TLDR;
This video features Vanessa Lau's training on starting and scaling a YouTube channel, emphasizing how to become a top player in your niche. She shares her journey from a coffee barista to a successful entrepreneur with over half a million YouTube subscribers, highlighting the realities of content creation and the importance of perseverance. The training is divided into three phases: starting, growing, and scaling a channel, providing actionable tactics for each phase to help creators avoid common pitfalls and achieve long-term success.
- Focus on developing video creation skills and collecting data.
- Double down on what's working, analyze metrics, and create a consistent production cadence.
- Reinvent yourself by expanding beyond YouTube, building a community, and experimenting with content delivery.
Introduction [0:00]
Vanessa Lau shares her journey from quitting her job and working as a barista to becoming a successful YouTuber with over half a million subscribers and a thriving business. She highlights the common expectation versus the reality of being a content creator, emphasizing that while starting a channel has become easier, growing one is more challenging than ever due to increased competition and the need for instant gratification.
The Valleys of Death [3:20]
Vanessa describes the common pitfalls, or "valleys of death," that creators face. These include never starting due to waiting for the perfect opportunity, giving up after posting a few videos due to lack of immediate momentum, burning out from inconsistent systems, and struggling to stay relevant over time. She emphasizes the importance of reinventing oneself to remain successful long-term.
Phase 1: Starting Your Channel [5:51]
For those just starting, the focus should be on developing video creation skills and collecting data rather than aiming for perfection. Vanessa advises creators to focus on their target audience instead of getting stuck on finding the perfect niche. She shares her personal experience of wasting ten years trying to become a makeup blogger before realizing it wasn't her passion. She recommends creating videos around search-friendly topics to solve problems or entertain viewers, using platforms like Reddit, Quora, and competitor comment sections for content ideas. Tools like TubeBuddy and VidIQ can also help identify searchable topics. Adding the current year to titles and differentiating content can help stand out. She also advises to keep equipment simple and focus on clear audio and video.
Phase 2: Growing Your Channel [17:53]
In the growth phase, the focus shifts to standing out and maintaining momentum. Vanessa stresses the importance of doubling down on what's working by focusing on topics that resonate with the audience. She advises creators to analyze their analytics, paying attention to impressions, click-through rate, view duration, and total watch time to optimize their videos. Improving thumbnails, hooks, and video editing can increase watch time. She also recommends creating a production cadence by time blocking or batching content creation to avoid burnout. Tools like Frame.io can streamline the video editing process.
Phase 3: Scaling Your Channel [31:08]
To scale a channel, Vanessa advises creators to sustain growth by expanding beyond YouTube and building a community. She suggests repurposing long-form content into short-form videos for platforms like Instagram and TikTok to reach new audiences. Building a community involves engaging with subscribers through shout-outs, content polls, newsletters, and live streams. Breaking the pattern by adding new topics, changing the delivery style, experimenting with video editing, and getting more personal can help revive a channel that has plateaued.
Final Thoughts [38:04]
Vanessa uses the example of MKBDH to illustrate that success on YouTube takes time and perseverance. She encourages viewers to take action on the information they've learned and to avoid giving up, emphasizing that building a successful YouTube channel is a long-term process.