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The Think Media Podcast
374: How To START a YouTube Channel In 2025: Beginners Guide to Growing from ZERO Subscribers
00:37:11
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- [00:00]
A
Hey, before we jump into the show, I wanted to give you a heads up that my free YouTube strategy class is available right now on demand@thinkmasterclass.com on the class, I reveal the one YouTube strategy we use at Think Media to generate over 330,000 views every single day. So if you're new to YouTube, this will help you start right and avoid mistakes. And if you're a YouTube pro, this training will help you multiply your your growth. This class is 100% free and you can watch it now on demand@think masterclass.com now let's jump into today's show.
- [00:38]
B
If you are starting a YouTube channel in 2025, what are the first three practical steps you would do to launch your channel?
- [00:45]
A
Your channel, name your branding. Your content should clearly communicate what you're about. You want to make it easy for viewers to understand your value proposition. If you want to start a YouTube channel right now, there's some kind of new challenges, but I also think there's some new opt opportunities.
- [01:03]
B
Who is not going to make it on YouTube in 2025?
- [01:07]
A
You're not going to make it if you spend more time consuming than creating. If all you're doing is scrolling and not posting new content and improving it, you're not going to make it. There's more things to do and watch and pursue than ever before in 2025. It's all complexity, it's all distraction and you're causing yourself decision fatigue. One thing that is super fascinating is YouTube is really promoting small and new channels. The creator economy is massive. Yahoo Finance said it's the fastest growing segment of small business, which is exciting, but a lot of people want to get in on it. If you want to start a YouTube channel right now, there's some kind of new challenges, but I also think there's some new opportunities. Challenges. Competition is fierce. The creator economy is massive. Yahoo Finance said it's the fastest growing segment of small business, which is exciting, but a lot of people want to get in on it. And so you have to be aware that there is legit competition and you got to find a way to create an edge, be different. I think also the barrier to entry is lower than ever before. So camera cost is coming down. People are just using their smartphones. There's incredible software tools. You know, some of the challenges and opportunities are kind of overlapped because there's AI tools that make it faster and easier to come up with ideas and outline videos. So in one sense you have to realize that everyone has access to these Tools. I don't mean the fanciest camera, but anybody can jump on Gemini or ChatGPT or get tools like Vidiq and start getting, like, powerful insights to make videos. So you just got to realize, like, I think in 2025, more rigor, more discipline, more. There was maybe more people getting lucky. And that still happens years ago, but now it's those that are being much more intentional and focused and strategic. But let's also talk about opportunities. One thing that is super fascinating is YouTube is really promoting small and new channels. You can see this, that in a lot of people's home feeds on a lot of people that are surfing around YouTube. They'll see a big creator, a video with hundreds of thousands of views, millions of views, and then you'll see a creator in your feed that has less than 100 subscribers. One of their videos has 76 views. Small channels are getting promotion placement all across YouTube. YouTube confirms this. When we serve our audience, the majority is like, yeah, I'm seeing small channels recommended to me all of the time. Time. And so that is an opportunity. I think it's still the best algorithm, the best platform to start a new channel and get discovered, especially if you approach it in a strategic way, like we can talk about. I think that also one of the big opportunities is YouTube is being intentional. Like, there's this new feature called hype, where people will be able to kind of give a video like a super like. And they can only give two hypes a week, but for channels between 500 subscribers. So if you're starting from scratch, you don't have it immediately, but between 500 subscribers and 500,000 subscribers, they can be hyped. And there's going to be a new hype leaderboard. I think, if anything, that just shows that YouTube is constantly trying to create a platform and an algorithm that allows new people to get into the game and win. So I think it's about facing the challenges, but it's also realizing right now is a great time to start. It's not too late to start. And if you have a strategic approach and rigor, then future is bright.
- [04:48]
B
What is one characteristic trait you need to succeed on YouTube?
- [04:52]
A
Yeah, I mean, we could probably talk about a couple, but if I had to pick one, I think it'd be courage. We get to help so many creators through our channels and our podcast and our programs. And one of the consistent things we will see is that people start getting the idea of starting a YouTube channel. They start watching content like this. They start learning this is a really good phase to be in. And for sometimes that phase might be months, even years for some people. But here's what I've learned. Like, in order to succeed on YouTube, you actually have to upload videos to YouTube. It's pretty profound, right? Obviously. But I mean, it's like that. The courage is like, you actually have to like, punch fear in the face, punch perfectionism in the face and press record. You have to get uncomfortable. You have to get that momentum going. This comes easier for others that are maybe naturally, like, let me just go for it. But a lot of times we just sit on the sidelines and we get stuck. We get stuck in overthinking, we get stuck in over analysis. We get stuck in various aspects of fear and anxiety. We just get stuck in this belief that I have to be ready, when ultimately ready is a lie. You have to start before you feel ready. You know, there's this great quote that says you don't have to see the whole staircase to take the first step. And so sometimes, you know, if we analyze the competition and the challenges, that's one reason why we might cower in fear on the sidelines. But of course, not only starting on YouTube, but succeeding on YouTube, it's going to just take action. Take. You're just going to have to take action. You're going to have to press record. You cannot steer a parked car. So I think courage is one of the major just traits that you've got to have. You got to step out there and get uncomfortable.
- [06:52]
B
What about the creator? We see the comments all the time. I have 200 subs and I've hit a plateau. I need help. What do I do? So they've taken the characteristic trait of taking on courage, but they're stuck. So heading into 20, 25, maybe they already have a YouTube channel. What direction should they head? What can help them ascend past the plateau?
- [07:14]
A
That's a great question, because we're probably getting to talk to some new people in this podcast, maybe some people that have been rolling with this, I think media for months or even years, and we talk about have courage, punch fear in the face and press record and start before you're ready. So if you already have 200 subscribers, you have some videos posted, you've done that. But then there's this other side of kind of the same coin, which now that you have started, you cannot steer a parked car. Well, cool. It's moving. Now I think it's about refining. Now it's about strategy. So now it's about, okay, great. And I love just starting messy and posting videos and not overthinking your niche. And all of you know your approach. Because a lot of that's just practice. It's like just getting out there, just getting used to it, getting uncomfortable. It's way more about the personal development and how posting content changes you than it is even about the views you're getting. It's a lot more about what you're learning. So now I think it's about sitting down and refining your strategy. And I would say start making a plan. Take a few steps back, maybe even stop posting for a second. One of my mentors says, sometimes you gotta slow down to speed up. And sometimes we might start our channel. Maybe you've been stuck at 200 subscribers for a while, but you've been posting pretty consistently for months or even years. If you're not seeing any measurable growth, hit the pause button. Not on working on your channel, but on potentially posting content. Take a step back. Am I creating the right format of content for my channel? Should I still be doing talking head? Should I be doing a video podcast? Have I been doing a video podcast like this? And it's not resonating? If you've been doing it a long time, it's not working. Maybe it's time to start doing video essays. Maybe instead of trying to post multiple times a week, you actually start posting once a month. Sounds crazy, but it's a different way of thinking. And video essays, for example, maybe deeper dive videos. This could sound overwhelming, but almost like mini documentaries. Some massive opportunity on YouTube. Just more research, more study, gather footage. You're maybe doing a voiceover, you're doing more editing, but you really find great topics, and you're making, you know, kind of more rich videos about them as far as, like, just quick, as opposed to just quick talking head videos. So sit down and make a plan. Could I approach this different? Can my. Could my strategy be different? And sometimes if We've been doing YouTube for a while and we're not getting results, we can fall into what's called sunk cost fallacy. And what that is is it's actually the phenomenon where a person is reluctant to abandon a strategy or a course of action because they've already invested heavily in it, even when it's clear that abandonment would be beneficial. And so sometimes if we've posted a bunch of videos in a particular direction, we've put so much energy into a particular direction, and you're hearing me say, like, sean, start a whole different channel. You think well, no. How do you. I've put so much into this I can't even imagine. And we sort of get stuck into something that's not working. YouTube works if you work it right, but it might take a pivot of strategy, and that's what I would encourage. People.
- [10:26]
B
I want your honest answer. Who is not going to make it on YouTube in 2025?
- [10:33]
A
I think that the people that aren't going to make it on YouTube in 2025 are people that spend more time complaining than creating. You're not going to make it if you spend more time consuming than creating. And consuming is a good thing if you're consuming educational content and applying it. But if all you're doing is scrolling and not posting new content and improving it, you're not going to make it. I think those with a fixed mindset are not going to make it on YouTube in 2025. So what's the difference between a fixed mindset and a growth mindset? A fixed mindset essentially is someone who feels like the future is inevitable. They can't learn new things, they can't develop and they can't grow. A growth mindset believes everything is figureoutable. But I might need to be willing to let go of old beliefs, old strategies, and I need to be able to embrace change. We touched on this just a second ago with the sunk cost fallacy. Those with sunk cost fallacy that stay in it have a fixed mindset. They're just fixed. Like YouTube. Success for me has to be this strategy with this channel, with this brand, and this is the thing that I want to do and I'm just going to keep doing it until it works. No, you may need to strategically quit that approach and a growth mindset that believes future is bright. Everything is figureoutable. There's massive opportunity on YouTube and there's massive opportunity for me if I don't quit. But I gotta just be willing to maybe get hard feedback, face the facts, face the numbers, face the comments, face the data that YouTube is giving me, and then continue to adjust and pivot until I start finding things that work. And so I also think that in 2025, even some, not just new creators, but some success, successful creators. I think actually those that are not resilient are not going to make it. I think that we are seeing incredible growth of the platform, but also a lot more dispersion of views. A lot of people's views are down, people still having success, but it's not what it once used to be in terms of their overall views on their channel. So what that can sometimes require is an added level of. Of resilience. Like, if you get used to things, like it's kind of like the economy if you get used to things. When interest rates were almost a zero, it was easier to buy a house, easier to get a loan, easier to start a business. And in financial terms, they say the cost of money was cheaper to get a loan. And it affected the whole economy. The whole economy is stimulated, obviously, when interest rates are lower. And then as the Fed raises interest rates, there's just more pain and then there's more bankruptcies and there's more, you know, bank failures. So you would call this the difference between, like, really growth expansion times and recession times? Well, recession is always one of the biggest opportunities of all for people that are creative, people that are resilient. But resilience means you can weather the storm. I think in 2025, the creators that are going to make it are those that are smart with their money. They keep costs low. They realize that there's no reason you can't succeed on YouTube with a lot more hustle than, like, the right gear or equipment. I think also finally, that those that are going to not make it in 2025 are those who chase too many projects and chase too many things and get distracted. There's more things to do and watch and pursue than ever before in 2025. There's a million AI tools you could try to use. There's a million platforms you could try to be on. There's so many different strategies you could try to do. There's so many different people you could watch. Like, you could just. If you're following, you might be watching too many shows, too many podcasts, you're watching too many YouTube education channels, and you're trying to use too many tools and you. It's all complexity, it's all distraction, and you're causing yourself decision fatigue. I think that those that are going to get an edge are those who actually simplify things a little bit. Get a napkin, pant plan. There's something about having a business plan, but if it's 26 pages and you don't even remember what it is, what's like, my simple plan? What are the simple tools I'm going to use to accomplish that plan? My phone, My laptop? Like, what, what? And what's my simple strategy that I'm finding? And I think if you shut out distractions and cut out the noise, a lot of the distraction and noise is just sidelining creators and really truncating their productivity and affecting their mental health as well. So I think protecting your focus, being willing to, to put in this is what I mean by resilience. I talked actually to my loan officer to refinance as rates dropped a little bit. And I said, how are things going? And he said, well, I'm doing twice the amount of work for half the money. I talked to Cody Sanchez and we have a replay of that episode out or it will be coming out on the Think Media podcast. And I said, she owns, she's invested in 50 businesses. Said, how's it going for your businesses right now? She said, they're actually all doing pretty well, but everyone's working about twice as hard just to get the same results they're getting. That's resilience. So if views are down a little bit at the conclusion is like, YouTube is dying. No, it's not. Oh, like YouTube's on the decline. No, it's not. There's just more stuff to watch. Not even just YouTube. There's more YouTube TV, Hulu, there's Netflix. There's just more places to have your attention. So resilience is I'm willing to work twice as hard for half the views and I'm willing to strategize how off of half the views I can pay my bills, all of the above as possible. So for the resilient, there are great spoils waiting on the other side of persevering through this year. Would you like a free copy of the number one bestselling book for growing a successful YouTube channel? If you want to get a copy of the new and expanded second edition of YouTube Secrets, just go to yt secrets.com and if you'll cover shipping and handling, I would love to send you this book for free. And the cool thing is, when you place your order, you're also going to get access to some bonus resources like our 1000 subscribers club, our 7C's framework, our perfect video recipe framework, as well as some bonus videos that will help you get results on YouTube faster. So to get your copy, just go to ytsecrets.com or click the link in the podcast show notes.
- [17:12]
B
Going into 2025, there's going to be a lot of creators who are working full time, have families like you're saying, lots of other things going on aside from creating content. For the person who is starting a YouTube channel in 2025, with a plethora of other things on the sidelines, what's the first thing they should prioritize with their YouTube channel.
- [17:34]
A
I think if I'm starting a channel with lots of stuff on the side, the first thing I would prioritize is doing a time audit. How much time do you really have for this? Like, of course you can just kind of randomly like, oh, I've got a free afternoon, let me shoot one video. But that's not going to be sustainable. So either do this by yourself or do it with your loved ones and anybody that you know is involved in the key decisions in your life and say, okay, what's my week look like? Where can I find a little bit of margin and some time to set aside? For YouTube we have a resource, it's called the Five Hour YouTube Workweek. And so it really just talks about how you could very much start a successful, growing, part time, eventually income earning YouTube channel while you're juggling other responsibilities in five or less hours a week. Especially with how efficient you are at those hours. Here's the bottom line. You need to find those hours on your calendar and you need to then commit to those hours. It's very common, I've noticed, for someone to start a YouTube channel next week and post a video the week after and then maybe post their second video on the third week and then for them to get distracted and derailed by week four and, and they don't post for a couple months and then maybe they get back and post once and then another couple months pass by and I've got deep empathy for, for that. I think it's like what happens is by week four your car breaks down, you were kind of surprised, you didn't know your parents were going to come into town. They go through a crisis, like different stuff happens. So I think that's why I say do a timeout. It sit down, make a plan and start with your calendar and start with your life. And then a few tips there would be also start removing before you start adding. If you look at your calendar, it's like, well can I remove picking up the kids from school or taking them to school? Well, maybe you can because maybe it's cool with you if your mom, their grandma takes them. Okay, great. Like if that's part of your vision. But, but maybe you're like, well then I'm not going to change that. That's like my joy is to always pick my daughter up from school. Well, okay, you're not changing that. Well, what about this? Well, whenever my husband's off work. Okay, well then those are the unchangeable things. But if you really do an assessment of Your calendar, I think those that are going to Crush it in 2025 are those that embrace strategic planning combined with the law of sacrifice. They look at what's on their calendar. Like, I've heard it put this way, too. Like, every single day is like a train with 24 box cars, and you get to choose which what goes in each of those box cars. Maybe eight of them is sleep. Maybe it's only six. For some of us, you're like, I only sleep three hours. All right, well, then you have 21 left, but you're probably pretty cranky. And so you have these different box cars, and some are full. Where can you plug those things in? And then if you consistently protect your schedule, the law of sacrifice says, what are you going to say no to this year? What could you remove from your calendar this year? Could you remove some leisure? Could you remove some distraction? Could you remove some scrolling? And then backfill that with. Okay, now that I'm clear on how much time I have for my YouTube channel now, let me use that as wisely as possible with planning, coming up with video ideas, shooting, editing, uploading, going through the steps, and then accepting that, just like, starting anything new. Those beginning stages are kind of like going back to the gym in January. First, like, New Year's resolution. You get in the gym, you're like, I didn't know my muscles could be that sore. Yeah, because you haven't worked out in so long. Like, no, Literally, like, they've been sore for two and a half weeks. Like my back pain. Yeah. Like, it's really brutal when you get it going at first. In fact, that's kind of been my health journey for a while. I stopped, you know, got distracted with work, ran for a little bit. I think maybe I've been weightlifting again for less than two years. And now I'm realizing, man, shoot. My recovery after, like, lifting heavy for is like, maybe. Maybe a day, half a day. On lifting heavy before, if I, like, really did, like, a big chest day, I was like, My pecs are. It's. It's been 10 days, and my whole chest. I mean, I'm 40 years old. Why am I in so much pain? Like, what's happening? You're getting back to it? There's a lot of pain at the start, but now I can go faster. I'm more streamlined, I'm more whatever. So I think that's a mindset I would want to encourage somebody with, you know, look at your calendar. What can you say no to? How much time can you dedicate to YouTube, start doing it and then start doing it. Still knowing that like, if you keep that going, if you were committed to the five hour work week. Five hours a week for the first six months is now you're like, that's like three and a half. This thing is because you. You stuck with it. Beyond the pain point, beyond the man. I'm so sore. I don't even want to go back to the gym again. Like, I'm so frustrated. Like, and. And then be ready for things not to go as planned. Like, I was even thinking about today on the way to try to get here, we have like one of those electric key, type in the keys to unlock your house things. And I don't want to get locked down in my house. I'm like, where's the key? I couldn't find it. The batteries were wrong. You know, I text Melissa and I was like, I would have been on time, but I am dealing with something and I don't know and it sounds funny but. But like that's Murphy's Law. What does Murphy's Law say? Anything that can go wrong probably will. So it's actually like, probably estimate just more challenges. Like, you're so pumped for your shoot day and it took you an hour and a half and you still didn't get your camera settings right. Now you're super frustrated. Cause you're like, that was the only time the kids were napping and I got zero videos out of this. This block. I just wasted an hour and a half and now I'm flustered and I'm too stressed to shoot and I tried to and then the battery died. And so now. So it's like you have to get back to it. I. For as long as I've been a video editor, I just can't tell you how many times I know it's supposed to auto save every 10 minutes or it's supposed to auto save every hour, but how many times? I've been like an hour and a half into an edit, two hours and it crashes. And I'm like, wait a minute, did I save? Is autosave on. And I'm like, no way. And in the side hustle season, there's been a lot of. I've. I've shot, I've done what you call batch producing videos where this is a good tip. Block some time, plan out like two, three, four videos and film all four in the one setting. I think we're on video three today. We've been shooting some podcasts all in one day. So we're batch recording right now. I've done some these microphones that are plugged in for this video podcast. I've done batch shoots where I shot four videos by myself in my loft. Starting up on YouTube, not full time side hustling only to then take the SD card out, put it in my computer and realize I did not turn my microphone on and I just shot for two hours, like 30 minutes of video and I'm playing it back and I'm like, yeah, there is, there's absolutely no audio on these. And you know, the definition of resilience is how quickly you bounce back when you're super discouraged and when you want to give up. That's what it takes. And sometimes you're frustrated. Maybe it's not that day. You're like, well, it's enough for today. You know, wind's kind of knocked out of your sales, got to get back to it tomorrow. That's just like the name of the game. I think that the thing that's under talked about just an online business, YouTube is just sort of actually the pain and actually how my how this stuff is more about like the setbacks and the bad days. I think I did heard somebody say that. It's like how many bad days can you tolerate a tolerance for bad days? Because it's not all good days. Maybe not even the majority. Oh, everything's perfect. My hair turned out perfect in the mirror. Jumped out of bed with no back pain. This is phenomenal. Wow, my outfit sure came together today. Oh look, my camera settings were perfect instantly. Oh, look, the sun coming through. It's like angelic lighting in the. Wow. The video ideas are just flowing so smoothly to me. This is incredible. The ideas are flowing. This is some of the best content I've ever came out with. No friction here. And wow, I can't even feel any insecurity. I got no anxiety at all. And you know, it's also crazy. I got no problems in my life, no problems with my in laws. I got no problems in my marriage. Kids are perfect and things have been going amazing. Health has never felt so good. I just have too much money in my bank account. Like this is crazy. And wow, I'm on day 563 streak of my life being perfect. Said nobody ever nobody. It's the opposite of that, right? We are. Those days are nice when it's like I'm on top of the world. Right? Everything's going great. That's actually those are fewer and far between and when everything goes your way and if You've already started posting videos. It's one out of 10. Resilience is. It's like you've been dropping duds for quite a while and you don't quit and you also deal with all those challenges of life and yet you also stay committed to your YouTube side hustle, your part time YouTube commitment, because you see the vision and you're committed to resilience.
- [27:02]
B
My last question here for you. If you are starting a YouTube channel in 2025, in the climate that we are in, what are the first three practical steps you would do to launch your channel?
- [27:13]
A
Yeah, so I mean, we can link to some resources. I think I would, you know, start with courage. We have seven Cs of YouTube success. I'd say courage, get clear on who's your channel for, what problem does it solve, and then set up your channel. Like Google how to start a YouTube channel. If you're watching this, you probably have those going. But let me give some like more kind of ninja stuff that I believe is a 2025 landscape stuff. If you really want to stand out, I'll unpack these. But here they are. Focus your channel and your content. Don't be better, be different. And simplicity is key. So first, focus your channel in content. I think the biggest problem a lot of creators face is their channel is unfocused in 2025. Do you need to niche down or not? Or there's people saying you are the niche. Don't niche down, become the niche. You're the niche. You don't need a niche. Niche. This niche that you know, it's actually said niche. Like, okay, let's summarize. Focus your channel. Like, what is the focus of your channel? Focus is power. I've heard focus says stands. It stands for follow one course until successful focus. There's actually a book called Positioning. We did a whole series on the Think Media podcast that we can link up in the show notes. It's kind of a deep strategic series about the book Positioning and how it applies to YouTube. But it says this, that you want to own a clear space in your consumer, in the consumer's mind, that when somebody thinks about you, they're like, yeah, like, like, I hope when people think about Sean Cannell, they're like, oh yeah, that's the YouTube guy. Oh, oh yeah, the author of YouTube secrets. Now there might be other things they think about, but it's like, oh yeah, that's the like punch fear in the face and press record guy. Like, that's actually a good thing. If you start getting kind of typecast or put. Because the world is so busy in the book positioning. Its point is you don't want to be a wandering generality. You want to be a meaningful, meaningful specific. You want to be like Volkswagen. They're like, oh, there's a Volkswagen Bug. We'll never not see it. That's a unique car. Is different. Volkswagen Bug wasn't trying to sell more trucks than Chevy or Dodge. It was a whole different thing. The Volkswagen Bug is a totally. And so to Tesla too, comes out, dominates the market. They gotta look to them. You're like, oh, there's a test. Cybertruck. Love them or hate them? Do you love them or hate them?
- [29:34]
B
I don't like them.
- [29:35]
A
You don't like them?
- [29:36]
B
Not. Not a fan.
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A
Would you see if one drove by you, could you see it on the road?
- [29:41]
B
I wouldn't vomit. I would think it's cool for somebody.
- [29:43]
A
But I'm just saying it's impossible to miss.
- [29:45]
B
Yeah, that's true.
- [29:45]
A
Like, it's like it's impossible. Yeah. What's this like stainless steel box? What is that? Yeah, it's, it actually stands out like crazy. I mean everybody talking about, we say cybertruck right now. It's like everybody knows what that is. If you talked about like, hey, what's like the mid. The current mid. Mid sized suv. Buick. What's the model name?
- [30:06]
B
Oh, Buick Enclave. Oh, wow.
- [30:08]
A
You actually knew.
- [30:09]
B
I don't know. That's the first how.
- [30:11]
A
What's, what's like a mid sized Ford Explorer. What's. Yeah, I knew that one. What's the mid sized, you know, Volkswagen suv?
- [30:19]
B
I have no idea.
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A
I mean. And would you recognize it compared to the full size? Definitely not compared to a cyber Truck.
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B
Compared to the cyber truck.
- [30:28]
A
No, no. Like, like they're all these other cars, I mean, they're kind of, they're not distinct. And why is the cyber truck so crazy? Because it's just different now. Maybe half the world or more hates them. You being one of them.
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B
Yes.
- [30:43]
A
But you, you're not going to miss it.
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B
Mm.
- [30:46]
A
So it's kind of like I think in 2025, you want to be a cyber truck. You want to think about. That's what positioning would say. You want to have a clear space in the consumer's mind. And by the way, there's people lining up, getting on waiting lists, wanting to get one. It's their own sub, you know, and Tesla's doing great, you know, on a macro. So In a crowded YouTube world, finding a Focus, not Trying to be everybody else. And like. So for example, you could instead of starting a general cooking channel, if you were to start like a vegan baking channel for beginners or imagine this a like channel for medieval recipes and the niche cuz cooking. You're like, well, everyone's got a cooking channel. Okay, well something that's more niche down. You build that thing up maybe in the music. You know, we're here in Vegas recording this and there's at the Excalibur. What's it called? It's like the medieval experience or whatever. Have you ever been to that?
- [31:36]
B
No.
- [31:36]
A
What's it called? Cow Knights of the Round Table Tournament. You go down there, you watch some people sword fight and ride horses around and stuff. They bring you like a leg of chicken. It's awful. But there's like, and there's like no seasoning because they're like, this is authentic. And you're like, well you could still bring me seasoning. And they will if you ask. But it's like if you were to do. You got the music, medieval music, I mean that it's going to be different and not everyone's going to like it, but so how could you be different and, and that, you know, be more focused. So be, be the expert, be the go to expert for let's say restoring classic motorcycles or specialize in a particular area like vintage video game reviews. So that's number one and we kind of touched on number two. Don't be better. Be different. When you're different, you're a cyber truck. A lot of people would say, is it better than other vehicles? A lot of memes are like, not really. And it's like getting stuck in the mud. You can't really take them off roading. What's even the point? There's even, there's like the mom memes where they were like, look, I can put my stroller in the back. Look, there's space on the passenger side for my purse and groceries. And then somebody else with like their beat up minivan is like, yes, look, I could put my stroller in the back. It's like, okay. It literally does the same thing every other car does for more expensive and it's ugly. So but it's different, right? So don't be necessarily better. The reason different beats better is because it's going to be impossible for you to be better. Meaning, oh, I look at all these competitors around me, how can I be the next Mr. Beast? Or how can I vlog like Casey Neistat? Or how can I, you know, be like Lilly Singh or whoever. You look at these other creators like they already have a head start, plus they're already being themselves. So it avoids direct competition by being different. And so you could think about having a unique format, maybe a unique perspective. A lot of people are starting channels, you know, 40 plus, 40, 50, 60, 70, because there's a more information in the world today than ever before, yet less wisdom. We're, we're overloaded on information, we're starving for wisdom. We have 20 year old life coaches and we need more 40 and 50 and 60 year olds bringing real life changing, deep wisdom and experience to YouTube. There's this whole trend of YouTube Easy Mode, which means because of this kind of authenticity wave over edited, over produced videos aren't necessarily doing as good. And people that sit down, they turn a camera on, they sit down and they, they still kind of package the video well, but they have a clear topic and they share from their experience, their perspective. People are already talking about what I want to talk about. True, but here's why nobody can compete with you. They don't have the same stories, they haven't been through the same pain, they haven't been through the same trauma you've been through. They do not have your perspective. AI can give you quick answers, but AI cannot give you perspective and stories and emotions and what you've been through. So that's different. Like when you build your YouTube channel by thinking about what can my content mix be different? How can I leverage my personality, my perspective? And then lastly, simplicity is key. So if it's 20, 25, here, here's what I mean. Your channel name, your branding. Your content should clearly communicate what you're about. You want to make it easy for viewers to understand your value proposition. And so if you confuse, you lose. Is your, do you have a clear name on your channel? Clear cover art. There's channels that are growing big and they never upload cover art. Cover art's not the secret, but cover art that is clear is. I mean this, if we go to a channel that has like your picture and like a statement about what your channel is for, the process of picking clear brand colors, having kind of a brand guide, having name, mission, vision, values, not that you need all that stuff, that's a lot more than 99% of creators have. In fact, I would say most people starting a channel, they have not answered the questions of who's my channel for? What problem does it solve? What is the vision of my channel? What is the mission of my channel? What does this channel stand for? What are we for? What are we against thinking through some of these things? What are our brand colors? Have I thought about that? What is the look and feel and tone of my channel? And we're not then adding in just a hodgepodge of whatever, then simplicity is key. We trying to cut through the noise in a 2025 world where somebody lands on the channel and they're like, oh, I get what this is about. This makes sense. As opposed to, I don't know, is this like a cooking channel that's also about, like, cyber trucks and they play, like, video games on the weekend and then they share dating advice. You're like, I don't know that. And if you're going to be remembered because you want to be remembered for something specific, it's like, I don't know. I mean, I saw that weird guy who was, like, giving dating advice and then, like, making vlogs about his cybertruck, but it was strange because he'd post Coke and by the way, you already forget it. I don't remember his name. Like it. So simplicity, streamline it down and try to have a clear brand, a clear strategy, a clear focus. I think a lot of that's going to help you win in 2025.
- [36:55]
B
That's amazing. Thank you for thinking through what you would do with a YouTube channel if it was your own and elaborating on some of those. I think they're very applicable tips that we can take with us. And I'm super, super looking forward to 2,025. Sean, thank you for sitting down and sharing.