[av_heading heading=’#110 The Truth about Starting and Growing a YouTube Channel with Nate from Channel Makers’ tag=’h1′ link_apply=” link=’manually,http://’ link_target=” style=” size=” subheading_active=” subheading_size=’15’ margin=” padding=’10’ color=” custom_font=” custom_class=” admin_preview_bg=” av-desktop-hide=” av-medium-hide=” av-small-hide=” av-mini-hide=” av-medium-font-size-title=” av-small-font-size-title=” av-mini-font-size-title=” av-medium-font-size=” av-small-font-size=” av-mini-font-size=”][/av_heading]
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When you want to learn the intricacies of YouTube, it’s a good idea to turn to an expert like Nate Black. At Channel Makers, he has plenty of free content about growing YouTube channels. And behind the scenes, his business is thriving too.
Nate’s membership site has an ever-growing library of videos and courses. Then, there’s the thriving community of creators from all walks of life who access it. On top of that, he also produces videos and manages YouTube channels for several clients.
All in all, Nate has plenty of wisdom to share when it comes to building a prosperous YouTube channel.
What you’ll learn in this interview:
- Intentional strategies to grow your channel
- Why “good ideas” should be the basis for every video
- The most important metric to watch in analytics
- How to stay motivated to create videos
- Nate’s perspective on YouTube Shorts
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Nate’s story
When Nate Black decided to start a YouTube channel, he had a significant advantage — as an actor, he’d been in thousands of live stage performances and knew how to play to an audience. But, it’s tough to make a decent living as an actor, and Nate always knew that wouldn’t be his long term gig.
After leaving the stage, he moved through various jobs in what he calls the “dark ages.” He bounced from telesales to digital marketing and on to web development. Then, finally, Nate found that he had a passion for teaching.
He began to think seriously about YouTube as a content platform. That became even more attractive when he realised that people could learn and have fun at the same time.
It was an intriguing prospect, and Nate dove right in. Now, he’s a popular podcaster and YouTuber helping others to grow their thriving channels.
Strategies to grow FAST on YouTube
It was no accident that Channel Makers grew from 0 to 25,000 subscribers in its first year. Nate used some specific strategies designed to make his new venture succeed. They include:
Identifying key areas where his videos could improve on most people’s “how to succeed on YouTube” content.
Nate decided to create original, data-focused informational videos using real-life tests and case studies.
He made interesting videos with plenty of variety to make learning fun and memorable.
Then, noticing that YouTubers often stick to the same old thing year after year, he made a conscious decision to keep adding fresh content.
Learning from his clients and community
Nate helps a wide range of YouTubers, from beginners to established channels. That gives him a great deal of data and experience to draw on. When he makes a video or offers an opinion, he can back it up with data from many sites.
“Research! Get to know your industry really well. On YouTube, just watch a million videos — spend a week just bathing yourself in everything going on in your space. Watch for patterns and question why something worked — or why it didn’t.”
Studying the competition.
Nate says it’s crucial to watch what other people are making on YouTube. That way, you’ll get a sense of what’s working and where your USP (unique superpower) lies. But, at the same time, don’t get hung up comparing subscriber numbers or views.
YouTube rewards channel collaborations
The YouTube algorithm looks for connections. That makes it very helpful to collaborate with other channels. In a single video, both channels prove their association to the algorithm. It then features the video to a broader audience.
“Anything you can do to also associate yourself with other similar channels, can be an advantage. Because then you’re piggybacking on the other channels’ audiences as well.”
Nate introduces himself to other YouTubers by taking one of their videos and making a respectful response video.
“What usually happens if I do it right is they’ll reach out. And they’ll say, Hey, I saw your video. What do you think? You know, we open the dialog, and that has turned out to be much more effective than cold outreach.”
“Good videos start with good ideas before anything else.”
A “good idea” is a combination of something that’s appealing to you and your target audience. You’re excited to make the video, and your energy and enthusiasm shine through. But, at the same time, it needs to be something your audience is hungry to watch.
After all, you could make the best videos in the world, but if no one wants to watch them, you’re going to struggle.
Everything else, from scripting to thumbnails, becomes easier to do by starting with a good idea.
How to come up with good ideas for your videos
MrBeast’s manager, Reed Duchscher, says that all that channel’s brilliant ideas “are all in Jimmy’s head.” But, unfortunately, that’s not so helpful for the rest of us, so here are a few more practical solutions.
- Research the competition. As we said earlier, look for videos that are doing well — or not — and examine the reasons behind their performance. After a while, you begin to develop a sense of what a good idea looks like.
- Stop looking at the analytics and make “full effort videos” instead. Your developing skillset will lead to “conscious competence.”
- Don’t aim for a viral video. Instead, aim to make a library of consistently great videos. That way, if one does go viral, new visitors can look around your content. They’ll see more of what they liked in the viral video that drew them in.
- Aim for active subscribers. If someone subscribes but never watches anything else, they weigh your channel down.
- How much interest is there in the topic? There’s no point in making a video that no one wants to watch.
Baseline views are the #1 metric to watch in YouTube Analytics
Many YouTubers judge their channel’s performance on subscriber numbers. However, Nate says that baseline views are a much better indicator of a healthy channel. After all, subscribers may be active — or not!
Views of recent videos tell you the channel’s pulse; how many people are coming to watch many videos there. If it’s high, then you’re doing well with the current audience. But, if it’s low, you need to attract your regular viewers more often or attract a new audience.
Next, dig into what they’re watching, what they love and which videos they ignore. What else could you do to attract new audiences? From an algorithm standpoint, subscriber numbers factor very little. What’s more, YouTube doesn’t automatically show every video you make to everyone who subscribes.
How do you stay motivated to make videos?
Sometimes people feel like they’re always “on” and have to be top of their game. When you’re enjoying yourself, the tone and energy show, and if you hate it, people can tell.
If you’re feeling the grind, try these ideas:
- Pivot and introduce your audience to your new interests.
- Start another YouTube channel
- Automate processes or create habits to preserve your limited amount of motivation.
- Keep up the on-camera energy that inspired your earlier work, even when you hire a team. Mark Roberg’s Science and Engineering channel still feels like it’s just him, even though he has 20 million subscribers.
- Everything eventually becomes work, and you need to find ways to make it more enjoyable and have fun.
- Read “The ONE Thing; The Surprisingly Simple Truth Behind Extraordinary Results” by Gary Keller and Jay Papasan
Should we use YouTube Shorts?
YouTube’s answer to Vine and TikTok is the beta platform YT Shorts. It is a way for anyone to connect with a new audience using just a smartphone and the Shorts camera in the YouTube app.
Nate says you have to be strategic and high quality to succeed as it ramps up to 6.5 billion daily views. Shorts are great for getting attention on your channel. But, then, you need to convert Shorts viewers to watching your longer videos because that’s where you make an income.
Use Shorts when your topic is visually attractive. Then, you can either pop them on your main channel or start a second one just for “shorts.”
If you like being an early adopter, it’s an excellent idea to jump into these new beta opportunities.
“Keep an eye out for the trends and if you’re the type of person who wants to get in on those things, experiment and see what fits both you and your audience.”
Contact Nate Black at Channel Makers
Website:
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