My YouTube Journey Update

As a new YouTuber, I share my experiences, ups and downs, and merry-go-rounds with you.

On my first Christmas as a YouTuber, the fictional character from my Christmas book gave a Christmas Day speech. I teased my audience up to the magical date with trailers.

The seagull of all seagulls had come to deliver an alternative to the human king’s speech in his own unique style. Delivering pearls of wisdom to his flock. Oh, how we laughed creating the videos, with my humanised version of him dancing in the style of Mick Jagger around the city market, interacting with market traders, and larking around at local landmarks in the lead up to his speech.

Later, he sat speaking to the camera, tinsel around his neck, attempting to read the speech through his tiny eyeholes.

A lot of effort went into this video, and we were excited to see the results.

The results so far on all 37 videos have been hugely varied. Anything from 30 or so views up to over 2k. It is still difficult to tell what will or won’t work. Plus, some videos spring up views quickly, while others are slow burners.

With a Christmas book to promote, I posted videos regularly.

We hustled for subscribers, and the current count is 37. This is after a few months of posting. What I did notice is that, despite my irregular relationship with Facebook, some subscribers came from there. This is a knock-on effect from my Instagram, which is linked to my character’s Facebook account.

The Christmas speech video is still at a disappointing 33 views. I can only guess that posting on Christmas morning was a competitive time, but I would do it again next year.

In general, I am happy with the results the channel is achieving.

What I have learned so far.

• Put your all into achieving the best results you can with your videos, but don’t try to predict results.
• Enjoy the process.
• Learn from your experiences and continually look for ways to improve.
• Promote, promote, promote.
• Always interact with your viewers; make them feel valued. (They are!)
• Persist.
• Learn from other creators. Do this consistently to help you achieve the right mindset.

With a new year and a new book on the way, I am continually striving to create for my YouTube channel. Let’s see what 2024 brings and teaches.

Exploring new ways to promote a book — video cartoons.

From 34 to 2.5k views on YouTube overnight — Beginner’s luck with book marketing?

My YouTube channel is 5 months old — here are the benefits it is bringing.

Using YouTube as a blog as well as a vlog.

Another fun week building my YouTube channel. What have I learned?