I am rather worried about my declining view count on YouTube. When I started StarMade Adventures each video seemed to do better than the last and I received a lot of positive feedback. But then it all sudden dropped off. I am really not sure what to do.
Episode 6 launches this evening and come what may I will finish the series. But as to a second season... at the moment I am unsure. I would love to but the time it takes to create each episode means I really have been unable to do much else and for obvious reasons I cannot sustain a weekly show with no income...
Hmm that said perhaps once I secure a normal income from some kind of half decent job (finally) I will be able to sustain some form of the series, but not in a weekly format. I do enjoy creating content and I doubt I will ever stop. I just may have to be more practical about what I make and how often I can make it.
Sorry
/rant
StarMade Adventures Ep6 6pm (GMT) tonight: June 24th
Hey Gary,
ReplyDeleteThe Starmade episodes you're producing are great but they are very niche. Perhaps expanding on different types of videos that aren't quite as focused on such a small demographic (and so labour intensive to yourself) would be the way to go.
If you provide a bit of variety in your YouTube channel programming you may get better retention from your subscribers. Unfortunately most people have short attention spans and what can start off as a novelty to them may get boring quickly regardless of how much work you put in.
Also having a more relaxed informal type of programming may be the way to go. Obviously your friends are tuning into Starmade because they know you. The best YouTube personalities tend to be successful because they let the audience get to know them as a person first. The average YouTube viewer won't know who you are and as such will not hesitate to move onto other content if they get tired of the current programming.
If you pay attention to your metrics and learn from them you can tailor your channel accordingly. Hell, even having a video speaking directly to the subscribers you do have and asking them what they want to see from you, is a good way to understand why your drop off on Starmade is happening. Sure you're putting yourself out there to criticism but I'm sure it will mostly be constructive.
Having any thoughts like this is also a perfect excuse to make a video about it. You don't even have to do any heavy editing, a straight video upload from your phone or webcam is a good practice to keep. Even if you feel the video gets a little disjointed just do some basic cuts here and there to help get your point across clearly and quickly. It can only be positive to make these types of videos as :
1.) It gives your viewers content,
2.) It opens up a way to communicate with your viewers
3.) it lets random viewers get to know the real you.
I think looking to some of your favourite YouTube personalities and seeing how they run their channel could be educational and try to find out what makes them work. Is it their personality, their tone, their editing style, video length, format ? Etc..
Obviously at the end of the day Gary no one becomes a professional YouTube personality over night and even some of the larger MCN's struggle to compete with the smaller guys who have just been around long enough churning out content on a regular basis. If you keep the content frequent and regular, people will associate your channel with reliability. Don't wait too long between videos and even adding a midweek video (even if it's just unedited blog video or something) could help with retention.
It's not only about high production values either its about being someone a viewer can relate to and feel like, in their own way, you're like the best bud they've never met. By all means absolutely showcase your ability to edit and use special effects as this can also differentiate you from the mundane but I wouldn't solely rely on it.
You know I'm always just a Facebook message or phone call away if you need any help, advice or just a sounding board to your ideas, so don't hesitate to contact me should you need help.
I'm really enjoying the channel and I hope what I've said here has came of as constructive and not negative as I do look forward to your Friday upload and I'm always up for more content from your channel.