Here’s 23 lessons to succeed on YouTube in 2022 👇
🥊 1. Doing YouTube is hard.
If you get into it cause you think it’ll be easy money, reconsider your options.
You’ll find yourself sacrificing a lot and learning new skills before you actually see any results.
You just need to be patient and ride that wave 🌊
If you get into it cause you think it’ll be easy money, reconsider your options.
You’ll find yourself sacrificing a lot and learning new skills before you actually see any results.
You just need to be patient and ride that wave 🌊
🎨 2. Create, create, create.
Consistency is King.
Forget about trying to find a viral hit when you start out.
Instead, post 1 video per week consistently and your life will change.
Focus on getting better, not bigger. Growth comes over time.
Consistency is King.
Forget about trying to find a viral hit when you start out.
Instead, post 1 video per week consistently and your life will change.
Focus on getting better, not bigger. Growth comes over time.
👑 3. Compounding is Queen.
It took me 2-3 years of creating regular content before things really took off.
For PTYA student @johncoogan, it was his 77th video that really accelerated his growth after having published videos every week for 18 months.
It took me 2-3 years of creating regular content before things really took off.
For PTYA student @johncoogan, it was his 77th video that really accelerated his growth after having published videos every week for 18 months.
@johncoogan 📹 4. Gear doesn’t matter.
If you've got a phone, that's most of the job done.
Getting your first video out is way more important than fancy quality.
I’m a prime example.
You can watch my fearful first YouTube video from 2017 here:
If you've got a phone, that's most of the job done.
Getting your first video out is way more important than fancy quality.
I’m a prime example.
You can watch my fearful first YouTube video from 2017 here:
@johncoogan 🎙️ 5. Prioritise audio.
Have you ever sat through a video with bad audio?
Chances are you raced to turn it off.
So when you do upgrade your gear, prioritise getting a decent mic.
People will sit through crappy video quality, but nobody will listen to bad audio.
Have you ever sat through a video with bad audio?
Chances are you raced to turn it off.
So when you do upgrade your gear, prioritise getting a decent mic.
People will sit through crappy video quality, but nobody will listen to bad audio.
@johncoogan 🤬 6. Block out the haters.
What other people think of you is none of your business.
As long as you’re having fun, that's all that matters.
As Eleanor Roosevelt famously said, “You wouldn't worry so much about what others think of you if you realised how seldom they do.”
What other people think of you is none of your business.
As long as you’re having fun, that's all that matters.
As Eleanor Roosevelt famously said, “You wouldn't worry so much about what others think of you if you realised how seldom they do.”
@johncoogan 🎬 7. Learn to edit.
You'll soon realise there's no way around it.
Editing is just something you’ve got to learn.
For anybody starting out, I’ve got a free course on Skillshare you can take to get you up to speed: skl.sh/32TpEvm
You'll soon realise there's no way around it.
Editing is just something you’ve got to learn.
For anybody starting out, I’ve got a free course on Skillshare you can take to get you up to speed: skl.sh/32TpEvm
@johncoogan 💼 8. Outsource editing quickly.
Knowing how to edit is great but it’s a HUGE time-sink.
Try and outsource editing as soon as possible.
Use sites like:
- Upwork
- PeoplePerHour
- Fiverr
- Clipt.co
I’ve used them all and we're now loving Clipt 🚀
Knowing how to edit is great but it’s a HUGE time-sink.
Try and outsource editing as soon as possible.
Use sites like:
- Upwork
- PeoplePerHour
- Fiverr
- Clipt.co
I’ve used them all and we're now loving Clipt 🚀
@johncoogan 📖 9. Learn to tell stories.
Storytelling is super important.
So much so that I even hired author Matthew Dicks to be my storytelling coach to improve my own skills (his book Storyworthy is incredible)
Storytelling is super important.
So much so that I even hired author Matthew Dicks to be my storytelling coach to improve my own skills (his book Storyworthy is incredible)
@johncoogan 💥 10. Niche down to blow up.
It’s a cliche but it’s true.
If you try to appeal to everyone and cover everything, you’ll appeal to no one and cover nothing (in-depth).
It’s a cliche but it’s true.
If you try to appeal to everyone and cover everything, you’ll appeal to no one and cover nothing (in-depth).
@johncoogan ⛏️ 11. Architect vs Archaeologist.
There are two ways to find a niche.
Here’s a thread I wrote on the difference👇🏼
There are two ways to find a niche.
Here’s a thread I wrote on the difference👇🏼
https://twitter.com/AliAbdaal/status/1499792820156121094
@johncoogan 📚 12. Titles matter.
Video titles will make or break your video.
Since realising this about 2 years ago, I insist that my team has AT LEAST 10 potential titles before we even think about creating a video.
No title, no video.
Video titles will make or break your video.
Since realising this about 2 years ago, I insist that my team has AT LEAST 10 potential titles before we even think about creating a video.
No title, no video.
@johncoogan 🖼️ 13. Thumbnails matter more.
Tbh, thumbnails are probably more important than titles.
Your video won’t get watched if nobody clicks on it.
For more tips on thumbnails, check out my other thread here:
Tbh, thumbnails are probably more important than titles.
Your video won’t get watched if nobody clicks on it.
For more tips on thumbnails, check out my other thread here:
https://twitter.com/AliAbdaal/status/1497577634124996614
@johncoogan 🧪 14. Test, test, test.
Your first title or thumbnail might not be your best.
A/B testing them is really easy with today’s tools and can really impact a video’s performance. We use @Tubebuddy to have around 30+ tests running at once as it can make a massive difference.
Your first title or thumbnail might not be your best.
A/B testing them is really easy with today’s tools and can really impact a video’s performance. We use @Tubebuddy to have around 30+ tests running at once as it can make a massive difference.
@johncoogan @TubeBuddy ⚖️ 15. Leverage your content.
Once you’ve written a script, or made a video, it’s a no brainer.
Repurpose this content into blog posts, newsletters, video clips and social media posts.
It’s super easy to do and helps build your audience on different platforms.
Once you’ve written a script, or made a video, it’s a no brainer.
Repurpose this content into blog posts, newsletters, video clips and social media posts.
It’s super easy to do and helps build your audience on different platforms.
@johncoogan @TubeBuddy 🍎 16. Branding isn’t just for Apple.
Even though you might not think you’re a ‘brand’ in the traditional sense, channel branding is super important.
It ultimately gets you an audience and keeps you front of mind.
Even though you might not think you’re a ‘brand’ in the traditional sense, channel branding is super important.
It ultimately gets you an audience and keeps you front of mind.
@johncoogan @TubeBuddy 🎣 17. Hooks are key.
The average human attention span is now eight seconds, less than a goldfish.
If your hook is bad, viewers will leave (and so will the goldfish).
Titles + thumbnails earn the click, but you’ve got to keep people watching.
The average human attention span is now eight seconds, less than a goldfish.
If your hook is bad, viewers will leave (and so will the goldfish).
Titles + thumbnails earn the click, but you’ve got to keep people watching.
@johncoogan @TubeBuddy 📈 18. Don’t blame the algorithm.
Loads of people leap to blaming the algorithm when their video doesn’t perform.
In reality, it’s people who click on videos, not machines.
If your video’s not getting views it’s because it’s not making people click.
Loads of people leap to blaming the algorithm when their video doesn’t perform.
In reality, it’s people who click on videos, not machines.
If your video’s not getting views it’s because it’s not making people click.
@johncoogan @TubeBuddy 📊 19. Understand your analytics.
They can be confusing, but they tell you a lot about:
- The type of videos you should be making
- What’s working (or isn’t)
- How you can improve
I’ve done a thread on the most important metrics here👇🏼
They can be confusing, but they tell you a lot about:
- The type of videos you should be making
- What’s working (or isn’t)
- How you can improve
I’ve done a thread on the most important metrics here👇🏼
https://twitter.com/AliAbdaal/status/1499324475422257152
@johncoogan @TubeBuddy 👀 20. Don’t chase views.
I’ve fallen into the trap of getting obsessed with analytics, chasing views, chasing subscribers (not literally) and it’s never ended well.
I even deleted a video last year because it just didn’t provide any valuable content.
Just keep creating.
I’ve fallen into the trap of getting obsessed with analytics, chasing views, chasing subscribers (not literally) and it’s never ended well.
I even deleted a video last year because it just didn’t provide any valuable content.
Just keep creating.
@johncoogan @TubeBuddy 🎒 21. Batch record.
This is a simple but effective lesson.
It’s so much easier to spend 3-4 hours recording 3-4 videos than sitting down every week for one hour.
Once I realised that, it unlocked so much time and reduced a tonne of friction.
This is a simple but effective lesson.
It’s so much easier to spend 3-4 hours recording 3-4 videos than sitting down every week for one hour.
Once I realised that, it unlocked so much time and reduced a tonne of friction.
@johncoogan @TubeBuddy 🔤 22. Concentrate on inputs.
Subscribers and views are vanity metrics.
It’s way more important to just get one video out per week when you’re starting off.
Consistency is key 🔑
Subscribers and views are vanity metrics.
It’s way more important to just get one video out per week when you’re starting off.
Consistency is key 🔑
@johncoogan @TubeBuddy 🗞️ 23. Start a newsletter.
Getting subscribers is great.
But what if YouTube suddenly disappeared?
You’d lose your audience instantly.
Getting people onto a newsletter or some other platform where you can ‘own’ them is really important.
Getting subscribers is great.
But what if YouTube suddenly disappeared?
You’d lose your audience instantly.
Getting people onto a newsletter or some other platform where you can ‘own’ them is really important.
@johncoogan @TubeBuddy Hopefully, you can learn from my mistakes and take these 23 lessons into the growth of your channel 😃
Why not join us in Cohort 5 of my Part-Time YouTuber Academy?
Enrolment closes TODAY 16:00 GMT 👇
go.aliabdaal.com/ptya-twitter
Why not join us in Cohort 5 of my Part-Time YouTuber Academy?
Enrolment closes TODAY 16:00 GMT 👇
go.aliabdaal.com/ptya-twitter
• • •
Missing some Tweet in this thread? You can try to
force a refresh
