Started my current channel in 2014. Two things:
- Plan long term.
- Make goals not hoped for outcomes.
Here's what I mean. Set aside the next decade to building your YouTube channel. If that seems too long, you're probably not cut out for this. once you've decided to give this thing 10 solid years, then your break things down into five year spurts. Those five year spurts can be broken into two or three year spurts. This way you can make adjustments along the way. Basically every two years or so, you should be looking hard at making changes.
Think about that 10 years. That's not a Marathon. That's a trip to Pluto! Remember the fastest rocket we have still took 9 years to cross 3 billion miles of empty space just to get a single shot of our beloved micro-world.
Next you need to focus on true goals, not hoped for outcomes. Most people say,
"I want to get a million views or 100k subs!"
These are not goals, they are hoped-for outcomes. You have no control over what will happen. Hoped-for outcomes may happen or they may not.
A true goal is something attainable: In other words,
"In 10 years I want to produce 1,000 well-searched, properly SEO-structured videos in the DIY makeup/beauty niche."
or
"Over the next year I want to produce 100 tutorials to help people learn backyard rocket science."
These are goals. You can achieve them. What those goals will produce, no one knows. That's why TubeBuddy helps you make sense of the data so that you can make adjustments along the way.