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If Your Videos Get Under 500 Views, This Update Changes EVERYTHING — Transcript

by Dan the creator · 2,876 words · 412 segments · language en · Watch on YouTube

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0:00If you're constantly uploading videos,
0:01but they keep getting stuck below 500
0:04views, here are some things you can do
0:06to fix that. In this video, I'm going to
0:08explain what the 500 view barrier
0:11actually is, and then I'll show you
0:12exactly how to break through it. Let's
0:14get into it. All right, so look, putting
0:16it simply, the hardest thing about being
0:19a small channel is the fact that you're
0:21competing against all the big famous
0:23channels in your niche all the time. So,
0:26when your potential viewers are on
0:28YouTube browsing for something to watch,
0:31they're going to see your videos sitting
0:33next to the other videos with like
0:35hundreds of thousands of views. And this
0:37is the biggest problem you're going to
0:39face as a small channel. Because when
0:41people see two similar videos side by
0:43side, one with let's say 200 views, and
0:46one with let's say 200,000 views,
0:49unfortunately, due to a psychological
0:51thing called social proof, most people
0:53will assume that the video of only 200
0:56views is a bad quality video, but the
0:58one with 200,000 views is a high quality
1:01video. And they make this judgment
1:03without even needing to click on the
1:04videos and watch them first, because
1:06they just automatically assume that if a
1:08video has 200,000 views, it must be a
1:11good video, because 200,000 people have
1:13watched it. And more often than not,
1:15this means that the small channels and
1:17the small videos just get ignored, no
1:19matter how good your video actually is.
1:22Now look, I wish this wasn't the case,
1:24but unfortunately, it is. And because of
1:26this, you guys are at a huge
1:27disadvantage. However, there is a way
1:30you can completely sidestep this issue,
1:33and I know this because I did it on all
1:36three of my channels when they were
1:38small and brand new as well. Like, I was
1:40also once where you are now, competing
1:42against all the other bigger channels,
1:44but I used a very specific technique
1:47that worked on all of my channels, and
1:48it worked every single time. So, to
1:50understand how this technique I speak of
1:53works, you first need to understand that
1:55not all viewers behave the same. We
1:57actually have two groups of viewers on
2:00YouTube. Now, the first group of
2:02viewers, group A, are the kind of people
2:04who will only watch big channels. They
2:07will almost never click on a video that
2:09has hardly any views because they would
2:12just rather stick to watching the bigger
2:14channels and stick to watching things
2:16they already know and trust. These kind
2:18of people are usually very skeptical
2:21about videos with low views and they
2:23don't really want to risk wasting their
2:25time. So, they basically just never
2:27click on them. Now, unfortunately for
2:29you guys, this actually makes up around
2:3175% of all viewers on YouTube. However,
2:34the second group, group B, which makes
2:37up around 25% of all the viewers on
2:39YouTube, are more than happy to click on
2:41a video with low views and watch content
2:43from small channels. Like these people
2:45would absolutely click on a video if it
2:48caught their attention and look like
2:50something they'd want to watch
2:51regardless of how many views it has or
2:53doesn't have. So, your job right now as
2:56a small channel is to target group B
2:58first, then you target group A
3:01afterwards. Because these are the ones,
3:03group B, who are most willing to take a
3:05chance on a small channel. And this way,
3:08if you target them, you can get the
3:10views coming in that builds up your
3:11social proof over time. And then over
3:13time, group A viewers will naturally
3:15start to notice your videos and become
3:17interested. So, basically in the rest of
3:20this video, I'm going to show you the
3:21secret to attracting both group A and
3:24group B and which sequence you need to
3:26do it in. All right. So, group B. Now,
3:29these guys are perfect to target first
3:32because they're the type of people that
3:34are more than happy to support small
3:35channels. They love the personal feel
3:38and the connection of a small creator
3:40and they want to feel like relatable.
3:42Now, they kind of often see themselves
3:45in you much more so than they do the
3:47bigger creator who they basically have
3:49nothing in common with. So, the best way
3:52to create videos that connect with type
3:55B viewers is to create how I videos.
3:58Now, I've seen these videos work time
4:00and time again, and my biggest
4:02breakthrough videos on both this channel
4:04and my old travel channel were also how
4:07I videos. Now, on this channel it was
4:09titled how I beat the YouTube algorithm
4:11as a new channel, and then on my travel
4:13account it was called how I compared Sri
4:16Lanka versus UK McDonald's. Like two
4:19completely different videos, but the
4:20same kind of concept, and they both
4:22worked really well. But look, I'm not
4:24the only person who's done this. Here
4:26are two other famous examples. This
4:28video here by Sharon Syung, posted 5
4:31years ago when she had less than 10,000
4:33subscribers, it was her first breakout
4:36video. And it was titled how I made
4:38$30,000 on merch by Amazon. Now, it got
4:41over 680,000 views, which is insane. And
4:44also this video here too by creator
4:46called Uncomfy. She posted this video 3
4:49years ago when she was a tiny creator,
4:52and it was a video that blew up her
4:53channel, and it's the reason why she is
4:55today. Now, there are so many different
4:57examples of this from so many different
4:59channels. So, the point here with these
5:01videos is you need to kind of like lean
5:04into the fact you're a small channel.
5:06Don't try and pretend that you're some
5:07huge expert with all the answers,
5:10because the biggest advantage you have
5:12over the bigger creators is actually how
5:14relatable and how small you are. And
5:16this is exactly why the how I videos
5:18work so well. Because instead of giving
5:21people the same generic advice that they
5:23could get from any big creator, you're
5:25actually sharing your own personal
5:27experience instead, which is something
5:28that's completely unique to you. Now,
5:31for example, let's say if a small
5:33channel uploads a video titled how to
5:35get 1,000 subscribers, most people will
5:38probably ignore it and actually just
5:40choose the same video that's posted by a
5:42creator with over a million subscribers
5:44instead. But if you were to change that
5:46video to, let's say, how I got my first
5:491,000 subscribers as a small channel,
5:51suddenly it now becomes a personal
5:54story. And your small size actually
5:57makes that video much more relatable and
5:59much more actually enticing to watch.
6:01And this is a best way to target these
6:03groups of people, and it works every
6:05single time. Then, once you've
6:07successfully targeted these people and
6:09you've got some views coming in, the
6:10next thing you need to do to target the
6:12bigger group of viewers, group A, is to
6:15start actually improving your overall
6:17content. Because group A viewers are
6:19very picky when it comes to the videos
6:22they watch. They have a great eye for
6:24detail and they like high-quality
6:25videos. Now, look, I'm not saying you
6:28need to go out and spend like $2,000 on
6:30brand new equipment, like definitely
6:32not. But I will actually give you some
6:34really easy and cheap tips on how you
6:36can improve your videos much more easily
6:38so they they do look high-quality and
6:40they target group A viewers. Now, you
6:42need to understand that first
6:43impressions are everything. And if you
6:46give a great first impression to these
6:48viewers in the first 30 seconds, you are
6:50much more likely to have them stay and
6:51enjoy the rest of the video. So, first
6:54up, the cheapest and easiest way you can
6:56improve your content is actually by
6:57using music and sound effects. Now,
7:00using background music in your videos
7:02can completely change how engaging it
7:04feels. The right music could make
7:06something feel more exciting, more
7:08dramatic, more emotional, and overall
7:10just like a bit higher quality. Now,
7:12personally, whenever I use music in my
7:15videos, I always use Epidemic Sound.
7:17They've got a huge catalog of over
7:1955,000 premium music tracks and over
7:22250,000
7:23sound effects you can choose from. So,
7:26they've literally got music for every
7:28type of video in any niche. Now, it's
7:30completely free to sign up and their
7:31music and sound effects are 100%
7:34royalty-free and safe to use for
7:35YouTube. So, you never have to worry
7:37about any copyright claims or anything
7:38like that. Also, even if down the line
7:41you cancel your subscription, all the
7:43music you used in your videos previously
7:45will still stay copyright free forever.
7:47Now, they've just released a couple of
7:48new tools that makes adding music and
7:50sound effects so much easier. So, if
7:53you're a small YouTuber with little to
7:55no experience, it's actually really easy
7:57to start now. Now, their first tool,
7:59Assistant, helps you find music and
8:02sound effects perfectly suited to your
8:03video, and all you have to do is
8:05basically type in or describe the vibe
8:08of the video you're going for, and it'll
8:09give you all of these personalized
8:11recommendations here that are perfect
8:13for your specific video. And then,
8:15another tool they've released is Adapt,
8:16which is perfect for those of you making
8:18shorts because it actually automatically
8:20adjusts a music track to fit the exact
8:23length of your video. So, if you were to
8:25find the perfect song, but you found it
8:27to be too long or too short, Adapt fixes
8:29it automatically for you. And now,
8:31they've also introduced Studio, which
8:33makes the whole process of adding music
8:35even faster. You can basically now just
8:37upload your video, and Studio will
8:39quickly create a synced soundtrack draft
8:42matching all the different music and
8:43sound effects to the different moments
8:45in your video. You can then go in and
8:47tweak them and edit them, and complete
8:49it as you wish. So, if you want to make
8:51your videos feel much more professional
8:52and engaging, use the link below to get
8:54a 30-day free trial of Epidemic Sound.
8:57And if for any reason you don't like it,
8:59you can cancel it and pay nothing at
9:01all, and the music you have used during
9:03that free period will be cleared
9:05forever, so there won't be any copyright
9:07claims or anything like that for you to
9:08worry about. So, it's totally risk-free.
9:10I recommend giving them a try. Then, the
9:11next thing you can do is to improve your
9:14lighting. And this is honestly one of
9:15the biggest needle movers when it comes
9:17to aesthetically pleasing, nice videos.
9:20So, just as a quick reference, this is
9:22what I look like without a nice light
9:24and some background lights on my face
9:26and on the backdrop. Like, the
9:28difference isn't really the end of the
9:29world, but having that light shine on my
9:31face does make my videos look far more
9:34polished and more professional. Now, all
9:36the big professional YouTubers you watch
9:38who sit in studios or offices where they
9:40record their videos all use these
9:43lights, like every single one of them.
9:45Even movie film sets in Hollywood use
9:48these when they shoot different scenes.
9:49They are that important. Now, obviously
9:51in Hollywood theirs are a lot bigger
9:53than this one I've got, but you get the
9:55point. And this is literally just this
9:57thing here. It's called a key light, and
9:59it's a very bright light that shines
10:01right at my face. But it also has this
10:04thing here, which is a softbox. Now,
10:06they're basically together they make a
10:08really bright light that shines directly
10:10on my face. Now, the softbox here is
10:12used to soften the strength of this
10:15light, so it doesn't like look like a
10:17torch shining directly on my face. It
10:20basically dampens it, and as its name
10:22suggests, it makes it much softer. Now,
10:24I picked both of these up second-hand
10:27from eBay for less than 100 pounds,
10:29which is like 130 dollars maybe. Now,
10:31the softbox is from SmallRig, and the
10:33light is from Neewer. So, if you want to
10:36improve your overall videos, I'd suggest
10:38grabbing some of these. They make a huge
10:40difference. Then, the biggest difference
10:42you can make with your videos is your
10:45microphone quality. Now, this is the
10:47biggest dictator in how high quality
10:50your videos actually feel. The better
10:52your voice sounds, the longer people
10:54will watch for, period. Now, as soon as
10:56I started making some money and getting
10:58some ad revenue come through my YouTube
10:59channel, the first thing I did was buy a
11:02brand new microphone. I quickly realized
11:04that most people would happily watch a
11:06video even if it has poor quality camera
11:08footage, but they definitely would not
11:10sit through a video if it had really
11:12poor quality sound. Like, there is
11:14nothing more uncomfortable than bad
11:16quality sound, and trust me when I say
11:19your audience feels it, too. Like, just
11:22check this out. This is me now speaking
11:24without this microphone on, and instead
11:26I just used the camera's microphone,
11:28which is about two or three meters away.
11:30Now, I mean, it's not the end of the
11:31world, it's not the worst sound ever,
11:33but it's significantly worse than what
11:35my microphone sounds like. And you
11:37wouldn't want to sit through and watch
11:38this the whole video with a microphone
11:40sounding like that. So, here are some
11:42recommendations on microphones going
11:44from cheapest to the best. So, the first
11:46one is actually free, like $0. And
11:49that's using the built-in microphones in
11:51your phone or camera if your camera is
11:53good enough. Now, on my travel channel,
11:55every single vlog I recorded was
11:57actually just using the built-in mic on
12:00my GoPro, and it worked absolutely fine.
12:03And also, look, the latest iPhones also
12:05have really good microphones, too. But,
12:08the important thing here is they only
12:10work well if you're close to the mic, as
12:12long as you're within a meter away. If
12:14you're any further than a meter, then
12:16they get pretty poor. Like, I've got a
12:17good camera here, but that's like two or
12:19three meters away, and the microphone
12:20over there is actually really poor. But,
12:22if I had an iPhone and I kind of spoke
12:24to it like from this length, it's
12:26absolutely fine. So, if you were looking
12:27to upgrade and you wanted to get
12:28wireless microphones, the DJI Mic Minis
12:31are a great starting point at around 60
12:34to 70 bucks. And also, look, being
12:36wireless is also really useful. Or for
12:38about 70 to 80 dollars, you could get a
12:41Rode VideoMic 2, another really good
12:44microphone that actually connects
12:45directly onto your camera. And then
12:47lastly, if you're doing talking head
12:49videos like mine where you're sat down
12:51in a studio or on a desk or whatever,
12:53the best mics you can get are these
12:55things here, Shure microphones. Now,
12:58they range from a couple of dollars for
13:00the entry-level ones, but you can go
13:02super expensive, like over a thousand
13:04dollars. Now, I've got the Shure MV7 I,
13:07but you don't need to spend this much if
13:09you didn't want to. Then, the last thing
13:11you can do is improve your background.
13:13Now again, look, I'm not saying you need
13:15to go out there and spend like a ton of
13:17money on a background design, because I
13:19never have. In fact, I have always just
13:22sat on a desk in front of a plain white
13:24wall, and then used these LED sticks.
13:27They're basically really small sticks
13:28that just light up the wall and I've got
13:30them on little tripods just here and it
13:31works really well. Sometimes I'll I'll
13:33include some plants but other than that,
13:35it literally is a white wall with some
13:37cheap LED sticks and a plant. Now, my
13:39belief is that the better quality
13:41content you actually provide in your
13:42videos, like the more value you give in
13:45your video, it doesn't matter like what
13:47your background looks like because most
13:49people are only watching your video for
13:51the value you provide. They're not
13:53bothered by your background. But one
13:55caveat here though is you don't want a
13:57super messy background with loads of
13:59distractions. Like you don't want to
14:00take people's eyes away from you because
14:03if they're distracted by the mess then
14:04it kind of ruins their attention and
14:06they'll just drop off. So, just always
14:08make sure your background is clear,
14:10clean, and nice look at but just
14:12definitely not distracting. And yeah,
14:14that's basically how to improve your
14:16video so you can dominate both types of
14:18viewer on YouTube and grow your small
14:20channel much quicker. Then, the next
14:22step you need to take is to make sure
14:24your titles and thumbnails are good
14:26enough for people to click on. So, give
14:29this video a watch here where I break
14:31down the science behind good thumbnails.
14:33I promise you, you'll enjoy it. See you
14:34there.

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