Creating change online: An interview with Riley J. Dennis

June 3, 2019

On the internet, strong opinions are magnets for trolls, but that hasn’t deterred Riley J. Dennis from her efforts to create change online.

Riley J. Dennis
Subscribers: 73,253
Uploads: 187
Video Views: 6,884,638
Channel Type: Entertainment
User Created: Jul 7th, 2011

Riley J. Dennis’ channel exists between fame and invisibility. To people outside of queer activism circles, she’s just another left-wing political channel. To those who are aware of her work, she’s a world-changer and queen of dealing with harassment. We grabbed Riley for a chat in between her rigorous video schedule and travel experiences in Australia. We decided to chat about inspiration, dissension and Mario Kart.

Riley J. Dennis with Like button pillow in background

While her channel now leans towards political change and queer culture, it began with book reviews. “I made some videos about books and other random things to do my part to contribute to that [small YouTuber] community, and maybe make some friends,” Riley explains. This was before acknowledging that her “opinionated side came out,” prompting her to make videos about feminism and politics.

“As those videos gained popularity, I was kind of forced out of ‘small YouTube’ by large waves of harassment that made it nearly impossible for me to engage positively with people on YouTube,” Riley states. “So, now I’m making videos not for a community for myself, but because I know my videos inspire and help people, especially young and/or closeted queer people,” she notes.

Riley J. Dennis with picture in picture of Luigi from Mario Kart — Though much of Riley’s content digs deep into important political and social issues, you’ll still find the occasional Mario Kart video.

Being a role model to those who watch her isn’t easy. Plus, heavy involvement in American politics can certainly drag just about anyone down. That’s why Riley includes the occasional video on light-hearted topics. These include videos on which Mario Kart characters are queer (spoiler: all of them). Or, videos on the best parts of being a lesbian (spoiler: it’s the girls). More importantly, Riley explains that “While I think we should all be informed about what’s going on in the world, we also need to take some time to chill and relax.”

If that relaxation includes video games and queer culture, then we’re 100% here for it.

Riley J. Dennis in thumbnail from Perks of Being a Lesbian video

Making politics accessible

The content that Riley J. Dennis creates is the definition of passion with purpose. Her love for creating content truly aligns with her aims to make a difference in the world, or at the very least in how people view the world. “With my educational videos, I want to make seemingly-complicated topics easy for everyone to understand. A lot of times I read articles or watch videos about political topics and they’re steeped in jargon. They require a lot of prerequisite knowledge, which makes it highly inaccessible to people who aren’t familiar with the topic.”

Riley J. Dennis in video on marginal tax rates — Riley’s goal is to make difficult subjects more accessible. You don’t need to be an economics expert to understand marginal tax rates.

Riley’s videos break down complex issues, such as marginal tax rates and universal income. The aim is to ensure that those who have little to no background in politics, economics or intersectional feminism can understand what’s going on in the world. This is the cornerstone of Riley’s online presence. It’s this impressive, well-researched work that has seen her efforts recognized by GLAAD, Bustle, Autostraddle, and Broadly. The Independent even called Riley a “Lesbian Icon,” which she has incorporated seamlessly into her branding.

Activism vs slacktivism

Being a well-known activist garners Riley a lot of attention, whether she likes it or not. Critics sometimes label her work as slacktivism. The term critiques people who talk about issues online instead of going into the “real world” to protest.

“I think that any form of activism is useful — not just ones that require you to go to a physical place. Lots of people — especially lower-income folks — have jobs that don’t allow them to make it to protests. Oftentimes protests aren’t super accessible for disabled folks. And people from communities of color might not feel safe going to a protest where there may be a police presence. In those cases and many others, people can turn to online activism as a way to help. To me, being an activist means fighting to make the world a better place, regardless of how you do that.”

Riley’s educational activism is crucial for creating good in the world. This is particularly true in an age where “fake news” floods our timelines, and thus opinions come without any data to back them up. By creating videos that require hours (or days) of research, Riley is able to cut through the nonsense and deliver edu-tainment at its finest. And she does consider her videos to be a form of activism. “Educating people and giving them a clear path to how they can help…is a kind of activism,” she explains.

YouTube as a broken home

YouTube, Riley’s primary home on the internet, has been under scrutiny in the past for how it supports LGBTQ+ creators, or rather the lack of support in that area. From placing queer videos in a “restricted mode” setting, to demonetizing all sorts of trans-related content, it’s no surprise that many LGBTQ+ YouTubers are disheartened by YouTube’s efforts to care for its thriving LGBTQ+ community.

Despite this, Riley acknowledges that the platform’s existence has helped many queer creators to find their voice. YouTube’s low start-up costs also contribute to the success of some YouTubers. “You don’t need to have the connections and money to make a deal with a massive TV or media company, because YouTube allows anyone to get started literally just from their phone or a cheap camera.”

This accessibility is important in bringing awareness to the experiences and voices of marginalized groups. The criticisms of the platform often come from a place of love and of wanting to see YouTube do better.

Put the haters on mute

Critics have consistently called YouTube out for allowing large amounts of hateful and extremist content to go live. Barriers for repeat offenders often come too late or not at all.

Riley’s channel has certainly seen the worst of it. Throughout 2017 there were several ongoing harassment campaigns against her. This trend saw channels gain hundreds of thousands of subscribers just by talking about Riley. New channels even popped up dedicated to tearing her down.

Riley J. Dennis with How to Apologize at the bottom of the image in white text on a pink background

Riley has consistently risen above it all. She chooses not to respond to people who need her upload schedule and name in order to maintain their own relevancy. “Eventually I learned that the only way to really cope with it is to not see it. I rarely look at my comments sections or anything like that. So those angry, hateful people are just shouting into an empty void. As far as I know, there is no healthy way to engage with so much hatred at that scale. Humans just weren’t built for that. So I’m a big proponent of doing whatever is necessary to protect yourself.”

She has some advice for people dealing with harassment online. “Stay offline for a bit if necessary, lock down your social media profiles, block whoever you want, mute certain words, etc,” Riley urges.

“There is no secret to dealing with online harassment ,” she continues. “You just got to do your best to not see it.”

Staying motivated

Creating videos about politics and feminism certainly comes with its fair share of negativity. It’s a relatively easy decision, however, for Riley to continue making videos. The political landscape, particularly in America, has been tumultuous at the best of times during the last three years.

Riley says that she “enjoy[s] helping people navigate these extremely confusing and frustrating times. I love getting messages from people saying that I helped them understand something or change their mind on an issue. There’s so much happening in the world right now that it can all feel a bit chaotic and hopeless, and I just want to give people hope that we can make things better.”

It’s this message of hope that makes Riley’s content shine through. Her videos help to remove the feelings of hopelessness that many marginalized communities are experiencing during the Trump era. The content that Riley creates aims for sustainable impact over fleeting influence. Riley believes that “if we focus on centering compassion for marginalized groups, we can achieve amazing things.”

Riley J. Dennis smiling slightly with a hand on her face with the ocean in the background

Education leads to change

Making politically-charged videos in an arguably hostile political environment is a challenge, with positives potentially difficult to pinpoint. Riley’s focus on education instead of mere influence ensures her motivation is hard to kill.

“My favorite part of doing all of this is knowing that I might be contributing to making the world a slightly better place, one video at a time.”

Creating change for good, focusing on impact instead of influence and a passion for making education entertaining and accessible are drivers that will see Riley go far. We can’t wait to see where it will take her next.

8 Small YouTube channels every YouTuber can learn from

Weland Bourne

June 3, 2019

High production values, sleek motion graphics, tight editing, amazing sound and refined content are the staples of big YouTube channels. But surprisingly, these qualities are not exclusive to just the large channels. Many channels under 100,000 subscribers have also demonstrated an ability to create excellent content. Let’s take a look at several YouTube channels that illustrate this point.

Scarfing Scarves

Scarfing Scarves is a YouTube channel dedicated to Lolita fashion. It’s a comedy show the draws inspiration from things like Last Week Tonight. Scarfing Scarves may not be the largest YouTube channel to ever exist, but at 20,000 subscribers, it’s the perfect example of what a small channel can do.

Scarfing Scarves is shot on a stage setup that is visually appealing and supports the theme of the channel. Additionally, the set and hosts are well lit. Frequently, vlog-style channels have the “cave effect.” The cave effect is when you try to light an entire room with a single light. For many small Youtubers, it’s an Ikea floor or desk lamp or a computer screen. Nothing screams low budget like the cave effect. Avoiding this should be one of your top priorities.

While excessive use of a vlogging-style can hamper the viewing experience, Tyler Willis pairs comedic delivery with methodically well-written scripts to prevent the talking head effect. Too many YouTubers base their content on a random stream of consciousness resulting in a barrage of words; however, nothing quite compares to a well-written script. In fact, this is one of the best features of videos from Scarfing Scarves.

Finally, Scarfing Scarves achieves one of the hardest goals in video production for most creators, and that is clean audio. Investing in good gear for audio is often better than investing in more video gear. Bad video can be forgiven; bad audio is unbearable.

Sorasto’s Painting

Sorasto’s Painting is a miniature painting channel with 74,000 subscribers. This channel has amazing motion graphics, sleek editing, great lighting, good audio and great presentation of well-delivered niche content. The same love, dedication and attention to detail found in their painting of miniatures can also be seen in every video on this channel.

Perhaps the best takeaway from Sorasto’s Painting is the channel’s editing. Miniature painting can often be a long and very dull process, especially if experienced in real time. Oftentimes, when people do instructional videos, they make the mistake of trying to do the entire project all in one take. Sorasto uses cuts, transitions, fancy effects, time-lapse and just basic editing to avoid the “one take fail.” This channel is a great example of how instructional video should be produced and the level of quality that should be present. Sorasto’s Painting is something that must be seen to be fully understood and appreciated.

Expedition Theme Park

Expedition Theme Park is a news, history, and theme park review channel with 77,000 subscribers. The channel uses massive amounts of b-roll and motion graphics. In fact, I believe that its intro and motion graphics helped build this channel into a brand. Something that many often forget is that branding can be a key part of monetization. The idea that you are not just a channel but a brand is prevalent in many of the larger YouTube channels. Branding is an area of concentration that can really benefit smaller channels.

Expedition Theme Park gets a huge boost of attention from covering historical events. There is a downfall to this type of production, however. The amount of research, gathering of footage and editing that has to be done to make a quality project can seem overwhelming. It can be heavy dredge work just to find good archival footage. This is something Expedition Theme Park does very well.

Review Tyme

Review Tyme claims to be the home for “all things theme parks.” With more than 10,000 subscribers, content includes history, reviews and travel advice. The channel also uses an extensive amount of b-roll and motion graphics. One of the things I like about Review Tyme is that they have their own animated logo. Adding an animated logo before your videos can increase production value while also increasing brand recognition.

Expedition Theme Park and Review Tyme are two channels that cover a very similar topic. The strengths of both of these channels are that they often are covering historical events and time periods; this allows them to pull archival footage that makes the channel look amazing. However, this can also be a great detractor; one of the downfalls of some archival footage is that the audio and/or video is not always of the highest quality. As a result, some YouTube channels can sometimes be prone to quality issues since clean video and audio is not always available. Both of these channels have managed to navigate that problem, each in their own way. Finally, it’s important to note that Expedition Theme Park and Review Tyme create really good scripts. Both of these channels are successful because they tell short, concise stories that are fascinating and intriguing.

Channel 5 Gaming

Channel 5 Gaming is a video gaming channel and community of 78,000 subscribers. The channel focuses primarily on the game Planet Coaster. If you haven’t figured it out by now, I love roller coasters and theme parks, but that’s not what makes Channel 5 worth mentioning. Of course, Channel 5 looks good because all of its video comes from game capture from PC games; however, Channel 5 excels in its community and interactions. The channel maintains a large Discord community which it uses for contests, giveaways and just a general hangout zone. The level of interaction ensures a group of loyal followers and patrons — important to monetization. It is worth remembering that successful YouTube channels require coordination. Great technique, content and community interaction combine to make superior channels like this one.

Geekism

Similar to Channel 5 Gaming, Geekism also covers PC games including Planet Coaster. Geekism also has captured game footage with good audio and motion graphics; however, Geekism lacks community interaction. At 52,000 subscribers, Geekism is smaller than Channel 5, which may indeed be a result of the lack of a Discord community. That’s not necessarily bad. Some people may prefer this since it keeps all of the focus on the channel’s video content. This can help reduce clutter when you want to ensure that viewers notice your Patreon and/or sponsor link. Again this is a preference. Both approaches work, as evidenced by the success of these two channels.

WASD20

WASD20 is a rapidly growing tabletop gaming channel. While working on this article, WASD20 has grown from 91,000 to 99,987 followers. I suspect that they will most likely have 100K by the time this article is published. Production value is the first tell that this channel is gold. Not only does it have quality video, it has clean green screen keys. Words cannot express how frustrating it is for me when I see bad keys. A practical backdrop, even if its the same backdrop every day, is preferable to a poorly keyed backdrop, in my opinion. Videos that have poor lighting — like those suffering from the cave effect — will find that keying is more challenging.

WASD20’s lighting and backgrounds are solid. Additionally, their motion graphics are amazing and well done, especially their intro and logo design. Again, I can’t stress enough the importance of logo design because it helps build an identifiable brand for your channel. I find that this makes it easier for viewers to remember the name of your channel. If they remember, they can subscribe. If they subscribe, then you are one step closer to monetization.

Quality audio can be problematic even when sitting in front of a computer microphone or game console. Excessive background noise can become a huge factor for videogame streamers. This can sink a channel. Fortunately, WASD20 doesn’t suffer from this issue. Overall, their technical excellence may explain the channel’s meteoric rise in success.

Sofia Isella

Sofia Isella is a young musician and violinist. With only 409 subscribers, her channel is tiny. This is especially surprising when you watch one of her music videos that was shot by an Oscar-winning cinematographer. Sofia is a good example of how you can have extremely exceptional quality with your videos and still have a small channel. Now, it is worth mentioning that not every one of Sofia’s videos has crazy aerial footage, epic sunsets and Academy Award-worthy cinematography. Yet, even with such amazing production value, only 409 subscribers? More people, especially music lovers, need to find this channel.

Content is still king

Something that I have not covered much in this article is content. That is because everything is subjective in the eyes of YouTube. Sometimes, YouTube channels with videos that have poor audio and visuals become wildly popular. Some videos with extreme production value have had no success at all. It’s important to remember that your channel can have all the interaction, video quality, audio quality and graphic quality and still fail to attract large numbers on Youtube.

A good example of this is Planet Coaster’s official YouTube channel. This channel for the PC game has only 78,000 subscribers. Many of the Youtubers whose video content covers the game are more popular than the official game channel. This suggests that a professional ad team can be less successful than a hobbyist streaming the game on Youtube. While it’s important to be mindful of the technical skills that contribute to quality content, it is paramount to remember that content is still what makes a channel.

Persistence is what separates channels that last versus channels that burn out.

The power of persistence

All of the awesome small YouTube channels I’ve mentioned have creators with persistence. Persistence is what separates channels that last versus channels that burn out. It is, perhaps, the most overlooked and underrated quality of a successful creator. Very few channels get far by posting only a handful of videos. While the channels that have good audio, good video, and good production value tend to succeed, it is easy to fall into the trap of being afraid to post your videos because you believe they’re just not good enough. While you may want to consider upgrading your gear or techniques, remember to keep posting. Never give up! One subscriber is always better than no subscribers.

Don’t stress over your subscriber count

Mike Wilhelm

June 3, 2019

woman wearing brown fur coat against a red backdrop — Photo by Daria Volkova on Unsplash

How do you measure success on your YouTube channel? Likes? Views? Ad revenue? If you’re like most YouTubers, the key metric you’re tracking isn’t any of these; it’s your total subscriber count.

It’s the one number that you can easily compare to other YouTube channels. Just about every YouTuber discloses their subscriber count freely. And while it’s not too difficult to get access to a channel’s views, everyone knows viewers are transient. You might get lucky and have a video go viral, gathering thousands or millions of views, but those viewers aren’t necessarily part of your loyal audience. Even if they like the video they watched, there’s no guarantee they’ll ever watch one of your videos again.

And so YouTubers tend to assess the value of their channel by looking primarily at the subscriber count. Yet, as time goes on, it seems more and more like the number of subscribers you have on your youtube channel is more for ego building than an actual measure of YouTube success.

The number of subscribers you have doesn’t really tell you much about how successful your channel is or even how it compares to other channels. Some channels rely much more heavily on having a large subscriber count than others. To illustrate this, Social Blade, a YouTube data aggregator, has ranked Câmeras Escondidas Programa Silvio Santos the third most influential channel on YouTube even though it has nearly 25 million fewer subscribers as the fourth most influential channel, ZeeTV.

So we know subscriber count is not the main factor in Social Blade’s influence ranking, but there’s more. It’s also not an indicator of how popular you are. It won’t tell you how many views you’ll get on your next video. It’s not a measure of how much your viewers like you or your content. Finally, it can’t predict how much money you’ll make.

The only thing the subscriber count represents is the number of people who have, at one time or another, declared that they would like to watch at least one more video that you have yet to post.

Over the last few years, YouTube has been putting more emphasis on serving viewers videos via that home page and video recommendations. The algorithm that determines what videos to recommend is now better at knowing what viewers want to watch than the viewers themselves. The result is that the subscription page has become less relevant as the algorithm gets smarter.

In your YouTube Analytics, look a the Traffic Sources Types report. If the majority of your views come from “Browse features” congratulations! You have a great audience of subscribers that are watching videos when you post them. But my guess is that for the majority of you, “Browse features” is not the biggest source of your views.

In all likelihood, the majority of your views are coming from Suggested videos, YouTube Search or both.

If this is the case for you, don’t worry. There’s nothing wrong with you or your channel. YouTube is simply relying more on their algorithms in their quest to get viewers to watch more videos. What it does underscore is the importance of defending your channel against YouTube’s constantly evolving usability strategies.

To do this, start by diversifying your audience across all the major social platforms and try to get them to give you their email address. That way, if one day YouTube does something that prevents your audience from seeing your videos, you’ll have other ways of alerting them about your content.

And as you grow your channel, don’t spend too much time or emotional energy focusing only on how many subscribers you have. It’ll blind you to more important indicators of performance.

Get more views on YouTube with playlists — not skiplists

Shawn Zeilenga

June 3, 2019

close up of computer screen with YouTube page open

The world we live in relies on video. This isn’t because we are lazy as people; it’s because, in the current state, people are accessing information in every moment of life. And video is the dominant way to receive information — and to distribute it. But there is a literal universe of videos on the web nowadays. How can viewers find the content they’re looking for?

Very few content creators skillfully keep all their content organized and fresh. This is where we find the benefits of playlists. In fact, playlists may be the key to getting more views on your YouTube channel.

How viewers find content

Google’s search capabilities are pretty intelligent. Gone is the need to have a billion and one tags to make sure your content is in front of everyone. YouTube’s algorithm takes the written content, plus the closed captions, titles and tags and cross-references all the info to make sure it fits nicely together. You’re only helping your viewers find the content they need by keeping things right to the point. If you want more views on YouTube, you need to make your videos as easy to find and digest as possible.

screenshot of Comedy Central's YouTube channel — When your channel has hundreds of videos, playlists help guide the viewer to the content they find most interesting.

Here’s a scenario: Pete and Roger are making playlists of their superhero movie breakdowns. Pete, being the organized virtuoso that he is, keeps playlists for each specific superhero he discusses. Roger, who has a heart of gold and the organizational skills of a narcoleptic goat, just posts his new content to his main video feed, with videos on various superheroes mixed in with his weekly vlog and the occasional cooking video.

Pete has the right information where it needs to be. Viewers can find everything he’s ever said about Spiderman, all in one spot, just by scrolling down his channel page.

But if viewers stumble upon Roger’s Mirkwood of a channel, they have to struggle to skip over all the other superheroes before getting to his next Spiderman hot-take. By that time, he’s lost their interest. I’m not saying go all Sheldon Cooper on your playlists, but keeping similar content grouped together will lead to people exploring more of videos on a specific topic.

Whether it is original content or shared videos, this is the lesson with video playlists. Information needs to be readily available and yet easily distinguished. In the end, this will lead to more views and more time spent on your YouTube channel.

Optimizing your YouTube playlists for views

The most basic terminology will lead to the best playlist types. Sometimes videos can bleed into two categories, but it’s best to start with around three main categories. To be honest, a page with 30 playlists is useless. Who has the time to explore all that? Especially since most people get distracted by “suggested” playlists and videos leading to other areas of the internet. You have a limited window to catch and keep a viewer’s attention.

house at dusk in thumbnail for HGTV playlist — Like the thumbnail on individual videos, the thumbnails on your playlists should be enticing while unifying the collection of videos under a single aesthetic.

Clear titles are critical. You may think “Nobody reads those!” and you’ll be partially correct. Most people rely on titles to guide them; others throw caution to the wind and watch videos without knowing or caring about titles. I may not share their sense of reckless abandon, but there is a point to their madness. If it’s their favorite creator, they know that they will enjoy the content no matter what it is.

That being said, the brain will actively process information within the range of vision even if the person is not actively paying attention to it. Which title is easier to find to share with a friend 7 hours after seeing the original video: “News anchor slips on ice” or “News anchor break dances her way out of a job and into the food service industry”?

Playlists are a great way to help people find what they are looking for.

The question is, what content do you add and what content to leave out. Well, the obvious answer is to highlight the content that’s most relevant to your topic or focus. Don’t go all crazy and add any and every video because you’re scared you won’t retain the audience on your page long enough. Make sure that all the videos in a playlist relate to each other, either in terms of format or subject matter.

Lastly, utilize your thumbnails so that the relationship between video in a playlist is clear. You can brand the thumbnail of a specific video to signify that it’s part of a larger playlist. This is an added level of clarity where people no longer have to read, but can visually find what they are looking for.

Playlists that bring in views:

5-minute crafts
RedBull
PhotoshopCAFE
Comedy Central
Peddinghaus
HGTV

Playlists keep your channel organized

In the event that your channel has literally hundreds of videos, just know that no matter how many videos you have in your playlists, people will only watch what they are looking for. Playlists are a great way to help them find it.

How to add a weekly vlog to your beauty channel

Rhiannon McGavin

June 3, 2019

Rachel Nguyen TEN DAYS IN PARIS VLOG #1 thumbnail

There are lots of ways to add content to your beauty-themed channel, but one of the best options for building connection and engagement with your audience is a weekly vlog.

First added to the Merriam-Webster dictionary in 2009, vlog simply stands for “video blog.” Skillfully produced on your YouTube channel, however, a vlog can mean anything from a peek into your daily life to a deeper connection with your audience. If your channel focuses primarily on beauty, a weekly vlog can be a great way to diversify your content.

Why add a weekly vlog?

On a purely practical level, integrating vlogs into your video schedule can mean a little less work. As a genre, the vlog comes with its own formats and best practices. We will discuss those later, but the underlying theme is that you have space to be less polished than normal. Vlogs generally don’t require as much planning and scripting as the average makeup tutorial. You can just turn the camera on and go! This can be a handy break from the rigors of your normal schedule.

Compared to makeup tutorials with more involved production, vlogs can be a handy creative boost as well. It’s pretty empowering to have an idea for a video and then produce that in a day, as opposed to the more involved planning process behind other video formats. Plus, that extra energy can make you feel more confident in your future creations.

Screen shot of Rachel Nguyen vlog — Rachel Nguyen takes an intentional and artistic approach to her vlogs, crafting stories with innovative editing and effective music choices.

Vlogs also add variety to your uploaded content. You can expand from a focus on cosmetics to other staples of lifestyle videos, such as fashion and recipes. Plus, it’s a chance to talk about your life outside of cosmetics. Your audience will get to know you as a person, rather than just a makeup artist and reviewer. Of course, this can feed back into your discussions of beauty products. You can talk about the role of specific cosmetics in your life in a more casual atmosphere. Due to the simple exposure effect of enjoying something deeper the more you see it, your viewers might trust your opinions on cosmetics the more familiar they become with you through these vlogs.

What to vlog

So it’s clear that vlogs are a useful component of any successful YouTube channel. Now, what do you put in those things? This is what’s fun about vlogs, and what attracted so many people to the genre in the first place; anything goes! Your weekly vlog can be a visual diary entry, a vacation recap, or just a quick wander through your day.

After watching enough vlogs, you might notice two categories emerging. There are more curated vlogs like Rachel Nguyen, who generally couches her videos in artsy frames, appropriate music, and editorial scenery. On the other end of the spectrum, the creator simply sits in front of a camera and talks, perhaps joined with collected footage of their recent days; Rian Phin makes great videos in this category. These vlogs feel a little more patchwork in the best way possible. Both types have a clear aesthetic and are authentic in their own right. Just go with whatever feels most natural for you and your skill set.

What not to vlog

For the most part, vlogs feel like little video journals as the maker chats casually about their day. In your own weekly vlog, you can include updates on your life and what excites you. That said, don’t feel pressured to share every detail of your life. It’s important to keep firm personal boundaries with any work uploaded and shared on the internet.

Rian Phin in a vlog post — Rian Phin uses a patchwork-style vlogging style to give her fan updates on her life and share her experiences.

These boundaries are different for everyone. Some folks vlog every step of plastic surgery. For others, filming the inside of their closets is intimate enough. These are all valid forms of production, but sharing more of your personal life online comes with increased risks. Harassment is a very real part of the internet ecosystem, and it’s important to make sure any identifying aspects of your “real life” are kept private. Many vloggers take care to keep recognizable landmarks of where they live out of their videos. It’s also handy to have a “stage name” as opposed to your legal name. These little safety measures can make a big difference.

There’s also the psychological aspect of sharing your life online. Natalie Wynn discusses it quite eloquently in her 2018 lecture at XOXO Festival. To paraphrase, it became necessary for her to construct a “persona” for herself, aka her screen name Contrapoints, as opposed to present naturally on her channel. That persona includes full-fledged characters to create some truly educational Socratic dialogues.

Don’t feel pressured to share every aspect of your life. It’s important to keep firm personal boundaries.

Wynn has legendary makeup skills, but her main focus is politics. She’s faced incredible harassment since the start of her channel, so she needed a way to distance her true self from the person in her videos. Deconstructing fascist rhetoric is a bit different from the average Sephora haul, but the advice still stands. It’s easier to be told that LipstickLover2000 sucks, as opposed to comments specifically directed at you. As you plan to incorporate vlogs into your channel, think considerately about what you want to share with the extremely public internet, and how.

Add you voice

Overall, vlogs are a fantastic way to expand creatively and chat with your audience. They’ve been a staple of YouTube as long as the site has existed, and your weekly blog will be a neat addition to the genre.

Educating gamers: Turn your channel into a resource for players

June 3, 2019

PurgeGamers - Purge Plays Ability Draft Medusa

With the wealth of video game-focused YouTube channels available, it may seem difficult to make yours standout. As more competitive, skill-based games launch, there’s an ever-growing audience for educational gaming content to help players improve. Tapping into this market can be an excellent path to growth.

The age of online gaming has made hopping online and having a blast with your friends easier than ever. Times have changed. Gaming isn’t as simple as it once was. Now, you have to worry about more than just a couple of buttons. Competitive online games (e.g. Fortnite, Apex Legends, Dota) are far more complex and jumping into them can feel daunting.

After all, the fun is dampened a bit when you’re knocked out of the game within the first few seconds. No one wants to feel like a noob. With that in mind, crafting educational gaming content helps give gamers a head-start. It also opens new potential revenue options.

Being a teacher

We’re not talking about gaming walkthroughs focused on showing viewers how to achieve specific goals. Educational gaming videos are about showcasing strategies and techniques to improve someone’s overall gameplay performance.

Essentially, you’re acting as a teacher. Like any teacher, it’ll be important for you to have a thorough, inside-and-out knowledge of the subject you’re talking about. After all, no one wants to learn winning techniques from a person who’s barely played the game. As such, there will be more research, playing and overall pre-production work to be done before you begin recording.

No one wants to learn winning techniques from a person who’s barely played the game.

It’s important to understand that educational gaming content will require you to shift your overall approach to creating content. It is markedly different from traditional Let’s Play, or even walkthrough videos. If you don’t plan and execute it properly, viewers will look elsewhere to learn the gaming skills they need.

Two ways to teach

There are a couple of ways to present your educational gaming content. One way is to go over strategies for playing the game — something YouTuber Jayne does in his Overwatch videos. This is more about discussing things players should or shouldn’t do in order to see success in a match. This approach is ideal for competition-based games like Overwatch, League of Legends or StarCraft II. In these kinds of games, victory has as much to do with positioning and tactics as skill.

picture in picture of Jayne playing Overwatch — Jayne focuses on giving players tips and strategies that they can use in their Overwatch matches.

The second way is to show exactly how a game is played and how to improve. This is great for fighting games where mastering controls can be difficult. With this style, you can play around more with the format. Plus, you can have fun with the actual teaching aspect. For instance, you can have a controller overlay on your video to highlight the specific button inputs you’re using. This would be invaluable as gamers try to learn the combinations necessary to perform devastating moves.

Both approaches have a place in your channel. Using both, even for the same game, makes your channel an even richer resource for subscribers. Not only does a multi-tiered approach give you more content to share, but it also allows you to hit a range of audiences — your audience will range from newcomers to longtime gamers — while still keeping the content on your channel varied.

Making educational gaming content work for you

The primary benefit of implementing educational gaming content is to tap into an all-new audience while still appealing to the masses. That said, there are other benefits to having an education-focused channel:

Staying relevant without the rush: With new games launching every week, YouTubers feel the pressure to stay on top of all the big new releases. Educational gaming content gives you a little more leeway. It’s often hard to tell which games will take off. However, focusing on evergreen educational content lets you keep your focus on other games (until you know which big title to tackle next).

After all, Fortnite launched in 2017, but its community is still as vibrant as ever. You could launch educational content centered around the game now. Two years later, you’ll probably still be relevant.

picture in picture of PurgeGames playing Dota — PurgeGamers makes content only on one specific game, but there is enough variety in the video formats to keep viewers engaged.

Easily integrate with other gaming content: Gaming offers a wide variety of content to viewers. It’s easy enough to integrate different types of content into your channel. In between your educational uploads, you can post traditional walkthroughs or Let’s Play videos. This is especially helpful, as you’ll need to log plenty of game time to be conversant.

These tips keep your subscribers engaged with your channel, while giving you the necessary time to craft strong educational content on popular titles. PurgeGamers focuses entirely on a single game (Dota). However, they keep subscribers engaged by making use of all the different kinds of content options available.

Whether you’re starting a new channel focused on video game education, or simply adding to your current slate of videos, the benefits of diversifying your channel are worth the extra effort. So, put your teaching hat on and show gamers how to get the most out of the games they love to play.

How to succeed as an animator on YouTube

ezra_rae_dodson

June 3, 2019

As an animator, it’s tough to compete with vloggers and gaming channels that post new content daily. Here are a few strategies that can help.

Animated content on YouTube has seen an unprecedented boom in recent years, with popular channels such as Jaiden Animations, TheOdd1sOut, Tabbes and Illymation all gaining high subscriber counts seemingly overnight. YouTube has seen its fair share of viral success stories over the years, but what makes the success of animation channels different is that the platform’s algorithm is largely not set up to favor the videos these channels produce. Let’s take a closer look at how you can succeed as a YouTube animator.

A shift in the algorithm

In 2012 YouTube infamously shifted from promoting videos with the most views to instead prioritizing those channels with the most watch time. Many creators making previously favored short-form content took a hit. In the years following this new algorithm, YouTube saw many daily vloggers and gaming channels flourish as they were able to steadily create the daily long-form content that the site rewarded. So how is it that animated content, where even a two-minute long video can sometimes take over a month to produce, has had such a strong resurgence in recent years?

thumbnail from Tabbes animation video — Tabbes opens up about her personal experiences through her animations, bringing together artistry and authenticity.

Finding what works

Many of the more popular animation channels on YouTube currently revolve around personality-driven storytime content. In this regard, these videos more closely mirror personal vlogs than they do traditional animated shorts. Animated storytelling combines the artistry of animation with all the heart of traditional vlogging. This leads to content that is as visually appealing as it is emotionally compelling. As with nearly all viral fame, there is a good bit of luck involved in the process. However, there are a few ways you can improve your chances of success within the genre.

The most successful animators are those who know how to use animation’s strengths to their advantage.

Though these personal stories are often lighthearted, animated storytelling can also provide a safe outlet for getting into more serious subjects. YouTubers Illymation and Tabbes both had their channels go relatively viral after posting videos that were more serious and personal than the majority of their previous content. This level of vulnerability isn’t necessary for success, nor is it likely to automatically improve the popularity of one’s channel. Any personal story can become a quality animated video. It just needs to be told in a well-organized and entertaining fashion.

Animated content does not always need to be driven by personal narratives. And even when it is, the production of these videos is often vastly different from that of a regular vlog. These videos often require a longer production time due to the sheer amount of work it takes to draw each frame of animation. Even the largest animation channels on YouTube typically only average about one video per month. When trying to compete with non-animation channels who can post weekly or even daily, there are a few key strategies you can use to succeed as an animator on YouTube.

1. Create a Schedule

Creating a schedule can help creators stay on track with their uploads, regardless of how frequently they are able to post. Even if you can only manage one video per month, it is important to try and post on the same day each time you upload. Subscribers won’t mind waiting for content if they can rely on you to post consistently.

2. Upload supplemental content

In between regularly scheduled uploads, you can post additional videos to make up for lost engagement and watch time. These videos can be draw-with-me live streams, vlogs, process videos — whatever you want them to be! The key is to make sure they are easy enough to produce on a more regular basis.

3. Connect with your followers

Once you develop any amount of a following, it is important to keep that audience engaged with your content. On YouTube, community posts can be a great tool for maintaining audience engagement. Outside of YouTube, many animation channels have successfully run Discord servers for fans of their content to find community amongst themselves.

4. Monetize your content outside of AdSense

Because animation channels often struggle to survive off of AdSense alone, services like channel membership and Patreon can be invaluable. These services allow creators to receive extra money from those who wish to support them in exchange for bonus content. Giving your audience a sneak peek of an upcoming video, through the sharing of process stills to Patreon, can help get a loyal audience excited about upcoming projects. Process stills are particularly useful; they come about naturally in the animation process and do not require extra work to produce. As your channel grows, merch, commissions and sponsorship deals can also be valuable sources of income.

5. It’s okay to start slow and small

While it’s easy to get caught up in wanting the best tablet and software for animation, those are only tools. They will not guarantee that you will succeed as a YouTube animator. It’s okay to work within your budget and skill level. As with any art form, growing from experience is the only way you are going to improve. Working within the constraints you have can be a big part of that learning curve.

Leverage your strengths

The most successful animators on YouTube are those who know how to use animation’s strengths to their advantage. Animation can serve as a fantastic outlet for telling personal stories or fantastic narratives. But success comes with time. Until then work hard, work smart, and of course, have fun!

How to add livestreaming to your YouTube strategy

Tom Grennell

June 3, 2019

Man at a computer with a woman talking to a camera in the foreground

Live video content is quickly becoming more prominent across all social media platforms. As a creator, it’s important that you understand just how useful the streaming tools on YouTube can be.

Some creators have even shifted to a point where livestreaming is essential to their YouTube strategy. With all the buzz, you may be asking; Should I livestream? For many, the answer is yes. No matter what your release strategy, livestreaming is a valuable tool that you shouldn’t pass over.

Why livestream?

There’s plenty of talk about what to stream and how to stream across the community, but it’s important to bear in mind why you should stream as well. For creators only familiar with on-demand content, livestreaming may seem like a strange world. However, it offers some valuable benefits that aren’t as easy to come by anywhere else.

Engagement

Live content is a great way for creators to engage with their audiences in a direct, intimate setting. Being in a chat room with their favorite creators, knowing that they’re seeing what they have to say — and maybe even replying — is incredibly appealing to viewers who want to feel closer to their favorite personalities. That being said, live content doesn’t only offer connections between the creator and the individual audience members. Live content also allows viewers to meet and interact with each other. An active chat leads to familiarity, friendships and a stronger sense of community overall. A tight-knit community is invaluable for any creator.

Monetization

Then, of course, live content can also be monetized. Livestreams, specifically those hosted by YouTube, offer a wide array of revenue streams. Similar to standard content, creators can run advertisements against their live videos. These can appear both as banners and as pre-roll ads. While hosting a livestream, you have the ability to drop mid-roll ads in as well. YouTube, though, makes no guarantees that all viewers will receive these.

Two people with headphones in front of a microphone with a camera in the foreground. — One of the biggest benefits of livestreaming is the added engagement and connection that it fosters in your audience.

Outside of display ads, YouTube also offers a super chat feature. This lets viewers purchase special chat messages that are highlighted and pinned to the top of the chat window. The more the viewer spends, the longer the message is pinned. Similarly, channel memberships let you offer special perks to your live viewers. These can include membership badges to emphasize their chat messages or even access to private members-only streams. These bonuses encourage viewers to join the channel’s membership program, driving revenue on a recurring basis rather than as a one-time payment.

How to fit a livestream into your existing content schedule

Creators have several solid options for incorporating live content into their preexisting releases. This means creators can tailor the live experience to the needs of the channel. One common option is to simply add streams onto existing release schedules. For example, say a creator normally releases two videos a week. They can up their content output without increasing backend production labor by releasing two videos and holding a livestream.

Alternatively, live video can be used to actively supplement and support the creation of regular content. Think about creators who release highlight reels from their streams. However you utilize your live content, it’s almost always a good idea to upload your livestreams as video on demand as well. Most streaming platforms have native features for this, letting your content work for you even after the stream has ended. This strategy makes the most out of a live video, letting creators capitalize on that content both in the moment and in perpetuity.

Should I livestream?

Whether it’s playing games, premiering new content or just spending time with your audience, live video is a powerful tool that creators should take seriously. Streams can be added onto your normal schedule to give viewers more content, or you can repurpose your stream for even more content. It’s an invaluable way to develop bonds in your audience, both between you and your viewers as well as among the community itself. You can even monetize it in more varied and flexible ways than you can video on demand, so the abstract benefits of audience enrichment are far from the only payoffs.

Live streaming can be a scary new field for creators only used to posting pre-recorded content, but if you’re interested in enriching your content, your community, and yourself, there’s no reason to wait.

How to promote your product on YouTube

June 3, 2019

man in the process of constructing a surfboard

When you’re working to release a new product, marketing is a huge challenge. With that in mind, one of the best promotional tools at your disposal is YouTube.

Even if you’re not a regular YouTuber, promoting your product on YouTube is a great way to grow your business. We’re here to help you figure out how!

Why YouTube?

YouTube might not immediately come to mind for your product’s marketing strategy, especially if it’s not something you’ve used much before. After all, if YouTube isn’t part of your normal routine, your low (or non-existent) subscriber count may seem a “low return” option. Don’t let this deter you, however.

YouTube allows you to interact directly with potential customers, showcasing exactly what you have to offer. Plus, you can explain why people need it — no matter where they’re located. Even without a subscriber base, it’s still a powerful promotional tool.

As with any new product, you’ll want to reach out to relevant press/websites to spread the word. As such, it doesn’t matter if you have a bunch of subscribers. You’re leveraging other’s audiences. After all, this is much easier than sending out press release materials with a large video file attached. Instead, you can just send a simple link to your YouTube video. Those interested can drop the link into an article in seconds.

YouTube also makes it easy to provide regular updates on a product, which shows potential customers you’re still hard at work. These can be reshared with relevant sites, giving them more content while keeping your product in the news.

Best products for YouTube

Products that have a lengthy development process, receive regular updates post-launch or involve services are best for YouTube promotion. The most obvious use of this method can be seen by looking at the video game industry.

Many studios regularly post “Developer Diaries” to keep fans interested throughout their long development process. Ubisoft, Double Fine and many others utilize this update method, keeping their products in the conversation even when a release is still distant.

Screenshot of Ubisoft YouTube page — Ubisoft uses YouTube to promote their next big release with game trailers, updates, announcements and developer vlogs.

It’s also something frequently seen with Kickstarter products. An announcement video is normally the first thing people see. It highlights allthe reasons the product will be worthwhile to potential backers. Follow-up videos then showcase how development is building towards those proposed goals, while continuing to build excitement towards release.

More than reaching prospective customers, these YouTube videos also give a sense of overall transparency. Giving audiences a peek behind the scenes builds a stronger connection to the product and your company overall. This could even lead to increased sales for other products as well.

man in the process of constructing a surfboard, focus on the end of the board

What to Do

If you’re just getting started with YouTube, there are some important things to keep in mind to get the most out of your video promotions:

Have a Plan – Planning ahead is crucial to successfully promoting a product on YouTube. Have a structure in place for crafting and releasing videos. This will alleviate additional stress, ensuring you always have something ready.

Stay Regular – Consistency is the key on YouTube. It gives your consumer base something to look forward to. Plus, if development drags out longer than expected, regular video updates let customers know you’re still hard at work. This also provides publications and blogs with more content and a reason to keep your product in front of their audiences.

Be Engaging – There’s a time and place for boring corporate style videos, and product promotions aren’t it. You want to engage audiences and leave them wanting more. Hook them onto your video content and you’ll ultimately hook them on buying the product!

Direct Interaction – You need to show you’re listening to your viewers. Respond quickly to online comments. Directly address community responses in your follow-up videos, and encourage these interactions. When audiences know they’re being listened to, they’ll feel a sense of investment in a product, even before they put down money for it.

What to Avoid

The basics are simple. However, there are a few things you’ll want to actively avoid when crafting your content.

Bad Videos – Nothing turns away viewers more than shoddy, sub-par videos. If you don’t put professional effort into your videos, how can viewers expect the product you’re selling to be any better? Put in the time and effort to make your videos as polished and professional as possible.

High Expectations – Don’t pin your hopes on your first videos going viral. The reality is it can take time for your content to gain traction. Proper outreach and consistency is your most surefire way towards growth. Don’t lose heart if your videos don’t immediately take off.

Going Dark – Consistency is key, but there are circumstances when it’s okay to go through periods of time without updates. Still, if something comes up and you decide to stop your videos cold (going “radio silent”), any rapport you’ve built, and the sense of transparency you’ve cultivated will be gone. Prepare your audience in advance for whatever changes might happen.

Between easier outreach potential and interacting directly with consumers, promoting a product on YouTube is an excellent addition to your overall marketing strategy. Even if you’re not a regular YouTuber, don’t ignore this valuable tool at your disposal.

YouTube’s Celebrity Takeover

Quinlyn Tesar

June 3, 2019

Famous celebrities joining YouTube hurts small creators — and YouTube knows it.

“Wait… That can’t be the real Jack Black making a gaming channel, right?” I assure you, fellow lover of YouTube, it’s absolutely real. Under 2 minutes of content, over 2 million subs. World-renowned celebrities and networks are popping up all over YouTube. This trend plays perfectly into YouTube’s corporate evolution while raising concerns from users.

When YouTube Rewind opens with Will Smith or Stephen Colbert, it’s hard to deny that YouTube is deviating from itself. Small content creators are already seeing this shift affect their channels and the site as a whole.

So far, it’s not for the better.

Impact on new and small YouTubers

Being a YouTube Creator in the midst of all this is disheartening. How can I put this… Imagine you’re in a cozy writing club where everyone gets to share poetry with one another; then Shakespeare himself kicks down the door, takes out a mic, screams into it at full-volume and a stampede of fans tramples everyone in sight. The librarian then shuts down the funding for your club and pockets the cash. She assures you, “You can keep sharing your poetry — you just have to work harder.” But no matter how hard you try or how much work you put in, no one can hear you anymore.

Now, I know that scenario is a little far-fetched. Librarians would never allow so much noise. YouTube, on the other hand, has no such qualms.

YouTube has abandoned the "you," because you are no longer as important as celebrities. — YouTube has abandoned the “you.” You are no longer the focus of the site.

The problem isn’t just feeling discouraged, though: it’s the algorithm. Celebrity channels instantly gaining tons of subs adjusts the curve for everyone. This makes it near-impossible for new channels to be found without being specifically sought out, stifling newtubers.

Why YouTube?

Major celebrities like Jack Black, Will Smith and The Rock are now posting content to YouTube, as are TV networks like SNL and The Late Show. So why are they coming here? Maybe individual celebrities are trying to stay relevant. Wanting down-to-earth relationships with fans could be a great thing! YouTube offers them a way to connect with fans that sites like Twitter do not. When it’s a means for a corporation to conquer yet another corner of the market, though, it becomes problematic. This marks a significant change for YouTube as we know it and a sharp decline in consideration for how it harms its users.

As a medium, YouTube revolutionized the dynamic of performer and audience, while making content creation authentic and accessible. Creators and viewers exist with each other. The idea of an environment to encourage creation continues to motivate people from across the globe to support one another in doing what they love.

YouTube was a place for performer and audience to exist and create together.

Those ambitious beginnings are still a major appeal to this day, but the platform is far from what it was. Now, YouTube has begun to resemble the exact media it sought to subvert. As the company grows, its priorities shift.

Will smith as the face of YouTube Rewind 2018 — 2018’s YouTube Rewind makes a statement: underdogs aren’t the priority.

YouTubers, Celebrities, and YouTube Celebrities

The line between YouTuber and the word “celebrity” has been blurring for a long, long time now. A lot of good has come of this — the site finally has a more respected status than ‘dumb cat videos’ — but some effects are questionable. Unfortunately, the consequences punish the people YouTube originally wanted to give a voice: small creators.

Celebrity and corporate invasion is damaging the people YouTube originally sought to give a voice: small creators.

As a result, YouTube has become incentivized to neglect its user base and discourage small or new creators. Now the same sort of people who made YouTube unique are being at best overlooked, at worst intentionally obstructed. YouTube remodeled the algorithm, demonetized the vast majority, flooded the trending tab with music videos and news networks, etc. All this is severely warping the community.

YouTube has become incentivized to neglect and discourage new creators.

Will YouTube be taken over by mainstream celebrities and media?

The Late Show with Stephen Colbert youtube rewind 2017 with Liza Koshy and Lele Pons — Stephen Colbert in YouTube Rewind 2017

We can’t know what’s going to happen in the long run. I’ll admit I get a tinge of regret seeing tight-knit communities become more and more detached. I want to regain that feeling of possibility, but we’re not doomed. We can always work to stay aware, educated and optimistic. We’re the ones who’ll keep the spirit of YouTube alive. It’s up to us to support and encourage each other to keep creating. There are still tons of positive, kind, inspiring places on YouTube, and I don’t think anything will change that.

Who knows? Ideally, they’ll find a way to encourage the community without stunting the website. For example, making a section for celebrities akin YouTube Kids, or a discover tab so small channels can still be found. At the moment, though, the platform just seems to be chasing money. Let’s just hope YouTube will use the profits from mainstream infiltration for the better. YouTube’s priority should always be the heart of the platform: anyone who loves to create.

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