Daft Punk
Junior Member
- Mar 5, 2021
- 187
- 98
Firstly, I'm writing up this short guide for people who are creating content that isn't automatically generated or that you outsource although it might help in those categories as well.
If you go to a subreddit like r/letsplay you'll find lots of creators who have been at it for years and in some cases with hundreds of videos and barely 1-2k subs if EVEN that.
The reason why most people fail in niches like gaming is because there's almost no incentive for someone to view your video over another creator who is an already established figure.
Now you might be thinking, "If that's the case, then it's hopeless to start a channel now" and my answer to this would be yes and no.
It's indeed extremely difficult to start a channel in any competitive niche and succeed immediately but there is one proven solution to tackling this issue.
1. Create content in a sub niche of the main niche or a less competitive niche that is somehow related to the original niche.
This might be obvious to some of you, but I see so many creators attempting to immediately become the next PewDiePie or whoever is the leading figure in their category and they almost always fail.
The facts are that you you most likely, in the vast majority of cases don't have the skills, talent, connections or luck to break out immediately.
What you need to do is be the best in a less competitive field and then move your viewers / community to your new field over time.
My case study:
About a year ago, I wanted to make gaming content but I figured out quickly that it would be difficult to stick out and grow quickly in such a saturated niche. So I started a channel in the animation niche.
I had previous experience with 3d animation and I was making high quality content that had great CTR and engagement - at the same time I was making the animations on certain games and creators.
This was because I was building my community so that I could eventually pivot to my primary niche over time. The reason why building the right kind of audience from the start is important is obvious.
If you garner the wrong kind of subscribers, when you try to make new content the CTR will drop and so will the engagement; therefore, your video will not be suggested by YouTube and it will fail.
After reaching 10k subscribers, I started making the occasional non animated video playing the games that I had prioritized. The audience was built correctly so the CTR was good and so was the engagement.
I started making more and more gaming videos and for the most part they all started performing well, because I had built an audience and given them incentive to view my videos.
General tips:
Short videos (not shorts) are good for starting out your channel because the higher retention will make YouTube more likely to recommend it.
Search engine optimization should not be the main priority, instead you should be focused on making the best possible "trending" content in your niche.
I have not used any SMM panels and I don't intend to, I believe they might be helpful in certain scenarios but I would recommend you use some kind of social media promotion (Facebook, Twitter, Reddit).
If your content isn't clicking in the first 1 or 2 months, it's probably never going to. I know this might sound harsh and there are certain outliers, but in the vast majority of cases there is an issue with your content
and you need to either improve it or change your niche entirely. Every successful channel I've started has found a decently sized audience (1k+) within the first 2 months (5 channels).
Focus on building a close knit community (Discord server etc.) and make good use of the community tab once you reach 1k.
Post frequently and consistently; don't give up if your first 6 or 7 videos don't immediately get views; you only need one video to go viral for your entire channel to get boosted.
Focus on the winners, make similar content to what worked previously.
Some inspiration (I hope):
An average video:
If you go to a subreddit like r/letsplay you'll find lots of creators who have been at it for years and in some cases with hundreds of videos and barely 1-2k subs if EVEN that.
The reason why most people fail in niches like gaming is because there's almost no incentive for someone to view your video over another creator who is an already established figure.
Now you might be thinking, "If that's the case, then it's hopeless to start a channel now" and my answer to this would be yes and no.
It's indeed extremely difficult to start a channel in any competitive niche and succeed immediately but there is one proven solution to tackling this issue.
1. Create content in a sub niche of the main niche or a less competitive niche that is somehow related to the original niche.
This might be obvious to some of you, but I see so many creators attempting to immediately become the next PewDiePie or whoever is the leading figure in their category and they almost always fail.
The facts are that you you most likely, in the vast majority of cases don't have the skills, talent, connections or luck to break out immediately.
What you need to do is be the best in a less competitive field and then move your viewers / community to your new field over time.
My case study:
About a year ago, I wanted to make gaming content but I figured out quickly that it would be difficult to stick out and grow quickly in such a saturated niche. So I started a channel in the animation niche.
I had previous experience with 3d animation and I was making high quality content that had great CTR and engagement - at the same time I was making the animations on certain games and creators.
This was because I was building my community so that I could eventually pivot to my primary niche over time. The reason why building the right kind of audience from the start is important is obvious.
If you garner the wrong kind of subscribers, when you try to make new content the CTR will drop and so will the engagement; therefore, your video will not be suggested by YouTube and it will fail.
After reaching 10k subscribers, I started making the occasional non animated video playing the games that I had prioritized. The audience was built correctly so the CTR was good and so was the engagement.
I started making more and more gaming videos and for the most part they all started performing well, because I had built an audience and given them incentive to view my videos.
General tips:
Short videos (not shorts) are good for starting out your channel because the higher retention will make YouTube more likely to recommend it.
Search engine optimization should not be the main priority, instead you should be focused on making the best possible "trending" content in your niche.
I have not used any SMM panels and I don't intend to, I believe they might be helpful in certain scenarios but I would recommend you use some kind of social media promotion (Facebook, Twitter, Reddit).
If your content isn't clicking in the first 1 or 2 months, it's probably never going to. I know this might sound harsh and there are certain outliers, but in the vast majority of cases there is an issue with your content
and you need to either improve it or change your niche entirely. Every successful channel I've started has found a decently sized audience (1k+) within the first 2 months (5 channels).
Focus on building a close knit community (Discord server etc.) and make good use of the community tab once you reach 1k.
Post frequently and consistently; don't give up if your first 6 or 7 videos don't immediately get views; you only need one video to go viral for your entire channel to get boosted.
Focus on the winners, make similar content to what worked previously.
Some inspiration (I hope):
An average video:
