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After working with thousands of YouTube creators, we've seen a few patterns in what creates success when growing a business around that audience. Today we share with you our top 9 rules for success if you're growing a business on YouTube.  LINKS MENTIONED Check out Larry Gibbons' channel here: https://www.youtube.com/c/TheGibbonsGroup/ Register for Video Labs, our advanced level YouTube growth process for creators who are ready to take their channel growth seriously and infuse growth into their channel: https://videocreators.com/videolabs

If you're considering paid ads on YouTube as a strategy for growing your channel, you're making some assumptions about your content as well as about how YouTube works. Today we'll address those assumptions and discuss whether or not using paid ads is a good method for growing your YouTube channel or not. LINKS MENTIONED Schedule a one-on-one YouTube channel consultation with us here: https://videocreators.com/consulting New audience metrics in YouTube Analytics: https://youtu.be/PW1lgRYjfWQ

The normal approach for most creators making educational content on YouTube is to just straight up teach the content. Provide the cold, hard facts and wrap up the video. After all, years of experience in the modern educational system have taught us to deliver information void of emotion, feelings, and sometimes even context. While there is still certainly a place on YouTube for tutorials and educational content that delivers information in that way, there's another approach to education that, when done well, many people don't even notice that it's actually education. That's because the education is wrapped up in a story that captures the viewer's attention, holds their attention, and actually makes them feel something. It gets the viewer's heart involved and, before long, causes them to even build a perceived relationship with the educator. Those are the channels that often find the most success on social media platforms like YouTube. Justin Rhodes is a great example of this. As a homesteading channel, if his videos were strictly about how to raise chickens and plant a garden, he'd have some success, but he'd be at a much higher risk of blending in with literally thousands of other videos that essentially say the same thing as his videos. Instead, Justin has quickly risen above the competition by wrapping engaging and heart-felt stories around the education he provides and, as a result, has grown a successful business that now supports his family and a small team. In this episode, Justin will share his process for how he takes what most people would turn into a normal tutorial or educational video and instead wraps a story around it that captures not only your attention, but your heart, too, which more quickly converts viewers into subscribers, subscribers into fans, and fans into customers. Check out Justin's channel here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCOSGEokQQcdAVFuL_Aq8dlg

It’s one thing to have a channel with a big subscriber number, but it’s another to have a thriving community of people surrounding the channel. People that, if you didn’t show up to post would be DM’ing you to see if you’re okay. People that comment on every video and defend you to the haters. People that even PAY you.    The problem is that we see community as something we build. Something that if we post consistently and ask people to comment, that’s all it takes. But, community is not built - it’s earned. We’re not here to lay the right tactical bricks so people sit in our house, it’s our job to foster a culture that allows them to lay the bricks alongside us.    Today we’re going deep into how you can start to build a thriving community that serves your channel, your business, and each other.   CREATOR SPOTLIGHT: Mike and Erin of, "Our Wyoming Life," are a perfect example of what a strong, online, earned community looks like. Check out their channel here: https://www.youtube.com/c/OurWyomingLife/featured   SCHEDULE A PRIVATE YOUTUBE CONSULTATION WITH US: videocreators.com/consulting

Many creators feel frustrated when they don't understand why some videos take off and others fall flat. Or why one thing on their channel is working well, but everything else isn't. Or when the thing that used to work no longer is. Is it possible that there's a process, or even a formula, that any creator can follow and get predictable results?   There is. Derral Eves has been actively growing YouTube channels for years. In fact, he's behind over 70 billion views on YouTube. He recently wrote a book called, "The YouTube Formula," where he breaks down everything he's learned about growing channels and millions of views and subscribers.   In this episode, he introduces us to the YouTube Formula and provides insights into the mistakes that often hold creators back as well as the things they should be doing, but often aren't. Take this information, implement it, and watch your channel grow!   GET DERRAL'S BOOK HERE: https://ytformula.com CHECK OUT DERRAL'S CHANNEL HERE: https://www.youtube.com/derraleves

When creators get started on YouTube, it can be very exciting at first -- you have fresh expectations and are looking forward to the potential. However, it doesn't take very long before you start to feel like the YouTube creator life is really not all it's cracked out to be -- especially if you are working a full-time job, have kids, or are a business owner.   How are we supposed to work a full-time job AND have a family AND eat healthy AND workout AND implement new YouTube strategies AND get our videos out on time?   We're going to talk about the 5 time management mistakes that most creators make AND how to fix them.   CREATOR SPOTLIGHT: Check out Oscar's channel, "Inside The Score," here https://www.youtube.com/c/InsidetheScore/featured   DOWNLOAD "PRODUCT TO PROFIT" HERE: https://videocreators.com/product-to-profit/

When the things you always used to do to grow your channel no longer produce the same results, it's time for another approach. Today we discuss three questions you should wrestle with when trying to figure out how to move forward. These aren't easy questions to answer but should provide clarity, focus, and direction that will help you ultimately spark new growth on your YouTube channel and the business that surrounds it.   CREATOR SPOTLIGHT Check out Brad's channel, Fix This Build That, right here: https://www.youtube.com/fixthisbuildthat   REGISTER FOR VIDEO LABS: Join us in our 8-week channel growth process that shows you how the algorithm works, how to rank on home, suggested, and search traffic, and how to create videos that utilize storytelling skills to capture and hold your audience's attention. It's limited to only 20 creators per session, so register today at videocreators.com/videolabs   POWER TIP: Click here to learn more about setting up Studio Permissions for brand accounts on YouTube: https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/9367690

We often work with YouTube creators who are frustrated with their channel because they can't seem to predict what's going to help them grow and want's not. Why do some videos perform well while others fall flat? Why do their views seemed to be capped no matter what they try? Today we'll give you 7 ideas for how you can stabilize your channel growth so it's more consistent as you move forward with your content strategy.   CREATOR SPOTLIGHT Check out Scott Mansell of Driver61 here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtbLA0YM6EpwUQhFUyPQU9Q   CONSULTING: Book a private YouTube consultation with our team here: https://videocreators.com/consulting   LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE: Check out, "Primal Branding." https://amzn.to/37r8FFn 5 ways to use stakes in your stories to grip your audience's attention: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/5-ways-to-use-stakes-in-your-stories-to-grip-your-viewers/id1073455415?i=1000501196325Blur faces or a custom area of a video: https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/9057652

Today we focus our conversation on how to launch an online course to your YouTube audience. We've done it here several times at Video Creators, sometimes successfully, sometimes not.   About a year ago we started working with Wade Alters who specializes in course publishing for YouTube creators. He and his team have a process that they use with YouTube creators that have led to millions of dollars in course sales. His process certainly worked for us! And today he's going to share with you what the process looks like so you can experience similar results with your next online course launch.   CREATOR SPOTLIGHT: Bulk Reef Supply was stuck at about a half million views per month, but after working through our YouTube growth process, they quickly saw that grow to almost 1.5 million views per month. Today they share some of the main tactics they implemented that resulted in tripling their views. Check out their channel here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCcJv2rQDivg8NwXIxydJ86A   SCHEDULE A ONE-ON-ONE YOUTUBE CONSULTATION: We'd love to dive into your channel with you for an hour and give you the insights you need that will unlock your growth potential. Schedule a consultation with us here: https://videocreators.com/consulting   WORK WITH WADE: Learn more about how Wade can help you create and launch your next online course here: https://www.wadealters.com/

Google is always tweaking their search algorithms. In fact, they're making changes to it every single day. But last month they rolled out a big core update that was clearly noticeable, which they tend to do several times a year.   December's core update impacted a lot of websites and, while we won't get into all the details of what that looks like on the website, it paints a picture for us of where YouTube's search and discovery systems are headed in 2021.   Today we want to dive into what that is, what we can learn from it, and what we need to focus on as creators in 2021 if we want YouTube's improving algorithms to continually surface our videos to the right viewer at the right time.   CREATOR SPOTLIGHT: Check out Annie Long's YouTube channel at https://www.youtube.com/c/AnnieLong/   SCHEDULE A ONE-ON-ONE YOUTUBE CONSULTATION: We'd love to dive into your channel with you for an hour and give you the insights you need that will unlock your growth potential. Schedule a consultation with us here: https://videocreators.com/consulting   In this episode, we mentioned Google's insights into what you should consider when creating quality content that ranks well across their platform. Here's the link to their full post: https://developers.google.com/search/blog/2019/08/core-updates

A lot has happened on YouTube this past year! The platform is constantly changing, updating, adding new features, taking old ones away, tweaking algorithms, not to mention all the different trends that are being created! Today we summarize the biggest changes that happened this year on YouTube and talk about how those changes impact our channel growth strategies next year.   REGISTER FOR VIDEO LABS: Let's dive into your channel together for 8 weeks in Video Labs and work through a process that hundreds of creators have used to unlock growth on their channel. Register here: https://videocreators.com/videolabs   CREATOR SPOTLIGHT: Scott Mansell grew from almost a new channel to 350k subscribers and 6 million views per month in 1 year. He shares what he did to accomplish that. https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCtbLA0YM6EpwUQhFUyPQU9Q

This year we worked with over 650 YouTube creators as clients, helping them with their YouTube strategy. From everything we learned this year by working with these creators, today we share the top lessons we've learned about YouTube growth, strategy, and tactics that you will take forward into 2021 with you for your own successful YouTube channel strategy.   REGISTER FOR VIDEO LABS: Let's dive into your channel together for 8 weeks in Video Labs and work through a process that hundreds of creators have used to unlock growth on their channel. Register here: https://videocreators.com/videolabs   PRIMAL BRANDING: https://amzn.to/3ajoRur (affiliate)   CREATOR SPOTLIGHT: Brad surpassed 1 million subscribers with his woodworking tutorials that combine storytelling elements in them. He shares what he does to capture and hold a viewer's attention today. Check out his channel, Fix This Build That, here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCHYSw4XKO_q1GaChw5pxa-w

Successful thumbnail designs tend to go in trends. Every few years the trend of what's working and what's not seems to change. Of course, it's important to identify what's currently working and where the trends are going in order to craft thumbnails that entice people to click and keep watching. So today we look at some of the top thumbnail design trends we currently see and identify what you need to do going into 2021 to ensure that people click your videos and watch them.   REGISTER FOR VIDEO LABS: Let's dive into your channel together for 8 weeks in Video Labs and work through a process that hundreds of creators have used to unlock growth on their channel. Register here: https://videocreators.com/videolabs

YouTube's algorithm can feel really complicated sometimes. We spend hours and hours and hours drafting, filming, editing, and posting our videos only for us to upload it and then... crickets. We immediately slip into thinking that maybe there's something wrong with YouTube? Maybe it glitched (again)? But maybe, just maybe, it's not the algorithm. Maybe it's your content. Today we talk about a few reasons why YouTube might not be surfacing your videos to more viewers and what you can do about it.   LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE Spend 8 weeks in a small group with Tim and his team in Video Labs to grow your channel this January. Learn how the algorithm works and how to craft videos that people love, watch, and keep watching. https://videocreators.com/video-labs/

Creating an emotional connection with your viewers is one of the best ways to get them to watch more, boost watch time, get them to watch more videos, subscribe, and keep coming back for more. Crafting your videos around a story is one of the best ways to do that, but it's a difficult skill to learn. Many people think they are telling a story, but no one really ends up caring about it because there's no stakes. There's not a reason to care about the character nor what they want nor if they even end up getting what they want.   In today's episode we talk about 5 ways that you can raise the stakes in your story to make your videos more interesting and better engage your audience.   CREATOR SPOTLIGHT: Paula doesn't have a huge channel, but you don't need a large channel to grow a successful business. People think that a bigger audience equals more money, but that's not necessarily true. She'll tell you a bit about her story here with Lennon. Check out her channel here: https://www.youtube.com/user/CanineCountryAcademy   JOIN VIDEO LABS: Video Labs is a step-by-step program specifically designed to help you build a highly engaged YouTube channel in 8 short weeks. Our next session starts in January, so register here to work with us through our proven YouTube growth process: https://videocreators.com/video-labs/

Having a YouTube channel is a ton of fun, but a TON of hard work, critical thinking, and creativity. And especially if you're in a place of trying to implement new strategies, it can all become very daunting and kick your motivation and energy right in the butt.   LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE: Spend 8 weeks in a small group with Tim and his team in Video Labs to grow your channel this January: https://videocreators.com/video-labs/ Learn more about finding your "why." https://www.developgoodhabits.com/your-why/

Black Friday is coming up soon! If you create and sell your own products on your channel, this can be a great time to increase sales as well as get new customers for future promotions. Today we'll talk through some ideas of how to incorporate your YouTube channel into that sales process next week, how to structure a sales video, follow-up, and more so you can better monetize and serve the audience you've built on YouTube.   CREATOR SPOTLIGHT: Craig Palsson of Market Power shows us that you can still definitely grow a channel in a very small, specific niche. Not every market on YouTube has the same amount of potential audience, but there is an audience for every channel if you follow the advice that Craig shares in today's podcast. Check out his channel here: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC9a_V7YbGGmWphAzk8_4LFQ   LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE Download our free guide, "Product to Profit:" https://videocreators.com/product-to-profit/ The 5 Sales Tactics I Used to Earn over $1 Million on YouTube [Ep. #229]: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/5-sales-tactics-i-used-to-earn-over-%241-million-on-youtube/id1073455415?i=1000487784418 Sell on YouTube Without Being Sleazy (and other business questions) [Ep. #228] https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/sell-on-youtube-without-being-sleazy-other-business/id1073455415?i=1000487298945 QUOTE OF THE WEEK: "An entrepreneur is someone who jumps off a cliff and builds a plane on the way down." -- Reid Hoffman

Being a YouTube creator can get, well, really messy really fast, especially if you’re here learning about all the new strategies that you should be incorporating into your content. It feels like there's so much to do, so many things to remember, and so many tips you have to get right if you really want to get views on your videos. If one of the tips falls through the cracks, then your video doesn't perform as well as it could've.   Because our brains can only remember so much, today we'll discuss some tools, systems, and tips that you can set you up to succeed with every video you plan and publish.   CREATOR SPOTLIGHT Jamesons Travels: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UC-N44TadAniwC7v8Zj858nQ He’s a former US Marine and he talks about military history, sharing his perspective and opinion on it, often adding commentary to other military documentaries, assumptions, and facts.   Today he shares the main things he did on his channel to grow from 100,00 to 14 million views per month in only 5 months.   Register for, "30 Days to a Better YouTube Channel," and start optimizing your channel for growth today! https://videocreators.com/30days   LINKS MENTIONED ClickUp: http://videocreators.com/clickup Their free tool is great! You can upgrade to their unlimited plan for $5/month. Storytelling tips for YouTube creators: https://www.youtube.com/playlist?list=PLvxDZJe1lbabanT9n59CUDaTYIuT_cwpp

Any successful creative or business endeavor requires hustle in order to succeed. Yet, as Tim is personally experiencing, that hustle can become unhealthy over time and leave you in a pretty bad place. So today we'll discuss Lennon's HUSTLE definition, which provides a healthier framework for evaluating our own work, both creatively and inside our business and helps ensure that life remains more balanced. CREATOR SPOTLIGHT: Carlos Devis grew his channel from 40,000 subscribers to 250,000 subscribers in less than a year. He shares the main things that contributed to his growth in this episode. Check out his channel here: https://www.youtube.com/c/carlosdevis/ Schedule a consultation with Tim or another YouTube strategist on the Video Creators team to work on next steps for growing your channel and business: https://videocreators.com/consulting Leave your comments on our post here: https://videocreators.com/reclaiming-the-hustle-mentality

Today I'm talking about a system that I often use with clients when they're curious about how they can create more content around a certain topic or product. This system is incredibly simple once you know who you're talking to, and what they need, so get your pencil out and take some notes! Want to book a consult with me or another member of the team so we can deep dive into these tactics with your channel? Click here - https://videocreators.com/youtube-certified-consultant/ Leave your comments on our post here: https://videocreators.com/turn-one-good-video-idea-into-30-awesome-ideas-without-using-google