I agree totally with Mo. I would encourage you to spend time making videos only if you feel excited and passionate (or at least interested) about your topic. Viewers can tell if you're not interested, and you're just doing it to please the algorithm. If you want to talk about a pen in one video and your latest illustration in the next, do it, because your viewer will be attracted to whatever you are excited about. I think what might happen, though, is that you'll lose viewers. The people who want to know about your pens may not be the same people who are interested in your illustrations. Some YouTubers will create separate channels for their separate audiences, which is one way to go about it. Or you just decide it's OK to have a smaller audience that is interested in anything you talk about. Just my 2 cents. (Also, I'm more a reader than a YouTube viewer. If you quit YT and kept blogging instead, I'd be totally OK with that. Other viewers probably wouldn't be.)
Thanks Tina. You are one of the viewers (whom I have never even met) I actually have in my head when planning subjects. "What would 'Tina' want to see?"
It's been suggested to split up subjects like "pencils" and "pens" and "illustrations" but I decided a while back that I can't keep track, and that's not what this is about. There was that early discussion about what is an art supply, and since it's my channel, it's going to be what I want it to be, algorithm be damned.
I met a kid, a boyfriend of a friend's daughter, who is a proud "influencer." He has several hundred thousand followers, and six separate channels. He asked me that very question: "is this channel about your various tools, or is it really about you?"
And I had to be honest with him and myself. It's about me. If someone loves pens, but doesn't care about what I do with them, this isn't for that someone.
These are general comments, not specifically toward you:
I like when people do videos or write about things they enjoy / mean something to them. But at some point, it always turns into a "job" and they start making videos to keep the channel/platform going. I don't know if it's a certain number of views/subscribers that does it. But when you start seeing them trying to sell you things, you know things have changed.
From the creator's point of view, I get it. It doesn't make sense to invest time and effort into something that doesn't seem to be "succeeding." (Whatever exactly that even means.) But as the viewer/reader, it always makes me hyper aware that this person is doing it because it's their job or they're trying to make it their job. They didn't come up with the title because they liked it. They came up with it because they heard that's what the "algorithm" rewards. (Does anyone actually know what the algorithm even is?) They didn't do this topic because it was on their mind. They did it because they thought it would get more views. Etc. And now with AI, I can't even be sure who is actually creating things, and who is hitting a prompt.
Again, these are things I've come to notice as a viewer/reader of various YT channels and blogs.
This is 100% and was on my mind this morning as I wrote that post. The post was supposed to be about the video about. the pens, and I needed to direct it back to that, as I could have easily headed off on a tangent. Like Tina wrote, now I don't have to.
The pressure is real. One thing I didn't mention was that I was invited to be an affiliate or ambassador for six different companies, and that is definitely on my mind exactly the way you describe. The previoius video was about two pens for whom I am an affiliate. I worried about this. I wanted to be transparent, and make sure it was clear that I was making the video, and moreover I was an affiliate in the first place, because I liked the pens and wanted to talk about them. Not the other way around!
It's not lost on me that if anything this shift allows me to let that pressure (or whatever it is) slide off, and focus on the things I do actually want to show, talk about, and care about. It just means that the videos might not be as frequent as all that. I had an email exchange with a musician in LA whose videos seemed to follow a similar pattern. He began posting two years ago, and I love the videos, and it seems after about three or four months, he just stopped. I wrote, and he confirmed. He had a video early on hit 50k views, and he found himself thinking "how can I match that?" and then getting frustrated when they didn't perform. Rather than doubling down, he backed off. It made it not fun for him. That exchange gave me permission, in some weird way, to be okay with that.
All the best to you. I understand the real world issues. The time it takes to make videos/write posts necessarily takes away from time working another job. It would make sense to make the platform your job. But then all these other issues come into it.
It's very difficult. I hope you're able to find what works best for you. What makes me sad is when people start off loving either the platform or their art/interest, and then all these other things suck the joy right out of it. Your drawings are so lovely. Protect that at all costs... even if means you can't do as many videos or posts anymore.
Thanks for your kind comment. I am used to mostly being yelled at online. To think I had something of some value to say to someone else is a nice feeling!
Thanks for the 500 words before email rabbit hole, which kept me from doing actual work. Somehow still tethered to Evernote, which lost its lustre eons ago but its rather hard to let go or migrate a decade of notes and writing.
Here's a question for the group: I get a lot of ideas and mental exercise done while driving, walking, basically being in motion. I forget said ideas and progress so often that I might want to try dictation or self-recording. Anyone else do this?
Yo Kevin, just started this a month ago. I don't drive much but I had a drive across town to Port Richmond last week after three hours of writing. Turned off the radio and thought through what I was struggling with. Had an idea on 676. "Siri, take a note."
I use Apple Notes instead of Evernote, and I **think** it can transcribe voice memos.
Now, my problem is that when I run in the Wissahickon I don't take a phone, even. So there have been times where I walk in the door sweaty and tired and go right to the laptop. Can't forget can't forget...
When I've got an idea for a strip or story angle and I'm not in a position to write it down I yap at Siri to take a quick note. Then I try to articulate said idea some future me can decode it into more useful sentences.
You'll be in my backyard (of sorts) I live on the SouthCoast of Massachusetts just before the Cape Cod arm... a journalist once called my hometown the Armpit of Massachusetts.
Anywho, hope you enjoy your stay.
I look forward to any vid you put out whenever you get to it. I'd rather see something from you that you find interesting than just something to "get it out there".
Tina and Mo - thank you both for saying exactly what I was thinking, but with much more eloquence!
Brian - now that I've found you (thanks to the algorithm, I admit), I'm in for whatever you post on Substack or YouTube, because I like hearing about what you think and feel about art related stuff. And that's because of your interest and enthusiasm for whatever you are exploring in any given post. The algorithm may demand something every week, but as a real human person, I only want to see it when you are ready to share it, not just because you need to tick a box.
Having said all that, if you post a video about your travel kit, I predict a big response from YouTube. The algorithm loooooves a travel kit video!
PS - because you mentioned a 30-mile bike ride, I'll share one more thing. You might enjoy Mike Dutton's channel (@duttonart - Pedal and Paint). He bikes to his painting locations and creates videos about it. And he posts only every few weeks. 😀
PPS - Thanks for the stickers. I put them on my sketching board! ❤️
De gedachtensprongen in mijn hoofd volgend realiseerde ik mij dat het woord “content” dat in het Engels “inhoud” betekent, in het Frans en Vlaams eerder “tevredenheid” betekent.
De sprongen verder volgend kan de “content” in de Engelse betekenis vastgeknoopt worden aan de Franse (of Vlaamse) betekenis door de link te leggen met een “fopspeen”, want dat dient ook om honger te stillen, een leegte te vullen.
Always love reading your thoughts. Regarding the pens, I like that fude pen, but only for sketching. I find that I pay way more attention to the actual tool then what I am drawing in the same way as Pilot Parallel pen. (both are like riding unicycles, fun but I wouldn't want to try to get anywhere on it) Then again, I am a pencil guy. scratch scratch
I agree totally with Mo. I would encourage you to spend time making videos only if you feel excited and passionate (or at least interested) about your topic. Viewers can tell if you're not interested, and you're just doing it to please the algorithm. If you want to talk about a pen in one video and your latest illustration in the next, do it, because your viewer will be attracted to whatever you are excited about. I think what might happen, though, is that you'll lose viewers. The people who want to know about your pens may not be the same people who are interested in your illustrations. Some YouTubers will create separate channels for their separate audiences, which is one way to go about it. Or you just decide it's OK to have a smaller audience that is interested in anything you talk about. Just my 2 cents. (Also, I'm more a reader than a YouTube viewer. If you quit YT and kept blogging instead, I'd be totally OK with that. Other viewers probably wouldn't be.)
Thanks Tina. You are one of the viewers (whom I have never even met) I actually have in my head when planning subjects. "What would 'Tina' want to see?"
It's been suggested to split up subjects like "pencils" and "pens" and "illustrations" but I decided a while back that I can't keep track, and that's not what this is about. There was that early discussion about what is an art supply, and since it's my channel, it's going to be what I want it to be, algorithm be damned.
I met a kid, a boyfriend of a friend's daughter, who is a proud "influencer." He has several hundred thousand followers, and six separate channels. He asked me that very question: "is this channel about your various tools, or is it really about you?"
And I had to be honest with him and myself. It's about me. If someone loves pens, but doesn't care about what I do with them, this isn't for that someone.
If you really cared about what I'd want to see, you'd get on those colored pencils ASAP. 🤣😉
Haha. You think I haven’t thought of that?????😎😬😂
These are general comments, not specifically toward you:
I like when people do videos or write about things they enjoy / mean something to them. But at some point, it always turns into a "job" and they start making videos to keep the channel/platform going. I don't know if it's a certain number of views/subscribers that does it. But when you start seeing them trying to sell you things, you know things have changed.
From the creator's point of view, I get it. It doesn't make sense to invest time and effort into something that doesn't seem to be "succeeding." (Whatever exactly that even means.) But as the viewer/reader, it always makes me hyper aware that this person is doing it because it's their job or they're trying to make it their job. They didn't come up with the title because they liked it. They came up with it because they heard that's what the "algorithm" rewards. (Does anyone actually know what the algorithm even is?) They didn't do this topic because it was on their mind. They did it because they thought it would get more views. Etc. And now with AI, I can't even be sure who is actually creating things, and who is hitting a prompt.
Again, these are things I've come to notice as a viewer/reader of various YT channels and blogs.
This is 100% and was on my mind this morning as I wrote that post. The post was supposed to be about the video about. the pens, and I needed to direct it back to that, as I could have easily headed off on a tangent. Like Tina wrote, now I don't have to.
The pressure is real. One thing I didn't mention was that I was invited to be an affiliate or ambassador for six different companies, and that is definitely on my mind exactly the way you describe. The previoius video was about two pens for whom I am an affiliate. I worried about this. I wanted to be transparent, and make sure it was clear that I was making the video, and moreover I was an affiliate in the first place, because I liked the pens and wanted to talk about them. Not the other way around!
It's not lost on me that if anything this shift allows me to let that pressure (or whatever it is) slide off, and focus on the things I do actually want to show, talk about, and care about. It just means that the videos might not be as frequent as all that. I had an email exchange with a musician in LA whose videos seemed to follow a similar pattern. He began posting two years ago, and I love the videos, and it seems after about three or four months, he just stopped. I wrote, and he confirmed. He had a video early on hit 50k views, and he found himself thinking "how can I match that?" and then getting frustrated when they didn't perform. Rather than doubling down, he backed off. It made it not fun for him. That exchange gave me permission, in some weird way, to be okay with that.
All the best to you. I understand the real world issues. The time it takes to make videos/write posts necessarily takes away from time working another job. It would make sense to make the platform your job. But then all these other issues come into it.
It's very difficult. I hope you're able to find what works best for you. What makes me sad is when people start off loving either the platform or their art/interest, and then all these other things suck the joy right out of it. Your drawings are so lovely. Protect that at all costs... even if means you can't do as many videos or posts anymore.
I came here to say all this! Thanks -- now I don't have to! :-)
Thanks for your kind comment. I am used to mostly being yelled at online. To think I had something of some value to say to someone else is a nice feeling!
Ha ha!
Thanks for the 500 words before email rabbit hole, which kept me from doing actual work. Somehow still tethered to Evernote, which lost its lustre eons ago but its rather hard to let go or migrate a decade of notes and writing.
Here's a question for the group: I get a lot of ideas and mental exercise done while driving, walking, basically being in motion. I forget said ideas and progress so often that I might want to try dictation or self-recording. Anyone else do this?
Yo Kevin, just started this a month ago. I don't drive much but I had a drive across town to Port Richmond last week after three hours of writing. Turned off the radio and thought through what I was struggling with. Had an idea on 676. "Siri, take a note."
I use Apple Notes instead of Evernote, and I **think** it can transcribe voice memos.
Now, my problem is that when I run in the Wissahickon I don't take a phone, even. So there have been times where I walk in the door sweaty and tired and go right to the laptop. Can't forget can't forget...
When I've got an idea for a strip or story angle and I'm not in a position to write it down I yap at Siri to take a quick note. Then I try to articulate said idea some future me can decode it into more useful sentences.
hi Kevin. if you are an Apple user. the apple Watch is a handy tool for voice memos. doesnt need wifi or cellular for that feature. best o’ luck.
Hello Brian! I enjoy anything you put out. I agree with the others - do what excites and interests you, and post when it works for you. Cheers!
You'll be in my backyard (of sorts) I live on the SouthCoast of Massachusetts just before the Cape Cod arm... a journalist once called my hometown the Armpit of Massachusetts.
Anywho, hope you enjoy your stay.
I look forward to any vid you put out whenever you get to it. I'd rather see something from you that you find interesting than just something to "get it out there".
Tina and Mo - thank you both for saying exactly what I was thinking, but with much more eloquence!
Brian - now that I've found you (thanks to the algorithm, I admit), I'm in for whatever you post on Substack or YouTube, because I like hearing about what you think and feel about art related stuff. And that's because of your interest and enthusiasm for whatever you are exploring in any given post. The algorithm may demand something every week, but as a real human person, I only want to see it when you are ready to share it, not just because you need to tick a box.
Having said all that, if you post a video about your travel kit, I predict a big response from YouTube. The algorithm loooooves a travel kit video!
PS - because you mentioned a 30-mile bike ride, I'll share one more thing. You might enjoy Mike Dutton's channel (@duttonart - Pedal and Paint). He bikes to his painting locations and creates videos about it. And he posts only every few weeks. 😀
PPS - Thanks for the stickers. I put them on my sketching board! ❤️
Hi Amy, this is really such a nice note. It's all true, every bit of it.
I follow Mike Dutton on Instagram. Good to have that overlap. Thank you.
Thank you for share about your process!
De gedachtensprongen in mijn hoofd volgend realiseerde ik mij dat het woord “content” dat in het Engels “inhoud” betekent, in het Frans en Vlaams eerder “tevredenheid” betekent.
De sprongen verder volgend kan de “content” in de Engelse betekenis vastgeknoopt worden aan de Franse (of Vlaamse) betekenis door de link te leggen met een “fopspeen”, want dat dient ook om honger te stillen, een leegte te vullen.
Gedachtensprongen en taal, ik hou ervan :)
Ja, het woord heeft ook in het Engels twee betekenissen. Het is een kwestie van uitspraak. *CON-tent* staat voor 'inhoud' of 'spullen'.
*Con-TENT* betekent 'tevreden', zoals jij schrijft.
Maar ik begrijp precies wat je bedoelt, in welke taal dan ook. Dank je wel.
Always love reading your thoughts. Regarding the pens, I like that fude pen, but only for sketching. I find that I pay way more attention to the actual tool then what I am drawing in the same way as Pilot Parallel pen. (both are like riding unicycles, fun but I wouldn't want to try to get anywhere on it) Then again, I am a pencil guy. scratch scratch
As a YT viewer of mostly funny dog videos (yes, I said it), I love being drawn (pun intended) into your artistic views of art supplies!