more advanced producer would constitute a very real adding of value to your project. Love your work, take care...Jim
Good perspective here, Tim. There is a lesson in perseverance in crossing the gap. Perhaps understanding UA-cam milestones might be a way to help creators interpret where they are on the path, what indicators to look for next and why to keep going.
Hey Tim, so how do you know where in "the dip" your channel is? I would agree with this video 100 percent. I've seen so many channels say "new videos every Tuesday and Thursday!" and then slowly only do videos on Thursday, and then maybe 1 time a month, then cease to post completely. The thing that helps me understand my target audience is mostly the analytics. If you just go to you demographics you can see who watches. For my channel 70% of my audience is male, and 50% of that male audience is between the ages of 10-18 or so. *Guys, if you didn't know about the analytics-demographics, make sure to take a look at that!*
For me, personally, I would really like to find more technical stuff, so I think is very difficult to find this kind of content, at it is very difficult , almost impossible to find a videos about youtube analitycs kind of thing, or how the youtube search really works...The top pic I suppose , this videos was nice too. Just my opinion from Spain.
I'm in the slump right now. I'm having a hard time balancing life and vlogging. I'm feeling motivated to do some research and I hope to get back up and running soon. Thanks for all of your hard work!!!
I really enjoyed your analysis Tim! I understood it perfectly. I'm a super small channel and I am feeling my way around my content right now. I'm providing weekly vlogs as a backstory into my life and the creation of a low budget sci-fi webseries and various short films which take months to produce. Your videos are definitely guiding me through "the dip". I will be very interested in knowing some of the higher end YT strategies you might be able to provide for the long haul.
Great video! I think I've really hit that dip with my channel myself, growing a UA-cam channel is definitely harder than most people think it is, including myself when I started several months ago. I'm still a very young and small channel, but I'm ready to push through that dip!
I love your family vlog channel. You are really an inspiration and a great guy and have an awesome family. You guys really deserve the best. God Bless!
I made that same mistake in my last YT account YEARS ago i constantly made vids and was tapping into something that, at the time was very much not explored but then let my self doubt and short sightedness shroud over I contemplated just rebranding my old channel because i still had a fair few subscribers left but of course the thought did cross about why they were still subbed. were these inactive or dead accounts? so here I am, 2 months and 45 subs in and im here to give it a better shot. thank you very much for these videos. i've certainly learned a tonne so far and hope that with all this + a lot of effort (and time of course) im sure this channel will get there :)
I loved the graphic/sketch... seeing the dip hit home with me. I have watched most of your videos and get a LOT out of them. I got more serious about UA-cam channel a year ago and have seen more than 1400% growth in that time... thanks to all the advice in your videos. Truly... you have helped me a lot. I would say that I am in the "dip" right now and the things that keep me growing and moving forward is not motivation but, rather, they are more practical in nature. For instance, the time to produce videos consistently, the diversity of content that I am putting out and how that effects my audience, family (I have six kids too), work, side projects, etc. etc.. For me... it's hard to see how I can take my channel to the other side of the "dip" without proper coaching and guidance, which, rightfully, has a cost associated with it. Just not in the budget right now. I'm at a point where I probably need to decide just how serious I want to be with my channel because the next steps seem to require a significant commitment from me and my family. With where the Lord has me... I'm not sure I can make that commitment. I would love to see content on video creators for guys like me who are stuck in the "dip." Thank you for all you are doing!
Just started my channel and released my first video yesterday. I really love your content and it helps me stay motivated to keep creating even in the very early stages! Thanks so much great video!
one way to get people past that deep canyon on your neat chart that Video Creators could do is a Channel Review. Its one thing to talk about what YT creators should do, but to show how an actual channel might improve itself could be a regular feature on Video Creators. eric.
+GardenFork I think this would be helpful to a lot of people, similar videos as the ones at RealSEO :)
Christy Sobolewski yeah that's exactly what I would like also :)
+GardenFork Brilliant idea! Teachers are starting to use a similar method (assessment for learning) and it's been very effective when done right. I watched a teacher take student's writing samples and review them with the whole class. I would have thought that it would have traumatized kids to have their work up for everyone to see, but they all wanted there's looked at. Turns out kids want to learn (and help others learn) from their mistakes.
+GardenFork That would be a great idea but that is his other way of making money he has a training and evaluation course where he goes in depth about your channel and where you can improve but that program is like 900 dollars if I remember right. Other than that he sells his dvd course for about 30 but you have to apply it to your channel yourself. I don't have the money for either.
+TheJollyMage On the other hand, doing this could help him advertise his evaluation course. He could do a basic evaluation on channels that he selects (not as in depth as his paid analysts might be) and post it on his channel. It would help people see a bit of what he can do, but also help them understand their own channel's strengths and weakness. Plus, he could orient this towards the smaller channels, the ones who can't afford the course. When they get big enough to need more help, they'd probably think of Tim.
Holy crap, you picked my question! Thanks Tim!
+Omar Correa He noticed that you comment on his videos regularly. Yay! :)
+Omar Correa Yeah, I've been holding on to that one. Sorry it took me so long to get to it.
+Video Creators no worries. Thanks
My channels problem is that I'm just having problems connecting with my target audience, my videos consistently get less and less views even with the fact that my most views only has 53 views. It is both motivating and discouraging, i just wish i knew how to catch and retain an audience as i am seeing no growth whatsoever
You posted this a year ago.. I checked out your channel and like the videos.. subbed and rang the bell.. Keep on .. I agree though with the quality of the music and dancing.. you should be getting tons more views then you are getting.. get youtube buddy.. it will help you grow - and it's free.. you can upgrade for additional tools...
Tim Schmoyer is the real deal.
Haha Thanks, Mark!
+Mark Dice lol agreed, just don't ask me to fill a petition about it! :P
Indeed
The white board is a great teaching tool. I think the biggest problem is finding a way to actually get your videos seen in the first place. You can produce the greatest content in the world but if you're starting out with no connections and just at the mercy of the UA-cam algorithm, it's a losing game.
My channels problem is that I'm just having problems connecting with my target audience, my videos consistently get less and less views even with the fact that my most views only has 53 views. It is both motivating and discouraging, i just wish i knew how to catch and retain an audience as i am seeing no growth whatsoever
ĐNC Same, but lately my views are doing fine throughout the two years I started making youtube videos. I had made some accounts that I can share through other websites which is all good, but I think most newer videos I don't think there's ain't any engagement following a comment based of what they saw is great which mostly I may found something lacking that I kind of don't understand at first. The best way I shouldn't worry of that us just ignore it where at most parts, I guess the engagement will come most of the parts I'm making out there will be available even though I still don't rrally have anyone us consistent on replying normally than getting this stupid spam replies I keep on getting lately which is another thing I hate already.
John Basedow This is my dilemma. I feel like I need to share the crap out of my content to bring peoole to my channel.
The same thing here. youtube is simply not bringing in enough views i have to share the contents so much to get some views but i don't have much of connections and even after sharing not a lot of people are watching.. Its kinda sad after investing so much time into it. It's alright if i don't get subscribers but just getting views to videos i make is good enough for me but even that's getting hard.
You were Wondering Indeed but st this point just losing one subscriber that someone is actually not that loyal as I thought someone will be, I just don't care to get tucked off about it anymore as I learned more of other talented people who is great at making content especially Soundcloud nusicuans, they just enjoy the type of content and still doing their own thing that I already still continuing to do my own thing as i always enjoy myself than being a youtuber as the stupid grind when it comes to these things of statists when things are subtracting, I don't let it bother me other than address it again since it's still getting ridiculous that it happends to me constantly.
Thanks Tim! As always very helpful stuff, and I enjoyed the visuals. It'll be interesting to hear how your future strategies effect your subscriber-views ratio!
Cheers
Family Vlogger here.. We are in the early stage group you are talking about.. I'm hoping to build more of a relationship with my audience and have them interact more with us. Still struggling with views and people finding my videos. I love your videos, keep up the great work!
I'm currently in that ugly valley...that's full of quicksand...with a boulder is on my head...and running low on oxygen. I think it's time to start trying a bunch of content that's fun. Whatever subscribers stick around, great! Whatever subscribers leave, even better. I'd rather have 1000 subs with 100% engagement than tons of subs with less than 10% engagement.
I'm in there too! Hang in there!
JessaJay I'm trying! Thanks and you hang in there too! :D
+Michael Warbux I am also in the pit :(
I'll give you some oxygen XD
+Michael Warbux I agree. We try to build communities that are lived in, not vacant lots.
***** I used to do a show called WTFriday and it was based on all the crazy morons in the news...so basically Florida haha. Anyways, that show did great for about a month and then it died. I brought that show back a few times and viewers said "I freaking love this show!!!" but no one watched it haha.
I agree!!! I totally want to hear the business side now!
Tim, UA-cam should be PAYING YOU thousands of dollars per video, because if people follow all of your advice UA-cam will profit HUGE! Still working through your 30 day ebook and was pleasantly surprised by the "extra content" :) Thanks again!!! My channel is turning out SO NICE.
Damn this is the video I needed to see. I'm by no means super huge at all what so ever but the idea of reinventing my shows has been something on my mind for a long long time now. It has to be so much harder for you to go through with that because you have this larger audience. Hope it works out for you
I think if creators just learn early on that you have to work hard and do a ton of research, they'll be able to determine if it is something they want to do. I've noticed many think it goes,
1: create a channel
2: ?
3: profit.. I mean views and subs.
Unrealistic expectations in the beginning is what prevents growth in my opinion. They see a channel with 100,000 subs or more, but they don't see what went on behind the scenes in order to make that happen
+SimplySoccer Yeah, expectations play a huge role in the path a creator takes on UA-cam, as well as their motivation for doing it in the first place.
thanks for this video , I really enjoy your UA-cam updates and it really helps me keep on top of the changes. I would love to see more content about the business side of things as well and there's not that many resources for UA-camrs that are past the beginners stage too so I'm glad you're focussing on that for my own benefit. Maybe for balance you can do more motivational content for beginners so they can use you as a source of inspiration after it fizzles out and maybe do an do this one thing this week video for them that's simple and break it down. In terms of reinventing I feel like I've done it enough times on my channel but you're right you will plateau at each point until you push past the wall by innovating. I've grown so much. What I like to do is do a new format and see the response then decide if I want to continue it. Get rid of old formats that aren't as engaging and rinse and repeat every few months or so. 😊😊 Keep doing what you're doing!
I recently had a conversation with my youtube manager also about my idea that the subscription model is still broken as the first thing youtube shows you is still suggestions and not content that you're subscribed to...
My problem is kind of the opposite with 90 million views and only 60 thousand subs, trying to push the subscriber count and diversify the content while at the same time not alienating those who are already there...
96,1% unsubscribed views... Depressing
+Kaysha You're so right, I have to go into my subscriptions to view content that I have already told youtube I'm interested in. The suggested videos are by random people that I am not interested in. It's broken indeed.
+Kaysha How does that compare to channels of other artists?
+Natalie Nightwolf yes, completely broken and there's no point of subscribing if the first thing they serve you is algorhythm content
+New Future Builder i think it depends if their channel is from before or after the update to subscribing. Lots of my views came from way before the subscribing functionnality, so a lot of these people come again from sugested videos so, my content that get millions of views are the music videos, but the vlogs and other topics don't reach as much because of the broken nature of subscriptions
I've definitely been grinding through that dip for the past 18 months and even took a break this summer. One problem I find with my channel (or tech channels) is that the tech is so disposable so much of what I cover a three months ago is worthless now. The good thing about your channel Tim is that virtually all the stuff that's on here that's for the new youtubers is timeless so new it's always valuable.
I would say that middle dip area is much of the stuff you cover outside of UA-cam with books, and the classes etc etc.
My current thought is that my subscriber base (which is appalling) are not engaged with the Channel/brand/person/story at all. Like you say, they came for one video, subscribed, but never watched anything else again.
But I will persist. :)
I've got a similar issue, I've got about 3% of my overall subscribers watching the show. However, those 3% are freaking epic in support. So, out of that 3% about 30-40 people per month will buy from our online store, a very small amount donate through UA-cam and a few less than that donate through patreon. I focus to try to make the best out of the 3% and are consistently trying to grow that 3% to 4% while also pulling in new subscribers as I go.
Because I have a few videos that go semi-viral I get a bulk of my "one time subscribers" from there, that's my one hit wonder and it throws off my perception of the channel because I get a lot of subscribers based on that one video that they watch, has a lot to do with our how-to design I guess.
I SO appreciate your differentiating between entertainment channels and informative channels. I hear people talk about averages and not talk about how it varies based on your audience.
Because of these videos, I am getting to the point where I can actually see UA-cam being a full-time source of income within a year. Everything you put up is incredibly helpful! :)
+DolphinPhobia - Elijah Elfo That's awesome! Thank you for letting me be a part of that journey! :)
Understanding your target market is definitely crucial. You laid this out with solutions very nicely. Great video!
:) My analysis and observation is that, even the channels with millions of subscribers gets only 10% of views in first couple of days. The reasons could be that
1. Some percentage of subscribers across the globe does not even know what is subscribing means. They randomly comes across the video and subscribes to it, that is it. It ends there.
2. I watch most of subscribed videos only in mobile device. It’s very rare that I watch them in PC. Some percent of subscribers around the globe does not even have mobile devices and they do not login to UA-cam every day to watch their subscriptions on their PC. Also in other parts of the world most people does not even have internet at homes and it’s expensive to watch videos in mobile devices.
3. Another reason being random subscribers do not check UA-cam every day like Facebook.
I think creator's need to keep determined and keep uploading until snow ball effect takes place for your channel to cross thousands and million subs and then we do not really worry about % of views from subscribers. :)
That picture is so accurate! ^_^ I was at the bottom, but now I'm almost up there! Almost too 500 subs, and that can potentially be 1,000, then 10,000, then 100,000 and then arguably A Million if I keep things up! :D
I studied all of the UA-cam Academy topics and I'm upgrading my Looks!
It is also true that our channels gets changed up!
At first I was about making beats, then I went into Artist Tutorials.
Now I'm at the point where I'm turning into both Teaching, and Entertainment!
This is so accurate! What percentage of creators actually persist to make it to the top Tim? Do you have any statistics?
I don't know. Judging by my stats, about 5-10% of them, but I really don't know.
Thanks!
This was super helpful! I am definitely in the dip, struggling to push up that hill and searching for strategies that can get me the growth I'm looking for. I, too, made some assumptions about my audience that aren't really panning out and I'm currently trying to figure out if I should go broader with my content (appeal occasionally to lots more people), or go super narrow (appeal all the time to a much smaller subsection of people). I sort of thought this was a fitness-genre issue, with my target audience's fitness levels all over the map from beginners who need explanation to veterans who just want to go all out, but I can see that everybody has to figure out their niche. Good to know I'm not alone!!
I'm a recent subscriber and I really, really appreciate your content. Thank you! :)
I understand my target audience and I know my videos are good but my subscriber growth is super slow. I'm averaging like 2 subs a day and can't figure out why I'm not getting views compared to other channels. Need some help here!
Majestechs now you are in 23 k mate
Looks like you figured it out! :)
I guess I'm one of those that is pushing through that "dip". I've been uploading videos for over 6 years. It has been a lot of work. I'm only just now feeling like this could go somewhere for real. I now have over 18K subscribers. My sub/view ratio is going up now but I'm giving that to the fact that I have recently changed my style to be "entertaining with a bit of education tossed in" instead of "educational videos". The amount of engagement that I'm getting now is so much more! Thanks Tim for always analyzing this UA-cam thing to help us creators get to the next step!
Very great video!
It is very true! My channel had a HUGE spike, then dropped, went back up, dropped, and is on the way up again! That is why they tell you to do it for the love of making videos, not the cash! Your love for making videos will really help you get back on track! Also, I made videos for two years with only 118 subscribers. I tested other genres and found the perfect one for me. In the past 3 months I have gotten over 50k subs, over 4 million views and over 40 Million watched; and have just recently been able to go full time. I have still yet to receive a payout from my partner however. I recommend to not just partner in hopes that it will make your channel boom. I partnered when I had no subs, and have had pretty minimal support and frankly I feel as if they add no value! Now that may just be my specific genre; You will need to research if a partner will be right for you. Also really research who it is you are partnering with! That is something I should have done in more depth to possibly have saved myself the stress. As of now I am broke as a rock; but I have the passion to make my content and interact with my fans, so I always remain consistent regardless if I am being paid. I really thank you for your videos Tim! I do plan on sending you a donation as soon as I receive my first payout! I really thank you for all the time and energy you put into your videos to help us! ! I WILL SUPPORT YOU IN WHICHEVER DIRECTION YOU DECIDE TO TAKE YOUR CHANNEL! :D
+urmaker Ha! Small world, seeing you here! I'm a big fan! Keep your head up with all the reddit bs going around your community atm. Best of luck to you!
Ouch! I feel for you man. :'( I'm surprised your partner doesn't pay monthly in the same way Google would if you were without a partner. I'd ditch your partner as soon as your contract will allow. Good luck ^_^
I'll back you up Tim! You can't get rid of us that easy, your wisdom is always appreciated!
I'm experiencing this on my gaming channel, a subscriber rate and view drop, but I'm pretty aware of the cause.
1. I've collaborated on 2 music videos at the beginning of 2015. No others since April.
2. I'm waiting for Fallout 4 and Wasteland 2 Director's Cut for guide content; using filler content like a Let's Play, Podcast & Streaming.
3. School started back up, and a large part of my demographic is still in school/college.
4. My channel is about the long term searchable content, guides and walkthroughs, but doesn't appear that way over of the last several months.
Here's the details:
My channel really got started with Guides/Walkthroughs for TESV: Skyrim, Fallout 3, and Fallout: New Vegas.
At the beginning of this year I collaborated on a music video, Wazer Wifle, and it BLEW UP! (Fallout pun intended) We've put up a second one, Date With a Deathclaw, but it didn't get as much attention as the first. I can't force the artists to crank out more songs, so I ended up focusing on a Skyrim guide revisit (which is now finished).
Then a little later on, during E3 there was a massive spike for anyone uttering the words: "Fallout 4" upon which I released 2 discussion videos with other creators involving the continuation of the series. Around that same time, I finally got word that Wasteland 2 Director's Cut was pushed back to October 13th (thank goodness it's soon).
So during this massive gap of time between E3 and now, I've been doing the Let's Play and such, but it isn't the root of my audience! Part of them want more music videos, part of them want no-nonsense guides, and a smaller part enjoy the Let's Plays/Podcast/Streams.
I'm willing to bet that once brand new guides start materializing, so will the root views/subscribers.
Great video, Tim. I had to do a similar video a few weeks ago to explain a similar mistake that I made. But mine was that I tried to re-invent too early. i started to grow with one type of content and then jumped ship after you helped my get visibility with our collab. As a result, I segmented my audience and have been working to satisfy both types of viewers ever since.
Oh yeah, that's a mistake, too, if there's little predictably for viewers. I think when the creator starts feeling like its a bit bland for them it may be time to reinvent a bit. Maybe not in big steps, but in increments if nothing else.
+Video Creators Right on!
+Video Creators I was fortunate to have re-invented my channel at the right time. I am seeing the positive effect of it now but am having difficulty in making more than 1-2 videos a week. In one of your previous vids you mentioned stages in life. Maybe I need to dip 6 months where its just content creation focus to truly build to the point that I can go full time on the channel. We'll see. Stay blessed Tim and keep up the good work.
+N7SPECOPS dude do 2 videos in one day :D and upload in different days...
Marinara Mannara Tried to do that this last weekend but my videos take 8-12 hours each to make, depending on the type so it makes it difficult. I am now trying one video on the weekend and another throughout the week after work. I'll make it work though. Good advice btw
While you were explaining about those who are in the valley of quit, I found you describing me and I became nervous. We have been at this a year and only have 37 subscribers and a little over 2,000 views. I realize I came into this with no actual idea of what we were doing except sharing our photos of our travel adventures and now I am looking back at what we've made and I can see that I have actually come a long way from May 10, 2015.
Watching this video and another you made about the valley of quit, I have decided to hang in there and see what can be done to achieve our goal of becoming an actual business, not just on UA-cam but with the whole travel thing. So, you have another subscriber and I look forward to seeing how you figure out how to help, encourage, and teach others to hang on.
Ren
Being A Daily Family Vlogger, What would be the target audience?
We have a lot of WWE fans cuz we deal with WWE.. lol
+Moms Vlog80 yeah i'm still new at this and very small subscribers i have....
+Moms Vlog80 Daily vlogging like myself is something that just will build organically. Viewers will want to build a relationship with you first before they subscribe
I'm a blogger too. Tim says we offer "relationship" value. Relationships take longer to form so growing our channel can take longer than we want it to. But once you have a relationship, it's deep and lasts. :)
+Amen Panesar I'm agreeing with you. :)
Tamera Weeks hi Tamera, im new at this but i need new support and if u can check my channel i would apreacitaded.
I suspect your analysis for your audience is spot on, Tim. I like the whiteboard use too.
+Chad Wild Clay Thanks, Chad.
Seth Godin's book The Dip? I think I am in the dip phase now after 2 years. I am still getting about 5-10 subscribers a month on average so I am content to keep grinding and creating good content until I work through it.
+Paul Turner Hopefully you can work through that dip. I've had some mini dips but no major one. Do you have any major collaborations planned?
+New Future Builder I don't. There are very few people in my niche who do what I do, consistently, which means I am have to expand outward but the question is how and with who. Themes I could collab on, that would still be in my wheelhouse but apply other places, are building a dynamic and growing tribe, creative speaking, motivation, designing meetings that work, etc. It's tough in my position. Maybe doing a collab with a Pastor makes people nervous lol. Maybe I need to start another channel and put all these skills to work in another field.
someone told me about this book last night at a conference
Paul Turner Hmmm. There could be some ways to make that work but another channel would be helpful. I'm starting a bit more broad and universal so that I can leverage that audience into more niche endeavors that are related so you may be able to do that with another channel without getting too far from your goal.
Yeah, I'm in reverse. I started in niche (bottom of the funnel) and am working my way to the top.
Tim, this was a great episode. I feel immediate in the upper right corner. I appreciate the way you position yourself and your own work in a vulnerable way, not too much people you will here talk about their fears and mistakes, putting partly at risk everything they have reached so far. But those are the moments one is learning from each other. I'm working no for 1,5 year very hard to my music channel (classical music). In a sense it has a kind of unique place, since I produce 3 new music videos a month + 3 videos in which I share my reflections on the performances. I'm still in the phase I guess where I have to fight just... to be found! My subscriber base grow very slowly, steadily, but slowly, nothing compared to the effort and time I put into this channel. My view rate is at 10-15%, but often people comment that they 'just' have found my channel and how happy they are with that... it's hare to understand, but... it's fun to do, and I myself learn a lot by producing these videos, building a giant repertoire, keeping focus on my instrument and practising times, and learning about recording techniques, which opened the idea of building our own studio, something that never would have come up without the YT channel. And further: I'm now in a position where I devote the maximum time I can to this channel, more would not be justifiable, and I feel that I have to wait until the foundations are a little bit stronger to lead more time to it, engaging even more on some social platforms, going to Itunes etc... but I definitely want to keep everything exciting, ambitious, fun, but not too crazy that I (and my family) would get frustrated about it!
Thanks for all your work,
greetings from Belgium,
Wim
Thanks, Wim. I appreciate that!
+Video Creators I have an idea for you. Would you consider reviewing various UA-cam channels, as a series, and describing their success level in terms of your analytical knowledge? In terms of subscriber engagement, I think moderate channels such as forneverworld have a great methodology.
My channels problem is that I'm just having problems connecting with my target audience, my videos consistently get less and less views even with the fact that my most views only has 53 views. It is both motivating and discouraging, i just wish i knew how to catch and retain an audience as i am seeing no growth whatsoever
Here are some videos that might help you better connect with your audience and build a community around your channel!
videocreators.com/?s=community&lang=en
I hope this helps! - Catherine, vcTV
LifeOfDru
thank you guys!
I totally get what you are saying. It is discouraging, but I like how you also included motivating. I can't see where you go!
Ren
Stitchn Travel thank you man!
1. As part of the smaller % of growing youtube channels, I really enjoy the content you've been producing, and I hope you continue to produce helpful vids that teach me how to grow my channel!
2. To answer your comment request, I don't really cater most of my vids to a "targeted audience." I mainly just make videos that I would enjoy seeing if I was a viewer that enjoys fishing (which is pretty much the only content I post). I typically just go out and fish and then post the highlights of the day, but I've recently started adding a few things to my channel that benefit my subs like how-to vids, monthly giveaways, monthly live q and a's, and monthly subscriber tournaments so my subs have a chance to meet me in person :D
I like the whiteboard format XD I would personally love it if you were to focus more on incorporating more motivational AND higher level business videos. I think that both those styles of videos can benefit viewers in the "dip" and "post-dip" phases alike, because even creators that have achieved some level of success beyond that difficult drop off phase probably have days when they need to reevaluate what they're doing, and renew their own motivation and passion for their channel, and creators that are still pushing through the dip would benefit from learning about the business side early on, so that by the time they are ready to get more involved in it, they are already knowledgable and have less of a learning curve. So I don't think those two types of videos clash at all :)
Tim, I'm excited to see where you are going in your re-design of your channel focus. I'm lucky that I joined you after my big dip. Hopefully I'm coming out the other side thanks to your hard work bringing us the good content.
Great and inspiring video. I found you on YTTalk forum and saw your 1000 subscribers thread then decided to check your channel out after skimming through the posts in that thread.
My reaction when you mentioned creators who are super interested, excited, but then went down the hill because they found out how hard it actually is was, "Wow, I can really relate to that!" even though I have mentally recovered from the downfall.
I just recently decided to give it a serious shot, you know, creating and uploading videos, even though I still haven't got decent enough equipments yet. It's been that "Thing that I do from time to time" for about 5-6 years. So not getting lots from it wasn't such a big deal to me, but now I'm doing my best that I can with what resources I have in hands, and not getting much relative to my reasonable expectation out of it, had been kinda a blow to me mentally.
But as I've said, I have mentally recovered, and is now ready to do even more and putting much more efforts into it :)
I surely will be checking your videos out, you sure know what you're talking about.
Yup...I'm in that dip. Oh how I wish I wasn't in that dip. But I'm motivated and hopefully will leave that dip!
Hey Tim , another great video - thanks !!! Having just hit 100,000 subs and on average getting 2-3000 views on new videos, this one really spoke to me !! I feel a lot better as I know my channel is a tutorial channel, and the songs I do and brand new so there is not so much interest until when they become big hits.
I get a lot of people think they can do the same thing , they work crazy hard for 3 months , and don't see much money coming in, so either give up, or significantly drop their work rate.
I've taken two channels to over 100,000 subs, my other channel oysterlovers took a lot longer than this one, but it is ALL about working hard (and smart if you can !)
You have to be prepared to work virtually full time, and you will see near to zero return for 6 months, at least financially. You also have to LOVE what you do, otherwise you'll lose motivation quickly if it feels too much like hard work.
I really hope you still focus on channels that do have quite a few subs, because I for one need all the help I can get to keep momentum flowing - also we all want to go from 100,000 to a million etc etc
Your videos are an invaluable source of great info - I also love it when you talk about other sites that I hadn't thought of or heard of .
Thanks !!!
FEEDBACK :
Hi Tim, Im an old subscriber to your channel and i have watched this video when i was around 750 subs and i really dont remember getting your point in the 1st time but now when i watched again, i totally understood what you said and what are you trying to point out ! and i think what happen is that my channel now in that middle gape that you missed and i feel the falling too but im trying to resist especially when you are busy with other things in life !
Thank you again for everything i totally appreciate and i really would love to attend video creator events like vid summit and vidcon next year and try to share and learn especially my channel isnt in English ! so it would be great to exchange knowledge from people like you
Perfect drawing representing a UA-cam content creators timeline. I've done it with other channels I've started and seen people start off strong but not stay consistent and motivated because they don't grow fast enough. Awesome video!
Neat to see this information. You're still the only channel I watch each and every new episode of since I first subscribed in 2013. Thank you for continuing to do so.
I have been following your channel from the very start and I want to thank you for all the help.
I agree on the DIY channel idea of subs who like that one single vid where you answered their DIY question, but then that's about it for them. This is why I switched up this year in the spring and started telling a story from week to week along with my DIY tips. The story line is all about me trying to sell my house and move home to FLorida. I laid the foundation, let the audience into my personal life, built the suspense and even let them make some decisions on how the story will play out over the next few months... Now, my channel has exploded (cliche I know but true) and more of my subs just want to know how I am doing and what I am doing rather than just absorb a lawn care tip. Plus, making vids that tell a cohesive story over time is MUCH more fun for me too.
Yay for passing through that dip :) I was pretty disappointed to see only 18% of subscribers are viewing out of 8k
Im glad to hear its pretty normal.
+Moms Vlog80 8k subs is already a pretty impressive number. Did you already think about going back to your older videos and re-do titles, descriptions, tags and thumbnails with the knowledge you got since today? It may give you channel just the push it needs to take off.
You broke this down beautifully, Tim. And I love that you went old school with the white board. This video was incredibly helpful. It made me reflect on my own channel, content and subscriber engagement. I have a core audience that watches all my videos and comments on them. They are there not just for the teaching, but the entertainment value as well. As you noted though in regards to your own channel, I too have a large number of subscribers that found my channel because of one particular teaching video that solved a problem for them. They subscribed, but they aren't engaged on a regular basis. So what your analysis has gotten me to realize is that I need to strike a better balance between the problem solving content (how-to info) and the entertainment content (humor, general discussion).
Great topic! The tragic irony about it all is that the Video Creators subscribers who drop off as they start realizing how much hard work is involved in growing a channel do so at the very moment when they should press through and keep watching your content. Perhaps once a month you could post a video targeted directly at those subscribers who have reached that transition period from newbie euphoria to intermediate reality check. Something that will get them over the hump and help them understand that hard work isn't a bad thing and that the task isn't as daunting as they think it is. Let us not be weary in well doing.
Thanks again, Tim, for all that you do.
Great info! As one of your subscribers who has "pushed through the dip" I have you to thank for much of the info behind that push. In my content there seems to be the same profile of viewers: initial excitement > the "reality" dip > the few and proud that continue. Lots to think about here. Thanks!
Congrats for getting over the dip! Your channel looks awesome, so of course I've subscribed! :)
+The Mind of Watercolor Glad you were able to push through it! What do you feel compelled you to keep going?
+Video Creators Just realizing it was actually doable if I kept chipping away at it. I guess I'm old enough to know there aren't many overnight sensations. I was looking for a reliable formula for growing bit by bit. You were instrumental in helping me put that formula together. I listen to the Tube Talk podcast too. Thanks for all you do.
That chart really hit home Tim. I am currently through that low dip of your chart, biggest mistake I learned was how important consistency is. Life hits you with obstacles and you cant control events in your life. And in a past video you made the connection of having time off UA-cam being related to your lack of searchability and exposure. This past 2 months, finding your channel is like going back to school. Thank You
I think you need to have a pictionary challenge with those artist skill! ;) I like the idea of seeing some videos that focus on what to do once you start the process of making UA-cam a career.
Good insight Tim, I too would like to see more videos for those at the top right of your graph. I've always been interested in more in depth stuff like using mental tricks and cliffhangers to engage the audience. There was a study years ago that claimed B/W high contrast thumbnails with close ups of faces were the most likely to get clicked... I'd like to delve further into this kind of stuff and whatever else you can come up with. I agree with a lot of what you were hinting at in the video... a lot of your videos are very basic and you've already covered most of that basic stuff. Time to move onto the advanced!
Hey Tim. Awesome video. Just wanted to say thanks. I'm just getting started, but you're videos have really helped a lot.
That is a very good example a lot of people think it's very easy to make videos until they do it for a while they discover it's more work than you think it is Love watching your videos
this guy hits the nail on the head in every video, bin subbed for a long while now and i will alway be, you give good advise and im always willing to learn and try new things... so true about this being a hard it may look easy to some people just making videos and uploading but it is not as easy as that lol, bin doing this a while now and all i can say is that i put in a lot of work and im still growing, just got to do what you luv doing and be the best at it
This was an interesting video. I get the same question about my ratio. Something I don't feel I'm doing wrong but that most people wouldn't is "content/subscriber diversity". Because my How To Channel covers a variety of topics I have that 10% ratio you brought up, which I'm overall fine with. I also know that for each individual video it is a matter of watching because that problem exist for the viewer at the time they are watching it. I think your analysis of your channel and situation were spot on and I think that there is something to be said for pivoting when you come to that kind of realization.
Appreciate your transparency Tim. As I prepare to launch the first video for my channel I've found your content to be of great value.
Cool video Tim. And interesting! There is a book called 'Making Ideas Happen' (you probs know it) by the guy who founded Behance (sold to Adobe). It has a graph like yours for any creative project in general, that slump, and often creatives will try something new and then the slump again. The book addresses how to push hard when you about to hit that slump so you can reach that third part of the graph. Perhaps tips, interviews etc on how to manage the slump and avoid it could be good on your channel. If a creative subscribed to your channel is in that slump (likely by what you say) that content may appeal and help them get back on the bandwagon and then your video creator tips become relevant again to them. Just a thought!
+True Mexico Thanks! I'll check it out!
I haven't launched this channel yet, but I have found all of your information super helpful. It definitely makes sense having that dip as it is with growing any sort of business. Some people just get lucky and they shoot off, but I'm at least going into this knowing better that I have a huge chance to just fall to the background I already have a userbase that knows who I am and my line of work. I'm a crafter/illustrator with a small audience so far who follow my artwork, so I hope that I'll be able to take my talents to more helping people and engaging with fun stuff challenges and just generally show anyone can be creative.
You're a HUGE help. Thank you for making these videos for people like us! x
I just started a youtube channel and I have no idea what’s coming my way, right now I’m in the easy part that your taking about so I hope it keeps going up and hopefully not dropping too much, anyways I love your vids! ❤️
great drawing Tim :-D growing a UA-cam channel is hard like you say. even though I rarely comment here, I do enjoy what you are doing!
This makes so much sense! Very useful statistic info :)
I am curious how you get choose to deal with the 3 groups of audience. Surely all strategies will include some trial and error? mine certainly does.
You might also consider targetting people (like myself) who are not planning to make their YT channel the main thing but more just seeing it as a part of what they do. I'd never want to do videos full time even if I have fun with what I do and getting useful stuff across to my viewers.
I am still in that beginning stage. We have had this channel a few months. I took the UA-cam Creator Academy. I watch every video you put up because I feel I have so much to learn.
I'm in this emotional dip currently. After months of creation, I'm still hovering at 100 subs with stagnant growth. I know I'll push through and find my rhythm, but damn is it discouraging to see hard work go nowhere. Looking forward to your new angle Tim. Cheers.
I have been on my chanal for 8 mounts and I'm on 20 subs but that's doesn't matter cose nothing beats experience
This may seem really low but I try to come up with a very click-baity title that entices people to watch but is still relevant to the subject.
They don't have to stick around for long, but at least I hope for them to stick to the point where they at least get some value, in about 1% of the cases people will get upset about this and I have seen an audience retention drop of 2% so I think it does help for me.
+Reversal | Boom Beach & Clash Of Clans You should be ashamed of yourself... Just kidding :) You must have one heck of an intro for people to stick around after that though!
Yes granted a lot of stuff you talk about I know already! However, in many videos you are always teaching me new things. Not to mention you keep me in the loop as to what is going on with UA-cam, and give me great ideas on improving my channel.
Your awesome! I told my brother about you and I told him your tips from the other video and he's been growing ever since! Every video you make helps him. Thank you!
I would consider my channel as in the "top" side of the chart, but I must say, I love these videos, always very helpful!
Hey Tim!
One thing I got thinking with your explanation regarding Video Creators. You were discussing the benefit for you to focusing on either the "pre-dip" or "post-dip" audience, and you said that there's a much bigger audience "pre-dip". While of course this rings true, I think another thing to take into consideration is that the "post-dip" creators might become more of long-time subscribers and returning viewers, as a majority of the "pre-dipper's" will end during the dip. Targeting the audience "post-dip"; there's a much smaller chance for the new subscriber to drop out due to giving up on UA-cam. Just my two cent!
Exactly my situation. I'm not too worried about it given the nature of my niche :)
This happens to everyone. Good chat.
We are still way in the beginning and pushing, so we find all your videos helpful : )
I've been running a UA-cam channel for over a year. I personally would like to see information pertaining to the "middle" area going from a startup channel to a full time. I know there may not be as big of an audience for this topic but for those of us in that spot it would help us push through. I appreciate everything you do and whatever direction you choose to go in I will always pull information from it. Thank you for all the work you put into these videos.
Although I am not that big, I did have a rough start with my youtube channel. I'm really glad you showed this because it got me into thinking how I should approach the content I make for my viewers.Storytelling + visual experience together is a fun thing to do but ideas are always difficult. My target audience is a bit difficult to justify but I believe many of them enjoy the quality of my videos. If the quality is good, they will engage in the storyline which is what I really want my viewers to engage in. Once the story is finished, I want the viewers to actually learn some important things in life(like morales in novels). Without the quality, the audience won't engage in the storyline. I also consider the comments I get as constructive criticism. That would allow me to make considerations about what I do in my videos.
The white board actually helped me understand what you're trying to say! I like that idea! It made sense especially when you're talking about something like this.
Right on Tim, great info and things to think about. For what it's worth, you have about twice as many total video views as me, but 7 times as many subscribers, so you're doing something right!
I'm a DIY channel but also wanted to make unboxing videos. I've been growing slow but growing however I am not sure what else to do to make users more engage during my videos 😞 I want to try and be funny (like i am in real life) but I'm not that confident yet. Any tips?
Thanks Tim - an older video, but relevant while I'm searching to improve my content and get better engagement from my 50K subscriber base. The information about engagement of subscriber base was valuable. I have the same whiteboard that I use for my videos - yours is cleaner I believe. All the best, Cheers Rick
Strangely enough I didn't drop off...just kept at it despite how ridiculously hard it is. So you didn't get me wrong, Tim ;) Thanks for the insight.
+Bite Size Vegan I've gone through dips before I think it's because I wasn't particularly happy with the content I was creating.
Thanks for the helpful and informative video Tim!
I'm a video creator myself and when I first started out on UA-cam in 2012, under the channel name Land Of The Free Media, I created Nexccelerator as an Automotive Journalism web series, to cater viewers who have a passion for the newest automobiles.
But after seeing that the channel was suffering from a lack of growth, I took the initiative to re-brand the automotive review videos, and re-upload them onto the new Nexccelerator UA-cam Channel (the channel that I'm using right now), which is now an Automotive Journalism Review UA-cam Channel.
Ever since then, I've started to see a much better outcome for the most part, which began helping me better understand my target audience.
In addition, I liked the whiteboard that you used throughout the video, as I found it to be a very useful visual aid.
I also subscribed to your channel because I would appreciate hearing more of your advice on both UA-cam Channel and audience growth. So thanks again, and I look forward to seeing more videos.
- Michael
Love your honesty Tim. I would say try to target the creators falling into the gap, it's a natural progression from your main subscriber base (the excited newbie crowd) and there's a lot of us!
I like that at the beginning you mentioned how to videos, like mine, have a less view percentage from current subscribers. Not giving up, can definitely see a difference in my channel after one year of creating, thanks for all the tips.
My channel is about 6 weeks old, and i'm about to hit 150 subscribers, Tim and Derral Eves have been such an amazing help. Let me tell you this, if you are not 100% committed to what your channel is about you will fail, god it felt like i'd never get to 100 subs, it was the hardest thing ever, but it's like a sigh of relief, and from there i've found as long as my content is consistent, of good quality, and each video having a purpose, the views slowly increase and the subscribers slowly subscribe. I will not stop nor give up what i'm doing. Thanks Tim, your videos are amazing.
I'm currently pushing past that canyon, though I'm not in it (that I know of 🙈). I'm reading both your books and taking steps to do the reinventing that you're talking about: updating channel and in-video branding, updating/redoing my channel intro with some more emphatic value prop, and really working on speaking directly to my nice. Thanks for all your hard work and helping us be successful!
I'm currently in the reinventing part of my channel. Possibly in the beginning portions of the "drop" as you say. So I would love to see more of the re-encourging videos because being down there is fun but really scary!
My channel (I think) is focused on getting people across that middle hole with kickboxing. I feel that it's not only a small target but worried the material is inaccessible. Excited to hear what you come up with!
Really informative. I guess the best way to check engagement is using the stats? Is there a video on how to read and interpret stats in order to keep creating enaging content?
Very helpful! As small UA-camrs this also really makes us feel good because we are getting about 40% of views compared to our sub count. I think most of that is because we reply back to every comment and constantly let our viewers know how much we appreciate them. We may have a small channel but our views are really good for the amount of subscribers we have. :)
My biggest mistake in terms of subscriber/viewer ratios is that I used the account I had for years to upload my new web show. I had built up a lot of subscribers (around 2,000 or so) by putting a "Subscribe to me!" button in a successful app I had made. As a result, most of these subscribers weren't interested in my videos.
I think I'll be able to fully recover eventually, because 2K subscribers probably won't affect my channel in the long run.
I think you have to act like nothing really happened and just keep going through it.
I like watching all of your videos because I like to see your point of view on the big picture and you always offer something fresh. But I understand not everyone is here for that.
Thanks for this video. It's nice to see someone talking about the mistakes they've made - it's very helpful. I'm still in that beginning stage, but your videos have been invaluable! Looking forward to seeing what you have in store for us in the future.
I am in the process of planning some form of on-line enterprise and I am finding all of your videos very interesting, pertinent and helpful in moulding my approach to this endeavour. From this position on the edge of doing something I have noticed that one of the main aspects you discuss a good deal is adding value and it seems to me that doing videos for the more advanced user is a great idea, considering that complete noobs are well served already, But those in the gap need to know how to get across from one state to the other; I think that serving them as well as the more advanced producer would constitute a very real adding of value to your project. Love your work, take care...Jim
I liked how you introduced the idea of stagnation and pivoting in this video, Tim. Thanks for that push to get through the dip!
Good perspective here, Tim. There is a lesson in perseverance in crossing the gap. Perhaps understanding UA-cam milestones might be a way to help creators interpret where they are on the path, what indicators to look for next and why to keep going.
Hey Tim, so how do you know where in "the dip" your channel is?
I would agree with this video 100 percent. I've seen so many channels say "new videos every Tuesday and Thursday!" and then slowly only do videos on Thursday, and then maybe 1 time a month, then cease to post completely.
The thing that helps me understand my target audience is mostly the analytics. If you just go to you demographics you can see who watches. For my channel 70% of my audience is male, and 50% of that male audience is between the ages of 10-18 or so. *Guys, if you didn't know about the analytics-demographics, make sure to take a look at that!*
For me, personally, I would really like to find more technical stuff, so I think is very difficult to find this kind of content, at it is very difficult , almost impossible to find a videos about youtube analitycs kind of thing, or how the youtube search really works...The top pic I suppose , this videos was nice too. Just my opinion from Spain.
I'm in the slump right now. I'm having a hard time balancing life and vlogging. I'm feeling motivated to do some research and I hope to get back up and running soon. Thanks for all of your hard work!!!
I really enjoyed your analysis Tim! I understood it perfectly. I'm a super small channel and I am feeling my way around my content right now. I'm providing weekly vlogs as a backstory into my life and the creation of a low budget sci-fi webseries and various short films which take months to produce. Your videos are definitely guiding me through "the dip". I will be very interested in knowing some of the higher end YT strategies you might be able to provide for the long haul.
+Veltis Angel Glad it made sense. And yeah, I look forward to making more of the content for the higher end stuff, too.
Great video! I think I've really hit that dip with my channel myself, growing a UA-cam channel is definitely harder than most people think it is, including myself when I started several months ago. I'm still a very young and small channel, but I'm ready to push through that dip!
I love your family vlog channel. You are really an inspiration and a great guy and have an awesome family. You guys really deserve the best. God Bless!
I made that same mistake in my last YT account YEARS ago
i constantly made vids and was tapping into something that, at the time was very much not explored but then let my self doubt and short sightedness shroud over
I contemplated just rebranding my old channel because i still had a fair few subscribers left but of course the thought did cross about why they were still subbed. were these inactive or dead accounts?
so here I am, 2 months and 45 subs in and im here to give it a better shot. thank you very much for these videos. i've certainly learned a tonne so far and hope that with all this + a lot of effort (and time of course) im sure this channel will get there :)
I loved the graphic/sketch... seeing the dip hit home with me. I have watched most of your videos and get a LOT out of them. I got more serious about UA-cam channel a year ago and have seen more than 1400% growth in that time... thanks to all the advice in your videos. Truly... you have helped me a lot.
I would say that I am in the "dip" right now and the things that keep me growing and moving forward is not motivation but, rather, they are more practical in nature. For instance, the time to produce videos consistently, the diversity of content that I am putting out and how that effects my audience, family (I have six kids too), work, side projects, etc. etc.. For me... it's hard to see how I can take my channel to the other side of the "dip" without proper coaching and guidance, which, rightfully, has a cost associated with it. Just not in the budget right now.
I'm at a point where I probably need to decide just how serious I want to be with my channel because the next steps seem to require a significant commitment from me and my family. With where the Lord has me... I'm not sure I can make that commitment. I would love to see content on video creators for guys like me who are stuck in the "dip." Thank you for all you are doing!
+Joe McClane That's definitely a big decision to make. Hope you get some clear insights into that!
Just started my channel and released my first video yesterday. I really love your content and it helps me stay motivated to keep creating even in the very early stages! Thanks so much great video!