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When I was starting my business and growing my channel, I quickly felt overwhelmed with how much work there was to do: email, shooting, editing, publishing, social engagement, creating products, writing sales pages, and more. I was reluctant to hire a virtual assistant because of the money and the time it would cost. But after I did it, I wished I had done it sooner. I made some initial mistakes at first, but was then able to start working on my business again instead of being stuck working in the business. Today we talk about some of my mistakes and how I find and train people today for my team in a way that enables us to move forward and take new ground as a business. And we'll do that by talking with my most recent hire, Katlyn, who is now my executive assistant. CREATOR SPOTLIGHT:  Check out Matthew Ferrell's channel, "Undecided," here: https://www.youtube.com/undecidedmf BOOK A YOUTUBE CONSULTATION: If you'd like us to sit down, look at your channel, and provide next steps for how you can move forward, schedule a consultation here: https://videocreators.com/consulting POWER TIP: You can now see which videos are growing your audience on the Audience tab in YouTube Analytics. This can help you understand your new audience growth. More info here: https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/9314416 LEAVE A VOICE MESSAGE: Have comments, reactions, questions, a YouTube tip to share, or just want to say hi? Leave a voice message for us and we may use it in an upcoming podcast episode. https://www.speakpipe.com/videocreators JOIN THE POD SQUAD AFTER-PARTY IN VOLLEY: We love answering questions, hearing your feedback, and discussing each podcast episode with you and hundreds of other creators in our video chat Volley space. Join us here: https://videocreators.com/podsquad

Asking for subscribers in order to grow your subscriber count is such a common practice in the world of YouTube. But, what if this practice is actually hurting your channel? Let's talk about that. CREATOR SPOTLIGHT:  Mike Greiner - The Democratic Activist Mike's Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/Democraticactivist Join our YouTube coaching program, Video Labs to grow your channel like Mike did: https://videocreators.com/video-labs Primal Branding book by Patrick Hanlon: https://amzn.to/3wfIA94 (affiliate) POWER TIP: From Creator Hooks: "Talking about why something is NOT working is a lot more interesting than talking about something that does work. [Example:] Give 10 reasons for why a popular tool or technique isn’t working for your audience." Signup for the Creator Hooks newsletter here: https://go.creatorhooks.com/signup JOIN THE POD SQUAD AFTER-PARTY IN VOLLEY: We love answering questions, hearing your feedback, and discussing each podcast episode with you and hundreds of other creators in our video chat Volley space. Join us here: https://videocreators.com/podsquad LEAVE A VOICE MESSAGE: Have comments, reactions, questions, a YouTube tip to share, or just want to say hi? Leave a voice message for us and we may use it in an upcoming podcast episode. https://www.speakpipe.com/videocreators

If you're growing your YouTube Channel to grow your business, THIS is the episode for you. Tara Simon has 800,000 subscribers and in this episode, we talk about how she got there and how she now brings 90% of her business in through her YouTube Channel. Enjoy the episode! Tara's Channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/Tarasimonstudios/ VIDEO LABS: Work with us for 8 weeks to grow your channel in our coaching program! Learn how the YouTube algorithm works, how to leverage it for more views from the home page, suggested videos, and search results. We'll also show you how to make videos that perform better on YouTube and how to use your analytics to spot further opportunities for growth. Register here: https://videocreators.com/video-labs/ LEAVE A VOICE MESSAGE: Have comments, reactions, questions, a YouTube tip to share, or just want to say hi? Leave a voice message for us and we may use it in an upcoming podcast episode. https://www.speakpipe.com/videocreators

Getting good content out regularly often comes down to one thing: ditching perfectionism to focus on human connection. Let's get real and talk about that. CHAPTERS 0:00 | Who we are at Video Creators 0:49 | Welcome to the podcast! 1:55 | Team catchup 6:20 | Creator Spotlight 23:28 | How to take your channel to the next level 24:40 | How to avoid “analysis paralysis” 28:24 | The two different work styles 35:08 | A message for perfectionists 38:53 | Why raw content works better 41:00 | The importance of making your viewer feel something 44:48 | Every video doesn’t need to be the best video ever 47:45 | Power Tip ⚡️ CREATOR SPOTLIGHT Mike Carter - Mike's Office Channel URL: https://www.youtube.com/c/MikesOffice If you're looking for the same educational and community-oriented environment  to take your channel to the next level, check out Video Labs: https://videocreators.com/video-labs POWER TIP YouTube is optimizing more for podcasts. If you're struggling to keep up with all of the engaging editing, podcasts can be more lax, so if you've been thinking about starting a podcast anyways or are looking for a more lax version of content, you might consider doing podcasting on YouTube:  Uploading a podcast to YouTube - https://castos.com/upload-a-podcast-to-youtube/ Should you upload your podcast to YouTube? - https://youtu.be/ikf3JCUgrz0

While we love most of the updates YouTube is rolling out lately, some of them have us scratching our heads while others just downright annoy us. Either way, the updates help us understand the direction YouTube is taking as a platform and what their goals are so we can make better videos that align with their goals and see better performance than they otherwise would. Today four of the YouTube strategists on the Video Creators team sat down and reacted to many of the updates YouTube has announced and started rolling out while we also discuss what it means for us as creators who are growing our audiences here. CREATOR SPOTLIGHT: Check out Hannah's channel at https://www.youtube.com/c/WifeWithoutKids VIDEO LABS: Work with us for 8 weeks to grow your channel in our coaching program! Learn how the YouTube algorithm works, how to leverage it for more views from the home page, suggested videos, and search results. We'll also show you how to make videos that perform better on YouTube and how to use your analytics to spot further opportunities for growth. Register here: https://videocreators.com/video-labs/ UPDATES MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE 1. Picture-in-Picture: https://gizmodo.com/youtube-releases-picture-in-picture-mode-on-ios-1848778408 2. Google Multisearch: https://blog.google/products/search/multisearch/ 3. A.I. content is spam: https://thenextweb.com/news/google-says-it-classifies-ai-generated-content-as-spam 4. New way to create and watch YouTube Shorts: https://support.google.com/youtube/thread/159877972/new-ways-to-create-and-watch-shorts?hl=en 5. Add a subtitle editor to your channel: https://www.peggyktc.com/2020/01/add-youtube-manager-editor-data-viewer.html 6. New search insights for your audience: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jbkC3jaflww 7. Set channel guidelines: https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/11895180?hl=en 8. No more option to sort oldest to newest: https://www.tubefilter.com/2022/04/08/youtube-creator-insider-search-filters-timed-reactions/ 9. Timed comments, and now timed reactions: https://www.tubefilter.com/2022/03/30/youtube-timed-reactions-comments-test/ POWER TIP: I use keyboard shortcuts all the time on YouTube to quickly navigate videos. Here's the full list of them: https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/7631406?hl=en LEAVE A VOICE MESSAGE: Have comments, reactions, questions, a YouTube tip to share, or just want to say hi? Leave a voice message for us and we may use it in an upcoming podcast episode. https://www.speakpipe.com/videocreators

As the creator economy continues to grow, so do brand deals. But brand deals are different today than they were 5 years ago. How have they changed? What do brands look for now that's different than what they were looking for 5 years ago? Has the opportunity for creators to make money with brand deals grown with time or declined because of more competition? Today D'Laina and I talk with Jonathan Katz, a YouTube lawyer in this industry who sees a lot of these deals coming across his desk all the time. He shares his perspective on how the state of brand deals on YouTube has evolved over the past 5 years to what it looks like now for us today. CONNECT WITH JONATHAN KATZ: Website: https://jskatz.com  Email: jonathan@jskatz.com LEAVE A VOICE MESSAGE: Have comments, reactions, questions, a YouTube tip to share, or just want to say hi? Leave a voice message for us and we may use it in an upcoming podcast episode. https://www.speakpipe.com/videocreators

Brand deals and sponsorships are a great way to make money for your channel, even if you already have a business around it of your own products and services. When you're not in the middle of launching your own next course or promotion, you can leverage the down time to do brand deals, make more money, and introduce your audience to products that are useful for them. Today I talk with Justin Moore about his experience in working with brands. He shares his process for reaching out to brands, pricing, and making money with sponsorships on YouTube, Instagram, and even TikTok. 14 BRAND DEAL SECRETS: Enroll in the newest course in the Video Creators Academy for FREE! Justin and I collaborated on it to create a course that dives into the 14 biggest topics surrounding profitable brand deals and sponsorships for your YouTube channel: https://videocreators.com/vc-academy/ JUSTIN'S EMAIL NEWSLETTER: Sign up to get brand deal opportunties sent to your Inbox! https://creatorwizard.com/join BRAND DEAL WIZARD COURSE: Check out Justin's 4 week cohort experience for better leveraging brand deals for your YouTube channel: https://branddealwizard.com/ LEAVE A VOICE MESSAGE: Have comments, reactions, questions, a YouTube tip to share, or just want to say hi? Leave a voice message for us and we may use it in an upcoming podcast episode. https://www.speakpipe.com/videocreators

We all know that enticing titles are critical for the success of a YouTube video, but do we know what principles to follow that actually lead to more clickable titles? Today we interview Jake Thomas of Creator Hooks who breaks down why certain titles work, why others don't, and the three principles we need to consider when crafting our own video titles. CREATOR SPOTLIGHT: Check out Neil's channel here: https://www.youtube.com/c/RealTerrainHobbies YOUTUBE CONSULTING: Schedule a one hour YouTube channel consultation with us! We'll look at your channel ahead of time, prepare notes, and come ready to give you the next steps you need to take to unlock growth on your channel. Book your session here: https://videocreators.com/consulting REGISTER FOR CREATOR HOOKS: Sign up to get Jake's weekly email newsletter where he breaks down titles and thumbnails that are working on YouTube today: https://go.creatorhooks.com/signup LEAVE A VOICE MESSAGE: Have comments, reactions, questions, a YouTube tip to share, or just want to say hi? Leave a voice message for us and we may use it in an upcoming podcast episode. https://www.speakpipe.com/videocreators

Hello, Creator! We're coming at you with a new podcast episode today. I recently got to go to the Social Media Marketing World conference and hang out with a creator friend of mine - Brian G. Johnson! Brian also teaches creators how to grow their YouTube channels and businesses online and it was great to get to connect with him. I asked Brian a little bit about his growth process because the strategies that get you to 10,000 subscribers aren't the same strategies that get you to 100,000.  Here's what Brian had to say. VIDEO LABS: We'd love to coach you through our advanced YouTube growth training! It's like having a YouTube strategist in your pocket! Register for Video Labs here: https://videocreators.com/video-labs/ VOLLEY FOR CREATORS: Join me and several hundred other creators in the, "Volley for Creators," space here and let's talk! https://hi.volley.app/land?tk=9xhm23nEKPiMXMW3ZsSRks-tk LEAVE A VOICE MESSAGE: Have comments, reactions, questions, a YouTube tip to share, or just want to say hi? Leave a voice message for us and we may use it in an upcoming podcast episode. https://www.speakpipe.com/videocreators

There's a few big differences between YouTube channels and businesses that reach 100k subscribers and annual revenue and those who reach a million subscribers an annual revenue. Today we'll dive into one of those growth factors and discuss what it means for us practically as creators. Reply to this video and join hundreds of other creators in the, "Volley for Creators," space on Volley! https://hi.volley.app/land?tk=uMkm0PsNeAXxMbTtHLK3wD-tk CHAPTERS 0:00 Branded Intro 0:49 Topic intro 7:11 Topic starts 18:25 Topic wrap-up YOUTUBE CONSULTING: Book a 1 hour call YouTube channel consultation with us: https://videocreators.com/consulting LEAVE A VOICE MESSAGE: Have comments, reactions, questions, a YouTube tip to share, or just want to say hi? Leave a voice message for us and we may use it in an upcoming podcast episode. https://www.speakpipe.com/videocreators

We're all busy and there's a LOT of information out there about social media strategies. I mean, how many podcast episodes and YouTube videos do we have on this stuff? Too many, probably. So, how would someone like yourself just cut straight to what you actually need to know to grow on YouTube in 2022? Well, I want to share with you what those 5 things are. 0:00 | Podcast Intro 0:49 | Welcome to the podcast! 1:51 | Quick team catch up (there’s a good story in this one!) 8:21 | Creator Spotlight 15:04 | What we LOVE seeing in creators & what to do when you’re stuck 17:07 | The first strategy: titles & thumbnails 21:42 | The second strategy: let your thumbnail inform your title 26:27 | The third strategy: It’s ALL about the AI 34:32 | The fourth strategy: storytelling 41:42 | The fifth strategy: focus on keeping viewers on platform 49:45 | Power Tip CREATOR SPOTLIGHT - Julien Klepatch - EatTheBlock channel: https://youtube.com/c/EatTheBlocks Book a 1 hour call with us: videocreators.com/consulting YouTube's AI: https://cloud.google.com/video-intelligence POWER TIP - TIKTOK style LIVE rings on YouTube now:https://www.theverge.com/2022/2/21/22944111/youtube-live-rings-tiktok-instagram LEAVE A VOICE MESSAGE: Have comments, reactions, questions, a YouTube tip to share, or just want to say hi? Leave a voice message for us and we may use it in an upcoming podcast episode. https://www.speakpipe.com/videocreators

This episode highlights some of questions you all have sent us recently via voicemail. We discuss the ideal video length for YouTube videos. Do 10 minute videos perform better than 2 minute videos? And what kind of impact do video chapters have on how a video performs and is optimized for YouTube? We also discuss if it's still necessary to ask people to, "Like, Comment, and Subscribe," and much more. CHAPTERS 0:00: Podcast Intro 0:49: Welcome to the Podcast! 3:00: Team catch up 7:04: Creator spotlight 10:20: An exciting announcement  12:51: What length of videos does YouTube prefer? 20:16: Should you use Chapters in your video? 27:03: Should you ask people to subscribe — especially if you’re under 1K? 33:07: A kind message from one of our subscribers 38:21: Power Tip ⚡️ CREATOR SPOTLIGHT Caroline Beck of, "Mediterranean Minutes," https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCbem7mZCzat_gZmB532XoBQ VIDEO LABS: We'd love to coach you through our advanced YouTube growth training! It's like having a YouTube strategist in your pocket! Register for Video Labs here: https://videocreators.com/video-labs/ VOLLEY FOR CREATORS: Join me and several hundred other creators in the, "Volley for Creators," space here and let's talk! https://hi.volley.app/land?tk=9xhm23nEKPiMXMW3ZsSRks-tk Listen to the episode, "What we learned from launching and shutting down 5 paid membership programs" Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/what-we-learned-from-launching-and-shutting-down-5/id1073455415?i=1000548102114 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/5cMjA4unYrxkFYVE4Hl162 YouTube: https://youtu.be/9YBFcny2KB4 LEAVE A VOICE MESSAGE: Have comments, reactions, questions, a YouTube tip to share, or just want to say hi? Leave a voice message for us and we may use it in an upcoming podcast episode. https://www.speakpipe.com/videocreators

If you've poked your head into your YouTube analytics, then you know that it can be an overwhelming place to spend your time. On top of that, you've got a bunch of YouTube experts telling you what matters the most to YouTube - maybe you've heard that all YouTube cares about is watch time, or maybe you've heard that you need to get more people like & subscribe from your video in order to grow faster, or maybe you've even heard that your title & thumbnail make or break your channel so all you need to pay attention to is your impressions click-through rate to grow more. So, I want to help you narrow down what metrics you can totally disregard (and what to pay attention to instead), despite what the rumors may say. 0:00: Welcome to the Podcast! 0:48: Intro — meet D’Laina 4:14: Creator Spotlight 19:16: Why speaking to one is more effective than to everyone 21:13: Metrics you shouldn’t glorify 23:29: Metric 1: Watch time 29:36: What to look at instead of JUST watch time 32:52: Metric 2: When your viewers are on YouTube 35:42: What to do instead 36:28: Metric 3: Your video’s overall performance 45:16: What we’ve seen & what we recommend focusing on instead 48:59: Power Tip ⚡️ Creator's Name: Jessica Freeman Creator's channel URL: https://www.youtube.com/c/JessicaFreeman818 Book a 1 hour video call with us: videocreators.com/consulting Video D'Laina mentioned about thumbnails & clickbait: https://youtu.be/S2xHZPH5Sng POWER TIP Using the Trim tool to improve your audience retention after posting the video. https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/9057455?hl=en&ref_topic=9257785  

When you first start your YouTube channel and your business, you're all excited to jump in! You have a great vision of what the future is going to look like: freedom, independence, spreading your message, changing people's lives, doing something you're passionate about, etc! And then you start making money and achieve the thing you set out to accomplish. But soon you find that the excitement gives way to a grind. It's a hustle mentality that you can't sustain at the same pace going forward into the future. You want to slow down, but you can't. The business requires too much from you. You feel stuck and disillusioned because the the life you thought your YouTube channel and business would provide ends up providing the same experience you had when working a 9-5. In this episode we're going to talk with the guys who own the financial advisory firm Tim Schmoyer uses. It's not who you'd normally think of when it comes to solving this problem of grinding, burnout, building a business around your passion, and getting unstuck from it all, but it'll make sense as we get into this conversation. They know that there's actually 5 efforts that need to work together in order for our personal life, our money, our business, our family, and our work to all align together. In this episode they share what those 5 efforts are so we can ultimately thrive in life and in our business. Check out Mark and Steven's financial advisory firm here: https://www.outpostadvisors.net/ Listen to their podcast, Abraham's Wallet: Apple Podcasts: https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast/abrahams-wallet/id1462593706 Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/show/6xbcf3IhayaoKB4sTegPRw?si=YOSA23r7SDmV3pR7IXMIZw&dl_branch=1 LEAVE A VOICE MESSAGE: Have comments, reactions, questions, a YouTube tip to share, or just want to say hi? Leave a voice message for us and we may use it in an upcoming podcast episode. https://www.speakpipe.com/videocreators

It honestly hurts our hearts to see creators get burnt out because they're spending so time, money, and brain power on tactics & strategies that aren't getting them any closer to where they want to be. So, we want to bring some relief to your YouTube journey by sharing with you the top 5 strategies that are a wasting your time. Number 5 is probably going to throw you through a loop. Life Church channel: https://www.youtube.com/c/lifechurchtv Video Labs: videocreators.com/videolabs How to Make Any Story Interesting: https://youtu.be/NjbmUhKpp7k Using samples from long form content for Shorts content: https://support.google.com/youtube/answer/10623810?hl=en&ref_topic=10343432

The YouTube and Business grind can get HARD... These two things that once felt so invigorating & passionate, can start to feel like more of a job. Why is that? We  discussed exactly that in a private conversation between, and we want to share that with you in hopes to enlighten and encourage your journey through business and YouTube. Enjoy! Every Good Endeavor by Timothy Keller: https://www.amazon.com/Every-Good-Endeavor-Connecting-Your/dp/1594632820/ref=sr_1_1?crid=32ZZMIIU97FCC&keywords=every+good+endeavor+tim+keller&qid=1643851884&sprefix=every+goo%2Caps%2C96&sr=8-1 Making Ideas Happen: https://www.amazon.com/Making-Ideas-Happen-Overcoming-Obstacles/dp/1591844118/ref=sr_1_1?crid=17LK34T5GWQC5&keywords=making+ideas+happen&qid=1643851943&sprefix=making+ideas+happen%2Caps%2C92&sr=8-1

If you feel burned out, stressed out, and overwhelmed with creating a sustainable business around your YouTube channel, that's unfortunately a very common feeling. Most creators think that if they just hire people to do some of their work for them that everything will be solved, but that's not true. The time your team frees up just ends up getting filled with other responsibilities, and that's assuming you even find someone in the first place who's can meet your expectations for quality work. It's hard! Grant Thompson started, The King of Random, and grew it to 6 million subscribers. He hit his max and then learned how to scale everything around his channel. When he passed away in 2019 his channel continued to grow even without him. Today his channel has new hosts and 13 million subscribers. Today I talked with his late wife about what life was like when he was stressed out on his channel, how he broke free from that stress, got back to 5 hour work weeks, and even left behind a channel that grows in his absence. Check out The King of Random on YouTube here: https://www.youtube.com/c/Thekingofrandom SCHEDULE A 1 HOUR YOUTUBE CONSULTATION WITH US: We'll look at your channel prior to our session, analyze it, and come prepared to discuss the next steps you need to implement in order to reach new growth. Book your session with us here: https://videocreators.com/consulting LEAVE A VOICE MESSAGE: Have comments, reactions, questions, a YouTube tip to share, or just want to say hi? Leave a voice message for us and we may use it in an upcoming podcast episode. https://www.speakpipe.com/videocreators

Feeling like your channel is stuck? There's a solution! And it starts with some YouTube Analytics features that we know are the not-so-exciting ones. However, they are vitals parts of YouTube strategy that can answer so many questions you have about your channel. We've got 5 Analytics Features for you to that will help you craft a powerful, effective YouTube Strategy. For a deep dive into some the strategies we discussed in this episode, as well as guidance on how to actually implement a killer YouTube Growth Strategy, then you'll want to check out our next Video Labs session. It opens for enrollment on February 7th. Video Labs: videocreators.com/videolabs LEAVE A VOICE MESSAGE: Have comments, reactions, questions, a YouTube tip to share, or just want to say hi? Leave a voice message for us and we may use it in an upcoming podcast episode. https://www.speakpipe.com/videocreators

Paid membership programs are often promoted as really good, easy revenue for educators and entertainers alike on YouTube, but after launching 5 different paid memberships and doing everything we knew to do in order to grow it, eventually we ended up shutting every one of them down. Why? We just shut down our most recent paid membership effort, called The Growth Network, after a year and a half of giving it everything we had. But through that experience, I think we're getting closer to the thing that's actually going to work. In this episode I share what we tried, what happened, why I think it didn't work, and what we learned from it going forward for our business. Plus, I introduce you to a new platform we're using that's been incredible for our business. JOIN ME IN VOLLEY! And get free access to a mini-course that the co-founder and I put together to help set you up for success in using it to grow your business and your audience at the same time. Click here: https://hi.volley.app/land?tk=UmD8rkwMfnfPbyFunZ7auE-tk (I said I'd be here until the end of January, but we're having so much fun that I'll be hanging out in this Volley space with you until the end of February instead! Come say hi!) LINKS MENTIONED IN THIS EPISODE: Check out our YouTube foundations course, "30 Days to a Better YouTube Channel," here: https://videocreators.com/30days Our new Video Creators Academy free 1 month trial: https://videocreators.com/vc-academy/ To register for the next session of our advanced YouTube group coaching program, Video Labs, go here: https://videocreators.com/video-labs/ To have us create a custom YouTube growth strategy for you that meets your goals, let's start by doing a one-hour consultation first. Sometimes people find they get everything they need from that one hour first and don't end up needing our full, hands-on custom Action Plan. https://videocreators.com/consulting EPISODE CHAPTERS 0:00 Introduction 1:08 I'm not anti-membership 2:29 My first failed membership program 5:21 I tried Patreon instead 7:55 A math exercise for my time and effort 8:44 My most recent membership attempt 14:37 Evaluating what I did wrong 20:59 What the data is leading me to try instead 28:42 The main lessons I learned through all this 30:40 Stumbling across something GREAT for us 33:29 Discovering Volley as a perfect solution 39:53 Trying Volley with our other programs 41:26 Volley directly solves our problems 42:05 Creators who could benefit from Volley 44:03 Get direct access to me in Volley 48:07 Conclusion

As podcasting continues to grow on YouTube, it's a format that many of us can now consider as part of our YouTube strategy. So I sat down with my friend (and neighbor!) to talk about how podcasting works and how we can use it to compliment our YouTube strategy. Cliff shares more about what podcasting is and isn't, how to use it as a video podcast, and ways to use a video podcast on YouTube. LISTEN TO EPISODE 291: https://videocreators.com/breaking-news-youtube-is-developing-a-podcasting-update-ep-291/ CHECK OUT CLIFF'S PODCAST: https://www.cliffravenscraft.com/podcasts/podcast-answer-man LEAVE A VOICE MESSAGE: Have comments, reactions, questions, a YouTube tip to share, or just want to say hi? Leave a voice message for us and we may use it in an upcoming podcast episode. https://www.speakpipe.com/videocreators