Yes, the quiet, reserved, introverted guy has decided to start making youtube videos and putting his face out there.
I've been considering it for a while, but I always thought “nah”. It's super awkward talking to a camera alone in your room and I also sound borderline schizophrenic changing my voice trying to sound as natural as possible. I hope my neighbors aren't listening through the walls!
Anyways, at the start of November, I had 88 subscribers from one video that kicked off at the start of the year.
Now we are nearly halfway through November and it sits at 137 at the time of writing and growing slowly.
This won't be a long blog but I'm just gonna say my experience so far making content and why you might want to get into it.
I'm not one to post consistently (IM TRYING) but after staying relatively consistent so far in November, seeing stuff like this is super encouraging.
If any of you dudes read this, you have my gratitude^
I usually post things knowing it's not the best in the world. I think “Why would anyone like my videos" “What makes me different from the child prodigies and virtuosos out there”. I would like the think that these thoughts stem from my childhood. I never really fit in or thought I was good enough - I was that weird kid haha. Even now it's kinda hard to believe people I don't know would take time to comment nice things on my videos.
Right now you might be saying “Dude you literally did improv guitar solo of little wing with your eyes closed, what do you mean are you good enough?!"
It's deep man, obviously I don't stay within that paradigm of thought and I remind myself that I'm one the best. I gotta be my own hype man haha but it's always a battle and a lot of us go through it. Even for more trivial things.
I won't glaze myself too much though, this blog is to describe my experience and what I've learnt so far and why you should start.
After throwing myself in the deep end and announcing that I'll be doing a “learn guitar in 30 days series”
- I finally know how to use my iPhone camera more efficiently, as I'm forced to learn how to use it for better quality videos. (I run a 13 pro and edit with Capcut)
- I can talk into a camera more confidently and be myself
- I understand my instrument a little more, sometimes you need to learn the basics again haha
- I know how Youtube algorithms work a bit better now.
“Why should I start making videos then?”
Your knowledge/talent could help someone.
No matter how basic you think it is, someone is always searching “How to” or just looking for some sort of inspiration. If you understand this then you will be able to see the opportunity at hand with the internet. You don't have to knock on doors to make sales and spend all your time teaching in a physical location or auditioning for roles. We've been conditioned for so long to consume content that just thinking about posting tutorials or sharing knowledge seems foreign but that's literally how you can better yourself as well as others and potentially earn from it.
Not only that but you literally have platforms where you can advertise yourself for free!
I don't think it really sinks in until you go from consuming content to producing it. Suddenly, it's like “Oh shit, lemme share what I know”
Personally, I'm not where I want to be with Youtube just yet, I still want to reach 1000 subscribers asap, that'd be pretty awesome, but to go from 88 to 137 in less than 2 weeks, I really want to see where my channel is by the end of December, if I stay consistent with this method. I'll do an update post in December marking where I'm at.
Here's some links for a few channels of people that have helped me on my journey so far-
https://www.youtube.com/@MissJennyGuitar
Jenny is an awesome guitarist, busker and is growing everyday, you might want to keep your eyes on her.
https://www.youtube.com/@LiaBSakura
Lia has some solid videos that will help you develop your mindset and perspective on things.
https://www.tiktok.com/@laurenkara1
https://www.instagram.com/laurenkara1/?hl=en
Lauren is a talented singer from Leeds and a someone that keeps me going haha, follow her!
Lastly shoutout to my boys Arif and Nathan, two influential people I've come across on my journey and my students who have raised my confidence up to this point. I appreciate it all truly.