Passing 1000 YouTube Subscribers Took me 3088 Days

From the first video I posted publicly to YouTube till the time I rolled over 1000 subscribers, 3088 days passed. That's longer than typical, yet slow growth afforded me some valuable observations. I also gained over a third of those subscribers during the past 3 months, which highlights that there have been some lessons learned. The following are fairly personal to me, but perhaps there are a few that will resonate with you.

Consistency

Since September 30th, I have posted a new long-form YouTube video every single week. This level of consistency comes with compounding practice, energy, and momentum. My lack of consistency, overthinking, and fear over the prior years are what has held me and most of my peers back from realizing our potential.

Purpose

The earliest videos I posted rarely had a well articulated purpose. Almost always there was some message within the totality, but it was often ambiguous. YouTube and good storytelling require a deliberate title, thumbnail, introduction, and purpose to the video. Guiding an audience at every step and then delivering on the intended purpose is fundamental.

Long-Form vs Shorts

One reason I didn't progress as well on YouTube is because I was more focused on short-form media, particularly Instagram videos and then reels. I had an audience of friends and family members already there and it was simply less intimidating. Over time, my shorts began to gain purpose and traction, yet simply resharing them to YouTube wasn't a winning strategy. Looking back I wish I had put more of my energy towards long videos. In my observations the format has often resulted in greater success in building a dedicated audience and financial independence.

Proximity to Success

For the past two years I have been editing YouTube videos for a successful YouTube creator, Shervin Shares. Our constant feedback cycle made me more intentional in crafting stories, from concise introductions, to music, guiding the audience with context, removing superfluous or repetitive distractions and so on. I also learned the value of researching winning formats and topics. But perhaps most importantly I gained confidence in my own ability. Being part of a winning team made me aware of what I too was capable of. Creativity is a skill, but the courage to express it is what makes all the difference.

Bowl and Soul

I've spoken about this concept in detail before. The idea is that there is work we do that feeds us practically (fills our bowl) and work we do that feeds our sense of purpose (fills our soul). It's easy to get lost in winning strategies of growth, and if you're a business owner that may be good enough, but if you wish to be an artist with a message it's not. I've become well acquainted with the extremes of the bowl-soul spectrum, and my ultimate lesson has been that I am happiest when I attend to both. I need to make videos that are tailored to what people want and I also need to make videos that are tailored to what I want. Having that balance gives me an invaluable sense of purpose and growth. I have videos that are more practical, that bring attention to my platform and support my success, and I have videos that I find more meaningful, that give me a sense of satisfaction from speaking on topics that I believe deserve attention. This is not the fastest way to growth, but it is the way that brings me the greatest joy and in a practical sense that is necessary for longevity in this craft.

A Gift

As a means of supporting myself and fellow creators, I established a free WhatsApp community centered around creator support and accountability. The simple price is committing to creating and posting a video every week. To join simply DM me or @weeklycreator on Instagram.

Happy New Year and best wishes in pursuing your goals,

Naser