Building a strong brand for an audience of millions
I've been creating YouTube videos since I was a teenager. I got serious about video editing and production when I started college and quickly learned what audiences like and how to tell a compelling story. This hobby turned into a media company with hundreds of thousands of subscribers and millions of views per month.
Background
When I was 12, I first started messing around with Adobe Premiere Pro, a video editing software. Like most teenagers, I had big dreams of gaining traction on YouTube with my amazing videos. Also like most teenagers, I was unaware how much work my videos needed and overestimated how many people would be interested in the content I was creating. I moved from skiing videos, to skits, to gaming and a few other categories. I would eventually have a breakthrough when I started college years later and started taking the YouTube game seriously.
I had never really played that many video games as a teenager. That might seem strange, but I grew up in rural area and was usually outside with my friends or working. Like most teenage boys I did occasionally play Call of Duty or FIFA with my friends, but this was the exception more than the rule. As I started college, I moved in with one of my friends who was very into PC gaming and introduced me to it. I used his spare PC and started playing a new game that has just came out with him. After getting decent at the game, I decided to upload some footage to YouTube to show other friends what we were doing. To my surprise, this gameplay gained a lot of traction and got a ton of views.
I quickly learned what audiences liked and disliked about content. The YouTube comment section is a place where you'll receive some of the most honest user feedback, people don't hold back. With added effort into editing videos and tailoring content to viewers, I was amazed with the growth the channel received. From getting a couple hundred views a month to over 700k was surreal to me...and I got to get paid for making these videos? I couldn't believe it.
What I figured out after putting many hours to YouTube and what I still tell anyone who asks how to be successful on YouTube, is to be consistent. Upload a lot. Your audience will tell you what you did wrong, and the views will reflect if you have found a fit with your audience. I have uploaded over 500 videos to YouTube and still learn new things with every upload.
As the channel grew, I learned how to create videos that viewers would love. I began to add a signature style that my audience would look forward to and would attract new viewers. During 2020 as the pandemic was forcing many to stay inside, I kept producing videos and was rewarded with many new subscribers and viewers.
Lifetimes of watchtime
My channel has gained over 5 Million hours of watch time or almost 600 years.
A clear pattern with my videos is viewers consistently stay much longer than the average YouTube video.
A clear demographic
Analytics don't lie. They tell the past and help predict the future. The audience for my channel was overwhelmingly males ages 18-34 and spoke English. The demographics helped me design content specifically for my audience.
I get asked this question very often and you might be surprised by the answer. I have kept my channels faceless as a way to maintain anonymity. The internet is a big scary place and I prefer to avoid the fame and the risk that comes along with it. I've created multiple channels that have passed 100k+ subscribers and love creating content that audiences enjoy. If you have any questions, you can email me or message me on Linkedin.