Last Updated on by Michael Brockbank
In January, the YouTube channel for WriterSanctuary tied the blog in terms of views for the month. However, February’s numbers were far better for video views than blog visits. And although this is exciting news for me, it does hurt my feelings a bit.
This is because I’ve put so much more effort into the blog since its development in 2014. And already, a channel I created just a few months ago is already seeing far more traffic.
But, have I really put in that much work compared to the YouTube videos recently? I’d have to say not.[adrotate banner=”8″]
What Do the YouTube Channel Numbers Mean?
To put things into perspective, this blog received 832 visitors in February. The YouTube channel on the other hand, hit 1,643 views! In the span of a month, the viewership nearly tripled.
Of course, I haven’t put a lot of effort into the blog as of late. In fact, I’ve put more time into the YouTube videos over the past 30 days than I have the blog in the past year.
Video Content is More Viable
Realistically, video content is one of the largest growing forms of content on the Internet. In fact, Cisco believes by 2021, 17,000 hours worth of video content will span networks every second.
There’s no doubting it, video content is the future. But that doesn’t mean text blogs are pointless.
On the contrary, I still get quite a bit of traffic to the new gaming blog. But, you cannot deny the impact of video content for reaching a wider audience.
Overall Interest is Par for the Course
I don’t have any spectacular videos on my channel. Well, aside from one that was embedded into Reddit somewhere. It receives a ton of views in comparison to the other videos.
Overall, I see the content I create isn’t all that sought after on YouTube. I suppose this is par for the course considering how much traffic I don’t get on this blog.
Does that mean that I am just in a very low-ranking niche? Perhaps. But I think a lot of the issues I have with generating traffic are more related to a lack of effort on my behalf.
Influenced By Effort
It takes about three to four hours for me to produce a video for YouTube. This includes recording, editing and then uploading a description and choosing tags.
What would happen if I was able to put that same amount of effort into this or any of the other blogs I manage?
Outside of my client’s website, that is. My content for her is always driving thousands of visits a month.
Why can’t I do the same thing for myself? Is it purely because of my lackluster performance maintaining these websites? Probably.
After all, I’m not the most dedicated when it comes to any of the blogs I own.
Not Monetized Any Time Soon
Unfortunately, it doesn’t look like I’ll be able to monetize the YouTube channel with AdSense any time in the near future. I’m just not popular enough.
At the time of this post, I only have 44 subscribers – since starting the channel in September of 2018. That’s quite paltry compared to other channels with similar content.
Maybe I’m just not personable enough or provide quality videos that make people want to subscribe.
It’s a bit of an ego killer, really.
Don’t get me wrong. The few subscribers I do have constantly tell me how I help them and that I do a good job explaining certain things. That alone makes the whole prospect of YouTube worth it for me.
It would just be nice to find a way to make a bit of money for my effort.
Nearly half of the day is spent creating videos, which could be spent either beefing up the blogs or writing for Textbroker.[template id=”2087″]
What’s Next for the YouTube Channel?
To be honest, I’m not entirely sure how to go about increasing my presence on YouTube. I’m still figuring things out and have done a great deal of research.
Perhaps my biggest failing is the same on YouTube as it is for the blogs…laziness.
However, I am reserved to make more out of both the video content and the blog. I just need to stay focused and do it!
Revamping Thumbnails and Tags of Older Videos
Some of the first videos don’t have the best thumbnails and tags. I’ve improved a couple over time, and it seems to help.
In fact, I increased impressions and views by more than three times in one particular video just by changing the thumbnail, tags and description.
While I doubt I’ll turn anything super viral, I do believe I can probably gain a few more views this month by making a few changes.
Expanding What I Cover
Right now, my Textbroker videos are getting the majority of traffic in YouTube. It doesn’t seem anyone wants to watch the other pieces of content I’ve created.
The problem is I can only do so much in terms of focusing strictly on Textbroker. I’m just worried that if I veer too far away from that, I might lose subscribers.
I suppose this is going to be an issue no matter what I do. Like I tell my clients, “You can’t please 100% of the people 100% of the time.”
My fear is that I’ll run out of things to say on camera.
Considering New Ideas
I’m always open to new ideas and covering new topics, as long as they relate to writing. I’ve already started expanding the videos a bit to include WordPress tutorials and Wattpad information.
Though, I haven’t really added a great deal to any other playlist outside of Textbroker and Freelance Writing.
I need to just take a closer look at what everyone else is doing and see if I can make it better.
It’s the “Skyscraper” technique but for videos.
My problem is that I just don’t know if I have what it takes to add anything extra. Yes…I am still struggling with impostor syndrome and a low self-confidence level.
Spying on Competitors
YouTube has several freelance writer creators. But I don’t know if I can consider myself part of the same league. I mean, I know I am a content mill expert. But that doesn’t seem to be enough.
Or at least not enough according to what people are looking for on YouTube.
I need to spend more time taking a look at what they’re creating and see if I can do anything to improve or add to it. Perhaps I need to spend more time doing research and taking a closer look at what I can offer my viewers.
Can I be more than just a Textbroker expert?
Still…It’s Positive Growth
No matter how I slice it up, the numbers for the YouTube channel are improving each month. Although it didn’t vastly increase in February, it’s not doing overly bad.
I just need to make sure there is positive growth. Of course, I need to do that with the blog as well.
Here’s to a better March and trying to get things going.[template id=”2089″]
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