4K YouTube Subs, now I'm lost!

18 replies
Hi everyone, this is probably very noob and everyone will laugh but I'm just a pizza delivery man, with no qualifications or much schooling.
Now, I have a YouTube channel that shares my interests (some basic videos showing products that I enjoy using and how to improve some of them), I spent a big part of my savings over the past 2 years to make these videos so video upload are very irregular as I can't afford them. My best videos have over 150,000 vies and my worst video has just over 700, the channel now has 1000,000 views and almost 4000 subscribers.
I have started to run Adsense on the videos and make pitiful pennies every week, and I gain subscribers by about 2 per day.
My question is, is there anything I can do with this channel that would be useful in the future? Or will channels like this usually just be a side show to the odd subscriber?

I started recording videos with my mobile phone camera and sharing things that I found quick tips or minor fixes for, some viewers enjoyed it so they stuck around, it's just a small channel that but the subs like to stick around. I'd like to expand the channel but I am so lost when it comes to digital media. I edit the videos with my phone too, so you can expect everything to be a very small, back room spare time operation.
I have been approached many times by companies claiming that, for a small fee, they could take my channel to the next level for me but I never trusted them.
So here I am guys, that's my first steps in the digital world, any help and pointers to help me expand to scale up will be greatly appreciated!
#i’m #lost #subs #youtube
  • You should also find some related affiliate products to promote, which definitely have much better margin than running AdSense.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11482606].message }}
    • Profile picture of the author Blobmonkey
      Thanks! I have thought about this, I currently have one product from Banggood which I plan to link in some videos (I have them saved in my video bank) I just hope the BG seller ships quicker as it took me 4 weeks to get the product, this might upset my subscribers but I will link some products
      Keep em coming guys!

      Also, i've had a few pm's so far but can't reply yet as my post count is so low. I will reply once I can thanks everyone!
      {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11482612].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author atanalex
    Maybe 4000 subscribers is a good start to be taken seriously by companies who run CPA-s. Have you got a look at Offervault ?
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11482622].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author oskarjose
    I think you should think about strengthening the work that you have already achieved using affiliate marketing techniques, take advantage of the audience you already have to promote digital products from Clickbank, JVzoo, etc ... that can be very useful for your subscribers and they not have to wait so long to receive it, if you want to promote tangible products such as in Amazon you can use some plugins that allow you to redirect the client to the store in your country and gain commission if they buy sometime.

    There is a whole range of opportunities that you can open if you use affiliate marketing, it is up to you to investigate, learn and to put it into practice. Greetings and I wish you much success with your entrepreneurship.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11482632].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author luciesmazanska
    to have so many views I would start promoting some affiliate products! you can earn much more!
    And btw I love pizza! so if you would live in nyc I would order from you )
    Signature
    ★★★★★
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11482655].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author IGotMine
    I just hope the BG seller ships quicker as it took me 4 weeks to get the product,
    Are there any digital products you can promote?

    I have been approached many times by companies claiming that, for a small fee, they could take my channel to the next level for me but I never trusted them.
    That's wise.

    Also, i've had a few pm's so far but can't reply yet
    These will be similar to the ones you mentioned above.

    If you post on a public forum that you have something good and don't know what to do with it, every scammer that sees your post will try to find a way to take it away from you.

    Protect yourself!!
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11482662].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Blobmonkey
    Thank you very much to everyone who has posted, every post has great information that is helping me.
    I'm currently looking at Clickbank and JVZoo as suggested. Today I also phoned some local shops (that also have their own YouTube channels) asking if any are interested in cooperating but so far all have declined, one stating that they would prefer it if I had a larger subscriber base and others just saying no.
    I'm steering clear now of most PM's and emails saying they can help me, at least until I know who to trust.
    I'm going to try and understand this affiliate marketing a bit more in the coming months.
    I have tried looking at Offervault but unfortunately it's going way over my head at this point in time, it's all very exciting and daunting/confusing at the same time to me.
    Thank everyone for all the great help! I can see it's going to be a long road that only get's better the more I put in, looking forward to it, thanks again!
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11482902].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Oziboomer
    Ask yourself what product you can make that you own that people watching the best videos desire?

    If you can spend two years building views and subscribers and you've spent money doing this. . .

    Then what could you invest in making something the subscribers will pay for?

    Work that out and start driving traffic from your videos to your own products.

    Best regards,

    Ozi
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11483035].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author whatcrisis
    Keep creating new videos and grow the number of subscribers to your channel. Once you have a decent audience you can be creative and add new videos with different subjects.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11483038].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Chris-
    You might like to join some of the Influencer FaceBook groups, where there are companies looking for influencers like you, and advice on how to monetise etc.

    Chris
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11485051].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author michaelkoehler92
    4k subs inst a very big amount and you should always enrich those subs since they are the basic building of your channel.

    And if you start posting any crap affiliate offer then you might lose them. Using adsense would be a good option since the quality of ads are good and your subs wont get irritated so make sure to pay more attention when choosing the offers.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11485521].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author brettb
    I would do some keyword research to make videos targeting keywords people are actively searching for. As the other posters say, don't annoy your current subscribers though.



    Also maybe you could launch your own range of products or maybe go into consultancy. I don't know what niche you're in though.


    4000 subscribers is pretty small though so you might not earn that much. My friend has 200K but still makes very little from the AdSense ads on YouTube.


    Still you're doing better than me - I only have 28 subscribers!
    Signature
    ÖŽ FindABlog: Find blogs to comment on, guest posting opportunities and more ÖŽ




    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11485792].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Blobmonkey
    Thanks everyone for the continuous help! I've taken a lot of advice from everyone and not polluted my videos with affiliate links, just one or two. I also understand the mentality of looking after my subs, I only started having ads on my videos recently because I was afraid that the 5 second non-skippable ads would upset my small audience.
    I'm going work at my job real hard for the next few years to build up some capital and put it towards either having a product made in my channels field or towards creating higher quality content. In the meantime I'll create more and more videos with higher frequency but only relevant heavy hitting topics to draw a bigger crowd.
    HUGE THANKS EVERYONE! I'm starting to get direction.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11487096].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author palmtreelife
    Not many people make money with Adsense anymore on Youtube. It was big in the past, but as you've experienced, it takes a LOT to make anything meaningful from that.
    I'm curious what is costing you so much to make your videos that gather 150,000 views vs 700 views. Do you think it's ONLY the quality of the video that is the difference? And by quality, I am talking about the improvements made by the money you're spending on those videos.

    There are many ways to earn income on Youtube. One of the simplest is a brand deal. You will probably need a little bigger subscriber list, but brand deals can earn you up to $10,000 for showcasing a RELEVANT product to your audience.

    Digital products as mentioned by others is another goldmine and something you can learn a LOT about in this forum. Your subscribers are signed up to follow you and your content. If you create a digital product that is relevant to them, with some upsells, that is another way to make a lot of money from your viewers.

    Merchandise...is there a catchphrase you use in your videos? Do you have a logo that is visible in all your videos? This doesn't need to be complicated, but you can create a phrase or logo specific to you and your channel. Test the options with your viewers to see what they like best. Keep building the relationship with your viewers. Then you can sell t-shirts or hats etc for $15-$20. There are online companies that will print and ship your product to all your paying customers. All you need to do is send them what you want printed. Very easy.

    Check out Jesse and Kong at JumpCut Academy and they will show you what a youtube channel can do for you and how to monetize it. I firmly believe you do NOT need to spend a lot of money to grow and you do NOT need to produce cinematic videos to make money with youtube. 4000 people are attracted to you RIGHT NOW.

    Keep us posted! Would love to hear your success story.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11489533].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author superowid
    You can sell promotion service. Create a video for people with their website name and put it on your channel for some specific time (as you price it). Provide your own rule what you can and can't accept for this service. Sell it as a gig and continuous service. Good luck!
    Signature

    Hard time to keep promoting business? Don't worry!
    JUST USE MY GRAPHIC & VIDEO SERVICES
    . . . . . Let me help cutting your ad production cost! . . . . .
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11490498].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author hit bones
    please dont ruin your channel with ads this early !

    if you want to get bigger then upgrade your equipments
    examples
    upgrade your Camera
    start editing in Sonyvegas
    make an engagement vidoes
    use google adowrds and look for a keywords that are mostly searched ( people have interest in them ) and talk about it


    in total upgrade your self in YouTube

    dont spam your self with ads please i have seen channels dies because of that ( apically affiliates links )
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11491242].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Rachel Patel
    You have 4k subs is very good. For growing your channel you have to collaborate with brands. Also, ask your subs what are they want to see on your channel. You also can buy youtube videos views from trustable websites.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11493115].message }}
  • Profile picture of the author Blobmonkey
    Awesome feedback guys and girls! I've taken advice from EVERY post so far, this is a quick update on what's been happening, it's going to be a long post.

    First, I decided that I needed a bit more capital so I have applied for a corporate job, as you know, I deliver Italian cuisine lol (pizza) for a living. I applied to be an Operations Manager (the person in charge of looking after the delivery personnel).
    During my first interview I talked as if I were presenting a youtube video, the interviewer decided that my speech skills would be more suited to be in Corporate Sales, yes, I am blown away too!. Second interview later (and delivering a sales pitch that took me a week to prepare) I am now awaiting final confirmation. Personally, delivering makes me happy so I initially wanted to stay close to this role and work with the guys on the front line, but the pay rise is there and it's, in my case, the offer of a lifetime due to my lack of schooling.

    If I am successful, some of my capital will go towards slightly better equipment such as a real camera and some lenses. For my current videos, most of my hard earned goes towards the show piece in my video, if the subject of the video requires a 15 dollar component, then that video will be very easy on my week's wages but sometimes the subject/element I must purchase can cost 1000 dollars upwards. I have noticed that the cost of the subject does not reflect video views or likes, it is the value of the information in the video. I don't usually review components, I offer ways to make them better, such as hands on upgrading parts and accessories to improve their use (in a nutshell, I'll make a component or piece of equipment more: efficient, robust, longer lasting, smoother or just aesthetically better) depending on the component.

    I value all your views dearly, at first I placed a lot of product links in the description of many current videos, but have since removed some of them as it's starting to look a bit messy and might upset my viewers. I've now gone back to keeping it clean with only one or two tasteful ads/links.

    In the meantime I have been able to secure some discount deals from 2 different vendors on components for future videos, all I have to do is give a quick mention of where I purchased them from, this is going to save the future of the channel!!!! And my wallet. I have been given the cold shoulder when asking for sponsorship though, I believe this will change If I ever hit 10 thousand subs upwards.

    Regarding video editing, I am currently trying out Final Cut and it's a maze to me so far, but I'll keep learning, I will also check out Sonyvegas if I can afford it in the coming months. Whilst doing all the above, I am also enrolled into a study-online, internationally recognised course that allows me to teach young persons a certain topic (I believe this will not only help with presenting my videos but also help me convey my views in videos better).

    I will definitely engage my audience more with some poles and questions on what they want to see more of, some have specified (unsolicited) that they just want me to make more videos about anything, they just want more. I have 9 videos in my video bank so far that is part of a build series I will be unleashing in the next few weeks, I'm currently waiting on an out of stock component to complete the build, I believe it will draw some excellent attention for my channel!
    For now, I'm going to try and create a logo for my channel, just to create awareness and recognition. If we continue to grow, I will be looking at T-shirt's!!! very excited at this idea!

    Thank you very much guys and girls for helping me scale, it's one step at a time for me, but the steps are crucial for my future.
    {{ DiscussionBoard.errors[11493915].message }}

Trending Topics