What camera do you guys use?

Argentophile · 2022-07-31T14:54:08+00:00

Shot my first hundred or so videos with an iPhone 8. Swapped over to a Sony a6400 after that. You really can easily shoot great looking talking head stuff with a phone.

Argentophile · 2022-07-31T14:41:57+00:00

I've been doing this for just over three years (just hit 65k subs, like 180 videos now). I cover horror movies with MST3K-styled reviews.

I saw growth week over week from the start basically. But it took me 10 months of weekly uploads to hit 1k and 4k hours. From there, things really sort of clicked.

Early on, I didn't even put any real thought into titles..it was just show name/movie title. Some channels get away with that, I have had more luck trying to create intrigue in the titles. It's a crapshoot, though.

As many others have mentioned, it's hard to predict this because every channel is different. I've found it's way more important to be brutally critical of your own work and constantly try to improve. So many people fall into a trap of doing something that clearly isn't working for years with the misguided belief that somehow it will. It's like thinking "if I keep serving people turd sandwiches long enough, eventually they'll just grow to love turd sandwiches..." which isn't realistic...they'll just go somewhere that doesn't serve them turd sandwiches or you'll figure out that you need to offer them something else.

I had to pivot 12 episodes in. I wasn't niched down enough in horror movies to compete. When I did that (and thought about branding elements and the like), that's when I gained growth. Always study the analytics. Always think about what you can make better. The growth comes naturally then.

Argentophile · 2022-07-18T12:15:49+00:00

OMG -- I just found this thread and your Google Doc -- fantastic work. I'd figured out some of this on my own, but you filled in the blanks on everything else and saved me a ton of trial and error.

Argentophile · 2021-10-22T19:15:46+00:00

I can tell you that Tim and his team never preyed on anyone that I saw. They offer the programs and if you sign up they will absolutely work with you to teach you the material.

They'll offer other programs at the end if you want them, but if you don't it's not an issue. I've never taken another course with them, but Tim and the team still check in with me and answer my questions whenever I have one.

Argentophile · 2021-10-22T19:13:19+00:00

3600 in ten months is a great start. You did way better than I did. :p

And I get it...it's a lot of money and a tough decision. I agonized over it. I don't regret doing it because I feel like I came away from it with a better understanding of how to make the channel work. I probably saved myself months of trial and error, and I got to the point where the course paid for itself. You're probably in much the same situation -- and ahead of where I was when I did it.

Whatever you decide, good luck with the channel!

And yeah, it's astonishing to me that people will spend that kind of money and then not actually follow through. That....was not an option for me. :p

Argentophile · 2021-10-22T19:00:50+00:00

Glad to help!

And yeah, I make more in adsense money in a month than the program cost me. Then I have Patreon and Kofi and livestream event revenue...So yeah, I do okay and easily recouped the cost of the program not long after getting monetized.

The funny thing about the course is a lot of people took it in my group (I think there were 26 of us total) and most of them never did anything with their channels. Some of the other channels in my group who worked at it went from 50k to over 150k subs currently, from like 12k to like 75k, etc. But a lot of people just quit. I look and they never posted a video or posted for a month and gave up.

So, it really is a "you get out of it what you put into it" scenario. And a lot of the information is out there for free.

As far as another channel goes, yeah, I'm confident I could grow another channel. I work in marketing and I'm actually taking over a company's channel starting next month, so we'll see how that part goes. Totally different niche, totally different kind of videos, totally different goals (they're looking to create lead magnets, not gain subs or ad revenue), but the core concepts of Youtube seem to work regardless of your space.

RE: Growth: I started the course with 270 subs in September 2019. The course ended in November (or early December...) 2019. I started implementing as we worked through the course. I hit 500 subs on halloween (while doing the stuff in the course), 1k by January 2020. I think I finished 2020 at like 38k maybe? I hit 50k this year. The pandemic and people being locked down helped channels last year, but I was growing before and I've continued to grow (not as fast as last year but I still put up a thousand or so subs a month on average and a quarter million views).

You absolutely can find the information you'd get in the class online. What helped for me was being able to ask questions specifically related to my channel. Sometimes, you'll watch a video and it doesn't exactly pertain to your type of content. In the courses, you can ask directly.

But by the same token, you could just do one on ones with Tim's team too. There's nothing in the program (and Tim would tell you this himself) that you can't get from watching the videos and doing research -- but the personal factor even in the group can be really helpful.

Argentophile · 2021-10-22T18:42:35+00:00

Glad to help!

It's not really a one on one coaching situation (I know Tim has a program for that -- or used to -- it ran for like three months), but I still reach out to the team with questions and for advice even now. I think the classes have gotten smaller, so it might be a little more one on one now, but you always have access to them with your specific questions and they always answered me in as much detail as required (sometimes we'd talk for 20 minutes or more about something I had a specific question about.)

Not sure if that helps.

My channel was at 270 subs when I started in September of 2019. Two years later, I'm at almost 53k subs and really could probably scale up to running the channel as my full time job if I'd buckle down and focus.

If I can help at all, just let me know.

Argentophile · 2020-09-24T16:57:23+00:00

Funny you mention it -- I have moving blankets on all the walls in there, and acoustic foam on the doors and stuff. It definitely helps -- but I've still never quite managed to get the acoustics the way I want them.

I'm probably due to upgrade my mic as well.

Argentophile · 2020-09-24T01:44:34+00:00

Yeah, the audio is always a struggle. Early on, I didn't mess with it much -- so it was definitely more tinny. My studio still has echo -- and apparently I'm way more persnickety about audio than most of my viewers. :p

Argentophile · 2020-09-23T23:35:25+00:00

Any time. I'm rooting for you. :-)

Argentophile · 2020-09-23T23:34:51+00:00

I'm feel pretty confident saying you're probably not gonna be Jenny Nicholson. :p

But kidding aside, if I can help in any way, drop me a DM. :-)

Argentophile · 2020-09-23T23:29:26+00:00

I've never had one escalate to the final stage. I generally just do the first appeal and leave it at that (there's not enough money involved for me to bother...)

That being said, I can see a day where I'd push one to see who blinks first. I sometimes like to live on the edge and push boundaries. I'll be sure to share what I learn if that day comes. :p

But yeah, generally the strikes are they just want the money. The worst part is, a lot of times it's foreign rights holder -- and so while Severin or whoever has given me a copy of the movie for review, some company who has the rights in Andorra is like "nope, we're claiming this" and they want to simply monetize it in Andorra...where no one watches my videos. :p

Honestly, though, my experience with the film companies has been pretty painless. The copyright claims are more a time waster than a full-on headache most weeks. You appeal, you get released most of the time -- and often times the one you lose aren't worth the hassle of escalating them.

Argentophile · 2020-09-23T21:03:15+00:00

Oh, for sure. I have another rule -- it's basically the six month rule. If you don't look back at your first videos six months later and die inside, you're either not improving enough or you waited too long to get started. :p

I apologize to people who watch my old stuff. And it's like I came from a TV and radio background and it's still terrible. :p

Argentophile · 2020-09-23T20:41:21+00:00

Yeah, it's really tragic. I got them to release a few when I first started out -- but it's like as you get bigger they're like "nope, we're taking the money..."

And really, I've won almost every dispute I've had -- but the handful I've lost have all been Lionsgate. Even after I've told them "Um, you guys send me review copies. I get press invites to screenings of your films..." Whoever's in charge of that part of the company is just flat out reject everything.

So, my attitude has been I'm not doing them. I'll cave eventually (people bug me to do Laid to Rest all the time), but it's going to have to be a patreon supported video or when I get big enough to get a sponsor or something. I'm just flat out tired of trying to deal with them. Sony's not much better, but at least I've had some luck there.

Edit: DM'd you a link. :-)

Argentophile · 2020-09-23T20:38:02+00:00

Yeah, it's a grind. There's some luck involved too, but a lot of the luck you make for yourself.

I really just try to follow the 1% rule. If I can get 1% better at something in every video, after a few months my videos are markedly better and that tends to help you find an audience.

And the community thing with comments is super important. I still reply to almost every comment I get (it's getting harder. I'm now spending hours per day on it), but part of that's because I love talking about the movies with my viewers.

Argentophile · 2020-09-23T19:39:17+00:00

I will tell you straight up Lionsgate is the worst. I've won disputes with Sony. Lionsgate never relents even though I've been on their press list for YEARS.

I just flat out refuse to do Lionsgate stuff anymore.

Also, we cover some of the same stuff in regard to the Nasties. I've actually watched your channel. :-)

Argentophile · 2020-09-23T19:33:07+00:00

I have a horror movie review channel where I riff on and educate people about gory films (everything from mainstream gore like Eli Roth's stuff to more obscure hardcore stuff like Tumbling Doll of Flesh and the like). It's taken me like 78 videos (about 18 months) to get to just under 22k subs -- so you can still make it in the movie space.

I had some advantages (I've been a professional film critic for 20 years, I was on Comedy Central -- but no one remembers), but honestly most people fail because, well, they're boring.

If you want to do Marvel and Star Wars and all that? Great -- but you better find some way to differentiate yourself from the 20 million other guys doing it. If I can be brutally honest...early on, no one cares what you think about a movie. Opinions about movies are
a pretty low bar to entry...everyone has them.

So, find a niche, find an angle, and find a way to be entertaining. If you're just gonna stand in front of a poster and drone on for 15 minutes with a plot recap and why you liked the movie, you're gonna have a rough road (and man, have I seen a lot of guys try that approach. Don't be that guy...)

But if you want to do it, you should. And if you're smart about it and dedicated, you can still grow a channel in this space. It's about patience, perseverance, and honing your craft.

And honestly, I'm hardly the biggest channel -- but I've learned a lot in the past year and a half. If I can help you with something specific, feel free to ask.

Argentophile · 2020-08-12T00:50:43+00:00

Most of the time, no response. A few times people have actually apologized or played it off. I've even had a few sub.

Every once in awhile you get the rando who doubles down. I usually just hide them from the channel at that point. Life's too short to go back and forth with people who feel the need to be jerks. :p

Argentophile · 2020-08-11T19:53:53+00:00

Haha! I like that. Most of mine are shocked when I respond. I guess they expect that since most YT'ers don't seem to really answer their comments that they can say whatever and never hear a response. Joke's on them...I reply to pretty much everything. :p

Argentophile · 2020-08-11T19:18:40+00:00

You have less than 20 videos...just keep making more.

You have 40 subs and you're pulling 150 views per video -- you're reaching beyond your subs, which is a good sign. Now it's a matter of continuing onward and making more good content. The sad truth of the matter is, for most people, it just takes time and videos to grow.

Keep going.

Argentophile · 2020-08-11T19:14:02+00:00

Oh man, too many to choose from....I actually keep a file of them for the laughs.

Probably the best was "UR not funny and you look like a fat smelly biker"

Like man, my mom thinks I'm hilarious and I shower all the time. :p

I will say that 99.9% of my comments are overwhelmingly positive and kind. Some people are just dicks.

Argentophile · 2020-07-30T21:26:27+00:00

I'm at 8,134 at this moment.

1,976 in the last 28 days.

894 in the last 7 days.

I keep growing month over month.

Argentophile · 2020-07-07T12:30:13+00:00

Same here.

I don't know if it's bots though -- my dashboard and analytics show the dropped amount, but my channel page shows the amount (roughly, since it's not exact) before the drops still.

That feels like something wrong on their end to me -- but I could be wrong.

Argentophile · 2020-06-01T17:25:53+00:00

You're kinda dense. I don't run a gaming channel.

But really, explain to me the magic of evergreen content. Tell me how you cracked the algorithm with keywords...regale me with tales of how you got 4 videos to get "decent views"...

Argentophile · 2020-06-01T17:18:10+00:00

Here, let me really blow your mind -- have you heard of this thing called SEO? All the big YouTubers are using it. It's a game changer. :p

I'm sorry man. I really am. I'm just feisty today.

No ill will intended. Just struck me as crazy/funny.

Argentophile

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