Why I Quit After Nearly A Decade of Uploading Videos
I never thought I would be writing this. It has been 48 days and 16 hours since my last YouTube video upload. And each time I sit down to record or edit a video, the spark flickers and almost immediately goes out!
Am I burnt out?
I can’t be! I have been here before! You might be saying, yes! I have too! 🤚🏾
YouTube has been a big part of my life for fifteen years 😅 that’s a long time to invest into anything. The one question I keep coming back to is, am I successful?
Whether you’ve met me in person, or had the opportunity to connect online. I will almost always say; “success is relative“. For nine years, I have been writing, recording, editing and uploading Destiny lore videos on to YouTube with a lot of great success!
Currently, my channel sits at 3,698 3,704 subscribers (as of editing this article on 29th July 2024).
And before you ask! Channel watch time is down, viewers are down! Estimated revenue is down! Almost every metric is down. This wouldn’t be the first time, after almost one decade, one thing still registers with me!
Telling stories that matter.
Alright! I can’t hold it back! God and Meagan Williamson are to blame for the reason I am leaning less heavily on social media platforms like YouTube and Twitter and relying almost exclusively on Blogging and Pinterest.
Allow me to explain.
The graph above 👆🏾 proves it without me needing to say too much.
The highest result is how long a well written blog lasts for! 👀 A whole two years! Ladies and gentlemen. The typical life-span of a video on my channel averages 4 to 5 days of growth, peaking on the eighth day.
After that, zilch, zippo, de nada! 😭 The success gained is temporary and lasts as long as the memory of a good meal, if that. So, yeah! I can also blame Tiffany Daniel and her oh! So wonderful SEO powers as well! 🙄
Legacy Vs Instant
Have you run into Tiffani Daniel yet? If not? Google her right now! Better yet, I’ll do you one better, what is Tiffani? Sorry! I was trying to channel my inner Guardians of the Galaxy there 😏 anyway!
Tiffani has blessed my timeline on Thread multiple times! She has no idea I’m writing about her! So, don’t tell her. Unless of course I’ve tagged them in the replies of the slick Thread’s post, I have ready to roll! 😎
In truth, I want to do something that matters. I am black British, neuro-creative, sudo-80s-90s-kid, who dreamt of serendipitous romances like You’ve Got Mail and having a core group of best friends like: The Breakfast Club, or Friends (the TV series).
Many of us dream of creating with purpose, using our gifts to change the world. As a Christian, my faith and life of purpose define my core identity.
As a result, there were extremely hard questions I needed to ask myself:
- Who was I creating for?
- What did I have to share?
- What was the end goal?
All three are valid and yet extremely difficult to answer. Why? Each requires an examination of what we’re driven by. For me that is getting to love on the neurodiverse, creatives, marginalized, the forgotten. People who know what it feels like to be othered.
Once these core values were revisited, I knew it was time for a hard pivot and transition into something Psalm Lab shape up and become.
Adding Value With SEO
I couldn’t truly tell you when I decided to make the change from crafting videos to crafting blog articles. Through the power of Threads 🕺🏾 tutorials and a lot of prayer. I embarked on this crazy journey.
Blogs and Pinterest are the SECRET sauce, my friends! How can this be true? Well, the proof is in the pudding, as they say. Meagan had convinced me, wholeheartedly, that Pinterest, SEO/Keywords and a good blog could change the world.
So, I put it to the test!
There were two things that I did. One was writing blogs on Medium and the other was creating a Pinterest post. My plan was to write one article a week and create one Pinterest pin a month.
The results below are from the month of June after writing a couple of blog articles.
Okay! The thing is, these are my stats from articles already published prior to the month of June. July on the other hand is a whole different story. In the month of July, my views doubled.
A lot of hard work went into getting those numbers.
I bet you are wondering what the formula was?
It was and is Keywords. SEO (Search Engine Optimization), will remain one of my favourite things as a writer. Getting into the nitty-gritty of uncovering the thought process of questions people like you or me are seeking answers to.
If you haven’t started taking notes, you should be. Before I took Meagan’s “Perfect Pin Guide” and Tiffany’s “14 Days of Finally Understanding Wtf SEO Is” it became clear, very quickly, that perhaps I had been doing things wrong all along.
Look! If you’re a content creator, it isn’t about how good your content is. In fact, it is more about how relatable a piece from you is to a viewer. IG reel, YouTube video, Pinterest pin, Blog article. Whatever your flavour, it has to be relevant to someone, somewhere.
How To Stand out?
Tell a story. No matter who you are or where you are from! We all have a story to tell. Simple questions, like “How was your day at work?” or “what flavour ice-cream do you like?”, have potential to unlock incredible stories.
So tell them!
The trick is framing your story around a question or a need. This is where keyword research comes in, which I talk about in my SEO For Blogs: How To Stand Out course. If you haven’t read it yet? Be sure to check it out and subscribe, it’s FREE!
What Does The Future Look Like?
I couldn’t tell you! Which I find incredibly exciting. It could involve uploading videos, or just writing for the foreseeable future. What matters for me is getting to tell stories of hope, inspire, and encourage someone just like you on their creative journey.
So, get out there! Don’t be afraid to ask for help or learn something new to hone your creative craft. And if you get stuck, reach out! I would be more than happy to help!
If you enjoyed reading this, be sure to leave a like ⭐ and comment. Follow me on YouTube, Threads, and consider joining my ✨ Creator Newsletter. To stay up to date on all things creativity, Neurodiversity, insights and encouragement.
“No matter what you are facing at this moment in time, you can do all things! Stay safe, and God speed!”