YouTube Opinion Satisfy yourself or your audience ?

[tropicthunder]

Let's say your channel already have a quite amount of fans watching your videos, even waiting for your next upload. As the time goes by, your audience wants more from your videos, they want "this and that" from your videos.
My question is, would you rather ....

A. Satisfy yourself, doesn't matter what your audience wants, if they don't like it, don't watch it, because you created that channel based on your passion.
B. Satisfy your audience, even if you don't like what you're doing on your videos, because you feel like you are serving them, and you don't want to lose them.
C. 50-50, you still doing what you want even it's not 100%, and keeping your audience happy (at least).

I want to know about this is that because I'm subscribing to this gaming channel on youtube with variety of videos that I like, then for the past year I noticed that they only make this one specific videos repeatedly. I'm guessing because that particular video are the best according to analytic, so perhaps they make it regularly.

Also, I know that some suggestion said that if there are one particular video on your channel that have the best score overall, you should make another one like that video. I guess that person who I'm subscribing to, knowing this rule.

 

[Beanie Draws]

I kinda mix b and c. I started my channel because at the time, there wasn't very many people doing what I wanted to see, so I made it, so I make what I want to see as an audience member, so yes, technically it's to satisfy my own needs as a creator, but I see what I do in a third person context, so I assume people will like what I do if people are into dinosaur drawings.

However, at the end of the day it's a 50 50. I won't do something I HATE just because my audience wants to see it, but I will mix in suggestions for what I already like the idea of, and take those suggestions and mix it in with what I already want to do.

I heard Nick and a few others recently say "don't listen to your subscribers" which was an interesting idea, but what they want (in the comments) isn't always WHAT THEY WANT.
Sometimes what your audience asks for, is very niche and not actually in high demand. I've done a few requests which fell flat because it was about 10 people wanting it. 10 people requesting the same thing might sound like a lot... but if your usual video gets 1000 viewers, realistically 10 people wanting something specific that will only get say, 100 views, indicates that 10 requests vocally is a lot, but 10 requests out of 1000 viewers wanting something else instead, indicates that those 10 requests were actually not worth following to begin with.

Then that comes down to the 50 50, do YOU want to make that suggestion that 10 people wanted, even if the views won't be there, but YOU want to make it? If so, and you don't care about what results you get, go for it. But a lesson I'm learning from requests, is what "the audience wants" is really only a vocal minoority of what your audience ACTUALLY wants.

 

[tropicthunder]

Sometimes what your audience asks for, is very niche and not actually in high demand.

I noted this for my future plan, I understand what this mean, thank you Beanie.

But a lesson I'm learning from requests, is what "the audience wants" is really only a vocal minoority of what your audience ACTUALLY wants.

This is just like me, who like their content but rarely or even never commenting on their video, aka silent viewer who enjoy their content, and perhaps this is the majority of viewers who like your contents. I think we could "see" this majority viewers on our analytic, on that retention and average view duration. Another day another lesson, thank you.

 

[Stanley | Team TB]

It has to be a mix, but I don't agree with 50-50. The act of satisfying your audience should be something that you find satisfying as well.

 

[Kindred]

I feel like you have to love what you do and that will come across and cause your audience to love what you do. One kind of follows the other if you get what I mean

 

[WonderMonkey]

In theory, you should ALSO BE YOUR AUDIENCE, so in my case, I'm just making what I do presentable, and ensuring I add things to what I do in order to make it marketable and more interesting.

I camp by backpacking and from my atv, so I make sure I bring the viewer along on the experience, talk about my gear, show how I do this and that, and so on. I figure that's the kind of video I like to watch, so I include it.

 

[Tito Tim]

I am unsure if 50/50 is right, but it felt closest. I love making cooking vids. My audience does not watch them. I still make some - because I enjoy it. But I do not make a lot of them ha ha.

As for the "don't listen to your subscribers" I kind of have to agree. I asked my viewers if I should face the camera to me, or the scenic view. The overwhelming answer was that they wanted to see the view of my travel, not my face. But the analytics tell a different story. The vids where I am in the vid perform much better. Personally I prefer showing the scenery, so I try to mix it up in each vid.

You have to love what you are doing, but you also want the audience to enjoy it too. There has to be a balance, if it is not automatic.

 

[Legacy]

I'd always focus on satisfying your audience, but also make sure you are satisfying yourself too by making sure you are enjoying creating the type of content you make and that you are pleased with how your videos are turning out (such as you are satisfied with the way you edited the video). I say this because if you aren't satisfied with the way you edited the video (or aren't satisfied with some other part of the video) then it is more likely that some other people won't be satisfied either. You also just have to be confident about the content you create so that you have the desire to keep going.
I'd also just look at the type of content that is performing the best because this is a way to know what type of content that you create that your audience enjoys, and creating more of it would satisfy your audience. This is just my thoughts on this!

 

[Yly66]

Doing what you love is more important
Answer: A