Is Youtube worth it? A long meandering ramble....

[@Elvraie]

Good rant! I value authenticity and a bit of 'Outsider' mentality in you tube videos. Nothing more annoying than someone always asking to subscribe and smash the like button at the beginning of the video. Carry on as you are doing and follow your art and inspiration.

[@Ashsibe]

Thank you. I really don't like saying "LIKE AND SUBSCRIBE!... help me ... etc", because I don't like contaminating what I've made with the content delivery system it happens to be on. The video should stand on its own merit. I also should be able to move the video to a website or some other platform without it containing pleas that no longer apply.

[@spiralingspiral72]

May not be worth it financially, but hey people like me will still watch, and enjoy this underrated channel. We're here for ya. Also on an unrelated note, if you thin Daiso Sumi Ink with 30% regular store-bought rubbing alcohol instead of 30% water, then that significantly improves the sumi ink by making it almost fully waterproof (and markerproof) and very fast drying, the only caveat being that it bleeds more into paper.

[@Ashsibe]

Thank you. Also very interesting tip with the Sumi ink. Thank you for that also!

[@Democreous]

I just watched about 100 videos on pens (sad, I know). Yours is the only one I subscribed to though. I think you have something about making videos you enjoy even if they're unpopular topics. It doesn't hurt to put out some PR / catch videos every now and then, just don't make it the focus of the channel and you should do all right. But what do I know, I just watched 100 pen videos and am heading to a Michaels to buy a Pocket Penel.

[@verycd]

You are smart enough to know the recipe to make more money on youtube but I think you are still choosing to be yourself. And your content does not seem to fall into one of those areas that attract the most audience, for instance, cooking, teaching anatomy, dubious workout advices, etc.

[@waleezeart4295]

Another great video! You are dangerously insightful. And creative. I started uploading videos that were something I would want to watch or thought needed to be said. Then I realized some of what you mentioned. It was eclipsing my real goal which was to do art and have a life. You tube is a machine. It cannot create. It utilizes the creativity of humans for its own purposes. (Prostituting them is actually the term that comes to mind). Making money wasn't the bait that drew me in. I just wanted an audience. Either way, honoring the algorithm became the hurdle. Well, I'm done. I'm not willing to sacrifice my time and effort needed to learn editing and tech skills necessary and I'm going back to enjoying creating. Although I'm thankful to the system for giving you the opportunity to entertain and enlighten us.

[@JD96893]

I tried YT for over a year, I made over 50 videos. I never made a penny. I enjoyed most of it, I focused on something very enjoyable/interesting for me and that was very niche/were very few channels doing. In the target language(Spanish, my second language) there were about 5 other channels doing the same. I stopped because it felt like I was talking to a wall. I had 2 or 3 'successful' videos, 1 probably has 60k or 70k views. Which was more than the pop of the town where I lived, so cool. But it was a video guide and the comments were endless questions which was already answered about 5 minutes into the video. So even on my most successful video people didn't even care to watch it. For the amount of time I spent in production and research it just wasn't worth it. I wanted to make money off of it, hence the very niche content on a subject with little to no content. But really I would have been happy to have a small community passionate about the subject. You have to do YT because you enjoy it, but little to no interaction is off putting. Hence the talking to a wall analogy. Your better off getting your 'interest trip' just rambling on forums like reddit or talking to friends. Unless you want to get something else out of it, like learning to edit videos or to present subjects. But getting a breakout on YT is hard and 1, 2 or 3 'successful' videos isn't enough. This channel although small is a success IMO. The content is enjoyable, but there is also an active community of commenters. It's not stale rambling into the void hoping someone is out there listening. Doing YT is lonely af.

[@ElectricUnicycles]

You deserve more subscribers 🙂 👍

[@yasuewho]

I would only do this if it's fun or useful for you on some level. If filming yourself making art is rewarding because you help some people or if it's a way to keep yourself accountable so you stick to schedules or use your sketchbook, that's great. If you sell your art or teach locally, it can be a fun way to have content for your students review fundamentals or posted as a "sampler" class for future students. I had a Twitch channel that was moderately successful considering it was an art channel, but the set up for it plus all the live interaction wore me out fast. It was super not worth it considering it took so much to even get $100 payouts. And oh god, I am the opposite of a person who wants to be known on the street. Can't we please make and sell art, but be unfamous? I envy Bansky. I might make some KZbin art videos on my own terms, mostly to help other people compare supplies or to teach a technique when the mood strikes. Once all the companies in TV or film realized that streaming wasn't a fad, it was only a matter of time before it became harder for more organic creators to grow. Also, glad you're (probably) sticking around, because I just subscribed after your brush pen review. :)

[@RomantistR]

In Korea, famous or promising creators are managed by their agency. In addition to advertising per click, they seem to be making money in various ways, such as membership services and sponsorships. The advertising unit price per click is also different for each channel or country. It is a sad story, but the advertising unit prices of channels in developed countries and channels in developing countries are different. In any case, unless it is a creator (?) that generates good advertising revenue, ordinary users seem to use it as a personal PR channel for personal records and SNS. I enjoy connecting with people like you on KZbin! Therefore, I hope that you upload more content often 🐶

[@Nanakinsz]

Missed ya! Welcome back! Can't wait to see the new artsy diversions. ❤

[@oraweetaphianthong877]

I really enjoy your content. You are a fun guy to listen to. Is there a way I can send stuff for you to try?

[@cind_h_er5717]

I greatly admire your channel. Was going to buy you several pencils, but PayPal wanted me to create an account. If you have a way of working around that, please let me know.

[@Ashsibe]

Yeah I think the whole ko-fi paypal thing to be a little annoying too. I'll get more options up one day. But for now it's the thought that counts. I mean that completely unsarcastically. 🙂

[@HinaTan250]

I have been feeling pretty much the same. Though, I tried to go down the "make what I want and people will come" route with multiple channels and have had basically no success. I do feel like it's the only way to go to avoid "burnout". But getting it to work is easier said than done. This HinaTan250 channel of mine is the only channel that has really gone anywhere. Most of the time I will make videos and only get a hundred views at most and it's very demotivating to go nowhere after months/years of effort. I seriously don't know where to go. To get success on KZbin seems questionable if it's even a desirable outcome. There aren't really any channels I can point to and say "That's what I want to become!". Lastly, my whole time on KZbin I have never experience the algorithm being kind to me. Most of my views on this channel are from people sharing my videos outside the KZbin system. And I don't understand what I am doing wrong for it not to at least promote my stuff a little bit. I have tried both actively trying to manipulate the system, and not manipulating it at all. In my experience manipulating the system actually did better for getting views. It's all very frustrating.

[@Ashsibe]

I don't think I would have anywhere near 1000 subscribers, maybe not even 200, if the content I was making was 100% 'unique'. I had to make some content that people were already searching for, which also overlapped with the type of content I really wanted to make. Which is why I started making product art reviews. When people start searching for the products they'll find me drawing something with them. But no one would ever search for me. On the internet nobody knows I exist. I'm guessing that's probably why your 'Hinatan250' channel has preformed better than your other ones? It contains lots of familiar characters and popular properties that people would already be searching for. Anyway that's my limited understanding, I might be way off. I mostly have the same problems.

[@HinaTan250]

@@Ashsibe Yes, you got it exactly right. This one contains edits of copyright content. All my other channels except for one where I would edit videos of a streamer were completely original content. The more original I go, the worse they perform. You really are going about it in one of the best ways. I don't remember how I found your channel, but I know I found it on my own through a search. I really do enjoy your content by the way! And all this really does help me think about what I should be doing.