My Journey…so far!
As I said in an earlier Facebook video my goal was to simply try to start monetizing my alter ego’s, TheOnlyAppYouNeed and Thungsten Meridian. Let’s see how that has been going.
Starting and growing a YouTube channel from scratch can be an exciting and challenging journey. As a content creator, you have to put in a lot of effort and time into creating engaging content, building a community, and promoting your channel. In this blog, we will take a look at my experience of starting and growing a YouTube channel from January 1, 2023, until now.
Setting Goals and Planning: To get monetized on YouTube you must have 1,000 subscribers and 4K watch hours in a year. As of January1 I had 72 subscribers and 0 watch hours for the year.
Before starting a YouTube channel, it is essential to have a clear idea of what you want to achieve and how you plan to achieve it. For me, my goal was to create a channel that focused on gaining an audience and getting 1,000 subscribers. For me personally this looked like the way to also get watch hours.
Content Creation
Content creation is the most crucial aspect of a successful YouTube channel. I did not spend a lot of time researching the latest tech products and creating high-quality videos that would provide value to my viewers. I simple started posting stupid videos I took on my phone of my new dog, Bash.
Those videos are not professionally done at all but with practice and feedback from my viewers, I hopefully will improve my content. I also made sure to upload videos regularly, as consistency is key to building a loyal audience. This is the key I have found, also figuring out WHEN to post videos.
Building a Community
Building a community around your YouTube channel is crucial for its growth. I engaged with my viewers by responding to comments usually the same day, and what I eventually figured out was that they actually liked my videos. Now I just had to figure out and make one that went viral. To this date I have one with over 2.1K views but most get about 500 daily.
Promoting the Channel
Promoting your YouTube channel is essential to gain new subscribers and grow your audience. I have yet to really promote my channel on social media platforms like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. I have also not used SEO campaigns, I have only paid for a few Google Ad Sense services totaling $35. I am doing it this way to see what difference actually sharing on other media might have after a few months of plodding along. I am in no hurry.
Results
As of today, my YouTube channel has over 200 subscribers, and my videos have been viewed over 15k times. It has been an incredible journey, and I have learned a lot about content creation, community building, and promotion. Again I am in no hurry so I am actually pleased.
Conclusion
Starting and growing a YouTube channel is not an easy task. It requires a lot of hard work, dedication, and patience. However, with the right strategy and approach, it is possible to create a successful YouTube channel. If you are planning to start a YouTube channel, my advice would be to focus on creating high-quality content, engaging with your audience, and promoting your channel on social media platforms. OR, just have fun making stuff you like and see if it hits. Remember, success on YouTube takes time, so be patient and keep creating great content.
The Only App You Need
In February I started an ETSY shop of the same name, just to see what happens. I will update results on that as well. It is quite the challenge just to get that sucker open with nothing in it.