I would love to tell you that my YouTube journey has been easy but, quite honestly, it has been a lot of hard work, dedication and self-talk.
There were days when I wanted to just quit. There were days when it was just too much. There were days when I wondered if it was all worth it. To make sure you understand: being a YouTuber takes a lot of time, dedication and perserverance. You have to be able to withstand the haters and wait, in my case for years, for something to “break” through. It is NOT easy money!
Sure, I have managed to amass a wonderful, loyal, following of subscribers and a healthy number of views – so close to 750,000 viewers that I can touch it, if I stretch a little! Not to be sneezed at. But I was frustrated. The subscribers had plateaued and I needed to do something to change that. I signed on for Video Ranking Academy – an amazing program to teach you how to rank and optimize your videos. Quite honestly, I am struggling through all the amazing information (no, I am not being paid by them!!!). It is a program where every time you turn around they are feeding you more amazing content.
I got overwhelmed. Nearly quit, quit again. Yes, truly. Felt I was a little stupid because I wasn’t “catching on” the way I should have been. Part of me felt “less than”. My stuff. My pattern when I hit a roadblock that seems too large for me to handle.
Some realities are difficult to take. Over four years of work for a tiny monetary return. Who works that hard for that R.O.I.? I am a business person and getting Return On Investment is ingrained in my brain. This was not hitting the mark.
Then I heard that I needed to “FOCUS” because I needed to concentrate on one thing. Yikes. Now how do I do that when I have spent four years being an ecclectic? My viewers love the fact I have variety: vlogs, cooking, hints, travel, etc. That was about the last straw for me.
I sat for some time trying to work out (a) whether I should just throw 4 years of passion into the can and get on with my other life or (b) just continue to do what I do and pray that somewhere somehow the “magic” perfect storm would hit. That I would be able to incorporate all these wonderful lessons into my way of vlogging and stay true to who I am.
One thing was for sure. I needed to stay who I am. I did not want to be changing what I had spent four years carefully building and, if that meant that I was never going to have any financial success, so be it. I would find another way. I just didn’t want to stop my passion: Helping people cope with love, life and other problems. In every corner of their life. It is what I do.
So I struggled through the learning. Not convinced it was going to do much, to be honest. I learned how to take my videos and get them ranking (technical stuff that I will not bore you with). Knowledge I had not had 4 years ago.
Then late September, something strange happened. I notice a shift in one of my videos. It was a short 5-minute thing about washing Swiffer Dusters that I published about 2 years ago. It wasn’t fancy (none of my stuff is). It wasn’t done on a fancy camera, with fancy lights or whatever. Nope. Just a little “Tip of the Day” thing on how to wash Swiffer Dusters and keep them looking like new. Believe me I know, I have had mine for over 5 years and you would not believe it if you saw them.
It moved from an average of.9 views per hour to 1.8 views. Doubled! Yikes. Then 4 hours later it was at 20.2. I had to sit down for that one. Then, within another 24 hours, it moved to 46.8. Mindblowing. I could hear the voice in my head, “… if it looks too good to be true, it probably is” but then another voice was screaming, “… bring it on!!!”.
Over the course of the next week it dropped back down but not to where it originally was. Is is now at around 1.4 per day. Before you cry and the drop… THINK. 1.4 views per hour is nearly double what it started at (.9). That is my first major jump. So darn exciting. No, it didn’t put hundreds or thousands of dollars in the bank but it did bring up my views by 30,000 for the month which, in turn brings all my videos up and impacts my “brand”.
I wonder if you would be willing to work everyday for years just to do something you are passionate about? If so, you have found your passion in life. You will know it is your passion because even though you “fail” you get back up and try again, doing it slightly differently. You keep that goal in mind. You take the blows and make corrections… every day.
Be passionate. It gives you a reason to get up in the morning!
(For questions or comments, please write to me: DearMamaSal@gmail.com)
YouTube Update – Week 217
Subscribers 7,689
Views 741,110
Blog views 52,191
188 weeks non smoking $14,777 saved
Weight down? Hmmm… a work in progress!! lol
