Spending 5+ years creating videos despite not receiving love from the algorithm is respectable as fuck. That kind of commitment and drive to creation is commendable, I'm glad youtube recommended this to me and I'm going to check out your other videos.
Thanks for the kind words I really appreciate it! To be fair there's plenty of people who've spent countless more years than that to no success, but I appreciate the compliment nonetheless.
The most impactful quote that has stuck with me in this regard is "you only fail when you stop trying". I know that people say "oh if you're passionate about the hobby then it doesn't matter how rich or famous you get" but that's just not true. Like you said, you want it to become more than just a hobby because it's the thing you WANT to do, not the soul sucking job. It is a unique feeling to make art and deal with the expectations that "a good video will do good". As someone who was gently kissed by the algorithm a few times, I can tell you I have almost NO idea what makes a "good" video. I've only posted about 12, sometimes with MONTHS in between because work and life get in the way...the only thing that has helped me is to just make a video I WANT to make and can make an impact to whatever number of subscribers I'm able to reach. Chin up Ben, it's gonna be okay! You should be proud of yourself for even starting and sticking with it for this long. Thanks for sharing this
What a great quote to fit content creation on UA-cam, thank you for sharing your experience I definitely relate to it in a lot of ways. Also I checked out your latest upload and I've gotta say I'm really digging your content. The style is palpable and the motif of using green screened sticky notes as a character is honestly genius. Definitely earned a sub from me, I hope the algorithm gives you more gentle kisses lol
I know how it feels, man. I quit making fully edited videos a few years ago after I wasn’t getting many views or attention, but I noticed my friends were consistently making videos to decent success since last year so I decided to throw my hat into the ring and try again. My channel had been under 500 subscribers for 7 years, and the videos I made since returning to fully edited videos had still performed roughly the same as they did before my initial retirement, but then this one (Mary Kay Bergman) video I made blew up to my utter surprise and shot me to a few thousand subscribers. It made me feel motivated to make more videos, and I wouldn’t have had this surprise success had I not come back to make real videos again in the first place. So all of this is to say, when you feel fully motivated to make more videos again, keep trying and experimenting! You definitely have the writing and editing skills to keep making more of what you love to do, so you have nowhere to go but up. I know from experience that certain videos you don’t think will do well do a lot better than you think, and others you expect to do well don’t do nearly as well as you expected/hoped. And this is a small suggestion, but if you want to, I’d recommend using tags for your videos. It doesn’t always guarantee a successful vid in the end, but I think it’s helped some of my own in some way to get more attention when I started using them last year. As of now you’re getting very close to 1k subscribers, and I hope to see more content from you when you’re ready!
That's so awesome! Yeah I remember watching the video on Bergman and it was honestly very deserving of the attention it got, very thoroughly researched that's for sure. I appreciate the compliments too I'm glad you've enjoyed my stuff, I'll definitely take your advice on the tags whenever I make another video cause I hadn't even really thought about that. Thanks for the encouragement, I'll also be looking forward to whatever banger comes from your channel
Glad I'm not alone in that, not glad that you've also been frustrated lol, but glad that it's not an isolated feeling. Definitely love the podcast you got going over there too, so I'm happy to hear you're not letting it get to you
Thanks for the shout out at 11:24 really appreciate it. Also welcome to the no script crew and you threw me for a loop for a second because it is so rare you drop the eleven “persona” and just talk talk that I thought you were just really playing the video as a straight satirical video on videos like this. You really should keep it up though been living vicariously through your success a bit and just how your videos make me forget, “hey, I know that guy”.
Lol, you do be fitting that description at 11:24. That's also funny that you thought this was satirical, because it makes total sense considering how satirical I usually like to make stuff. Glad to be a part of the no script gang, and thanks for the kind words at the end there too. Would love to stream together some day if we ever get the chance.
I found this video on my feed and decided to check it out. I appreciate you sharing this, it had an impact on me and I related to a lot of the thoughts you had.
That's awesome to hear! I'm glad that you were able to relate to some of the things said in the video and that it had an impact on you. I hope it was a positive impact!
I don't know if this getting on a bunch of people's home page is some kind of sick joke on the part of UA-cam, but hey, it got me to click. Went over to your Smiling Friends video, and I liked it, so I subbed! Your editing and commentary are both good, and there's clearly effort put in, which I appreciate. There's some soul here.
Lol, yeah a cringe video about some dude's feelings getting slung to hundreds of people's pages is kind of funny. Thanks for checking out some of my stuff though I'm happy to hear you liked it!
found your video on my fyp, watched the entire video, dont give up bro this is not garbage nor does it get near it, one of the actual videos that i watched from the 0 to the end, really, your editing is ONE OF THE BEST in general plus for a dude who dosent have that many subs, dont let it go now trust me one time or another you will be one of the greatest in terms of montage and general video making, not all of the huges got huge at first but they all had one thing in common, consistency and always aiming to be better by day either by learning from others or testing for themselves to see what works and what dosent. anyways loved the video brother i hope you the best
This hits hard man, thanks a ton for the kind words that is super wholesome of you to say such nice things about the stuff I throw on the internet. It's great to know that people enjoy them cause that's honestly a great motivator to keep going. There's definitely times when it's tough, but comments like this definitely help me to keep going.
You're doing good work. You're already doing the hardest part: actually making something. The truth is, if you live for others, you'll be let down. You need to live for yourself. Your art's worth shouldnt be defined by its reception, but by you. It's hard to change your mindset, but it's important to try. You're bound to keep growing as long as you keep making. Oh and your vids are pretty good lol
Thank you for the kind words of encouragement I really appreciate it. Honestly I think there's merit to the idea of not overly fixating on other people for validation, but at the same time I don't want to completely ignore the audience's experience. After all the main purpose of making a video in my eyes is to help someone have a good time.
i know, i get it, i've been there. staying motivated is hard, especially when the times you _do_ feel motivated are when you're unable to like at work or when doing other stupid adult responsibilities we have to take care of. i've been doing this almost as long as you have and one thing that keeps me hopeful/grateful is thinking about the opportunities and experiences i've had since then. honestly if it weren't for me doing this youtube stuff, i don't think i would've found hal's podcast, listen to you two talk about the lighthouse, and discover your channel! if you want to take a break or continue working, it's entirely up to you...but you should at least hit 1k cause you deserve it. i do think your time will come
Thank you so much for the encouraging comment it means a lot. I definitely feel that too, getting a burst of motivation while at work is the literal worst timing possible. That's also a great way to look at it for sure, I think it would be better to acknowledge cool opportunities like getting to watch your Prince of Egypt musical vid rather than just tunnel visioning on not getting the funny numbers on the analytics page to go higher. Will definitely work on that so thanks for the reminder and thanks again for the kind comment.
Fact is, UA-cam is mostly luck rather than talent. I've never seen you before, but from this video alone I can tell you put a lot of effort into your content. Something I've learned from content creation is that, at least at the start, you really need to appeal to a specific big, but not too big, demographic. On my case, for example, I post Roblox videos, but I try as much as possible not to post "the big ones". Roblox has a ton of games, and a lot of them have a huge audience, but they get overshadowed by other even bigger audiences, leading to a lack of UA-cam content. That's who I've been trying to appeal to, and it's been working. I balance out the content I want to make with the content I think will boost my channel even by just a few dozen people, and it's mostly been working out fine for me. Find something you want to make, but that you don't see anyone else making, someone will want to see it
Yeah I see what you're saying, it's honestly a lot like supply and demand I feel. Even if you make a video about a popular topic, the overwhelming supply of videos about that topic already on UA-cam makes people not as interested in your video. I'll definitely try to be more aware of that as I continue. Definitely interested in checking out your channel though, I hope that you continue to grow as well
Yeah, I'm here. Less than. 200 subs after 8 years and several hundred videos made. I have outperformed my sub count several times, but none of those lead to more success. It kinda sucks how much effort I have put in only to have a video underperform. Having those feelings put into the open is rough. But just like you. I'm not stopping yet
Thanks for sharing about your UA-cam experience. Honestly I would say that it's definitely a good idea to keep going cause I'm always game to encourage people to be creative. It's rough sometimes I get it (hence this video), but at the same time overcoming the rough moments proves that you're truly passionate about creation and that's pretty cool. I'm just some dude on the internet though so take that with a grain of salt lol
I want to point out something a lot of aspiring UA-camrs lack-experience in creative fields. I’m by no means a big UA-camr, and I wouldn’t call myself a great one either. However, I’ve spent about six years working professionally as a musician and around three years as a video editor for other UA-camrs and creators. Understanding the basics and fundamentals of making good videos-how to make something sound good, look good, and feel good-goes a long way. UA-cam isn’t just about making UA-cam videos. Many great UA-camrs, like James Lee, actually have experience outside of UA-cam. If you focus solely on making UA-cam videos, you’re already limiting yourself to the platform’s specific language, pacing, and style. It’s like wanting to be a musician but neglecting music theory or aspiring to be an artist while ignoring perspective. Sure, you might not use theory all the time, but having the choice to use it and the knowledge that comes with it helps immensely. You could read books about the theory of comedy, or some books about video eddtiing. For example, the hidden tools of comedy, or in the blink of an eye.
Interesting yeah I could see that, the appeal of UA-cam is that most of the content just comes from people making it in their basement, but at the same time it's not always the most experienced people making it. Thankfully I have had experience in creative field so that certainly helps, but I definitely think I could gain plenty more perspective so I might check out those books. Also I hope you're enjoying work as a musician!
@BenEleven1127 I lost my job in music to AI, that's why I was forced to learn video editing as quickly as possible - I had no other income other than freelancing.
I was honestly as shocked as you were... For real though thank you for watching it, I'm glad you enjoyed the change of pace and that you watched it despite not being a video of me screaming about the FNAF Movie
You know I am only 3 minutes in but just wanna say, dont feel imposter syndrome man. Even if your videos dont turn out to be the most successful I think its super respectable to try. I have personally always wanted to make content since I was young but never really tried due to personal shame. Dont let it be the same for you, keep it up man! I believe in you!
Thanks for the encouragement I appreciate it a ton! Definitely think you should take a crack at making some content as well. It may not be good at first, but my content was a literal dumpster fire at first so I'd like to see you try to make something more shameful than that lol.
@ Thanks for the words of encouragement man! I might get around to it at some point. Will probably keep procrastinating it but I know I will do it at some point.
i totally get this, ive had the drive to do video stuff since i was young enough to figure out bandicam, and late last year i dove into making the videos that *i* wanted to make, and they did pretty alright, and theyre videos that im truly proud of. something that's always stuck in my mind is something drew gooden said, "its *you*tube, not makestuffpeoplewanttosee-tube" trying to game the algorithm and focusing on numbers and stuff is (in my experience) always gonna drag you down, which would just make your output worse. I dont think any of your stuff is "garbage", i think it's pretty good! but the actual hardest part in doing youtube is actually posting, and you're doing that! keep making stuff, you'll get there someday
Took me 6 years and I've finally started seeing results myself. I believe in you! Personally I just started looking at what reaction UA-camr's did and fellow educational channels. The goal to make it on this platform is useless, only 1% of people see any results, so just make stuff because you enjoy it.
I've had the really epic variant of this where the video you whip up in 10 minutes and don't care about gets a million views and the video I spent a ton of time editing together got 49. Yay!! I think if I'd just dedicated the rest of my life to making LTG videos I'd probably be getting the views a lot more consistently, but it felt unethical to make a living off making fun of someone.
Yeah that is super frustrating, super respectable of you to try not to religiously make fun of someone though. I'd definitely say your most popular video is a bit more satirical than mean spirited though if I'm being honest
@@BenEleven1127 I think it's only that way because it's not a consistent pattern. There are a TON of comments on that video that are super nasty about LTG (although in fairness he's a huge asshole he definitely deserves it) and cultivating an audience like that seems like begging to create a lynch mob. I do agree it's not as mean-spirited as it could've been though.
I'm gonna give some 2c as someone who recent started finding small levels of success on YT. I think your ideas are pretty good and that your production quality in a lot of your videos is quite good as well. What I would suggest is focusing more on simplifying your thumbnails. A lot of them aren't very glance-able, and at a glance don't necessarily build intrigue. I think addressing that alone would make a massive difference. Inside the videos, adding a bit more upbeat music during comedic sections would be good, and having some really nice music to establish the flow of the video would help as well. Without it, it's really hard to maintain energy throughout. My final piece of advice would be zooming in your framing to accent points that you're making. Even just zooming in the frame like 10% with an adjustment clip can really keep it from getting visually monotonous. A good example where this could've gone a long ways is in your "Unhinged Letterbox Reviews video". Having the video zoom in on the text you're reading, or at times panning with you reading it would've made for a bit more comedic impact. UA-cam doesn't have linear rewards. Fight for that 1% improvement. A video with 100k views isn't 100 times better than one with 1k views a lot of the time. The things I listed above are pretty minor tweaks in the grand scheme of things. Feel free to shoot me an email (linked on my channel) if you want to bounce ideas around. Best of luck!
youtube is hard, you're constantly competing against millions of people every second for the attention of 100s of millions. As the platform has gotten bigger, smaller creators have had to try exponentially harder to meet the standards being set by larger creators making attempting to grow on this platform a slog of failures. But thats all apart of it, in order to make it on the platform you have to come to terms with the fact that you'll be uploading for a very long time, trying all sorts of things to figure out what works before eventually it all clicks. The worst thing you can do is give up, which it sounds like you won't be anytime soon which is good. Just keep trying, keep learning and keep looking for ways to improve, the biggest killer for small creators is blaming external factors (like the algorithm) and not looking inward at their own content and trying to find ways to make each upload better than the last. You're editing is great and you've got a good voice for videos, keep it up and you'll reach the success you desire.
Thanks for the input I appreciate it, I've tried to upload pretty consistently in the past but every time I do that I'm never satisfied with the quality of the videos. I agree that a quicker upload schedule would help, but I'd rather not sacrifice quality for quantity.
I think the internet downplays how much attention means. 50 people become a small handful when if you think about 50 people standing in front of you it's not a small amount at all. I think it's easy to get caught up in wanting to"people" to see what you make but you secretly really want specific people to see it and not just anyone. I want to make long standing projects that I don't know how to execute exactly but what makes me want to make them half the time is the idea that someone I enjoy watching online could see it. It's so easy to chase after that and completely forget why I'm making something in the first place- because I like to create and learn more about what I am making. Seeking validation is a natural human behavior, but it's not the only one. As long as you have ideas and ways to express yourself creatively do it, keep going!
I hope you stick with it, try new things, and see what happens. I've also been wanting to make videos and I worry about putting a lot of effort just to have to deal with the algorithm. Thanks for putting your thoughts about this out there
Aight, I studied a little bit about this about a year or two ago so I want to give my opinion on it. Mainly what I think it is, is the thumbnails. I mean, you’ve clearly studied film-making and what makes a good video because I can see a clear passion for that in your work; but primarily what I think it is, is your thumbnails. Your thumbnails could fit someone else’s style of video but your videos are too consistent and uniform in style for that style of thumbnail. What I think you should stick to is simpler thumbnails that leave a curiosity gap. Think of LSmark, his thumbnails are simple and don’t consist of too much detail, often with some text being linked to either the thumbnail and title. I also feel like LsMark has a similar content style to you in his manner of speaking. Also, your thumbnails could be repeating what your title is saying, if that’s the case you can change it up a bit and add extra detail to the thumbnail that the title can’t capture. I’ve also went back in your catalog a bit and noticed you have drastically different types of videos. I would say stick to a consistent niche, if you don’t know what your niche is yet that is also fine because right now it seems like you are in your experimentation phase. What I would do is find what type of videos you prefer doing/making, whether it’s gameplay, video essay, or flat out talking in front of a camera. Whichever one you prefer but make sure the title and thumbnail match the same energy as the video. In a nutshell based on what type of video you make try to match that energy into a thumbnail, because when I saw your thumbnail I just thought it would be you sitting in front of a camera without any editing or anything like that. But if you had a more uniform and clean thumbnail similar to the style of the video (if that makes any sense) then I would expect that going into the video and not be thrown off by the quality difference. If you want I would be glad to help with thumbnails/titles. Take my advice with a grain of salt though, I am not really someone who can consistently make any content because of my home life and my parents don’t like the idea of me being “a UA-camr” since it can be inconsistent and burn out is a real thing. But hey if you’re down for it I would be glad to work with you because I always liked the idea of making videos but my severe hyper fixation on things makes it tough for me since I change up what I am interested in really quickly, so someone I could make my videos with would definitely help. But on a real note you actually do make good videos, it’s just viewers are thrown off by the thumbnails so that might be the reason for the retention graphs ya know. Alright thanks man ❤
Gotta change stuff up, dude! Working on long videos can work for some people but if it's not working for you just take a break from that sort of video and try something else! It'll be more fulfilling as well. Wishing you luck with your future here.
man it's sad to see such a good channel be so under appreciated. I feel personally offended youtube took this long to recommend me one of your videos, btw what do you use to edit your videos?
sub 976,, stumbled upon this,, imo u already did the hardest part n thats acting on a deep desire that a lot of people have. selfishly motivated or not,, know ur motivating me ((and probably so many others)) just by doing *something*... a lot of people simply do nothing keep at it,, i'll see u when ur "the second markiplier" lol
That's nice to hear that it's a process and not the finally, thanks for watching the video I hope you got something out of it. Also DMed you on discord if you're interested in chatting
Unfortunately, success on UA-cam is based on how hard you pander to the algorithm. As someone who has had moderate success on other UA-cam channels and is now trying to replicate that on my current channel, if you don't make videos tailored for success, it won't do well. You make good videos. I would say better than many big channels. The difference is that your videos don't pander to the algorithm, aren't "Mr. Beastified", and have actual deep analysis and soul poured into them. Keep grinding man. Your videos are great.
To start this comment off, I am going to say I have never seen a video from this channel before, but you came up in my recommended. Now I'm going to be selfish and talk about myself. Set up a little context; feel free to skip this bit if you want. I have been working a job on nightshift for the last 6 years and for the last 7 months, I have been doing 5 or 6 nights a week. That wasn't really by choice, but because my manager was pregnant and I didn't want to stress her out whilst we were low on staff. Now she has left for maternity and I have decided to focus on myself. I feel like crap, burnt out to the nth degree... And not just because I haven't had 2 days off together in over 3 months. I have a chronic illness that causes full body arthritis and it gets worse the more days in a row that I move. So in the last 7 months I have basically been running on caffeine and painkillers and not much else. I haven't done my hobbies, I've barely seen my friends and I slept through any days off I got. So, as of last week, I cut my hours down to 2 days a week. The last 10 days have mostly been me just laying in bed, trying to recover my abused joints. By luck, my doctors have also decided as of this week to put me on stronger medications that can cause all sorts of problems like liver failure and kidney failure, so I'm going to need to get blood tests every 2 weeks for the next 8 months to make sure it doesn't do that... Which I definitely would have slept through if I'd been asked to do that a month or two earlier. Not to mention I want time off to have driving lessons and start a privatised transition medication. Lots of reasons to need time off to focus on me is the point. In reality, it would be nice to not have to do so much labour to save my body from its innumerous issues. For that reason, I want to join my hobbies and career together if I can. I love essay writing and remixing music and playing Pokemon mods and Magic The Gathering and making polymer clay and needlefelt models, so fingers crossed I can take off by making videos or other content involving those things. As someone who hasn't even started trying, I am not an authority on video making advice, but these are my plans to attempt success: 1: Find your niche. When a new game comes out, everyone tries to copy it's success with clones that take so long to actually come out that they miss the trend. Most markets are similar. You don't want to follow the trend, but look for the gap in the market and fill the hole with an idea that hadn't previously had any content makers. Don't compete with what already exists; look for a niche of a niche market and branch out only after you have success. People like new, even if they don't know what that is until they see it. 2: Use platforms like Tiktok, Instagram and UA-cam Shorts as advertising. You can use them for the core content, but if you want to make longer and better quality content then I still suggest taking snippets of the UA-cam content so people can get taste-tests of your content on those other platforms first. 3: Collaborate. Not only is it good to share viewers from other content creators by making videos together, but just having other people to riff off will give you more insentive to be vocal. It's confidence boosting. If you can't find collaborative creators, just make a Discord server and see if any of your viewers want to be recorded over a zoom call to make content with you. It's worth a go. If I think of anything else, I'll edit this comment later. I just need you to know that if I found your content due to the algorithm then it definitely isn't too late. I'm usually first to niche channels but very often the few that watch do end up blowing up within weeks. Don't give up. Just keep going. If ya aim in a direction long enough you are sure to hit at some point. Good look mon frere. I'll be checking in and I wish us both luck on these future endeavours. Let us hope they are spent knowing each other better through exposure to one another through the power of the internet. Take care.
I think if you make content on youtube with the intention of "making it" you've already set yourself up for failure. The fact of the matter is that there are millions of small channels just like you and the odds are that you won't be the one to strike metaphorical oil. Make content because you enjoy it and you are passionate about it and don't worry about the numbers. Maybe you'll get lucky and hit the big time but don't quit your day job unless you do. Good luck to you man.
UA-cam recommendactions brought me here. I'm here to help your life succeed, so I am commenting. This is for you, as there are very many of us in existence, who have not been heard.
Adding comments for engagement increase and the virtual hug. As someone with a small channel ( tools on tech 7k subs ) and on a break, having a small group of fellow content creators helps a lot. If you don't know any fellow creators, hit me up, happy to talk shop with any content creator cause only they understand the true struggle of writing, editing only to get 5 views and looking in yt studio ev 5 minutes
youtube algorithm decided to show me this as a first video of yours. complaining is working! Jokes aside - do videos more often. Only huge guys like Jontron or someone like that can get away with 4 videos a year but tiny creators like you will die by algorithm just because it forgets about your existence without new content - just like people do. I guess my unsolicited advice is to double down until it works.
In the old internet days, people would put hours or days or weeks into a video just for like 3 friends to watch it. If people saw it online then all the better. Get your priorities straight.
My brother in Christ, I am not trying to say your feelings are invalid but you posted 5 videos in the past year. This is like going to the GYM once a month and then at the end of the year wondering why you haven't lost weight. Im not saying you have to grind or that there isn't any luck involved (it very much is), but if your goal is it to "make it as a UA-camr" you kinda have to try harder. Your videos are very well edited and have clearly some thought in them, but a 10 minute video every 3ish months will probably not get you anywhere. Just trying to give some genuine advice, hope I am not coming of as a dick. Good luck
Spending 5+ years creating videos despite not receiving love from the algorithm is respectable as fuck. That kind of commitment and drive to creation is commendable, I'm glad youtube recommended this to me and I'm going to check out your other videos.
Thanks for the kind words I really appreciate it!
To be fair there's plenty of people who've spent countless more years than that to no success, but I appreciate the compliment nonetheless.
The most impactful quote that has stuck with me in this regard is "you only fail when you stop trying".
I know that people say "oh if you're passionate about the hobby then it doesn't matter how rich or famous you get" but that's just not true. Like you said, you want it to become more than just a hobby because it's the thing you WANT to do, not the soul sucking job.
It is a unique feeling to make art and deal with the expectations that "a good video will do good". As someone who was gently kissed by the algorithm a few times, I can tell you I have almost NO idea what makes a "good" video. I've only posted about 12, sometimes with MONTHS in between because work and life get in the way...the only thing that has helped me is to just make a video I WANT to make and can make an impact to whatever number of subscribers I'm able to reach.
Chin up Ben, it's gonna be okay! You should be proud of yourself for even starting and sticking with it for this long. Thanks for sharing this
What a great quote to fit content creation on UA-cam, thank you for sharing your experience I definitely relate to it in a lot of ways.
Also I checked out your latest upload and I've gotta say I'm really digging your content. The style is palpable and the motif of using green screened sticky notes as a character is honestly genius. Definitely earned a sub from me, I hope the algorithm gives you more gentle kisses lol
I know how it feels, man. I quit making fully edited videos a few years ago after I wasn’t getting many views or attention, but I noticed my friends were consistently making videos to decent success since last year so I decided to throw my hat into the ring and try again.
My channel had been under 500 subscribers for 7 years, and the videos I made since returning to fully edited videos had still performed roughly the same as they did before my initial retirement, but then this one (Mary Kay Bergman) video I made blew up to my utter surprise and shot me to a few thousand subscribers. It made me feel motivated to make more videos, and I wouldn’t have had this surprise success had I not come back to make real videos again in the first place.
So all of this is to say, when you feel fully motivated to make more videos again, keep trying and experimenting! You definitely have the writing and editing skills to keep making more of what you love to do, so you have nowhere to go but up. I know from experience that certain videos you don’t think will do well do a lot better than you think, and others you expect to do well don’t do nearly as well as you expected/hoped.
And this is a small suggestion, but if you want to, I’d recommend using tags for your videos. It doesn’t always guarantee a successful vid in the end, but I think it’s helped some of my own in some way to get more attention when I started using them last year.
As of now you’re getting very close to 1k subscribers, and I hope to see more content from you when you’re ready!
That's so awesome! Yeah I remember watching the video on Bergman and it was honestly very deserving of the attention it got, very thoroughly researched that's for sure.
I appreciate the compliments too I'm glad you've enjoyed my stuff, I'll definitely take your advice on the tags whenever I make another video cause I hadn't even really thought about that. Thanks for the encouragement, I'll also be looking forward to whatever banger comes from your channel
Definitely felt these frustrations before, hope you still keep up the good work, it’s not easy but trust me, it’s well worth keeping up
Glad I'm not alone in that, not glad that you've also been frustrated lol, but glad that it's not an isolated feeling.
Definitely love the podcast you got going over there too, so I'm happy to hear you're not letting it get to you
Thanks for the shout out at 11:24 really appreciate it. Also welcome to the no script crew and you threw me for a loop for a second because it is so rare you drop the eleven “persona” and just talk talk that I thought you were just really playing the video as a straight satirical video on videos like this. You really should keep it up though been living vicariously through your success a bit and just how your videos make me forget, “hey, I know that guy”.
Lol, you do be fitting that description at 11:24.
That's also funny that you thought this was satirical, because it makes total sense considering how satirical I usually like to make stuff. Glad to be a part of the no script gang, and thanks for the kind words at the end there too. Would love to stream together some day if we ever get the chance.
I found this video on my feed and decided to check it out. I appreciate you sharing this, it had an impact on me and I related to a lot of the thoughts you had.
That's awesome to hear! I'm glad that you were able to relate to some of the things said in the video and that it had an impact on you. I hope it was a positive impact!
I don't know if this getting on a bunch of people's home page is some kind of sick joke on the part of UA-cam, but hey, it got me to click. Went over to your Smiling Friends video, and I liked it, so I subbed! Your editing and commentary are both good, and there's clearly effort put in, which I appreciate. There's some soul here.
Lol, yeah a cringe video about some dude's feelings getting slung to hundreds of people's pages is kind of funny.
Thanks for checking out some of my stuff though I'm happy to hear you liked it!
found your video on my fyp, watched the entire video, dont give up bro this is not garbage nor does it get near it, one of the actual videos that i watched from the 0 to the end, really, your editing is ONE OF THE BEST in general plus for a dude who dosent have that many subs, dont let it go now trust me one time or another you will be one of the greatest in terms of montage and general video making, not all of the huges got huge at first but they all had one thing in common, consistency and always aiming to be better by day either by learning from others or testing for themselves to see what works and what dosent.
anyways loved the video brother i hope you the best
This hits hard man, thanks a ton for the kind words that is super wholesome of you to say such nice things about the stuff I throw on the internet. It's great to know that people enjoy them cause that's honestly a great motivator to keep going. There's definitely times when it's tough, but comments like this definitely help me to keep going.
You're doing good work. You're already doing the hardest part: actually making something. The truth is, if you live for others, you'll be let down. You need to live for yourself. Your art's worth shouldnt be defined by its reception, but by you. It's hard to change your mindset, but it's important to try. You're bound to keep growing as long as you keep making. Oh and your vids are pretty good lol
Thank you for the kind words of encouragement I really appreciate it. Honestly I think there's merit to the idea of not overly fixating on other people for validation, but at the same time I don't want to completely ignore the audience's experience. After all the main purpose of making a video in my eyes is to help someone have a good time.
ayo, Just saw this on my fyp. Loved the vid and hope it works out for you. - 974th subscriber
Thank you so much for taking the plunge as my 974th, I'm glad you enjoy my stuff enough to subscribe!
i know, i get it, i've been there. staying motivated is hard, especially when the times you _do_ feel motivated are when you're unable to like at work or when doing other stupid adult responsibilities we have to take care of. i've been doing this almost as long as you have and one thing that keeps me hopeful/grateful is thinking about the opportunities and experiences i've had since then. honestly if it weren't for me doing this youtube stuff, i don't think i would've found hal's podcast, listen to you two talk about the lighthouse, and discover your channel! if you want to take a break or continue working, it's entirely up to you...but you should at least hit 1k cause you deserve it. i do think your time will come
Thank you so much for the encouraging comment it means a lot. I definitely feel that too, getting a burst of motivation while at work is the literal worst timing possible.
That's also a great way to look at it for sure, I think it would be better to acknowledge cool opportunities like getting to watch your Prince of Egypt musical vid rather than just tunnel visioning on not getting the funny numbers on the analytics page to go higher. Will definitely work on that so thanks for the reminder and thanks again for the kind comment.
Fact is, UA-cam is mostly luck rather than talent. I've never seen you before, but from this video alone I can tell you put a lot of effort into your content. Something I've learned from content creation is that, at least at the start, you really need to appeal to a specific big, but not too big, demographic. On my case, for example, I post Roblox videos, but I try as much as possible not to post "the big ones". Roblox has a ton of games, and a lot of them have a huge audience, but they get overshadowed by other even bigger audiences, leading to a lack of UA-cam content. That's who I've been trying to appeal to, and it's been working. I balance out the content I want to make with the content I think will boost my channel even by just a few dozen people, and it's mostly been working out fine for me. Find something you want to make, but that you don't see anyone else making, someone will want to see it
Yeah I see what you're saying, it's honestly a lot like supply and demand I feel. Even if you make a video about a popular topic, the overwhelming supply of videos about that topic already on UA-cam makes people not as interested in your video. I'll definitely try to be more aware of that as I continue.
Definitely interested in checking out your channel though, I hope that you continue to grow as well
Yeah, I'm here. Less than. 200 subs after 8 years and several hundred videos made. I have outperformed my sub count several times, but none of those lead to more success. It kinda sucks how much effort I have put in only to have a video underperform. Having those feelings put into the open is rough. But just like you. I'm not stopping yet
Thanks for sharing about your UA-cam experience. Honestly I would say that it's definitely a good idea to keep going cause I'm always game to encourage people to be creative. It's rough sometimes I get it (hence this video), but at the same time overcoming the rough moments proves that you're truly passionate about creation and that's pretty cool. I'm just some dude on the internet though so take that with a grain of salt lol
why do those little laughs sound like they're laced with pain and sorrow bro ?? 😭
Oh haha I have no idea lol, no way I'm projecting or anything haha that would be crazy
Yeah, it's like a saying in Brazil "you have to laugh so you don't cry"
I want to point out something a lot of aspiring UA-camrs lack-experience in creative fields.
I’m by no means a big UA-camr, and I wouldn’t call myself a great one either. However, I’ve spent about six years working professionally as a musician and around three years as a video editor for other UA-camrs and creators.
Understanding the basics and fundamentals of making good videos-how to make something sound good, look good, and feel good-goes a long way.
UA-cam isn’t just about making UA-cam videos. Many great UA-camrs, like James Lee, actually have experience outside of UA-cam.
If you focus solely on making UA-cam videos, you’re already limiting yourself to the platform’s specific language, pacing, and style.
It’s like wanting to be a musician but neglecting music theory or aspiring to be an artist while ignoring perspective.
Sure, you might not use theory all the time, but having the choice to use it and the knowledge that comes with it helps immensely.
You could read books about the theory of comedy, or some books about video eddtiing.
For example, the hidden tools of comedy, or in the blink of an eye.
Interesting yeah I could see that, the appeal of UA-cam is that most of the content just comes from people making it in their basement, but at the same time it's not always the most experienced people making it. Thankfully I have had experience in creative field so that certainly helps, but I definitely think I could gain plenty more perspective so I might check out those books.
Also I hope you're enjoying work as a musician!
@BenEleven1127 I lost my job in music to AI, that's why I was forced to learn video editing as quickly as possible - I had no other income other than freelancing.
@@IvoryShard Oh man I'm sorry about that, I'm glad you're making things work though
BenEleven goes to parties? jk. I really enjoyed the more down to earth video. I always get excited to see that you have uploaded
I was honestly as shocked as you were...
For real though thank you for watching it, I'm glad you enjoyed the change of pace and that you watched it despite not being a video of me screaming about the FNAF Movie
I love your videos, BenEleven! You can always count on me to watch them
really refreshing content tbh. I can tell this one comes from the soul
I'm glad to got something out of it, it is definitely cathartic to make a video like this so win win I suppose
You know I am only 3 minutes in but just wanna say, dont feel imposter syndrome man. Even if your videos dont turn out to be the most successful I think its super respectable to try. I have personally always wanted to make content since I was young but never really tried due to personal shame. Dont let it be the same for you, keep it up man! I believe in you!
Thanks for the encouragement I appreciate it a ton! Definitely think you should take a crack at making some content as well. It may not be good at first, but my content was a literal dumpster fire at first so I'd like to see you try to make something more shameful than that lol.
@ Thanks for the words of encouragement man! I might get around to it at some point. Will probably keep procrastinating it but I know I will do it at some point.
Rare recommendations pull, I know you'll make it man. Because It was shown to me.
Oh boy that's a little scary that UA-cam is recommending this video of all things, glad you enjoyed this recommendations pull though.
Commenting to boost.
Good jokes, decent topic, mild editing. Not bad, friend
Thank you for the kind words! I'm super glad you like the content
I feel you bro, stay strong.
Thanks! I appreciate the sentiment bro
0:40 OHHHHHHHHH thats what that was supposed to be
I know I know, it's near impossible to tell
i totally get this, ive had the drive to do video stuff since i was young enough to figure out bandicam, and late last year i dove into making the videos that *i* wanted to make, and they did pretty alright, and theyre videos that im truly proud of. something that's always stuck in my mind is something drew gooden said, "its *you*tube, not makestuffpeoplewanttosee-tube"
trying to game the algorithm and focusing on numbers and stuff is (in my experience) always gonna drag you down, which would just make your output worse.
I dont think any of your stuff is "garbage", i think it's pretty good! but the actual hardest part in doing youtube is actually posting, and you're doing that!
keep making stuff, you'll get there someday
Took me 6 years and I've finally started seeing results myself. I believe in you! Personally I just started looking at what reaction UA-camr's did and fellow educational channels. The goal to make it on this platform is useless, only 1% of people see any results, so just make stuff because you enjoy it.
I've had the really epic variant of this where the video you whip up in 10 minutes and don't care about gets a million views and the video I spent a ton of time editing together got 49. Yay!! I think if I'd just dedicated the rest of my life to making LTG videos I'd probably be getting the views a lot more consistently, but it felt unethical to make a living off making fun of someone.
Yeah that is super frustrating, super respectable of you to try not to religiously make fun of someone though.
I'd definitely say your most popular video is a bit more satirical than mean spirited though if I'm being honest
@@BenEleven1127 I think it's only that way because it's not a consistent pattern. There are a TON of comments on that video that are super nasty about LTG (although in fairness he's a huge asshole he definitely deserves it) and cultivating an audience like that seems like begging to create a lynch mob. I do agree it's not as mean-spirited as it could've been though.
I'm gonna give some 2c as someone who recent started finding small levels of success on YT. I think your ideas are pretty good and that your production quality in a lot of your videos is quite good as well. What I would suggest is focusing more on simplifying your thumbnails. A lot of them aren't very glance-able, and at a glance don't necessarily build intrigue. I think addressing that alone would make a massive difference.
Inside the videos, adding a bit more upbeat music during comedic sections would be good, and having some really nice music to establish the flow of the video would help as well. Without it, it's really hard to maintain energy throughout.
My final piece of advice would be zooming in your framing to accent points that you're making. Even just zooming in the frame like 10% with an adjustment clip can really keep it from getting visually monotonous. A good example where this could've gone a long ways is in your "Unhinged Letterbox Reviews video". Having the video zoom in on the text you're reading, or at times panning with you reading it would've made for a bit more comedic impact.
UA-cam doesn't have linear rewards. Fight for that 1% improvement. A video with 100k views isn't 100 times better than one with 1k views a lot of the time. The things I listed above are pretty minor tweaks in the grand scheme of things.
Feel free to shoot me an email (linked on my channel) if you want to bounce ideas around. Best of luck!
youtube is hard, you're constantly competing against millions of people every second for the attention of 100s of millions. As the platform has gotten bigger, smaller creators have had to try exponentially harder to meet the standards being set by larger creators making attempting to grow on this platform a slog of failures. But thats all apart of it, in order to make it on the platform you have to come to terms with the fact that you'll be uploading for a very long time, trying all sorts of things to figure out what works before eventually it all clicks. The worst thing you can do is give up, which it sounds like you won't be anytime soon which is good.
Just keep trying, keep learning and keep looking for ways to improve, the biggest killer for small creators is blaming external factors (like the algorithm) and not looking inward at their own content and trying to find ways to make each upload better than the last. You're editing is great and you've got a good voice for videos, keep it up and you'll reach the success you desire.
Well uploading once a month aint gonna cut it, you gotta increase the frequency. Also u need a clear theme for ur channel
Thanks for the input I appreciate it, I've tried to upload pretty consistently in the past but every time I do that I'm never satisfied with the quality of the videos. I agree that a quicker upload schedule would help, but I'd rather not sacrifice quality for quantity.
I think the internet downplays how much attention means. 50 people become a small handful when if you think about 50 people standing in front of you it's not a small amount at all. I think it's easy to get caught up in wanting to"people" to see what you make but you secretly really want specific people to see it and not just anyone. I want to make long standing projects that I don't know how to execute exactly but what makes me want to make them half the time is the idea that someone I enjoy watching online could see it. It's so easy to chase after that and completely forget why I'm making something in the first place- because I like to create and learn more about what I am making. Seeking validation is a natural human behavior, but it's not the only one. As long as you have ideas and ways to express yourself creatively do it, keep going!
I hope you stick with it, try new things, and see what happens. I've also been wanting to make videos and I worry about putting a lot of effort just to have to deal with the algorithm. Thanks for putting your thoughts about this out there
If it makes you feel better (I’m only to 2:26 ) I found this in my feed towards the top. Never seen you before, did subscribe
Aight, I studied a little bit about this about a year or two ago so I want to give my opinion on it. Mainly what I think it is, is the thumbnails. I mean, you’ve clearly studied film-making and what makes a good video because I can see a clear passion for that in your work; but primarily what I think it is, is your thumbnails. Your thumbnails could fit someone else’s style of video but your videos are too consistent and uniform in style for that style of thumbnail. What I think you should stick to is simpler thumbnails that leave a curiosity gap. Think of LSmark, his thumbnails are simple and don’t consist of too much detail, often with some text being linked to either the thumbnail and title. I also feel like LsMark has a similar content style to you in his manner of speaking. Also, your thumbnails could be repeating what your title is saying, if that’s the case you can change it up a bit and add extra detail to the thumbnail that the title can’t capture. I’ve also went back in your catalog a bit and noticed you have drastically different types of videos. I would say stick to a consistent niche, if you don’t know what your niche is yet that is also fine because right now it seems like you are in your experimentation phase. What I would do is find what type of videos you prefer doing/making, whether it’s gameplay, video essay, or flat out talking in front of a camera. Whichever one you prefer but make sure the title and thumbnail match the same energy as the video.
In a nutshell based on what type of video you make try to match that energy into a thumbnail, because when I saw your thumbnail I just thought it would be you sitting in front of a camera without any editing or anything like that. But if you had a more uniform and clean thumbnail similar to the style of the video (if that makes any sense) then I would expect that going into the video and not be thrown off by the quality difference. If you want I would be glad to help with thumbnails/titles.
Take my advice with a grain of salt though, I am not really someone who can consistently make any content because of my home life and my parents don’t like the idea of me being “a UA-camr” since it can be inconsistent and burn out is a real thing.
But hey if you’re down for it I would be glad to work with you because I always liked the idea of making videos but my severe hyper fixation on things makes it tough for me since I change up what I am interested in really quickly, so someone I could make my videos with would definitely help.
But on a real note you actually do make good videos, it’s just viewers are thrown off by the thumbnails so that might be the reason for the retention graphs ya know. Alright thanks man ❤
How ironic. I habe never seen your channel before but this is the Video UA-cam decided to recommend to me
Gotta change stuff up, dude! Working on long videos can work for some people but if it's not working for you just take a break from that sort of video and try something else! It'll be more fulfilling as well. Wishing you luck with your future here.
don't give up at it, trust me it eats at you every time you have a free moment to think about it
As BenEleven’s number one fan, I will be devastated if you ever give up. 1,000 subscribers!!!!! that’s crazy!!!!!
man it's sad to see such a good channel be so under appreciated. I feel personally offended youtube took this long to recommend me one of your videos, btw what do you use to edit your videos?
Lets get that thousand!
Turbo dismount is goated
Get ready, the algorithm has chosen you.
Here before 1k subs
sub 976,, stumbled upon this,, imo u already did the hardest part n thats acting on a deep desire that a lot of people have. selfishly motivated or not,, know ur motivating me ((and probably so many others)) just by doing *something*... a lot of people simply do nothing
keep at it,, i'll see u when ur "the second markiplier" lol
this video bout to blow up 🔥🔥🔥
Bro dm me - all of this is part of the process
That's nice to hear that it's a process and not the finally, thanks for watching the video I hope you got something out of it.
Also DMed you on discord if you're interested in chatting
youtube is an incredibly volatile and random website
Unfortunately, success on UA-cam is based on how hard you pander to the algorithm. As someone who has had moderate success on other UA-cam channels and is now trying to replicate that on my current channel, if you don't make videos tailored for success, it won't do well. You make good videos. I would say better than many big channels. The difference is that your videos don't pander to the algorithm, aren't "Mr. Beastified", and have actual deep analysis and soul poured into them. Keep grinding man. Your videos are great.
To start this comment off, I am going to say I have never seen a video from this channel before, but you came up in my recommended.
Now I'm going to be selfish and talk about myself. Set up a little context; feel free to skip this bit if you want. I have been working a job on nightshift for the last 6 years and for the last 7 months, I have been doing 5 or 6 nights a week. That wasn't really by choice, but because my manager was pregnant and I didn't want to stress her out whilst we were low on staff. Now she has left for maternity and I have decided to focus on myself. I feel like crap, burnt out to the nth degree... And not just because I haven't had 2 days off together in over 3 months. I have a chronic illness that causes full body arthritis and it gets worse the more days in a row that I move. So in the last 7 months I have basically been running on caffeine and painkillers and not much else. I haven't done my hobbies, I've barely seen my friends and I slept through any days off I got. So, as of last week, I cut my hours down to 2 days a week. The last 10 days have mostly been me just laying in bed, trying to recover my abused joints. By luck, my doctors have also decided as of this week to put me on stronger medications that can cause all sorts of problems like liver failure and kidney failure, so I'm going to need to get blood tests every 2 weeks for the next 8 months to make sure it doesn't do that... Which I definitely would have slept through if I'd been asked to do that a month or two earlier. Not to mention I want time off to have driving lessons and start a privatised transition medication.
Lots of reasons to need time off to focus on me is the point. In reality, it would be nice to not have to do so much labour to save my body from its innumerous issues.
For that reason, I want to join my hobbies and career together if I can. I love essay writing and remixing music and playing Pokemon mods and Magic The Gathering and making polymer clay and needlefelt models, so fingers crossed I can take off by making videos or other content involving those things.
As someone who hasn't even started trying, I am not an authority on video making advice, but these are my plans to attempt success:
1: Find your niche. When a new game comes out, everyone tries to copy it's success with clones that take so long to actually come out that they miss the trend. Most markets are similar. You don't want to follow the trend, but look for the gap in the market and fill the hole with an idea that hadn't previously had any content makers. Don't compete with what already exists; look for a niche of a niche market and branch out only after you have success. People like new, even if they don't know what that is until they see it.
2: Use platforms like Tiktok, Instagram and UA-cam Shorts as advertising. You can use them for the core content, but if you want to make longer and better quality content then I still suggest taking snippets of the UA-cam content so people can get taste-tests of your content on those other platforms first.
3: Collaborate. Not only is it good to share viewers from other content creators by making videos together, but just having other people to riff off will give you more insentive to be vocal. It's confidence boosting. If you can't find collaborative creators, just make a Discord server and see if any of your viewers want to be recorded over a zoom call to make content with you. It's worth a go.
If I think of anything else, I'll edit this comment later.
I just need you to know that if I found your content due to the algorithm then it definitely isn't too late. I'm usually first to niche channels but very often the few that watch do end up blowing up within weeks.
Don't give up. Just keep going. If ya aim in a direction long enough you are sure to hit at some point.
Good look mon frere. I'll be checking in and I wish us both luck on these future endeavours. Let us hope they are spent knowing each other better through exposure to one another through the power of the internet.
Take care.
❤❤❤
I think if you make content on youtube with the intention of "making it" you've already set yourself up for failure. The fact of the matter is that there are millions of small channels just like you and the odds are that you won't be the one to strike metaphorical oil. Make content because you enjoy it and you are passionate about it and don't worry about the numbers. Maybe you'll get lucky and hit the big time but don't quit your day job unless you do. Good luck to you man.
more than five words for the algorithm
So funny of youtube to put this video on my homepage. lmfao
W youtube recommendation
UA-cam recommendactions brought me here.
I'm here to help your life succeed, so I am commenting.
This is for you, as there are very many of us in existence, who have not been heard.
UA-cam is a marathon my man, if you give up now it’ll all be for nothing.
Not going NOWHERE!!!
Yeah definitely dont give up...never
Remember you cant lose if you never quit...you have style
The algorithm has chosen you
Comment for engagement. Wish you the best of luck with taking off
Adding comments for engagement increase and the virtual hug.
As someone with a small channel ( tools on tech 7k subs ) and on a break, having a small group of fellow content creators helps a lot.
If you don't know any fellow creators, hit me up, happy to talk shop with any content creator cause only they understand the true struggle of writing, editing only to get 5 views and looking in yt studio ev 5 minutes
Fine. I'll help get you over the 1000 threshold.
youtube algorithm decided to show me this as a first video of yours. complaining is working! Jokes aside - do videos more often. Only huge guys like Jontron or someone like that can get away with 4 videos a year but tiny creators like you will die by algorithm just because it forgets about your existence without new content - just like people do. I guess my unsolicited advice is to double down until it works.
Real af
Have you heard of fish tank?
real.
Yea i get this
Ratio (to the entirety of the video)
meow
In the old internet days, people would put hours or days or weeks into a video just for like 3 friends to watch it. If people saw it online then all the better. Get your priorities straight.
Maybe you should go to therapy instead of invalidating someone else’s lived experience via UA-cam comments.
@carsoncawthon7936 people who think this platform is a meal ticket or are owed success are buying rope from one of the biggest rope peddlers.
My brother in Christ, I am not trying to say your feelings are invalid but you posted 5 videos in the past year. This is like going to the GYM once a month and then at the end of the year wondering why you haven't lost weight. Im not saying you have to grind or that there isn't any luck involved (it very much is), but if your goal is it to "make it as a UA-camr" you kinda have to try harder. Your videos are very well edited and have clearly some thought in them, but a 10 minute video every 3ish months will probably not get you anywhere. Just trying to give some genuine advice, hope I am not coming of as a dick.
Good luck