Zero to 250,000 subscribers
Looking to grow your online following?
This week I took some time to reflect on my journey to 250,000 subscribers. You can see the numbers represented in the graph below. Here are 3 things, that I believe helped me along the way!
Full Video Here:
Shorts is the WILD WEST
YouTube Shorts, and short form content has been a game-changer in enabling me to reach a larger audience. However, this isn't always a good thing. The audience tends to be more of a casual viewer, that isn't as invested into YOU the content creator. I've realized that long-form videos provide a unique opportunity to dive into detailed topics that require more time to unpack and can be helpful to engage viewers on a deeper level that short form videos simply can't.
A common challenge faced by shorts creators, is making the transition into long-form content. Quite often there can be a disconnect between the type of shorts they make, and the type of long-form videos they make. This leads to a split in their audience. I've definitely faced this challenge, but try to coordinate my content across platforms and content types as much as possible. Your short form and long form content need to work together. For me, this looks like: covering the same topics in both types of content, or using a short as a launching point to dive deeper into topics that require more time or a detailed explanation. By maintaining a unified content format, I've found I'm able to cater to different viewer preferences, and increase my chance of reaching the right audience.
High Quality Content is CRITICAL
High-quality = high-value... I've learned that prioritizing lighting and audio quality is crucial, even more so than investing in the latest mirrorless camera. While the latest and greatest camera equipment is tempting, I've found that high-value content should always take precedence. In a video I published last year, I had a chat with my good friend Jared Vandermeer (Check out his videos here). We talked about how high-quality content is actually high-value content, and how the visuals almost don't matter when it comes to creating content that converts.
Beginner creators will hold back from creating out of fear that their lighting isn't good enough, or their camera isn't good enough. My recommendation is to start filming with whatever gear you have, even if it's just your smartphone. This approach is almost guaranteed to produce better results in the long run, and help you establish an audience that is invested in you, and the information you have to share, rather than in the visuals that you create!
How Often Should you post?
When it comes to posting frequency, I've discovered that it depends largely on your content style and value proposition. High production-value content may require less frequent posting, because the pay-off is that videos end up reaching a much larger audience. A great example of this is my friend Keegan Evans. He does product photoshoot videos over on TikTok that take a significant amount of time and energy to plan. On average he's posting 1 short video a week; however, the results speak for themselves. Keegan is often getting 100s of thousands if not millions of views on his content, which allows him to partner with high-profile brands.
On the opposite side of the spectrum is trending content. Because these types of videos are often low-value and mass-produced, the number of views you can expect to get are often much lower. There's nothing wrong with this type of content, but if this is the route you decide to take, be prepared to play the numbers game. In either case, the key is to strike a balance between quality and regularity in posting, tailored to your own capabilities and the expectations of the audience you are looking to reach.
For more, watch the full video here!