Tag: share something small

start your YouTube channel – a Q & A for beginners

May 29th, 2024
We’re working on a free, short email newsletter for beginner YouTubers who want to get their first 1000 subscribers. We will deliver 5 emails over 5 days with helpful content for anyone looking to start or grow their channel.

I’ll share the first draft of the first email below, and would love your feedback! What would you want to learn from this newsletter? Shoot me an email at woody@grownuppains.com and let me know. Here is the first newsletter:

Hi Friends!

If you are looking to start a YouTube channel and want to monetize it to create passive income, this email is for you.

This is the first of 5 emails coming your way. We want to help you get your first 1000 subscribers on YouTube.

This set of emails will contain some of the best tips and strategies that helped us get there.

Are you ready? Let’s start by answering a few questions:

Q: “What do I need to do to monetize a YouTube channel?”

Great question! I’m glad you asked.

A: To fully monetize a youtube channel, you need at least 1000 subscribers, along with EITHER:
- 4000 hours of public watch time in the last 365 days (on long-form videos)
- 10 Million YouTube Shorts views in the last 90 days (vertical videos less than 60 seconds)
Q: “Whoa, that sounds like a lot to achieve… how do I do that?”

A: Well, you are going to need to make quite a few videos and actually publish them publicly to YouTube.

Q: “That sounds scary… do I have to talk or show my face?”

A: Not necessarily, since there are a lot of AI tools out there, BUT I do think it’s a bit easier to connect with people and grow an audience if they can see and hear you. You don’t have to decide that just yet, so let’s keep answering questions.

Q: “Okay, okay. But how many videos do I have to make?”

A: That’s different for everyone, but I would expect it to be anywhere between 50 and 100 videos.

Q: “WHOA!! That sounds like a lot of videos! Won’t that take forever?? I haven’t even made one yet…”

A: It will definitely take time. Some channels get monetized in 30-45 days, and others take 1-2 years, or even longer. How long it takes depends on a lot of factors, nearly all of which are completely within your control.

Q: “Hmm… so what kind of factors? What can I do to speed up the process?”

A: Well, you’ll need to commit to some degree of consistency for how often you can post new videos. You have total control over what kind of videos you make, but you will grow faster if your videos answer questions that many people are searching for, or if you are solving a problem that many people have. You will need to learn several micro-skills along the way, but we’re here to help with that.

Q: “This sounds like a lot of work. Why should I even bother? I have a job that makes money already.”

A: It is a lot of work, especially to get started, but just think of all the types of work you could be doing. Wouldn’t this work be more fun?

Q: “Is it really worth it though? I don’t want to do this for TWO YEARS and not make any money.”

A: YouTube has the power to reach millions of people. From a leverage perspective, you spend some time making a video ONCE and then that video is added to your army of videos, and your army marches on forever, continuing to get views long after you finished the work. Do you currently reach millions of people at your job? Do you have to physically be there every day to keep making money? Which path do you think gives you more leverage in the future?

Q: “Fair enough. Sooo… How will you help me?”

A: Another excellent question! First of all, you will get this series of emails totally free. They will be chocked full of knowledge and resources to help you get started. Just keep looking for the next email each day and make sure to read it!

We also have a series of videos on YouTube that are designed to help you get started and get your first 1000 subscribers on YouTube. You can find a playlist of those videos here.

Lastly, follow us on X (Twitter) @grownuppains or keep up with our blog at grownuppains.com where we’ll be dropping more knowledge and resources to help you grow your YouTube channel! 😎

More like this coming your way soon… in the meantime, happy filming!

-Woody

P.S. Here are some of my favorite books that can help you succeed on YouTube and beyond. Personally I prefer listening to them as audiobooks, but most are available in paperback or kindle edition as well. Enjoy!

*Recommended Reading for Beginner YouTubers:*

📕 *YouTube Secrets* 👉 https://amzn.to/3YbSCEk

📙 *Feel-Good Productivity* 👉 https://amzn.to/3Uz773D

📗 *The War of Art* 👉 https://shorturl.at/dnEG3

📚 *Atomic Habits* 👉 https://amzn.to/3OzqqIr

📘 *7 Habits of Highly Effective People*👉 https://amzn.to/3DAuv8R

📕 *5 Things I Wish I Knew In My 20’s:* https://amzn.to/40Nnc8E

***Some links in this email are Amazon affiliate links. If you click and choose to buy, we may earn a commission AND it helps grow the channel at no cost to you. That sounds like a Win-Win to us!***
committing to the behavior

July 12th, 2023

It has taken most of my life to realize that small things lead to big change when done consistently. I have always heard it, but living it is another thing. In the last few years, it has become more and more clear. It has become a firm belief. It has been validated by experience.

I currently work in a sales position for a telecom company. I won’t say which one, but it’s one of the big three. I have been with the company for about three and a half years now, and have done very well. My first role was as a sales rep in the retail store. I had worked retail at a Ritz Camera store as a high school senior, but it had been a long time with a lot of different jobs in between, including about 11 years in food and beverage service. Now, back in the throes of retail, I was having flashbacks of long inventory counts and constant waves of customers in varying moods.

My manager at that first store was a “tough but fair” kind of guy with a bit of a twisted sense of humor. I thought he was great, and still have his number in my phone. He taught me a lot about sales, but I think the most important advice he ever gave me was this: “Consistency is everything. If you are consistent in your behaviors, you will be surprised at how successful you will be.”

I’m paraphrasing a little, because he was speaking more to the consistency of offering all products and services to everyone, regardless of what they came into the store for. I remember challenging him on this, asking him, “how does it make sense for me to offer X when they came into the store for Y?” And I will never forget his response. He told me to “take them on a date,” conversationally speaking. He said it doesn’t matter what they came in for. Of course I’m going to help them with that, but while I’m helping them, I need to talk with them, get interested in learning a little about them, and ask questions to uncover the need for additional products and services. In doing so, they might say something that helps us both realize how they might truly benefit from something else we could offer.

I was amazed at how well this worked. I’m still amazed by it today. Now, working for the same company, I’m in a role where I visit existing customers in their homes and see if there is anything else we can offer that might solve a pain point they have. Every single day I meet new people, make a meaningful connection with those people in a short period of time, and then am pleasantly surprised when they jump at the opportunity to switch a service over from a competitor because of the relationship we built.

I have noticed that the key to my success has always been consistency. I need to consistently ask questions that engage the customer. I need to consistently go through a checklist of information to consider when creating a custom offer for them. I need to consistently make the offer, even when I doubt that they may be interested. And sometimes they aren’t interested. But many times, to my delightful surprise, they are.

This principle of consistency has helped me in more ways than just sales. Right now, I’m coming up on a 900-day streak on Duolingo in my journey to learn Spanish. I don’t do a lot every day, but I always do at least a little. And that has been enough to help me better speak, read, and understand a second language.

I’m trying to apply this principle in more areas of my life. I’m trying to apply it here, to this blog, by writing something and hitting publish every day. I’m trying to listen to more podcasts that teach me new things, or get me thinking of things in a different way. I want to do a lot, but for now I’m making sure to at least do a little every day, and focus on doing it consistently.

-woodrow
do something small every day

July 11th, 2023

My intention for this blog is not just to be a creative outlet. I plan to use it as a sort of landing page for larger ideas that I might eventually turn into long-form content for YouTube. I have been doing quite a bit of research on the topic of creating and growing a channel. I have watched and listened to a lot of content from other creators on that platform. It’s actually taken over as my go-to interest, where I always have an earbud in, constantly listening during small pockets of time throughout the day. I’m over here aspiring to create something, and this blog is something of a stepping stone towards that.

One concept that stuck out is to document the journey. This comes from a book that I haven’t read yet, but keep hearing about, called “Show Your Work!” by Austin Kleon. Another concept from that book is to share something small every day. This is something I’m really leaning into, because if I don’t do something small, I may do nothing at all.

I’m coming up on the end of my lunch break, and although I wish I could take a deep dive into the subject of this particular post, it will simply have to wait. If you already read through the first two blog posts, you may have noticed a theme with these abrupt endings. Jotting down thoughts and musings, leaving things open ended.

I’m dying to keep hitting “publish,” even if it means only sharing something small.

-woodrow

Tag: share something small

start your YouTube channel – a Q & A for beginners

committing to the behavior

do something small every day