In 2018 I started my official journey on social media. I chose to take on the biggest platform and the most saturated niche. Neither decision was a very good one for starting but I wouldn't have it any other way. The things I have learned on my journey and the people I have met along the way; I've made my mark on YouTube and I have regretted nothing.
AMA - Ask Me Anything - Question and Answer
Here's a quick response to common questions people have asked me.
Would I do YouTube over again?
Answer:
Yes. If I had to start from zero I would definitely tackle YouTube again. Also, what you learn you take with you. So, even if I started from zero I deeply believe I would likely grow a channel larger and faster than the one we have now.
Would I recommend YouTube to others?
Answer:
No... and also yes. That's a tricky question. While I love to see others trying their hand at social media and video content creation (and I love to help - feel free to ask me anything on your journey) I don't believe it is for everyone. I would recommend everyone who is interested to try it for a year so they can decide from the inside. You won't know you hate it unless you try it.
What's the hardest part about YouTube?
Answer:
I once heard a 80 year old just on the edge of retirement give this response and I whole heartedly agree. Someone asked him what the hardest part of his business was. He said almost without hesitation "customer service." People. People are the best part of life and also the biggest challenge. Knowing your community and how you can bring value and doing so consistently in a sustainable way is definitely the hardest part.
In many ways, as you learn your community you also have to decide who you want to become within that community. You cannot let the community decide who you are and you cannot betray yourself. When things go right everything is good. When things go wrong they can go so wrong and the worst part about that is you are mostly alone in the journey as you start out (as I am now mostly).
Feedback is awesome but it typically comes from different sources rather than one source consistently interested and hyping you and cheering you on.
How much do you make?
Answer:
The answer to this surprised me! I didn't know what I had learned over the years. I simply showed up and kept focusing on what else I could do to bring clearly communicated value.
I've made about 1000 USD from the Epic Creator Code program (all of which was gifted back to subscribers and viewers in our giveaways). Hands down that was the most direct source of income. What surprised me was the work I found helping others with their communities because of 15K Subscribers on my channel. I have made more money recently and made connections with others because of my presence online.
I deeply believe it will all come together soon and I will begin to make a solid return on my time investment. I do not see this being any small money either. The money I make now through my connections is in itself income replacement. But, I want to see my blogging social media content creation videos and the likes all directly pulling income. It is a simple matter of time. I will not give up until it gives me what I seek.
Do I need expensive equipment or paid tools to start creating content?
Answer:
Yes and no. It depends on what niche you are creating content for. You CAN choose a niche that has a lower cost to entry. There are so many topics you can start to create content into that it is a seemingly endless sea of choices. I would say way more than half of those require almost no cash value investment to start up.
There are many free tools for everything you need for your channel and video creation. You can start with minimal equipment. You can even grow with that low entry equipment to the point of making cash flow. From there you can scale but it is going to take a while. I recommend this if you are dabbling or have few skills for video content creation and social media marketing. Learn as you go and do it a lot to increase a lot.
The fundamentals you learn along the way will surprise you year after year. The YES part has very much to do with having those media skills and/or picking a niche you know clearly needs some paid tools and equipment to have any authority in the subject. Gaming can be built low budget but also very quickly has a high requirement for computing power. The good thing is that all I really recommend other than a good gaming PC that can handle streaming AND gaming at the same time is a basic >crappy< video camera EVENTUALLY (if even at all) and the highest quality microphone (not a headset mic) you can afford IMMEDIATLY with a swing arm attachment.
Even if you are dabbling, physical equipment is the easiest to find a buyer for after you have used it enough to find out if you really want to do YouTube. BUT do not cheap out on sound. Do NOT cheap out on your gaming setup that can handle streaming at the same time as gaming. (Feel free to ask me anything. Happy to tell you what I did and what works for me.)
As it turns out...
After 4 years of YouTubing and social media I have found that I, personally, wouldn't give it up for the world. I love the creative aspects, the challenges, and the fact I can hide out from my allergies every spring and fall. And let me tell you. I have been astounded how much I have learned when I sit down to now on purpose make a good video.
I have so much more personal knowledge to pull into creating the video, as well as ideas to feed what I talk about. Deciding what you want to talk about is key and there are clear maps you can make for yourself to know what topics you should be circling around. It really does (just from showing up) get easier and easier. I feel that on my next stride and heavy push magic will happen or in the bare minimum I will be proud of the socials and content I create.
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