The Truth About Uploading Consistently On YouTube

I’ve been consistently (to a point) been doing three videos a week on my YouTube channel.

The videos: all in one take, and not much editing between each upload.

Now, I've had three people telling me my videos can do better.

To that I say, yes.

Upon looking at my most viewed videos (and any successful video on the platform), I've broken down my current approach to making videos.

This article is meant to document the new approach.

(It wouldn't do well as a video, anyways)

The Current Approach

Currently, this is the method of how I create my videos:

Sit down, think of an idea for a title, hit record, upload immediately unto YouTube.

This process is effective at creating MORE videos, but the quality is questionable at best.

It’s easier to turn the camera on then go on a tangent while still conscious of breaking down the video into main points connecting back to a central idea.

Usually that central idea is the title of the video.

I've shared this (admittedly) lazy method of content creation, justifying it with one word:

Authenticity

I do not want to lose out on sounding like myself through a written script.

I want the videos to sound like if you were one of my friends sitting down for a conversation.

Framing the videos this way, the viewers are able to relate to my personality, ideas and feel more connected by displaying the true version of myself.

However, I've sort of created a false argument for not using a script.

For the longest time, I have prided myself in my writing sounding like how I speak.

(This is the probable cause for English class being my weakest subject.)

To say, "the script will detract from sounding authentic," is bullshitting myself to validate less effort in my videos.

Think of every written media, movies, television shows, they are all scripted.

How one writes the script is more important than whether it is written or not.

Trying A New Approach

After uploading almost 100 videos, I've done the reps to be comfortable on camera.

Achieving this milestone, I’ve looked over at my top 5 most viewed videos.

Success leaves clues.

Editing

They have all been edited, except for one, that being Don't Get Your Friends On Self Improvement.

(The title carried the video's weight.)

So, what kind of editing will I implement?

For one, cutting out long pauses between sentences.

Silence creates disengagement , if not used correctly.

You maintain attention and engagement because there is constantly content being delivered to the viewers, without a break in thought creating flows and rhythms within the video.

The caveat with editing is, it takes TIME.

If I were to continue my projected three videos per week, it might be unmanageable.

In the future, it makes more sense to outsource the editing, and purely focus on the writing of the script and the delivery when on camera.

Thus, reducing the upload schedule to once a week (or whenever) helps refine the most important feature: ideas and communication.

Scripting

As you can guess, all my popular videos have all been scripted. Whether it was dot points, or a fully fledged written script.

I've gone into great depth in the previous section about scripting, but I want to discuss it wholistically.

What you wear, what you put in the background, the lighting; these all features of scripting.

Generally, I do not think what to wear when I record a video. Whether I'm wearing a shirt or not is not decided by the video.

I want to showcase my authentic version of myself. I do not want the viewer to believe I have put on a mask or costume to make myself look better or hide.

It should feel like I'm going about my normal everyday life, and got in front of the camera to record.

Thumbnail

Two out of the five videos have a thumbnail.

Four out of the five without a shirt. (I kid you not.)

What I will say is they are all personalised to me.

I do not use a stock image, or something from the internet. It's either frames from the video, a photo I took from my travels, or a photo I went out of my way to take for the video.

Should I add text?

I've only seen it work for my 4AM running video. The video title should be the main text read by a potential viewer.

And, considering most YouTube videos are consumed on mobile, having small text does not help attract clicks.

Video Titles

I am not unique in my problems.

Given enough sample size, someone will experience the same problems I'm attempting to solve in my videos.

With that context, the titles should be framed in a 'copywriting' sense.

Make it interesting to watch. Hit a nerve for the reader.

Because, the whole point of my videos is to document myself and my process continually improving myself.

If the viewer cannot believe, upon first glance, that the telling of my story might reveal even a bit of insight, they will not click on the video.

So, I should aim to talk of topics that are common to the majority. And, to stop thinking I'm unique in problems, more focussed to how I solve them.

That is where I can be unique.

What problem one has is common.

How one goes about it, is not.

Why The Sudden Change?

For a bit now, my friends would tell me to create better quality videos through editing.

I’d listen to my friends, but I’d still upload without editing. It's like I’m listening, but not actually implementing their feedback.

And they’re the ones watching my videos!

So, I’m here to say, I’m wrong.

I’m going to be conscience in making videos with more quality writing, scripting and framing.

So, I’m writing this article to document a moment of time (which is now) to the new approach I take for videos.

Making effort for my content. Where people will want more and still edit in an authentic way.

And, a last lesson for you, in my approach, it's to experiment.

I've only been able to realise that editing is needed to make a video more enjoyable after doing 100.

Yes, quality matters more than quantity. However, how will one know quality if they have yet made the first step in quantity?

Even with all this in mind, I must not let the views define the value of a video.

Obsessing over the views will lead to chasing viral-ity, rather than steady growth and showcasing my true self.

Not for money, attention, or validation.

But, record videos and edit simply because:

I genuinely want to.