On Building A YouTube Channel . . .

So, why YouTube?

I watch a lot of YouTube. It’s probably my favorite boob-tube pastime, truth be told, that and Netflix. I love the idea that a regular person off the streets has a chance to communicate on a global scale and, if the gods shine down upon them, actually make money doing it.  Some of my favorite YouTube channels were created by regular, everyday people, and not some huge media conglomerate, and I find great satisfaction in that fact.

I also see this type of content as just an extension of what I have done for fourteen years now, a video blog of sorts, call it a vlog if you must, but a way to leave a legacy of thoughts, of information, of knowledge, passing down stories and lessons learned for future generations, like some old chieftain around a blazing fire, out on the Plains, his words remembered and passed on to the children of the tribe.  I think that sort of thing is important, and I would hate to see it replaced by meaningless drivel, the type of which can be found on hundreds of cable channels across the cable universe.

So, when my wife and I began discussing her hiking the Pacific Crest Trail, and the ensuing discussions about selling the house and living on the road, I saw it as an opportunity to move beyond my writing efforts, to create a video chronicle of our travels and successes and failures, holding back nothing, the real McCoy, from the heart, and in so doing leave a legacy for all to see.

We must create interesting, entertaining content on YouTube

However, there is a vast difference between creating a personal journal, of sorts, and building a “successful” channel, and I confess, it is my competitive nature, and goal-oriented personality, which leads me to do the absolute best I can, and to reach as many people as is humanly possible.

And so, voraciously, I have devoured as many instructional videos as possible on how to create a YouTube channel. I have watched many hours of YouTube videos created by a variety of people, video channels which are wildly successful, and from them I have learned a few things.

The first of those lessons is that we must create interesting, entertaining content, and that is what we are currently trying to do, and will continue to do. I have no doubt that our style will change in time, and our video editing skills will increase, learning as we go.

And, then, of course, we must market those videos, something I despise doing. In a perfect world, people would discover our videos, fall in love with them, word would spread online, and we would become viral sensations . . . but this has never been a perfect world . . . and so I must force myself to do more self-marketing.  We shall see how that goes. I do not like the spotlight on me at all, never have, but it may be necessary if we are going to reach the numbers I want to reach.

So, that’s where we are right now

In truth, we are doing pretty well, considering we haven’t really started the Trail adventure or the bus life adventure.  We have over 330 followers, and over 500 minutes of viewing, aiming for 1,000/4,000, the level needed to be considered for monetization.  I consider that a success, so far, good numbers to build on as we get closer to March 1^st and the beginning of our road adventures.

Do we have what it takes?

The jury is still out on this question, but we shall see. I hope so. I really want our travels to be a chronicle which will be viewed by people, spoken about around the campfires of life, for years to come. The old storyteller inside of me would be very happy with that legacy.

Thanks to all of you who have followed us this far.  You will never truly know how much we appreciate you.  If you haven’t already done so, please go to our YouTube channel and hit the subscribe button. It really does help us.  And, if you would like to sponsor our efforts by being a patron, you can find our Patreon page by following this link.  For as little as $3 per month, you can help us with the rising costs associated with creating quality content.

Thank you!

Bill and Bev