Like many video creators, I admire the content produced by popular YouTubers like Casey Neistat. They’ve been churning out videos consistently for years, and it’s impressive.
I’ve produced YouTube content for over fifteen years, but something has always been missing.
I’m indeed being dramatic with the title of this article; being a YouTuber has been fruitful. My channels and affiliate relationships earn me a solid side income, but more than the money, I desire my content to lead to community.
I’ve committed to sprints of releasing content regularly only to follow up with gaps and inconsistencies.
My YouTube channels have always aligned with my current interests, which are often everywhere, leaving my viewers no idea what to expect next.
I realize now that my entire endeavor was a misguided effort. After much reflection, I’ve determined where I went wrong.
Be consistent. That’s the advice every aspiring YouTuber hears. Keep showing up. Commit.
But that’s not entirely accurate. Yes, I was consistent, but my approach was flawed.
Know why you’re showing up.
My content lacked a consistent theme. The quality of my videos varied greatly. And most importantly, I wasn’t trying to improve each day. Just uploading a video isn’t sufficient.
Consistency is crucial to honing a skill. It’s equally important to identify and implement improvements. I wasn’t prioritizing being a better editor, generating unique ideas, or refining my video storytelling. I was uploading to keep my channels current.
Simply posting videos without a clear intention is fruitless. If you’re doing it just for fun, that’s great! But if you’re aiming to grow an audience, random uploads with varied topics won’t cut it.
I uploaded videos to keep my channel alive, but my channels have not thrived. I’m being hard on myself because I know what it takes to build a community around a YouTube channel, and I was not following what I know.
Without a clear direction or benchmarks for success, I felt perpetually unsatisfied with my work. I need to redefine my purpose and set measurable objectives moving forward.
This article in and of itself is consistent with the problem I have with my YouTube channels. Why am I writing it? Honestly, because it helps me think.
Uploads don’t build community.
Simply uploading without a clear vision is counterproductive. Determine your purpose and let that guide your content strategy. Always strive for improvement and ask yourself, “How can I enhance my next video?”
If you make it, they won’t necessarily come. I believed that if I kept uploading, viewers would naturally find me. This “build it and they will come” mentality was misplaced.
Consistent content creation isn’t enough. You need clarity on:
- Who your target audience is
- Where they spend their time online
- How you can provide them value and keep them engaged
It’s not about limiting yourself to one niche but understanding your target viewer. Be it gamers, travelers, tech enthusiasts, fitness bros, or foodies. My problem was not understanding my target audience and not providing enough value.
If your target audience is on TikTok and you’re only on YouTube, there’s a disconnect. My problem was more extensive. I made content for an audience that didn’t exist because I expected them to look like me. Identify your audience and provide them with value.
Strive to create content that makes viewers feel connected, informed, educated, entertained, or at least leaves them better off after watching.
Only with these elements in place does consistency pay off.
Wasted time, but not wasted effort
I may have wasted my time, but that effort has brought me clarity. The thousands of videos I’ve uploaded haven’t paid off because I didn’t use them to evolve or develop a specific audience. They weren’t even truly self-reflective. Often, it was just busy work that gave me a false sense of accomplishment.
Consistency matters. But it’s even more important to know why you’re doing it and for whom. Otherwise, it’s all in vain.
