According to Seth Godin, a prolific name in the marketing world, says that “resistance will do whatever it can to slow you down and average you out.”The resistance he is talking about are the outside and internal factors that deter you from completing a project, writing a paper, or in my case (maybe yours) – uploading a YouTube video.
This is a grave issue because resistance can overcome your body and stall you from doing anything. If you let it, resistance will keep you and your goals idle as everyone else passes you by.
So how do you overcome resistance?
You Ship: Shipping
To ship means that you’re fighting resistance. Without giving it a second thought, you are uploading your projects publicly. Basically, you are saying “this is good enough – I’m putting it out there for the world to see.” You may call it half – ass, I call it taking a risk.
This article is specifically directed to New Channels.
Yes, just put content out there and start figuring out what is working. I think I’ve talked about this before, but once you have a good idea of what’s working then you can start unlisting / ignoring other content on your channel that doesn’t matter (not so strong).
For example, before RomanAtWood was known for being one of the top prank channels on YouTube, he was doing sketches and skits… which were doing well, but not as a great as his pranks. In about his 3rd year on YouTube he went full Prank Channel status. The rest is history. He kept pushing out content until something stuck.
Another example – Stuart Edge has a lot of hit Viral Videos (A TON) on his channel. But did you know he was posting videos on his channel until something went viral (The Mistletoe)? Those other videos before that video are unlisted or privatized.
My favorite example: The Vlogbrothers started January 1st, 2007 and vlogged every single day of that year. They are one of the top innovators in the YouTube space (I’ll write an homage to them in the near future… I’m a fan girl. I wet my pants every time I see John Green [not really, but really]).
Anyway, during a VidCon lecture last year, they had over 100 videos that averaged 150 views UNTIL one day in July of 2007 when Hank made a Harry Potter song which went pretty viral for its day, which in turn made viewers see that they had even more content, and before you knew it – the channel started skyrocketing.
The Point
Ship often. Beat the resistance.
What I’m Not Saying
I’m not saying to consistently push out shitty content. If something sucks, like really bad, don’t do it again. The idea of Shipping is to figure out what type of videos are working and what type of strategies after publishing are working (to make the video gets views) – and once it’s working – just repeat that formula.
Then, once everything is going well – is when you can start being picky.
Exceptions
In addition, NOT EVERY channel or project should take this route. I personally think that if you don’t have any connections and/or don’t really have a good grasp of where your brand wants to go – then shipping is the way to go.
Remember, in the long run, you want to make sure that everything you produce is top shelf quality. Shipping allows you to get in the habit of creating content and gets you in the habit of knowing what works and what doesn’t.
Last Thoughts
Some channels get big on their first video and then use that as momentum (or not) for their future videos. Others channels partner up with bigger channels to help them grow (which can grow a channel exponentially). I’ll talk about this in the near future. For now, just think of this one idea:
Shipping.
Gee, this was good!
Thanks man. I hope it’s useful enough!