0:07 How do you grow a successful YouTube
0:10 channel? There is no one-trick answer to
0:11 this question. However, over the last
0:13 couple of years, I've made hundreds of
0:15 videos for this YouTube channel as well
0:17 as my client's YouTube channels. I want
0:19 to say that both of these channels are
0:21 successful in their own ways. And so
0:22 today, I wanted to share some knowledge
0:25 specifically on the topic of creating a
0:28 YouTube channel and community as well as
0:29 bringing you guys along and actually
0:31 producing and filming a video for my
0:33 client. So, if that interests you, then
0:35 I'd recommend grab a pen and paper and
0:38 let's get into it.
0:40 Okay, so firstly, if you guys are new
0:42 here, then my name is Tatsky. I am a
0:44 video freelancer that also makes YouTube
0:46 videos just about content creation and
0:48 my day-to-day life. I've been making
0:50 weekly videos on this channel for nearly
0:52 two years now, which is kind of amazing.
0:54 And I've also been creating a bunch of
0:56 videos for my freelance client on the
0:57 side. In particular, I want to talk
0:59 about the freelance work today because
1:00 that is kind of the brainchild that I
1:03 created after having a little bit of
1:05 success with this YouTube channel. Winen
1:07 is a tattoo studio specializing in
1:10 Japanese wabi style. It's like the
1:12 bodysuits and stuff. Super cool. Over
1:13 the last couple of years with them, we
1:15 have made so many videos and have
1:17 created a community of over 30,000
1:19 subscribers. Recently, we have found
1:22 that a lot of our clients at Bunin are
1:24 actually viewers of the YouTube channel.
1:26 And because of this, I think the whole
1:29 idea and concept of the channel is very
1:31 successful. To create a successful
1:32 YouTube channel, I think it boils down
1:35 to concept and execution. There are so
1:37 many people in the world. So, what is
1:39 your main niche in the videos? What are
1:42 the recurring motifs or characters? How
1:44 consistent can you be? I found that
1:45 there is a balance between creating
1:48 quality and quantity. You can't make
1:50 your best videos all the time at a high
1:53 output. However, if you put in 80% into
1:55 a video, then you have a much better
1:57 chance of being consistent week to week
1:59 or month to month. And social media,
2:00 it's like a game because no matter how
2:02 good your videos are, sometimes they do
2:04 good and sometimes they just don't
2:05 perform as well as you would have
2:06 thought. That's why I think it's
2:08 important to have this balance between
2:10 quantity and quality so you can have an
2:12 output that is going to steer you into a
2:14 successful direction. Having a niche or
2:16 a topic for your videos, it's a bit of a
2:18 superpower because if you have something
2:21 specific that a group of people are
2:24 going to search and look for, then you
2:26 have a higher chance of finding an
2:28 audience. What I think made Bunin very
2:31 successful from the start was that they
2:33 are a tattoo studio. So the niche is
2:35 tattooing, specifically Japanese
2:37 traditional tattooing. So anybody that
2:39 is interested or looking for information
2:42 on that topic will look through YouTube,
2:44 and they will find our channel. I also
2:45 knew that there weren't too many
2:47 English-speaking Wabi channels out
2:49 there, so this had a good chance of
2:51 working. Now, I mentioned characters and
2:53 returning motifs because in our videos,
2:56 having a face or a character that the
2:58 viewers can attach to is super
3:00 important. In this vlog, I am the
3:02 returning character. In the Buninen
3:03 videos, Chris and the other tattoo
3:06 artists are the returning characters. By
3:07 having these characters, you create
3:10 familiarity with the viewers through
3:12 your videos. And I think that is the key
3:15 to having the conversion of a viewer to
3:17 a subscriber. And the more engaging you
3:18 can be with your community, these
3:21 subscribers are also going to engage as
3:24 much with your content, with sharing,
3:26 commenting, liking, and all of that good
3:28 stuff that is going to help your views
3:30 increase by YouTube promoting your
3:32 video. I don't think anything that I'm
3:35 saying here is groundbreaking or new and
3:37 is definitely not the key to success.
3:38 It's just stuff that I've been thinking
3:40 about for the last couple of weeks and I
3:43 wanted to make a video. It is just my
3:45 understanding of how YouTube works and
3:48 how to create the community that I want
3:50 to find. That's actually a good point,
3:52 too. Before you actually make these
3:54 videos, have a think about who you want
3:55 your audience to be. This has honestly
3:57 helped me determine how I create my
4:00 videos, how I express myself, and it
4:02 actually translates into real world
4:03 results because everybody that I bump
4:05 into on the street who recognizes me,
4:07 you're all cool people. You dress well.
4:09 You're doing interesting things with
4:11 your life. And I am just so happy that
4:12 my community is probably one of the
4:14 coolest on the internet. And that's
4:16 exactly who I wanted to target with
4:23 Okay, so why don't we just take
4:25 everything that I've just said and I'll
4:27 bring you guys out on a realworld
4:29 example of this as I shoot a video for
4:33 Punin. I think we should do that.
4:35 Before shooting any project, I think
4:37 visualizing my thoughts, it allows me to
4:40 solidify a creative direction as well as
4:42 just resulting in a smoother shooting
4:45 experience. And my go-to planner for
4:48 this kind of project is Milano. As you
4:49 can see, I have spread everything out so
4:51 that anybody at first glance can
4:54 understand what is going on in my head.
4:55 I think that's very important. Millanote
4:57 is an interactive whiteboard style
4:59 planner that allows me to fully flesh
5:01 out my ideas. If you watch my videos,
5:02 then you would know why. You can simply
5:04 drag and drop elements onto the screen.
5:07 To-do lists, drop-own tabs, lines that
5:08 you can make dotted to separate the
5:10 screen. My favorite part is the ease of
5:12 dropping in screenshots and links. So,
5:14 pre-planning the shoot, I made a simple
5:16 Miller note board. In the screen, I've
5:17 actually created a mood board which you
5:19 can open up and it just essentially
5:21 shares the vision, the visual identity
5:24 of this video that I want to create.
5:25 Having a mood board makes it easy for me
5:27 to go into the shoot knowing what kind
5:29 of shots I want to get, which kind of
5:31 angles, and I guess being able to share
5:33 this with the clients as well. They know
5:35 what to expect. I've also added a gear
5:37 list so I don't forget any important
5:39 pieces of equipment. You can drag and
5:41 drop links onto the board, and I just
5:43 love how Milanote presents map
5:45 locations. They're interactive, they
5:46 look cool, and it's very easy to do. And
5:48 the web clipper function allows you to
5:50 save images to your boards directly. I
5:51 think this is great when you're
5:53 brainstorming. On the left side, I've
5:55 created some talking points. I do this
5:57 often when I'm working at Punin. I talk
5:59 to the artist. We decide what they're
6:00 going to be working on that day, and
6:01 then I figure out some talking points
6:03 that I think are going to be
6:05 interesting. We always start off with an
6:07 overview, an introduction to today's
6:09 work. A cinematic sequence of their
6:11 tattooing process, which I've also drawn
6:14 an arrow to must need shots. I'll try to
6:15 bring a client interview. This will give
6:17 value to any of the viewers watching the
6:19 videos because they can connect with the
6:21 customer because they can put themselves
6:23 in their shoe thinking, "Oh, this could
6:25 be me getting a tattoo." And then, of
6:27 course, closing out the video at the
6:29 end. Millerote is my go-to planner
6:31 because it lives online where I can
6:33 simply access my project from my laptop,
6:35 my iPad, or my mobile app, which are all
6:37 synced together. And for a smooth
6:39 shooting experience, I always share this
6:40 project with clients or other people
6:42 that I'm working on the project with
6:44 just so they can understand what's going
6:46 on in my head. Now, if you're interested
6:48 in pre-planning your videos out like me,
6:49 then you can start from scratch, but
6:51 Millino also have a bunch of templates
6:53 so you can get a head start on your
6:55 creative process. And the best part is
6:58 Milanote is free with no time limit. So
7:00 you can start visualizing your projects
7:01 with the link in my description when
7:03 you're ready. Okay, so we've discussed
7:05 concepts and execution as well as
7:08 pre-planning and my methods in that. And
7:11 now let's go actually shoot the video.
7:19 Okay, in the city now, just about to
7:22 head towards the cafe, get some food,
7:25 maybe a coffee, just get ready for the
7:28 day, prep stuff, and then head into the
7:31 studio for our actual shoot. I've got a
7:33 huge bag today.
7:35 A lot of stuff, a lot of equipment, but
7:38 everything that I need for a really long
7:41 and packed day of shooting. So, yeah, I
8:11 Hey guys. So, I'm at the studio now and
8:13 yeah, I'm probably just going to start
8:15 setting up getting ready for today's
8:16 shoot. I'm here a little bit earlier
8:19 than when the clients arrive. So, I've
8:20 got about an hour to just set everything
8:24 up. So, let's do that.
8:26 Yeah, we're just going to unpack the bag
8:29 first and get all my camera gear and my
8:32 computers out. I made a video about this
8:33 stuff. You know, what's in my camera bag
8:36 just maybe about a month or two ago. Not
8:38 too much has changed since then. I'm
8:40 just carrying a lot today, that's all.
8:41 This right here is the wireless
8:43 microphone kit that I use for
8:45 everything. This is by DJI. I'm using
8:48 that right now as well. My FX3. This is
8:49 the main camera that I use for all my
8:52 client work. This thing is such a beast.
8:54 I'm going to pair it with the 24 mm lens
8:57 today as well as my 24 to 70.
8:59 Essentially covers everything that I
9:02 need for this job. So this time I have a
9:04 little photo camera as well with me.
9:07 This is the Rico GR3X HDF model. I got
9:10 this recently and I have a little flash
9:12 to pair with it and I'm going to try to
9:15 take photos with this today because you
9:18 never know when you need the photos.
9:20 comes in a little box like this. And
9:23 it's just very handy to have because the
9:25 gimbal shots, it makes a big difference
9:26 when it comes to this kind of client
9:30 work. Smooth, consistent footage is it's
9:33 just really good.
9:34 Okay, so now that I'm all set up, what
9:35 I'm going to be doing is just double
9:37 checking that like my batteries are
9:39 full, my SD cards are formatted, so I'm
9:41 ready to film a lot, and then prepare
9:43 for the actual shoot. My client Chris,
9:44 he's going to come down in a bit, and
9:46 we're going to debrief each other about
9:47 what we're going to be working on today.
9:49 And then the customer is going to come
9:50 in a little bit later and that's when
9:52 the filming process will start.
9:54 Typically the tattoo sessions, they run
9:55 for quite long and therefore my shooting
9:57 days are also quite long. It's why it's
9:59 very important to stay proactive with
10:01 your time. I want to talk about this
10:02 more in depth because I think as a
10:04 freelancer managing your time is one of
10:06 the most important things you can do.
10:08 Got about 20 minutes before Chris comes
10:09 down. So I'm going to shoot some B-roll
10:11 of the studio that I know I'm going to
10:13 be using in the video footage later just
10:51 Yes. Okay.
11:33 Now, one of the biggest things that I've
11:35 learned when working with clients is
11:38 learning not to overshoot. If you do the
11:39 pre-planning and you know what you need,
11:41 then you only need to shoot what is
11:43 necessary. You don't need to overshoot,
11:46 which is going to make your work harder
11:47 in post-production when you're cutting
11:49 through all your footage and you're just
11:51 getting rid of a lot of stuff. When I'm
11:53 at the studio, I dedicate all of my time
11:55 to the studio YouTube channel. to be
11:57 able to balance this high capacity of
11:59 video editing with my own personal
12:02 stuff. I learned that by reducing the
12:04 amount of time that I'm filming and at
12:07 the studio better utilizing that time to
12:08 edit. Essentially, I'm killing two birds
12:10 with one stone, making sure that I'm
12:12 filming what I need to do for the video
12:14 and in the in between moments preparing
12:16 and editing the other videos. Once I
12:18 understood how to better utilize my
12:20 time, I reduced the hours that I would
12:23 need to edit this at home, therefore
12:25 keeping a better work balanced life.
12:26 It's not all client jobs that you're
12:28 going to have to stick around for a long
12:30 time. So, this is just how I made the
12:33 most of the hours that I spend here.
12:34 It's a really sunny day. I think it's
12:36 time for a break. So, let's go grab a
12:48 Okay, we're just heading out to get some
12:50 B-roll. It's a nice sunny day, so I have
12:53 to make most of it and get footage of
12:55 outside while I can. And I'm also going
12:58 to get lunch cuz I am hungry.
13:12 I got barbecue pork. So hungry. Look at
13:27 I don't know what it is, but there's
13:30 something about having a lunch break on
13:33 a very sunny day out in the sun, just
13:35 like reabsorbing some energy and having
13:38 a sip of water. Something amazing about that.
13:53 Next time we'll finish the line and
13:57 maybe start the shading.
13:58 What does it feel like? We'll just do
13:59 the lining and then we'll stop the
14:02 shading the next session.
14:06 >> I feel pretty gnarly like maybe
14:09 you want.
14:10 It's a wrap.
14:12 >> Thanks for the Thanks for the t-shirt.
14:14 >> Okay, so we just wrapped up that first
14:16 shoot. It's pretty much like a normal
14:18 full day experience here at the Binant
14:20 Tattoo Studio for me where I'm doing
14:24 like a maybe 11 to 5:00 sort of session.
14:26 But today's a special day because Chris
14:28 has booked in another client who we're
14:30 going to be filming a full like a
14:34 finishing touch to a big bodysuit piece.
14:36 So, I really wanted to film that. I'm
14:39 here uh maybe till like 900 p.m. to do
14:41 that. We've got a little bit of time to
14:43 kill, so I'm just gonna rest. I'm gonna
14:46 recuperate some energy and then when the
14:48 next client comes, Jerry, we're going to
14:50 film his completion of his back piece,
14:52 which is going to be crazy. I'm also
14:55 going to set up some of my film camera
14:56 equipment because I want to take some
14:59 really high quality pictures. Getting a
15:02 little hungry after smelling this my
16:34 Okay, so it is the day after. That was
16:36 actually quite a long shoot. We ended up
16:38 finishing at like honestly 11:30. But
16:40 the reasoning was because there was
16:42 actually a second shoot after the first
16:44 shoot and it just ended up being double
16:45 as long as I thought. But you know what?
16:47 It was worth it because at the end of
16:48 the day, I really wanted to take those
16:50 photos at the end, which I don't know if
16:52 I'll actually have ready to show you
16:54 guys. But yeah, I'll share them in the
16:56 future. Now, I needed to talk about one
16:58 more thing because packaging your videos
17:00 for YouTube is just as important as the
17:02 actual content itself. It sounds silly,
17:04 but even if you make the best video of
17:05 your life, if you don't package it well,
17:08 it will not perform well on YouTube.
17:09 That's just the name of the game when it
17:11 comes to social media. For me, making
17:13 thumbnails, it was always such a
17:15 question mark because I never knew what
17:16 was going to work or what was not going
17:18 to work. But over trial and error and
17:21 making hundreds of videos, I have found
17:23 a style that works for me. I like to
17:25 include either my face or my full body
17:27 and then also have text with the image.
17:29 I make sure the text is highly legible
17:31 because the smallest size it is seen is
17:34 on the phone. It's it's quite small and
17:36 I like to keep the image quite bright.
17:38 Now from this I think it is important to
17:40 consider the vibe of the thumbnail and
17:42 the title and how that pairs with your
17:44 actual video. You want it to sort of
17:46 work together because if you have a vibe
17:48 of a very aggressive thumbnail and then
17:50 the video is very peaceful, your viewers
17:52 going to be quite confused. I also think
17:54 over time it is important to sort of
17:56 keep a theme or like have harmony
17:58 between your thumbnails. So if someone
18:00 opens up your YouTube page after seeing
18:02 a video that they watched, then they'll
18:05 see a list of thumbnails and titles that
18:07 kind of work well together as a
18:09 collective rather than just individual
18:12 things one by one. It's quite valuable.
18:14 There's no statistics that I can show
18:16 you to prove that it works, but I just
18:18 personally think from a design
18:20 perspective, it makes sense to do that.
18:22 For instance, with the bunch videos,
18:24 while I was at the studio last, I came
18:26 across a style of thumbnail that I want
18:28 to create more consistently. It's a bold
18:31 look with the tattoo and a big kanji
18:33 character with the word wabi. This is
18:34 going to mean that over time, the
18:35 thumbnails, they're all going to look
18:37 very cohesive. It's going to look like a
18:40 TV show. And by doing this, the viewers,
18:41 they know that every time they see that
18:44 thumbnail, that style, they know what
18:46 video to expect. And that's exactly what
18:49 I'm going for. So I don't think there is
18:51 one right answer to how to make a
18:53 YouTube channel. These are just the
18:55 things I have thought about and come up
18:57 with from just my own experiences and
19:00 learnings. And I hope that you got to
19:02 write down some notes, something
19:03 interesting. And if you have any
19:05 questions on any of the topics we
19:06 discussed today, just let me know in the
19:08 comments. I'll try to reply to you. And
19:10 yeah, honestly, you just need to have
19:14 fun. Have fun, have a plan, and you can
