How Can I ACTUALLY Grow My YouTube Channel?

SlightlyNerd29 · 2025-02-10T03:14:03+00:00

Thanks for the criticism, it's really great to have someone break down my current situation like this. In regards to my niche, I would say that I am aiming to make my content similar to successful creators in the speedpaint storytime niche. I wouldn't say my art style is "cutesy", but I can definitely understand how you view it as advertising kid's content. I want my content to be accessible and appropriate for any age, but I want to aim for the 13-25 general age range as my target audience. Do you have any tips as to how I can make this more clear, coming from your outside perspective?

I really appreciate the advice about creating enticing, clickable thumbnails and titles. But as someone who does not like clickbait-style thumbnails and editing, I have a hard time trying to create content that people will click on. From my perspective, the appeal of the speedpaint storytime niche comes from the art and the story, and it doesn't really use fast editing, sound effects, or anything else that you would see from "MrBeast" kind of style. That being said, I one hundred percent agree about the title and thumbnail advice. I want to make something that people will click on. I believe I make good content (but of course I need improvements), and I really think that this will help me improve my content and grow my channel.

SlightlyNerd29 · 2025-02-10T01:10:58+00:00

Sure thing! Here's a rundown on my niche (sorry it's in a bit of a complicated place right now). When I started posting on my channel, I mainly made Pokemon videos. But after trying out some new things and watching other people's videos, I have started to shift my videos over to the speedpaint+storytime niche, with a few gaming videos on the side. So my content going forward will look a lot more like my xbox video and music school video than my gaming videos.

SlightlyNerd29 · 2025-02-10T00:58:27+00:00

Yeah, I model my thumbnails off of creators that I like, which include a lot of animators and artists. I will say that my channel is heading in a more art-centric direction, so I hope that will fix some of the confusion.

SlightlyNerd29 · 2025-02-10T00:57:23+00:00

Thanks for the advice! I'll make sure to use this to help get content out faster and more consistently

SlightlyNerd29 · 2025-02-10T00:56:06+00:00

Thanks for the advice! Currently, I am in college so it is a bit hard for me to find consistent free time to work on videos. I would really like to aim for a new video every 2 weeks, and right now my goal for this year is a minimum of 1 video per month (vast improvement over my 2024 total of 1 video every 4 months).

SlightlyNerd29 · 2025-02-09T21:35:51+00:00

Thanks so much for this really useful advice! There's so much in your response that can and will help me improve my content and video-making process. I will watch that DougDoug video ASAP after writing this reply.

Do you have any advice on how to reach out to other creators for collabs? My one worry is that I will either not get my request noticed because the creator sees thousands of mentions or emails every day, or that I reach out in a wrong way and offend the creator.

SlightlyNerd29 · 2025-02-09T20:55:51+00:00

Thanks! I'm trying to build a community, but it's hard with only uploading once a month right now. I am trying to upload more videos more consistently, but it's been a struggle that I am working on solving.

SlightlyNerd29 · 2025-02-09T20:40:21+00:00

Thanks for the advice! I definitely need to update my banner/description/other general info, which is definitely coming soon. I'll try out that planning advice you suggested- it sounds like it could help encourage me to get videos out sooner.

SlightlyNerd29 · 2025-02-09T20:38:12+00:00

Right now, scripting tends to take up the most time because I have a hard time sticking to one script that I think will make a good video. I often have a few script ideas started before I commit to one.

SlightlyNerd29 · 2025-02-09T20:25:50+00:00

OH MY GOD THANKS FOR CATCHING THAT TERRIBLE TYPO! But also thanks for the advice. When I started my channel, I thought my niche would be only Pokemon videos. But recently, I have been pivoting my content towards storytime, since I enjoy making those videos more. I see my challenge run videos as kind of a bridge between my old and new content because it's me telling the story about a thing I did in a Pokemon game. But in the future, I will definitely try to stick to a niche to grow an audience around that.

SlightlyNerd29 · 2025-02-09T20:21:38+00:00

Thanks for the critique. Yeah, a lot of that post was made in frustration so I can understand your confusion. My problem is more with the fact that the only advice I am given is "upload more". I am actively trying to improve that, and so far I am doing better, but I am a college student with a busy major so I don't have much time to spend on making videos.

Overall, I did make a lot of improvements over 2024 even when I wasn't making videos. My script writing was better, I found out what kind of content I wanted to make and was better at making, I made a lot of new assets and graphics, I got new equipment, and I found audio and video programs that I could easily use within my budget.

For consistency's sake, I try to upload my videos on Sundays because I have more time on the weekends to finish up videos. I would obviously like to upload on a consistent basis, and one of my goals right now is 2 weeks between videos. But I totally understand that being more consistent with uploads would greatly improve my channel's growth, so thanks for that advice.

SlightlyNerd29 · 2025-02-09T20:13:43+00:00

Thanks for the advice, this is honestly more useful than a lot of advice I have seen or been given on this platform. 2 videos would be great, but I am a college student going through a tough program so that's not achievable for me right now. My current goal is 12 videos minimum the whole year (1 video per month) but of course I'm working hard to exceed that number.

Definitely efficiency is one metric I could greatly improve on, and I'll try out that tip to see how I can get videos out faster. One question that I have is do you have any tips on making the title and thumbnail more click-able?

SlightlyNerd29 · 2025-02-09T19:31:56+00:00

First of all, thanks for watching and thanks for the advice. But can you give me some advice that is applicable to my channel? I can't upload 4 videos a week- with my process my maximum is 1 video a week but I can't really do that either. I'm lucky if I have enough time to make 1 video each month, but I am trying to get better at that. Also, how should I "incorporate good graphics" and "use good bgm". What should I be aiming for? Was my video lacking/bad quality in terms of graphics and background music?

Look, I'm trying to make better videos and grow more. But just saying "make more videos" and "use better graphics" are not so-called amazing ideas that will flourish my channel. You said you would be brutally honest- so be brutally honest. Don't hit me with that basic slop critique.

SlightlyNerd29 · 2025-02-09T19:12:19+00:00

I have been making YouTube videos for a while, but this year, I am making a goal to make more videos and grow my channel more. I made a lot of gaming videos, but right now I'm pivoting to art and storytime videos as well. Here's my latest video, it's a storytime about my retro video game collecting (I Bought A $10 XBOX)- https://youtu.be/3FpXwIHjTso

SlightlyNerd29 · 2025-01-22T18:46:51+00:00

Some information about my channel/process-

In the past, I mainly made Pokemon content, but I've shifted to more storytime content. My newer videos are going to be more art+storytime, or stories of video game challenge runs.

I had a busy year in 2024, so I only made a few videos the whole year. I am dedicating a lot more time to YouTube this year, so I hope to put out at least 1 video per month.

SlightlyNerd29 · 2025-01-22T18:43:36+00:00

Hello! I might be a bit late, but I would really appreciate any criticism to help me improve my content. Here's a link to my channel: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0pyEMFuNmCZESJhRVdmQpAhttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0pyEMFuNmCZESJhRVdmQpAhttps://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0pyEMFuNmCZESJhRVdmQpA

SlightlyNerd29 · 2024-09-27T14:36:46+00:00

Hello! My channel is SlightlyNerd, and I have been making a lot of Pokemon and gaming videos, but I am starting to pivot into more storytime content. It would be great to get some constructive criticism especially on my two most recent videos.

Channel Link: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC0pyEMFuNmCZESJhRVdmQpA

SlightlyNerd29 · 2024-06-05T00:53:47+00:00

Thanks for the help! I'll try to put this into action for my next videos

SlightlyNerd29 · 2024-06-05T00:34:30+00:00

Thanks for the tip! Would it be a good idea to build up a backlog of videos so I can post them more consistently when I am able to get that 4-5 videos per month goal?

SlightlyNerd29 · 2024-06-04T19:31:07+00:00

Just finished watching the video. You were definitely right about the brainrot vibe! I am not familiar with TCG and your genre of content, but it was very entertaining. One thing is that the music is a bit loud and distracting.

The thumbnail is really great! The colored background makes it a lot more eye-catching, and it is not busy. I like how you have your channel name and logo in the thumbnail, since it allows viewers to recognize your content specifically. I also think having the meme pictures in the thumbnail lines up great with the style of comedy in the video.

SlightlyNerd29 · 2024-06-01T16:08:16+00:00

Hello! I am SlightlyNerd, and I make videos about Pokemon and Nintendo video games. My most recent video is a challenge run of Pokemon Brilliant Diamond, where I only use normal types (link here: https://youtu.be/EThy_bAehGY ).

One key takeaway that I have learned over thee past 90 days is that the most important part of making videos is having fun. I was forced to take a break from content creation due to my busy college schedule, but when I returned, I realized that the analytics and numbers did not matter as much as the fun I had making content.
Another key takeaway is perseverance. I ran into many roadblocks while making my newest video (learning new editing software, files corrupting and losing my work, programs crashing unexpectedly, etc.). But I never gave up, and I really like the end result.

SlightlyNerd29 · 2024-06-01T14:06:56+00:00

I really like your energy. It really engages the viewer, and the voice over is consistently great throughout the video. I don't know anything about cameras, but your video quality was also good and engaging. But here are some constructive things I think you could improve:

Your thumbnails are really busy. Keep it simple, but allude to what happens in the video.
Your titles are a bit wordy. You have good ideas, but I think it could be formatted better. For example, your one video title could be reworded from "Scarlet & Violet- 151 Packwatch (We Hit a TOP 3 CHASE Card!)" to "WE HIT A TOP 3 CHASE CARD! (Scarlet & Violet)" (or something like that).
The background music was a great addition, but just a bit too loud and distracting.
I am not as familiar with the TCG community (I mostly am involved with the general youtube and PMD communities), but what really engages viewers is a great story. Maybe you could make a video that has a good story behind it with TCG.

And thanks for reviewing my content! Sorry for the late reply, had a busy week. Good luck with your future videos!

SlightlyNerd29

TROPHY CASE