My Slow Growth as a Beginner Content Creator on YouTube
Are you a new or beginner content creator and feel like you’re not making a difference?
I imagine many content creators, regardless of where they fall in the content creation journey, sometimes question if their work is making any difference at all. But this question is probably more frequent if you’re a new or beginner content creator.
Being a beginner content creator myself, I can speak to the inner struggle that comes with “putting yourself out there” and feeling like it’s not making any difference. Feeling like what you’re doing isn’t reaching anyone.
I know what it feels like to check my analytics only to see 0 views across the graph.
It hurts.
It’s discouraging.
It makes me wonder if I should give up.
My slow growth as a content creator on YouTube
Besides this blog, I have two YouTube channels.
I created my first YouTube channel – simply called Grace – in January of 2020. The videos on this channel are contemplative in nature; I talk about life and whatever’s on my mind.
As of the writing of this blog post (January 2022), this channel has a grand total of 11 subscribers.
Seeing the low number of views per video (thus far only three of the 24 videos uploaded have garnered a minimum of 20 views), was discouraging, to say the least, and my motivation to create more videos waned significantly. In fact, I stopped. I gave up.
In late January 2021, I decided to start a second, more light-hearted YouTube channel – Grace at Midlife. The content on this channel revolves around my enthusiasm for makeup.
Here are a few stats from my makeup channel after about a year’s time:
Compared to my first YouTube channel, Grace at Midlife has done better in terms of vanity metrics. I think it helped that I was fairly consistent in posting videos.
But, still, the growth of this channel is slow-going.
The last video I uploaded to Grace at Midlife was in early December 2021. And I haven’t created any more makeup videos since then due to a slow-healing eye infection. I wasn’t even sure if I would continue creating makeup content once my infection healed.
I wanted to give up.
Just when I thought no one was paying attention
Then, a couple days ago, I received a comment from a viewer of Grace at Midlife. She reached out to me because she noticed that I hadn’t uploaded a video in a while. She wished me well for 2022 and said that she hopes to see more videos in the new year.
I was surprised that anyone noticed my absence. That anyone actually liked my content enough to go out of their way to check in on my whereabouts.
How could I not be moved by such a kind and thoughtful gesture?
The right message at the right time
And then on January 1st of this new year, for some reason I decided to check out the status of my long-neglected first YouTube channel.
I noticed that a viewer had left a few comments on my videos. The comments were left 6-7 months ago and I had never known about them.
There was one comment in particular that gave me the extra encouragement to keep going, to not give up.
Excerpted comment from viewer:
“It takes a lot of courage to create videos of a more personal expressive nature. I haven’t found that courage myself yet. I personally enjoy your videos. I find your voice and your presence to be calming and somehow reassuring. I would encourage you to keep creating them.”
The difference one person can make
In my case, two people, in their individual ways, have made a difference in my nascent journey as a content creator.
And in their individual ways they were letting me know that I, a bumbling insecure fool, had something of value to offer.
Each of them has given me the encouragement I needed but didn’t expect to earn.
We give ourselves so little credit for the difference that we can make in people’s lives. It doesn’t take much effort to offer someone encouragement. It could mean so much to the person you’re offering it to.
Don’t give up. Keep going.
You may be surprised who may be watching and appreciating you for putting yourself out there.