Blog
Since my last post, my mind has been swarming with ideas on what to write today. Some were pretty good, but I’d forget them. Others were stupid, so I’d toss them out. But while walking to the store to pick up some batteries for my mouse, (which died on my just as I was about to write this) I started thinking: “What can I write about that I can make a difference in?” Politics? Minecraft? Nah… Business practices? Programming? I don’t think so. Then I thought about writing how and why I started Fear of Mobs, which led to my next idea, “Why don’t I write encouragement to those starting their own YouTube gaming channels?” That’s what I’m going with.
YouTube is a wonderful thing. Video games are a wonderful thing. Computers, consoles, and electronics in general are awesome (except for Android phones). Wouldn’t it be great if you could combine the three and make money while doing so? Many people already do. Take the Yogscast, for example. They have thousands of subscribers, and chances are they make several dollars a month because of their YouTube partnership. The Dead Workers Party is an awesome group of people who podcast about their favorite games (TF2, Minecraft, WoW, etc.) and as a result have sponsors and many followers. What people wouldn’t give to make a little extra cash or even just a small following by playing video games. But I’ll tell you now, doing so is not easy.
Even though I’ve been doing this whole YouTube thing for about six months, I’ve already seen people try and give up making YouTube videos. Now there I have been. I used to make a YouTube series called The Ace Guides. If you’ve heard of it, I’m amazed, because there are probably only a handful of people who know about it. But it was going ok-ish until I posted my 18th video and decided to stop. So I’ve a little experience with starting then stopping. There are a couple reasons I can think of why you would stop a series. You may be embarrassed by your voice, editing style, video quality, play-style, etc. Maybe you just got bored of the game. Maybe you made 100 videos and you only have 12 subscribers. Maybe you think you’re just doing it wrong and want to start afresh. But most series are shut down because the creator was not getting the results he/she was hoping for.
Here are three basic tips I would give to new let’s players:
1) Be yourself
Don’t try to mimic someone else
It’s ok to improve your style if you think you need it, but don’t flat-out copy someone else.
2) Keep at it!
If you’ve only gone 20 episodes and there are only 30 subscribers, don’t be discouraged. The more videos you make, the more those numbers will grow. Coestar has thousands of subscribers, but he also has 150+ episodes. He’s been at it longer!
3) Always go forward
If you think you’re going to be making videos like these for a long time, don’t be afraid to invest a little money into your videos. I’m not talking advertising, I’m talking about improving video quality, or getting a clearer mic. Viewers prefer clear, crisp audio rather than humming, cracking, etc. And don’t be afraid to move to a new game; video games often come in fads, and someday we’ll all have to leave Minecraft. :(
I’m in the same boat a lot of people are in; I’m still learning every step of the way and I’ll admin, I don’t always follow these three tips to the letter. (especially number 3, I’m working on that one.) But if you keep being friendly and interesting to watch and don’t stop, I’m sure you’ll get there.
