Are YouTube gurus the vampires of YouTube?

Can KZbin "experts" really make you a KZbin millionaire? Can they grow your channel to a million subscribers? Maybe. But most likely, it's perseverance, common sense, and luck.

[@deemstyle]

Bonus points for working "hoi polloi" into your vocab. Nice one!

[@SteveRamseyPlus]

I learned it from the 3 Stooges! (no joke!)

[@grandolddrummer]

My wife came in the room and said, "He got a haircut. He looks nice!" That's the real KZbin secret

[@catfishcave379]

I was disappointed in this video. I was expecting to see lots of vampires discussing their best strategies. (You in various costumes of course) Horror, comedy, woodworking…. Guess I’ll wait for the Halloween video…

[@JJMcCullough]

There’s such a survivor’s bias when it comes to successful videos, which is the same with successful movies, TV shows, games and so on. Obviously, some things are just self-evident masterpieces and it’s not a mystery why they were a smash hit. But sometimes stuff just clicks with audiences in weird and mysterious ways that feels like it could have gone either way. A fun exercise is to look at a flop, and imagine the explanation you would have offered if it was a huge success. It’s often not hard to do, because we rarely consciously make things for others we don’t at least have some theory of success for.

[@RyanLawless]

Survivor bias is soooo underappreciated in these scenarios.

[@Lincolnstww]

I've always found it interesting that a majority of the "how to grow" or "yt advice" channels are run by people who have no experience growing a channel. In the end they all just regurgitate the same talking points without any critical thought. It's a bit like having someone teach you how to ride a bike that can't actually ride a bike.

[@jgkrus]

Yes... Right on.. I will teach you to ride a bike. You know how to ride? No but I will teach you ride..

[@FilamentFriday]

Well stated. I agree with everything you stated. The secret to success I’ve found (without consulting the experts) is picking the right topic for your video. And I’ve also found picking the right topic is almost a crap shoot.

[@JonnyDIY]

Hope you're doing well Steve, love ya buddy! 😄💕👍 Thanks for a smile 🤙

[@TheMoonlightCraftsman]

Put the same exact video on a brand new channel with no subscribers and see if subscriber count doesn’t matter

[@Wordsnwood]

Also a healthy dose of luck.

[@necrojoe]

This. If there was a formula for anything but short-term success, everyone would be doing it, and KZbin themselves would be training it.

[@tonybaggett1984]

One of the few KZbinrs that look better now then when they started.

[@FixitFingers]

Love these 'insight" videos Steve. For me, if you enjoy the process of making a video and interacting with the people who watch it... you are a successful KZbinr. If you want YT to be your full time job and pay a salary, then dedicate 60 hours a week to making the best content you can, market yourself outside the platform, and strive to improve with every video. It's kinda like the stock market, any bozo can give you confident sounding tips to get you rich quick, and a few people get lucky and do, but for most people the amount of consistent effort over time put in = the returns taken out, and like stocks, some people will be good at reading the market and do well, while other simply are not financial planners. But if you are doing it for fun and get a return on your investment, you are winning in either case.

[@DomingoFreire]

I love your woodworking videos and I always think you are a really transparent guy. Your words always make me better woodworker and KZbinr. Thank you Steve

[@RyanLawless]

It's predatory at best, exploitative at worst. People are often desperate for YT success to the point that they will consume any and all content from the type of channels you described. Between "grow your channel" channels and "buy my presets" channels, there is profit to be made by taking the money of people struggling to create work that finds an audience.

[@MrBobisadog]

A long time ago, a friend went to a seminar about getting rich in what was a multi-level marketing scheme. The pitch was to make $500k. He later learned that is what the speaker made over 10 years. My friend cracked up. That’s called a job and he already had one which was much easier, than selling to everyone you know, stuff they don’t want.

[@wildpat03]

Great video, and I do enjoy your particular brand of common sense. Please keep up the good stuff, both here and in the shop.

[@garyknight8616]

Brilliant Steve. Thank you for being you!

[@FrankC76]

I think very successful KZbinrs have something that you can’t buy. Charisma, and presence. If you have no personality, it’s a steep uphill climb.

[@OldtoNewRestorations]

It seems like you're carving a nice niche for yourself on this channel as youtube's grumpy uncle 🤣 It's well said though. It's not just youtube, either; anywhere there's a way to make money, there's a hundred 'experts' pumping out weekly videos on how to be successful at it. And it's invariably 5% useful advice, 85% fluff or just repeating the same points in different ways, and 5% just plain bad advice. I've given up looking at analytics these days; apart from view duration metrics, I've not really found any useful data from it.

[@Maxid1]

Watching videos on youtube that are about youtube leave me despondent.

[@epeiusgarage]

Sorry Steve, all your videos are good content 🤷‍♂️

[@williambuckley1185]

A good personality helps and yours is fantastic to say the least.

[@profcah]

This was a brilliant discussion. I Thanks Steve

[@jimfulmer3526]

Analytics: There are "Lies, damned lies, and statistics" -Samuel Clemens

[@PSjustanormalguy]

I know what YT woodworking is missing, a "shorts" version of Norm. Could you imagine a 30sec version of New Yankee Workshop? After the spiel and safety glasses intro, there'd be no more time !

[@BaddDukk]

Excellent video Steve. Out of curiosity, I have watched a couple of these videos you talk about and they avoid or downplay the one thing that so many YT hopefuls also ignore or do not realize - if you want YT to replace your full-time job, it needs to BE your full-time job. As you well know, success doesn't come from a couple of hours a week goofing in front of the camera and calling it good. That doesn't fly in ANY kind of job..

[@MarceloFreitas70]

Hi Steve. I hope all is well with you and your family. I don't understand these digital marketing matters well. But, what I do know is that my wife spent all of our savings with these supposed Gurus. They promise miracles, people take the bait and they take all their money by selling their miracle formulas. At the end of the day, we lost our savings and my wife couldn't find any money or a meaningful KZbin channel. Thanks for sharing and have a great week. Marcelo

[@drewsenthused6079]

Maybe wear a suit that is covered in dollar signs.

[@Avvura]

KZbin reminds me of watching Mad Men explain how marketing exploits the nature and weaknesses of humans There is definitely "smart and effective" marketing without being manipulative. Really hate the almost infinite piggybacking on certain topics. You'd have to sort through the garbage to actually find something useful. Most if not all of my subbed channels are pretty good with not having exaggerated thumbnails and titles. And quality content after clicking.

[@timf5963]

The piggybacking is really obvious on Instagram (I'm on there more often than KZbin) and it reeks of insincerity. I like that the five I follow the most are all completely different: Steve, Jon Peters, Fix This Build That, Wood Whisperer, and Finish Carpentry TV.

[@omaromar-lg3yu]

Am the 420 liker lol thanks

[@jameshopkins1919]

Always love your videos Steve. I have always seen those “how to be successful” videos on KZbin as being from those who don’t want to spend money on KZbin Ads for the same. Ether way - the chance that you can convert their success into your success is pretty darn slim!

[@luvwud]

Well said Steve, I put up content to learn from my mistakes, maybe help someone else and enjoy doing it. The analytics doesn't make any sense to me anyway. It's not why I post. Cheers Geoff

[@JayBenedictBrown]

This is an absolutely brilliant summary. It’s really the first thing a new KZbinr ought to listen to. Or really, anyone starting out in virtually any creative endeavor. Well done, Steve.

[@jonnno100]

:)

[@MillerCustomGuitars]

Steve, I love your main channel, it’s been a huge inspiration for me to start my own channel. Especially the episodes where you talked about how you use a teleprompter. When I realized that I had more to say than I could remember, I started scripting my content and reading off a prompter. It’s guitar related stuff but I’d love if you gave it a look. (Todays’ video was improvised but I worked super hard on the video with the “Can we even help this guy” thumbnail.) I’m making videos because I feel like I have knowledge to share, and because I am having fun making videos, and because I am enjoying learning how to make videos. I don’t have any delusions that I will become a full-time KZbinr. I would just really like my videos to be seen by other people like me who are working on their guitars and trying to increase their knowledge.

[@cbalan777]

From my perspective I think people aren't as interested in "projects" or ideas, as "causes". For example, people have been getting upset for years now about the state of entertainment. Star Wars, Trek, LOTR, etc have been getting heat for their drop in quality and supposed take over by people who want to ruin them or insert their own agendas into the stories. But people aren't as interested in brand new, quality stories as much as they are "reclaiming" the old ones from the people who took them. They'll more easily support a content creator they see as being a warrior in this cause, and ignore almost anyone genuinely trying to make quality content who isn't interested in, or actively being part of a "movement".

[@tree_carcass_mangler]

Came to see vampires. Disappointed. Now I need to fill the vampire void. Going to watch Lifeforce. Beautiful, naked vampires. Bye!

[@DCgamer723]

I want to see steve make a thumbnail for his next main channel video that includes every single thumbnail cliché. as well as all the other jargon that people put in videos. it would be hilarious and would be good for scientific purposes for the algorithm.

[@Dukefazon]

You can create controversy and you know how to do it, think about your halloween videos with more and more risque contents :) I remember when the channel King of Random blew up and Grant Thompson, the creater of the channel started to promote that he cracked the code and he started doing seminars on teaching others how to build great YT channels... The whole channels vibe just turned me away from his channel afterwards.

[@johnniewalker39]

Very good insight, thank you!

[@David.M.]

Interesting. Thanks Steve

[@billdiehl156]

Another great woodworking video. Smh

[@necrojoe]

... which is why it's on a separate, personal channel. Smh

[@gregmize01]

Idiot