Transcription
You probably noticed that YouTube is pretty loud. It's pretty noisy out there. There's a lot of competition, and people seem to just be shouting at you, you know, crazy thumbnails, wild, clickbaity sort of titles. And you end up clicking on the videos, and they're flat, you know, the promise is dead. So, yeah, I think this is becoming a bit of a problem, and I'm seeing so many people do it. People are desperate to try and get clicks, get people to kind of get to the channel, but I don't think people are really thinking about this in the right kind of way.
So, in this episode, I'm going to talk about three fundamental things that I've done to grow my channel from 0 to 2,000 in less than 2 months. And I haven't done it with any crazy thumbnails, no wild sort of graphics or music or editing, anything like that. It's just been me hanging out with you, just like this, having a chat as if we're in a cafe. So, let's get into it.
So, first, I'm going to talk about the actual problem that I'm seeing. So, I go on to your channels, you know, all my subscribers, the comments, I go and have a little look when I've got time, and I'm looking at a problem that I'm seeing throughout. And a lot of people, it seems like they haven't really thought through what it is that they really want to do with their channel. And there's a lot of people that are just showing up and just having like a stream of consciousness, you know, just sort of speaking their thoughts out loud, almost as if they're speaking to themselves, but they're not actually speaking to the audience. It just sounds, you know, just about your problems that never really get resolved. So, this is a bit of an issue because people are going to tune in and go like, "I don't know what I'm getting from this," and then just tune straight back out again. And this is going to affect your channel. So, you really need to figure out what it is that you really want to do with your channel. Like, what is it that you want to say? What is your message, you know? And get clear on that, you know? And really, this comes down to getting clear on what you actually want out of your life, you know? What do you want your life to look like? What do you want it to feel like? What is the experience of your life, you know? How do you want that to feel as you move into it? So, if you're setting up a YouTube channel, it's got to somehow fit into that world, especially if you want to set up a YouTube in order to create an online business, because your YouTube channel has really got to be sustainable and it's got to fit into that whole world that you want to create.
So, we're going to kind of dive into that. And it's a lot deeper than a lot of the other videos. Um, there's a lot of people just talking about the technical sort of stuff that sort of gets you to this sort of number. There's a lot of technical things as well that has happened, you know, to get me to, you know, over 2,000 subs really, really quickly. But I think it's so much more important to talk about the fundamentals, the deeper stuff, because from there, you can really then start to understand how to approach this in a way that creates meaning, that creates impact, that actually affects not only your audience's lives, but allows you to build a life of freedom for yourself.
So, let's get into it. So, the episode was really inspired by, um, Simon Sinek. So, you might have heard of him before. He wrote a book many years ago called "Start with Why." I checked this book out when it came out, so I didn't even know when it was, maybe 10 years ago, maybe maybe even later. But this book had a massive effect on my life. I didn't actually read the book, I just watched a few videos, and that was enough. That's all I really needed, um, to kind of get the point. But reading that, well, not reading the book, but getting the point, really affected so many of the things I do in my life, and it's really had a massive impact on how it is that I've grown this channel in the way in which I have.
So, the first and most important element of all of this is literally the title of the book: Start with Why. So, what is your why, you know? So many people move into the world and they don't even ask this question, like, why is it that I'm doing what I'm doing, you know? We get hijacked by culture, we get hijacked by other people's desires, and then we don't ever live a life according to our own desires, the things that really feel connected to our own sensibility. So, you really need to spend some time, you know, really thinking about what that is, what it is that you want out of your life, you know? And that really comes from your core values, your ethics, your intentions, all of those things need to be aligned. So, you can figure this out because, um, what if you don't know why you're doing what you do? If you don't know why you do what you do, you'll end up just, you know, 5, 10, 20 years down the line going like, you know, "I just got caught up in autopilot, working a job that I really hate, and now I'm like sort of stuck." So, if you don't figure out what those questions are early, um, you might find yourself in a bit of a trap. And it's never too late to start again, but just start thinking about this. And different things that you can do, you can, you can just start with introspection and meditation. You don't need need to sit and like, sort of like meditate with your eyes closed and clear your mind or anything like that. Just start to explore the content of your mind, you know, what are the kind of things that you think about? What are the kind of things that you desire? What are the kind of things that you fear?
So, your why really needs to come from your own experience, your own authentic experience with your own life. And this is really how you start to stand out because nobody can be you. Nobody's ever going to be you. You're the only version of you that has ever existed, and you'll be here for this one little time, this one little time only, and then you'll be, you'll be gone. So, you might as well really spend some time exploring the nature of your own mind, exploring your skills, you know, your story, you know, go, you can trace yourself back to, you know, your early memories and think about who you've been and the sort of like, maybe there's a consistency that sort of like followed through throughout that whole journey.
So, the why is really important because it's your cause, it's your mission. So, if you don't have a mission, if you don't have a cause, you'll just be creating stuff based on probably what somebody else is making. And I think that's where you're going to get lost in the sea of YouTube. It's messy, like I said, it's really loud, and there's a lot of people that are just copying each other. And with the rise of AI, I think these channels, these information-based channels that are just copying each other are probably going to fall off a cliff because AI is gonna come in and do a lot better, a lot faster, a lot more efficient. And, yeah, I don't think there's going to be much more space for those types of creators. So, it's really important to bring your own story into it, and this is where you start to grow your personal brand.
So, you know, when thinking about how to serve, um, it's a really interesting thing for me because as an independent filmmaker, my whole thing has always been about serving my own curiosity. It's about serving the things that I find interesting and curiously sort of exploring these ideas, and that becomes the film. So, my films have always been an exploration of an idea that's curiously sort of like been developed through my own life. So, that idea would never have arrived unless I was on this path. So, they're unique to me. So, it really does start with you, you know? It really does. And this can be quite controversial because a lot of people will tell you that YouTube starts with the audience. There is no audience without you, you know? There is no audience without you, you know? There are people out there that want a bunch of stuff, they have a lot of problems that they want to solve, but you are the one that's going to deliver it. So, you need to get clear on what that is. Like, what are the things that you've done in your life? The problems that you've solved? The challenges, the difficulties that you've sort of overcome? The skill sets that you've built up that's made this sort of unique impression, this unique pattern of yourself? So, it's really important to get, get clear on that because, like I said, once you've got that dialed in, everything else will sort of fall into place, and you'll see that all of your episodes, all of your videos, everything that you do, even in your life, will be aligned with that. So, it's not just important for building a YouTube channel, a YouTube channel is superficial to the importance of actually just doing it in your life.
So, yeah, just spend some time with yourself, you know? Do some meditation, do some self-inquiry, sort of really start to ask the question, "Who am I?" Not on a superficial level, but deep, you know? Get into it, you know? Really peel back the layers and try and get down to the depth of your own uniqueness.
So, once you've kind of figured out what that why is, then you got to think about your how. And this is your process. This is your unique process. Like, how is it that you're going to take your mission? How is it that you're going to express it through a unique process? So, when thinking about, you know, building a platform like this, expressing your vision, your beliefs, your core mission through YouTube, how is it that you're going to kind of, you know, present the whole thing? What is the thing that's going to make you unique? Because there will be people that will have a similar mission to you, but it's kind of finding a way to aesthetically sort of separate yourself, you know, through mood, through lighting, through style, through just everything. So, it's really kind of getting clear on that. And once you know your why, that sort of stuff will become more clear. Like, for me, to do this, for me to sit down and, you know, and and make these episodes in the way in which I have, this is just a direct expression of the life that I, that I've lived before this, you know? Again, making films for a long time, been lighting stuff for a long time as a professional cinematographer, you know, like this sort of stuff is supernatural to me. Um, and a lot of my core philosophy is about stripping things back. It's about simplicity, less is more. I approach that in my films, I'm approaching it here because I believe that if you have the right message, if you actually got something, if you're serving the moment, if you're serving the present on your highest skill sets and your highest values, and at the same time serving an audience, you know, you are winning, you know? You're kind of aligning all of these three things together. And again, come back to this thing of like, a lot of people on YouTube will say, "Your audience is the most important thing." But you don't have an audience unless you've got a thing, unless you've got yourself, unless you've got a unique expression. So, again, you can start asking yourself questions like, "What are the things that people come to me for?" You know, "What are the advice that my friends ask me for?" You know, like, "What can I talk about all day?" "What am I super interested in?" You know? And usually, this comes from the challenges that you've sort of been moving through in your own life. And when you can get that sort of stuff right, you basically just start taking people through these challenges, you reverse engineer it, and start creating episodes based on a problem that you've solved.
So, so that's your how. Like, what is the unique sort of process? How are you going to do it? Do you want to be a podcaster? Do you want to be a vlogger? Do you want to do talking heads? Do you want to make wild sort of like, you know, edits? It doesn't matter which one it is, it's just got to be an expression of your why.
And once you've got that how sort of dialed in, then you get to the what. You know, what is it? What is the product? What is the service? And that might sound kind of weird, you know, thinking about like YouTube and YouTube videos and things like that. Ultimately, these are products. This is a service, you know? If you're doing it in this way, it's a service or it's a product. No matter what it is that you're doing, it's a service or a product that's designed for somebody else, you know? Even though you get to express your uniqueness, ultimately, it's designed in order to serve. So, it's creating value. So, what is that thing? Like, what is, how do you take your mission, which is your why? You find your unique process in order to sort of like figure out how to sort of develop that why, and then eventually you end up with your product, which is this. It's a packaged YouTube video. Has thumbnails, it has titles, it has descriptions. All of this stuff should be aligned with your why. And your why again links towards your audience. So, it's a holistic thing, you know? No part is more important than any others, you know? Um, as far as I'm concerned, you know, the audience isn't more important than the offer, the offer isn't more important than the audience. And your part that you play, you kind of tie the whole thing together. And that's your personal brand. Again, I don't like to use the word personal brand, it's your, it's your presence, you know? It's, it's who you are, you know? So, it's really extracting, you know, your essence, the thing that kind of makes you, makes you you, and the thing that makes you stand out. And this is really what's going to separate you. This is what's going to separate you from the noise. And again, YouTube is super loud, it's super noisy, very competitive, and everyone's competing in the same game. But if you can create your own way, then you'll get to stand out. Don't worry about the game, you know? Like, understand the game and then play it your way. But it's important to understand the game first, and then you can start breaking the rules.
So, you can see the way that I've set up this channel. I haven't really applied a lot of the things that so many of the gurus will tell you to do, you know? Like hardcore hooks straight off the bat, you know? Like retention, retention, retention, you know, lots of cuts, fast-paced music, all that sort of stuff. That wouldn't work for me in the way in which I'm wanting to grow this channel. Again, this is a 12th episode. Um, the idea was to do 12 episodes in 4 weeks. There was no way I was going to be able to do it any other way than this. So, it also falls into, you know, how I want this whole thing to fit into my actual life, into my schedule. I've got a family who I care about more than anything in the world, so time with them is way more valuable than anything else. And actually, everything I'm doing here is to facilitate more time with my family. So, if I was just spending every hour of the day trying to push out three videos a week, you know, with B-roll and all sorts of stuff and music, that I wouldn't have had any time for rest, for my family, and for my actual main job, which is a freelance filmmaker, which I still have to keep doing. And, you know, building more projects and all that sort of stuff. So, so yeah, so this has kind of really worked itself into my life. And it really starts with answering the question, what it is, what is it that I really want my life to look like? And not even necessarily what I want it to look like, what do I want it to feel like? What's the experience that I want with life, you know? Because it's amazing, we're so lucky, it's a gift to be here, it's a gift to be alive. Don't ever forget that. Life is challenging, it's a struggle, I understand that. And we're all on a different spectrum of some people having it harder than others, I understand that. But life is tough, but it's an absolute gift. And I would take the struggles all day just to have the experience of life. So, you really need to think about, like, what is it that you want, you know? We've been given this thing, so let's, let's not take it for granted. Let's be grateful and have a lot of gratitude for the life. So, and if you can get that dialed in, what do I want my life to be like? How can I serve people on the highest level, you know? Like, why, what is my mission, you know? To get there, uh, what is my process, and what is the thing that I can actually bring to the world? And this is all tied into this, this whole, you know, this, this whole thing. Um, and I think it's an amazing process and something that I've done in my life. I've used this, this, this method throughout many of the films that I've, that I've approached, even working with like branded films and commercials. This works really well. Um, starting with why is, is, is a perfect way to think about it.
And I would love to know from you guys, like, have you used a similar method? What have you done on your channels? Are you having struggles to kind of make your channel grow? Um, is this helpful? And I want to know what other kind of things that you think will be helpful that I can sort of include in other episodes, you know, after we move on past this, this series. Like I said, I've got a school community, we're chatting deeper in there. I've even had the opportunity to now work with people directly, which has been incredible. And seeing those results is just, you know, all this sort of stuff is really starting to pay off, you know, really being able to help people one-on-one in that way. So, that's your kind of thing. I'll leave a description in the, I'll leave a link in the description below. And that's the end of season 1. And let me know what you want in season 2, because I have no idea what to do next.