Hi all,
Browsing the forum for a few days I just wanted to share my story.
It begins March 2020, when the pandemic was fully felt on the vacation island of Bali. With work cut, and a lot more free time and my phone (yes i use my phone to make the youtube content) I decided to try out becoming a Youtube content creator. I quickly understood that to start earning I need 4000 watching hours and 1000 subscribers. I didnΓÇÖt need to think about my niche a lot, I always loved cooking and wanted to share some of my Indonesian recipes. After a year and some months I reached 1000 subscribers and watching hours is getting there, which I actually did not see happening after a few months.
TLDR:
I improve and focus on Watch time, CTR rate, frequent uploads, improving my videos and replying the comments of my videos. DonΓÇÖt focus on the amount of subscribers, focus on the content quality and audience you have. Subscribers will come by themselves. ItΓÇÖs hard work, being persistent and patience is key.
Driving views:
In the beginning it was hard, I didnΓÇÖt dare to share videos with my friends around. I was depending on views that Youtube would provide me. Sometimes in a few days I would only get 10-20 views on a video. It was not something I expected.
Getting subscribers:
With a focus driven on getting subscribers, I felt often defeated because it wasnΓÇÖt as much as the YouTube channels I would view or be subscribed to. This should not have been my focus to start with.
Each video:
I would review and compare my videos to see where I could improve on, and till today there is much improvements to do.
After a few videos I started learning more about YouTube SEO, it was then I was using TubeBuddy and vidiq. Improving Titles and description. This is what I have learnt.
Title:
The title is a maximum of 100 characters long, use the most important keywords in the front.
Description:
The description can be lengthy and itΓÇÖs an excellent way to write down some of the things you want for your viewer, as well as links. Also an excellent place to have some of the keywords.
Tags:
I have learned that tags are important to youtube to show your thumbnail to similar videos as a viewer might also want to see that one. Tags have a space for 500 characters. I tend to use a minimum of 300.
Using the TubeBuddy keyword explorer is such a powerful tool that help me target keywords which could lead to potential traffic. What do I look for in the keyword explorer: Keyword scores that exceeds 50 (preferably 100). I would then combine several keywords. I would not worry too much about the volume, as long as there is some interest (check it by validating it with different keywords, from longtail to just single keywords)
Gaining more traction:
After a few months (yes, more than a couple of months actually) I got some of my subscribers who would always watch, and comment on my videos. ( I also assume they press the like button). This is when it gotten more interesting. Because my loyal subscribers did this, YouTube started promoting my videos more (also the old ones). The views started hitting triple digits. I focussed on Audience retention rate, watch time, and CTR.
Audience retention rate, Watch Time and CTR:
I noticed in the begin that on average only 20% of my videos were being watched, or average 1 out of 5 would watch the full video. ItΓÇÖs not something I expected since I myself would watch full videos. By improving the video content, itΓÇÖs value and making it not all too boring for the viewer I significantly improved the retention.
Watch time followed, and this is increasing each month.
Building audience:
I would look for youtube videos in my same niche. I would watch them and leave a comment about the video. Sometimes viewers found me through comments. I would never ask them to come to my channel though they would just click by themself. I think itΓÇÖs curiosity to see who would always comment something (as useful as i could, not just: ΓÇ£thanks for sharingΓÇ¥ or ΓÇ£great videoΓÇ¥. Some of these viewers or even the youtube content creator of the other channel would subscribe to my channel and comment in my videos.
I try to reply to all my comments, but itΓÇÖ\s hard because I am also busy at home doing other things. Luckily Tubebuddy helps me with replying
Why I started valuing CTR.
Youtube promotes my content to new audiences (potential viewers and subscribers = also more watch time) based on CTR (and watch time and other things). By improving titles, and thumbnail I manage to get a CTR around 10%+ for my newer videos.
Tubebuddy vs vidiq
I found the UI more intuitive and easier to use. The information it displayed for me is so much more appealing and fun to work with. I use keyword explorer the most. In Nov 2020 I tried the paid version (free trial), a whole new world opened up, more keywords were visible and no restraints when looking for potential keywords. The SEO studio is so awesome. I know some of my videos donΓÇÖt reflect good scores SEO-wise (due to availability in multiple languages now) but the increase in views tell me I am doing something right. With the ease of use and appealing UI, I chose Tubebudy over vidiq. I am back at the free version now, but if you can afford it, I do recommend the paid version because there are a lot more features available. I barely scratched to surface of that. These features would save time to get you eventually more views and subscribers (it does take time though)
The growth cycle:
For the past few months I notice the following that each month i get:
- increase in watch time
- increase in viewers
- increase in subscribers
- retention rate stays about the same
- overal CTR is around 7% (some videos have around 14% and others around 3%)
I get now in a few weeks the same amount of subscribers/views that took me months to get in the beginning.
Youtube is also promoting my new content more and more. It was around 6% first and now if I look in the youtube studio i see: 50.0% from YouTube recommending your content
Improvements:
The videos with low CTR around 3% needs some adjusting in Title, Thumbnail. ItΓÇÖs on my todo list. I have a lot to learn about my thumbnails but my time is also limited.
Social Media:
With my limited time i don't focus on this. still have to do something about it but I have been reading that youtube search (and google search) would be the best to focus on.
My challenge:
I have set my expectations too high in the beginning. It's good to set high goals, but it can make you lose motivation if you don't see your expected results. Being persistent and have patience is more important when you are going in for the long run. I would've been stuck even for 1 month around 400 subscribers as I would gain and lose the same amount, which is a normal phenomena according to Google. it is psychologically also a thing to overcome.
Summary of what IΓÇÖve learned:
Being a youtube content creator canΓÇÖt be rushed if you are alone. Take your time, you should enjoy making and sharing videos at a quality that you could be proud of. Watch the youtubers in your niche as well, learn from them. Some would say I am slow, but I am comfortable with my pace. Sure it could go faster but that would also require me to make more and more content faster. I also would like to have some quality in it. Let TubeBuddy tool help you, it saves a lot of time.
I hope this helps you, it's been a long post. keep your motivation, don't feel defeated. just keep on going!
Browsing the forum for a few days I just wanted to share my story.
It begins March 2020, when the pandemic was fully felt on the vacation island of Bali. With work cut, and a lot more free time and my phone (yes i use my phone to make the youtube content) I decided to try out becoming a Youtube content creator. I quickly understood that to start earning I need 4000 watching hours and 1000 subscribers. I didnΓÇÖt need to think about my niche a lot, I always loved cooking and wanted to share some of my Indonesian recipes. After a year and some months I reached 1000 subscribers and watching hours is getting there, which I actually did not see happening after a few months.
TLDR:
I improve and focus on Watch time, CTR rate, frequent uploads, improving my videos and replying the comments of my videos. DonΓÇÖt focus on the amount of subscribers, focus on the content quality and audience you have. Subscribers will come by themselves. ItΓÇÖs hard work, being persistent and patience is key.
Driving views:
In the beginning it was hard, I didnΓÇÖt dare to share videos with my friends around. I was depending on views that Youtube would provide me. Sometimes in a few days I would only get 10-20 views on a video. It was not something I expected.
Getting subscribers:
With a focus driven on getting subscribers, I felt often defeated because it wasnΓÇÖt as much as the YouTube channels I would view or be subscribed to. This should not have been my focus to start with.
Each video:
I would review and compare my videos to see where I could improve on, and till today there is much improvements to do.
After a few videos I started learning more about YouTube SEO, it was then I was using TubeBuddy and vidiq. Improving Titles and description. This is what I have learnt.
Title:
The title is a maximum of 100 characters long, use the most important keywords in the front.
Description:
The description can be lengthy and itΓÇÖs an excellent way to write down some of the things you want for your viewer, as well as links. Also an excellent place to have some of the keywords.
Tags:
I have learned that tags are important to youtube to show your thumbnail to similar videos as a viewer might also want to see that one. Tags have a space for 500 characters. I tend to use a minimum of 300.
Using the TubeBuddy keyword explorer is such a powerful tool that help me target keywords which could lead to potential traffic. What do I look for in the keyword explorer: Keyword scores that exceeds 50 (preferably 100). I would then combine several keywords. I would not worry too much about the volume, as long as there is some interest (check it by validating it with different keywords, from longtail to just single keywords)
Gaining more traction:
After a few months (yes, more than a couple of months actually) I got some of my subscribers who would always watch, and comment on my videos. ( I also assume they press the like button). This is when it gotten more interesting. Because my loyal subscribers did this, YouTube started promoting my videos more (also the old ones). The views started hitting triple digits. I focussed on Audience retention rate, watch time, and CTR.
Audience retention rate, Watch Time and CTR:
I noticed in the begin that on average only 20% of my videos were being watched, or average 1 out of 5 would watch the full video. ItΓÇÖs not something I expected since I myself would watch full videos. By improving the video content, itΓÇÖs value and making it not all too boring for the viewer I significantly improved the retention.
Watch time followed, and this is increasing each month.
Building audience:
I would look for youtube videos in my same niche. I would watch them and leave a comment about the video. Sometimes viewers found me through comments. I would never ask them to come to my channel though they would just click by themself. I think itΓÇÖs curiosity to see who would always comment something (as useful as i could, not just: ΓÇ£thanks for sharingΓÇ¥ or ΓÇ£great videoΓÇ¥. Some of these viewers or even the youtube content creator of the other channel would subscribe to my channel and comment in my videos.
I try to reply to all my comments, but itΓÇÖ\s hard because I am also busy at home doing other things. Luckily Tubebuddy helps me with replying
Why I started valuing CTR.
Youtube promotes my content to new audiences (potential viewers and subscribers = also more watch time) based on CTR (and watch time and other things). By improving titles, and thumbnail I manage to get a CTR around 10%+ for my newer videos.
Tubebuddy vs vidiq
I found the UI more intuitive and easier to use. The information it displayed for me is so much more appealing and fun to work with. I use keyword explorer the most. In Nov 2020 I tried the paid version (free trial), a whole new world opened up, more keywords were visible and no restraints when looking for potential keywords. The SEO studio is so awesome. I know some of my videos donΓÇÖt reflect good scores SEO-wise (due to availability in multiple languages now) but the increase in views tell me I am doing something right. With the ease of use and appealing UI, I chose Tubebudy over vidiq. I am back at the free version now, but if you can afford it, I do recommend the paid version because there are a lot more features available. I barely scratched to surface of that. These features would save time to get you eventually more views and subscribers (it does take time though)
The growth cycle:
For the past few months I notice the following that each month i get:
- increase in watch time
- increase in viewers
- increase in subscribers
- retention rate stays about the same
- overal CTR is around 7% (some videos have around 14% and others around 3%)
I get now in a few weeks the same amount of subscribers/views that took me months to get in the beginning.
Youtube is also promoting my new content more and more. It was around 6% first and now if I look in the youtube studio i see: 50.0% from YouTube recommending your content
Improvements:
The videos with low CTR around 3% needs some adjusting in Title, Thumbnail. ItΓÇÖs on my todo list. I have a lot to learn about my thumbnails but my time is also limited.
Social Media:
With my limited time i don't focus on this. still have to do something about it but I have been reading that youtube search (and google search) would be the best to focus on.
My challenge:
I have set my expectations too high in the beginning. It's good to set high goals, but it can make you lose motivation if you don't see your expected results. Being persistent and have patience is more important when you are going in for the long run. I would've been stuck even for 1 month around 400 subscribers as I would gain and lose the same amount, which is a normal phenomena according to Google. it is psychologically also a thing to overcome.
Summary of what IΓÇÖve learned:
Being a youtube content creator canΓÇÖt be rushed if you are alone. Take your time, you should enjoy making and sharing videos at a quality that you could be proud of. Watch the youtubers in your niche as well, learn from them. Some would say I am slow, but I am comfortable with my pace. Sure it could go faster but that would also require me to make more and more content faster. I also would like to have some quality in it. Let TubeBuddy tool help you, it saves a lot of time.
I hope this helps you, it's been a long post. keep your motivation, don't feel defeated. just keep on going!
