The Art of Success on YouTube: Lessons from a Veteran Creator

By [Name], a seasoned YouTuber who has been active since 2012.

As I reflect on my journey to becoming a successful YouTuber, I realize that it's not just about creating high-quality content. It's about understanding the nuances of the platform and adapting to its ever-changing landscape. When I first started out in 2012, I was naive and didn't fully comprehend the complexities of YouTube. I attempted to create content without a clear plan or direction, which ultimately led to my first failed venture. Despite this setback, I persevered and continued to learn from my mistakes.

I remember when I finally hit the 100,000 subscriber milestone. It was an incredible feeling, but one that I didn't fully appreciate at the time. As someone who focused more on their writing than creating videos, I didn't realize how much work went into building a loyal community. My goal was to have every single video reach at least 10,000 views, and while it wasn't always easy, I was proud of each achievement. However, as my channel grew, so did the competition. It became increasingly difficult to stand out in a crowded space.

One of the most valuable lessons I've learned is the importance of consistency. With over 15 million views, many people assume that success comes easily, but that's not the case. To maintain such high watch times, you need to focus on creating content that resonates with your audience. For me, this means writing a script or outline before recording each video. I believe that having a clear plan and staying focused is essential to delivering engaging content.

Another crucial aspect of success on YouTube is understanding what works and what doesn't. I've learned that viewers don't want to watch filler material; they want content that's relevant, informative, and entertaining. One of the most common mistakes creators make is trying to create elaborate, high-production-value videos when they're not necessary. Newsflash: you don't need a 4K drone or fancy equipment to produce quality content.

I recall watching other YouTubers who seemed to be winging it on camera, relying on their charm and charisma to carry the video. While this can work in some cases, I believe that having a clear structure and plan is key to delivering engaging content. It's better to have a few high-quality minutes of content than a long, meandering video that fails to hold viewers' attention.

Clickbait titles and videos are also a major problem on YouTube. While they may grab attention in the short term, they often lead to viewer fatigue. Viewers want substance over sensationalism; they don't have time to sit through 17 minutes of "killer dinosaurs" when they could be watching something more substantial.

My own content strategy has evolved significantly over the years. I've learned to focus on creating high-quality videos that are densely packed with interesting information. Rather than trying to hit a specific watch time, I aim for a certain level of engagement and interaction with my audience. This approach may not always result in the highest view counts, but it's helped me build a loyal community of viewers who appreciate my content.

Finally, I want to talk about the importance of perseverance. Success on YouTube doesn't happen overnight. It takes time, effort, and dedication to build a following and maintain it over the long term. There will be setbacks and failures along the way, but it's how you respond that matters. For me, one of the most rewarding experiences was when I finally received my 100,000 subscriber plaque in the mail. It was a moment of pride, not just for myself, but also for those who had supported me on this journey.

As I look back on my time as a YouTuber, I realize that success is not just about achieving certain milestones or numbers. It's about creating content that resonates with your audience and building meaningful connections with them. By focusing on these principles, you can increase your chances of success on YouTube and build a loyal community of viewers who appreciate your work.

"WEBVTTKind: captionsLanguage: enhi I'm Doug demure oh and I'm Tyler of whoo V's garage and today it's another episode of hoovy and Doug talked about Connor enjoy the show hello everyone today we are talking about what it's like to be a car youtuber and that's Tyler and he's gonna tell us what it's like please well I have a totally different experience than you because you are a YouTube millionaires they call it rights correct yes yes that's what they call it you're you're a household name while I'm the guy that they point out and they're just like yeah you're that idiot that bought the Bentley right unless you go around people recognize you yes oh yeah and is that odd to you it's I've gotten used to it it's a recent thing it doesn't worry you that people are gonna see you like doing something you shouldn't be doing like cursing at people yeah yeah you gave me that advice very early where I have to be nice to everyone now like the weird you know person from the call center in India you can't just get angry at them I can't right and it's a shame because you never know what if they screw up your sandwich at Subway you got a call you don't because you never know they're like you know why shouldn't anything yeah yeah I you know it's it's it's weird and I just especially when you think of in context of where televisions going and and how many views you get in reference to a television because like the revelation I had yesterday was with you you're getting more views in the British Top Gear at this point yeah the TV show yes it's crazy it's insane right right it is insane but that and that's you with with a camcorder and started with a little silver microphone that barely worked the craziest event of it for me I was in New Zealand on my honeymoon a couple weeks ago and I went ice hiking on a glacier and we had a guy who took us there and you know he was taking us around the glacier remember we were there for like an hour and a half and at the very end of it I gave him a tip and I said this is the coolest thing we've done this trip you took us in blowing ice caves and we were so cool and this was after two hours of guiding us the thing he took to me takes the charity says oh thank you so much and he goes by the way I watch all your videos never New Zealand really yeah and that's got me realized that there's a lot of people watching the first time it happened to me of all places I met the Amelia Island Concours and I'm with my Portia and I pull into the wrist Carlton valet yeah just just to see how far I can get before they say hell yeah here and the guy goes oh I watched your Lincoln ballet the ballet first time ever and that was a pretty big head moment so is it weird for you that like this is what you're doing when we were kids we're both about the same age right we're both about 30 little over loner is it weird for you that this is like your job it is I mean I just wanted to be Jeremy Clarkson that was my that was my thing yeah just wanted to be him and it didn't seem like that it was possible and now there's like hundreds of us Kenny anybody can go do it on YouTube obviously it's much harder now with the way things have changed as far as getting started yeah yeah there's a lot a lot of luck in it too obviously there is I got on some of these coattails and was able to write write pretty well isn't it odd that like like when I was a college mm-hmm this wasn't a job you could have right and I so I didn't even think about it I mean I went and worked in an office and I got an economics degree and I was gonna have a normal life and that was fine yeah I worked I owned a car dealership right but that was the way for me to be right cars I'm in Kansas what the health guy right right I can't go to Holly right yeah yeah so that didn't that's the only way I thought I could be in the business and I turned out to be a horrible car dealer because I just was like a drug dealer that did too much of his own stuff right right keep everything and yes that one of my the things that it's been it's been crazy and it's been really cool it's been more work than I thought mmm yes having to feed the beast yeah you're so worried that if you take a week off and you don't post any videos that are just all gonna go away yeah yeah that in itself that that it's more work than I ever expected there would be and I often tell people if I had know how much work it would be I don't know that I would have ever quit my my real job doing it that's definitely a big one and also kind of figuring it out is difficult mm-hmm figuring out when to post and what's best and what kind of content doesn't that right yeah you know well I still do whatever the heck I want and have the yo-yo effect with that what who else do you watch well a lot I'm definitely this was a student of it before I got into it so of course you I it was sort of like a I want to like talented mr. Ripley situation like kill you and take your place but then I realized I could just be your your Robin to your Batman and that's worked out just fine but I definitely I've watched vehicle versions I watched tovarisch of course what he's been doing with that Lamborghinis pretty nuts you know I pretty much even even the ones that people kind of make fun of a lot they're like the junior garage those kids it's kind of entertaining watch i watch everybody street speed 7 1 7 when he's not doing I mean obviously is clickbait is very good because I have to click and hey yeah yeah yeah there's a lot of good channels that I like Salman durin as well yes he is very good he's a very good motivational speaker isn't it yeah like motivated and amped up yeah yeah the straight pipes have you heard of that mm-hmm in Canada and Canada oh yeah yeah I met them at that Texas press event what do you think the weirdest thing about us is gosh what is weird about this it's the whole thing's weird I think I think the uncertainty the uncertainty it's hard it's it's it's so weird to just you know you don't know and things change so much so quickly especially just in the less than two years that I've been doing yeah you just don't know what its gonna be like yeah our oh yeah that uncertainties I mean I'm glad it's not my only source of income there's the guys the whole time youtubers where I would test gear weight terrified we waited way longer than we should have to buy a house because we were very sure we wanted to make sure we had a lot more than just what we needed right it's the uncertainty is a little bit scary who knows YouTube could turn off the want they don't really disclose the realities of the algorithm so no one really knows we've kind of discussed hell you know this you know you've seen with with the the Logan Paul's and all that stuff how one youtuber affects all of them the trickle effect oh you know if a car youtuber did something really yeah stupid and you know got a wreck and killed somebody or something that it would probably affect us yeah get away as far as the way we do videos and and everything so it's just weird how that how that dynamic all works to with advertiser totally I agree with that and I crossed my fingers ever did that doesn't happen very responsible I take it really serious I have insurance for the cars I driving stuff and I know some of the some of the youtubers are not as responsible I like that what where's your family thing wow that was yeah it was hard for them to understand because it's it's not television right and you know getting the reality show that I'd recently it's given it somewhat legitimacy but then it's like what channel is it on it's like well it's online you're like oh well it's the same thing like no it's not I swear they they they don't they don't know different no my parents yeah they don't they don't get it at all people don't know you're online how is that anything right but still ask me are you still doing that video stuff somewhere else but you still doing that blogging thing like I'm making facebook status updates as my job yeah grandma I'm trending okay yeah you trended on a previa isn't that the greatest achievement of your life to trend on a previa yes although I kind of need that people would watch that who win right now I could I loved it yeah yeah but the requests kind of grind your gears a little bit right there are a few annoyances yeah I'm sure you have them as well I'm curious but the one big anoints that I have yeah people request and it's a request for new cars is important to me I like to hear what people are thinking you should do lat you know the new velociter is not something maybe I would have done but I've got a bunch of requests right now I'm going to do it or people email me and I say you should do it Veyron if you thought about the coning say sure and I'm like oh no email me right and now I'm gonna do a Veyron and people don't realize I think that the challenge is not in thinking of the cars it's fining them yeah well with me it's people get mad when they don't think I'll just buy anything they email me a car it's like oh that's yeah you know email you an offer you their car correct body yes yeah it does it email you with random craigslist cars they found yes constantly yes I got one for ya I'm thinking it was a Hummer h2 why have you ever thought up a Hummer h2 I'm like no no or you just buy my car it hasn't rained in four years I want three grand for it you know there's just some some crap malaise thing like my LeBaron that I buried in the backyard is I know and it's just every day I get something it's kind of like I'm really they think I'm that insane or stupid or like there's one guy in the world that would buy my Peter John see you and it's me you know yeah it's kind of true but I put yourself in that position it's yeah it's it's they're reaching out you it's it's kind of true but I guess I know a lot of answered a little bit before but advice somebody wants to do this yeah it has certainly gotten harder now we got lucky in terms of timing you especially because you start what's like 16 or 15 mm-hmm by then you know most people think think you know there's this thought on YouTube that you kind of had to start in 12 or 13 to like which I did to like really be able to have like a lot of success just cuz it's so saturated and it's kind of hard to get over the initial yeah I tried in 2012 and failed I did I did one I guess I did it was someone I didn't know how to edit or do anything and I think the guy I did it with I guess he was expecting instant success which didn't happen and yeah and so we just kind of quit after 30,000 views right okay I tell people like I time that I started I was focused more on my writing and so I think I didn't really pay attention in fact I still remember when I got the hundred thousand subscriber plaque in the mail I was like I didn't even really realize that that was an achievement because it wasn't my focus and I didn't think that you could make money on YouTube and over time it sort of became more more of a thing and the hardest part I think is is realizing is like sticking to it even though nothing is yeah blowing up I remember my goal is to have every single video do at least 10,000 views and I was so proud of it when they were all there but I mean I think the best advice is that's definitely one of them and another is just content content like you can't I think a lot of people like to do like fancy interest I get so many emails from people I got a 4k you drove when I'm gonna make the coolest videos and it's like that you don't need a 4k drone you need good content and I think that's like half of what people miss right I think you kind of hit on it too because you said you write a script yeah and I write a script or write an outline and outline the thing that I'm going to do so if I will have a couple of jokes or things I want to pull it I definitely write it down and you know admittedly sometimes I even tape it to the bottom of the tripod so I hit all the points and make sure just make sure I don't have in line I want delivered perfectly yeah I have it there rather than just going out with cameras and just yeah winging it winging it and then people they drone on because they're hitting point and then go back and having a having a script but also just like I would rather have a five minute video that is packed with content than a ten minute video and you hit the number magic number ten minutes that you know they get more money yeah I really think that's why your watch time levels are so high in your view it's just boom boom boom yeah you hit point point point point and there's two zillion points in your 30-minute BIOS but if one guy's bored on them they can just move on to the next one in this we're exactly centered in ten seconds the next things gonna start or a lot of people in a thirty minute you know they're just rambling on sets me about the clickbait ones where it's like oh you know I killed the dinosaurs killed the guy so you click on 17 minutes and he killed the dinosaur and like the 30 seconds between minute 12 and minute 13 and it's like well that's not I don't want to watch this whole thing to see that I want the whole video to be about dinosaur killing you know I want to start with the dinosaur alive and then you know like that's that's the thing about that stuff belongs yes the right yeah that belongs I mean it's when somebody is doing at a really cool event and experiencing something fun but when they're well they're just doing the filler during those normal week right with the with the really quick baby thing is it stuff that YouTube rewards that that kind of stuff I I feel like just because they have to make it longer in order to get the extra a dripping right all that stuff and I get why they do it but it's definitely a little frustrating to watch yeah does the highest achievement in life was actually yesterday in the auto trader lobby where this guy comes out and goes is hoovy it's hoovy and dunk that's right Doug yeah I watched your stuff sometimes too and it's like did happen that that was the best thing that ever happened in my life and Doug hey well hasn't spoken to me other than on camera since but yeah it was worth it that was a sad moment movies will soon overtake me not likely who are you what's your name say my name say my name no one is around you say baby I love you because I cut all this I'm not gonna show any of this on camera damn it's the best parthi I'm Doug demure oh and I'm Tyler of whoo V's garage and today it's another episode of hoovy and Doug talked about Connor enjoy the show hello everyone today we are talking about what it's like to be a car youtuber and that's Tyler and he's gonna tell us what it's like please well I have a totally different experience than you because you are a YouTube millionaires they call it rights correct yes yes that's what they call it you're you're a household name while I'm the guy that they point out and they're just like yeah you're that idiot that bought the Bentley right unless you go around people recognize you yes oh yeah and is that odd to you it's I've gotten used to it it's a recent thing it doesn't worry you that people are gonna see you like doing something you shouldn't be doing like cursing at people yeah yeah you gave me that advice very early where I have to be nice to everyone now like the weird you know person from the call center in India you can't just get angry at them I can't right and it's a shame because you never know what if they screw up your sandwich at Subway you got a call you don't because you never know they're like you know why shouldn't anything yeah yeah I you know it's it's it's weird and I just especially when you think of in context of where televisions going and and how many views you get in reference to a television because like the revelation I had yesterday was with you you're getting more views in the British Top Gear at this point yeah the TV show yes it's crazy it's insane right right it is insane but that and that's you with with a camcorder and started with a little silver microphone that barely worked the craziest event of it for me I was in New Zealand on my honeymoon a couple weeks ago and I went ice hiking on a glacier and we had a guy who took us there and you know he was taking us around the glacier remember we were there for like an hour and a half and at the very end of it I gave him a tip and I said this is the coolest thing we've done this trip you took us in blowing ice caves and we were so cool and this was after two hours of guiding us the thing he took to me takes the charity says oh thank you so much and he goes by the way I watch all your videos never New Zealand really yeah and that's got me realized that there's a lot of people watching the first time it happened to me of all places I met the Amelia Island Concours and I'm with my Portia and I pull into the wrist Carlton valet yeah just just to see how far I can get before they say hell yeah here and the guy goes oh I watched your Lincoln ballet the ballet first time ever and that was a pretty big head moment so is it weird for you that like this is what you're doing when we were kids we're both about the same age right we're both about 30 little over loner is it weird for you that this is like your job it is I mean I just wanted to be Jeremy Clarkson that was my that was my thing yeah just wanted to be him and it didn't seem like that it was possible and now there's like hundreds of us Kenny anybody can go do it on YouTube obviously it's much harder now with the way things have changed as far as getting started yeah yeah there's a lot a lot of luck in it too obviously there is I got on some of these coattails and was able to write write pretty well isn't it odd that like like when I was a college mm-hmm this wasn't a job you could have right and I so I didn't even think about it I mean I went and worked in an office and I got an economics degree and I was gonna have a normal life and that was fine yeah I worked I owned a car dealership right but that was the way for me to be right cars I'm in Kansas what the health guy right right I can't go to Holly right yeah yeah so that didn't that's the only way I thought I could be in the business and I turned out to be a horrible car dealer because I just was like a drug dealer that did too much of his own stuff right right keep everything and yes that one of my the things that it's been it's been crazy and it's been really cool it's been more work than I thought mmm yes having to feed the beast yeah you're so worried that if you take a week off and you don't post any videos that are just all gonna go away yeah yeah that in itself that that it's more work than I ever expected there would be and I often tell people if I had know how much work it would be I don't know that I would have ever quit my my real job doing it that's definitely a big one and also kind of figuring it out is difficult mm-hmm figuring out when to post and what's best and what kind of content doesn't that right yeah you know well I still do whatever the heck I want and have the yo-yo effect with that what who else do you watch well a lot I'm definitely this was a student of it before I got into it so of course you I it was sort of like a I want to like talented mr. Ripley situation like kill you and take your place but then I realized I could just be your your Robin to your Batman and that's worked out just fine but I definitely I've watched vehicle versions I watched tovarisch of course what he's been doing with that Lamborghinis pretty nuts you know I pretty much even even the ones that people kind of make fun of a lot they're like the junior garage those kids it's kind of entertaining watch i watch everybody street speed 7 1 7 when he's not doing I mean obviously is clickbait is very good because I have to click and hey yeah yeah yeah there's a lot of good channels that I like Salman durin as well yes he is very good he's a very good motivational speaker isn't it yeah like motivated and amped up yeah yeah the straight pipes have you heard of that mm-hmm in Canada and Canada oh yeah yeah I met them at that Texas press event what do you think the weirdest thing about us is gosh what is weird about this it's the whole thing's weird I think I think the uncertainty the uncertainty it's hard it's it's it's so weird to just you know you don't know and things change so much so quickly especially just in the less than two years that I've been doing yeah you just don't know what its gonna be like yeah our oh yeah that uncertainties I mean I'm glad it's not my only source of income there's the guys the whole time youtubers where I would test gear weight terrified we waited way longer than we should have to buy a house because we were very sure we wanted to make sure we had a lot more than just what we needed right it's the uncertainty is a little bit scary who knows YouTube could turn off the want they don't really disclose the realities of the algorithm so no one really knows we've kind of discussed hell you know this you know you've seen with with the the Logan Paul's and all that stuff how one youtuber affects all of them the trickle effect oh you know if a car youtuber did something really yeah stupid and you know got a wreck and killed somebody or something that it would probably affect us yeah get away as far as the way we do videos and and everything so it's just weird how that how that dynamic all works to with advertiser totally I agree with that and I crossed my fingers ever did that doesn't happen very responsible I take it really serious I have insurance for the cars I driving stuff and I know some of the some of the youtubers are not as responsible I like that what where's your family thing wow that was yeah it was hard for them to understand because it's it's not television right and you know getting the reality show that I'd recently it's given it somewhat legitimacy but then it's like what channel is it on it's like well it's online you're like oh well it's the same thing like no it's not I swear they they they don't they don't know different no my parents yeah they don't they don't get it at all people don't know you're online how is that anything right but still ask me are you still doing that video stuff somewhere else but you still doing that blogging thing like I'm making facebook status updates as my job yeah grandma I'm trending okay yeah you trended on a previa isn't that the greatest achievement of your life to trend on a previa yes although I kind of need that people would watch that who win right now I could I loved it yeah yeah but the requests kind of grind your gears a little bit right there are a few annoyances yeah I'm sure you have them as well I'm curious but the one big anoints that I have yeah people request and it's a request for new cars is important to me I like to hear what people are thinking you should do lat you know the new velociter is not something maybe I would have done but I've got a bunch of requests right now I'm going to do it or people email me and I say you should do it Veyron if you thought about the coning say sure and I'm like oh no email me right and now I'm gonna do a Veyron and people don't realize I think that the challenge is not in thinking of the cars it's fining them yeah well with me it's people get mad when they don't think I'll just buy anything they email me a car it's like oh that's yeah you know email you an offer you their car correct body yes yeah it does it email you with random craigslist cars they found yes constantly yes I got one for ya I'm thinking it was a Hummer h2 why have you ever thought up a Hummer h2 I'm like no no or you just buy my car it hasn't rained in four years I want three grand for it you know there's just some some crap malaise thing like my LeBaron that I buried in the backyard is I know and it's just every day I get something it's kind of like I'm really they think I'm that insane or stupid or like there's one guy in the world that would buy my Peter John see you and it's me you know yeah it's kind of true but I put yourself in that position it's yeah it's it's they're reaching out you it's it's kind of true but I guess I know a lot of answered a little bit before but advice somebody wants to do this yeah it has certainly gotten harder now we got lucky in terms of timing you especially because you start what's like 16 or 15 mm-hmm by then you know most people think think you know there's this thought on YouTube that you kind of had to start in 12 or 13 to like which I did to like really be able to have like a lot of success just cuz it's so saturated and it's kind of hard to get over the initial yeah I tried in 2012 and failed I did I did one I guess I did it was someone I didn't know how to edit or do anything and I think the guy I did it with I guess he was expecting instant success which didn't happen and yeah and so we just kind of quit after 30,000 views right okay I tell people like I time that I started I was focused more on my writing and so I think I didn't really pay attention in fact I still remember when I got the hundred thousand subscriber plaque in the mail I was like I didn't even really realize that that was an achievement because it wasn't my focus and I didn't think that you could make money on YouTube and over time it sort of became more more of a thing and the hardest part I think is is realizing is like sticking to it even though nothing is yeah blowing up I remember my goal is to have every single video do at least 10,000 views and I was so proud of it when they were all there but I mean I think the best advice is that's definitely one of them and another is just content content like you can't I think a lot of people like to do like fancy interest I get so many emails from people I got a 4k you drove when I'm gonna make the coolest videos and it's like that you don't need a 4k drone you need good content and I think that's like half of what people miss right I think you kind of hit on it too because you said you write a script yeah and I write a script or write an outline and outline the thing that I'm going to do so if I will have a couple of jokes or things I want to pull it I definitely write it down and you know admittedly sometimes I even tape it to the bottom of the tripod so I hit all the points and make sure just make sure I don't have in line I want delivered perfectly yeah I have it there rather than just going out with cameras and just yeah winging it winging it and then people they drone on because they're hitting point and then go back and having a having a script but also just like I would rather have a five minute video that is packed with content than a ten minute video and you hit the number magic number ten minutes that you know they get more money yeah I really think that's why your watch time levels are so high in your view it's just boom boom boom yeah you hit point point point point and there's two zillion points in your 30-minute BIOS but if one guy's bored on them they can just move on to the next one in this we're exactly centered in ten seconds the next things gonna start or a lot of people in a thirty minute you know they're just rambling on sets me about the clickbait ones where it's like oh you know I killed the dinosaurs killed the guy so you click on 17 minutes and he killed the dinosaur and like the 30 seconds between minute 12 and minute 13 and it's like well that's not I don't want to watch this whole thing to see that I want the whole video to be about dinosaur killing you know I want to start with the dinosaur alive and then you know like that's that's the thing about that stuff belongs yes the right yeah that belongs I mean it's when somebody is doing at a really cool event and experiencing something fun but when they're well they're just doing the filler during those normal week right with the with the really quick baby thing is it stuff that YouTube rewards that that kind of stuff I I feel like just because they have to make it longer in order to get the extra a dripping right all that stuff and I get why they do it but it's definitely a little frustrating to watch yeah does the highest achievement in life was actually yesterday in the auto trader lobby where this guy comes out and goes is hoovy it's hoovy and dunk that's right Doug yeah I watched your stuff sometimes too and it's like did happen that that was the best thing that ever happened in my life and Doug hey well hasn't spoken to me other than on camera since but yeah it was worth it that was a sad moment movies will soon overtake me not likely who are you what's your name say my name say my name no one is around you say baby I love you because I cut all this I'm not gonna show any of this on camera damn it's the best part\n"