Channel Evaluation #3 Abby Cooper – New YouTuber with Fewer than 90 Subscribers

I love doing channel evaluations! As I go through a subscribers channel and look at what they have going on, I am able to identify the key items that they are missing or just need to improve on what they already have.

This channel evaluation is unique because this person doesn’t even have 100 subscribers yet or a 1,000 video views. She is just getting started, and so I thought that this would be a great opportunity to get her on the journey with everything she needs. So let’s get started!

This specific subscriber is brand new. Her name is Abby Cooper, and she wants to make it big on YouTube as she starts her new channel in the area in which she is involved with. Abby is a professional actor, host, and voice over artist. But that is not all. She also has her PhD in Exercise Physiology. She wants to increase her brand and get some great exposure as she delves into this new excursion. Looking at ways to expand her brand, Abby decided to use her PhD to utilize her channel in the Health and Wellness area as she catapults her acting career alongside it. She hopes that this will be another way to increase her brand.

Abby is looking to combine her talents and create a niche brand that is all her own. She wants to have her channel centered around a healthy lifestyle and natural living, but include travel and adventure in it also. With her capabilities, she will be able to give great tips on how to travel well and still eat healthy, but also keep the adventure alive in it for those who love it as much as she does. Her other hopes is having this type of platform with monetization in it to help her make money. Also included in this would be a blog, podcasts, and appearances as well.

This is great to hear from Abby because has already done some homework and figured out what she wants to be associated with on her channel. But, as I looked at Abby’s channel, it was a little confusing as I looked around at the different things she already had on there. Then I began wondering how she was going to incorporate her next video and so on. All we need here is a concrete formula that will blend everything together to make it flow better. I have offered 5 tips to help Abby out with her new channel. Here is what I suggested:

• #1 Be a Vlogger: For audience growth, you need to make videos with the Abby Style. What this means is to figure out what channel you are going to be and become a vlogger that focuses in on the things you are doing. Since you are already an actress, vlog about the auditions you try out for as an actress. And then, vlog about your health and wellness showing others what and how you do things that keep yourself healthy. Especially all of your favorite tips and events. This is a great way to grow a community of subscriber that is committed to watching your every move. But don’t just vlog on a topic… vlog on your day! This will create interest with your audience as it shows your genuine personality. This is how you can make a connection. People usually don’t bond while looking at the instructions on how to make your favorite dessert, but they will if they watch you making your favorite dessert.

• #2 Consistent Content: Now, make a list of what you can do each day to accomplish this and be consistent. Putting out regular content is how this all happens. You have been doing this weekly, but I think it’s time to gear up and vlog daily. I believe that you have enough skill and personality to pull off a daily vlog. Remember, when you are doing daily content, you are literally doing your next day’s work. You need to record stuff, and then upload it. That is all there is too it! But, having several videos done ahead of time can make this easier for you if you can schedule it out. When you get some practice under your belt, you should be able to film for 30 minutes and edit for 30 minutes. That should be all that it takes to get it done. You’re already in the industry, so creating a video formula that works won’t take too much of your time. So, cut it… cut it… cut it… make sure you have your intro and outro… and then upload!

• #3 Branding: I love giving out this tip to everyone because it identifies who you are. Branding is the key element that identifies you from all your competition. Branding is important on your website, thumbnails, banners, and channel art along with the intro and outro that goes before and after each video. I noticed that your color is teal. I would put that same color on every thumbnail so when people are glancing through videos to watch, they will identify your color and click on you because you’re familiar to them. By doing this along with the The So Abby Show text in there, you will become an overnight success as far as getting noticed by the traffic that searches similar content. This is about designing your unique brand template. There is a great place called fiverr that will help you get your stuff done for $5.00 if you need help with your intro and outro. But as an added bonus, I will have one of my guys help you with your branding. We will create a template in pixlr.com that will help you upload your fonts that are uniform.

• #4 Networking: The best way to grow a YouTube channel is by networking. You need to find other people you can collaborate with. These would be people that you can jump in on their show and they do the same for you. Content creators are always looking for other content creators to interact with. This is important to build stability within your own channel. Look for other individuals that have the same situation as you do. You have so much to offer in so many different areas that it is wise to collaborate with others that share the same point of views as you do. During your slow times, look for these types of opportunities that will help you build upon this method of networking. You will always find someone on Twitter, YouTube, or Facebook. They are out there and available. Ask them to be a special guest on your channel or interview them and talk about a certain aspect of your channel.

• #5 Have a Story: I have invited my good friend Jared from the Ellie and Jared Show to give Abby this tip: “People need to relate to a story. So, having a great website includes the ability to share a story with your audience. Viewers will enjoy watching your channel because they can relate to the story that you are telling. This also brings your story into an emotional side that people can understand, know how you are feeling or reacting to the situation you are in, and recount those feelings with you. Your audience will connect if they can see your struggle, your behind the scenes, and how you are handling your day to day events or issues as you triumph. They want to see the behind the lines struggle that you go through to get your next acting job. They want to see and share your journey with you. So, share a journey that is relatable to others. This will keep people wanting to come back for more”.

My last advice for you, Abby, is to just be authentic. You have a magnetic personality and people will love watching you tell your story as you vlog your daily events and happenings. Talk to the camera as if the subscriber is in the same room, and don’t forget to include them in your frustrations, thoughts, and feelings. You will grow your channel and find unlimited opportunities waiting for you around every corner. On YouTube, you have your own network along with your own following. This is how you generate money… just by involving your community with you. You become your own network. You are the network, and your followers will go wherever you go. Go out and connect!

The Mega-Money Making Idea

You want to get your subscribers in the habit of looking for you in their emails. They may receive a daily email from you or it may be a weekly newsletter that gets them up-to-date with what has happened on your site, and it goes to a website that has your vlog. There is another thing that you can do which is called re-targeting and re-marketing. I will attach the universal analytics on your website, YouTube channel, and to an AdWords account. There is a reason why we do this, but this is not the call for that. Also, we will install custom audiences that you can do on Facebook and on your website, and perfectaudience.com. This will help you generate lists to find data for Facebook ads. This helps you interact and communicate with your audience. This is literally a mechanism to give your subscribers, viewers, and audience members a way to receive something from you‒ whether it’s an email, newsletter, or a tip of the day or even a free gift.

Abby wants to know how to make money doing this. I suggest that she monetize her channel, but don’t put any ads on it. You need to be a YouTube Partner. That should be the first thing that you do. Next, think of something unique that your viewers would like. I would give this out for free, make a video on it, and give your viewers something for free in exchange for their email address and grow your list. Then think of something that you could sell to them for $20 dollars. If this works, then you have a product that will generate more traffic.

Derral Asks: Any advice from you, Abby, for my subscribers?

Yes! It is great to get to know Derral on a personal level. He is insanely smart in every aspect of his marketing techniques. Subscribe to him and follow his every move to get the same kind of help he has given me. Derral is so loving and kind. I appreciate everything he has helped me with and I look forward to having a mega YouTube channel!

Questions & Answers Session:

Gideon in Australia asks- How do you preserve the comments from a Live Event and have them show up in the comment area after the video is live:

YouTube does a couple of things here. First, they have the chat roll with an algorithm to help them figure out what a valid comment is, and then it applies over to the video. They also have in this algorithm other things that are in the chat that sometimes won’t show up. YouTube also looks at the comments and tries to decide the difference between a valid comment and what is insignificant chatter.

What size of gaming channel do you look for… such as one that you would do for your Live Event?

There are a few key things that I look for. First, this person has to truly want to make it big on YouTube. Someone who is consistent with their content and the length of the uploads. This includes the engagement of the audience. They must also be subscribed to me and trying out the tips that I am giving out on my YouTube channel. This person also must comment, like, and share my videos. I am able to look at this with a tool that I use to show me who is the most engaged and that is how I narrow it down.

Mandy asks when is the best time and day to upload?

This is a question that varies from channel to channel. There are tools to help you with this and I use Tubularlabs.com to help me find out this data on my own YouTube channel. You log in, sync your channel, and they collect information for you. These guys look at your most optimal times and that is how you know when your time is best. But remember that this can be totally different for you. Everyone has different subscribers, time zones, geo-location, and viewers can randomly get on at any time. This is where using this tool by Tubularlabs.com comes in handy. Another feature is just using your analytics which is in real time. With this, you can also find out the factors of data for your channel with this tool.

Christopher wants to know if Google+ Hangouts compares to the engagement on a YouTube channel?

You could do a Live Stream and use Hangouts on Air… that is an option. I prefer not to do this because I don’t like the water mark from Google+ in the upper left-hand corner along with some other limitations. I want everything in the highest resolution in HD for my viewers. I also use the pro version of Wire Cast for YouTube which allows me to do a lot with it. YouTube wants you to have more engagement on your channels. So they will favor videos that are from a live event. You are able to get instant comments, interaction, and your ranking for organic content on Google can be through the roof. There will be more training on this in the coming months.

Carina has a new beauty lifestyle channel. She wants to know and understand more about YouTube and its technology. Is there any other information about the intros, outros, or helpful tips for a beginner?

There is a place that I use a few times a month called Fiverr.com. It is basically a website that will do this type of stuff for $5 dollars. You can also find someone local in your area to help you out. Another place is called Odesk.com that has people who can do different tasks for you as well. You could also ask your subscribers to help you if they are in that type of business.

Derral, how do you edit your videos on YouTube? What do you use?

I have a series of videos that are about to come out regarding this topic. Some of you out there are experts and some are novices. I am working to get something that will be beneficial for everyone. It won’t be long before these are released, and I believe they will answer all of your questions.

Is there any advantage of joining an animation network?

I get a lot of questions of whether to join MCN’s which are a group of channels that come together, and they go out and sell the advertising to split costs with you, YouTube, and themselves. Some of the advantages are that they give you opportunities to collaborate, promote your channel, and so on. I do a lot of consulting and this is what I have found. There are advantages to MCN’s, but they may not work for you with your type of content.  I would encourage everyone thinking about signing up to look closely at the contract. Most of these contracts last anywhere from 2 to 3 years. That would lock you in for a long time especially if YouTube does something else. Do your research, look for others that have signed up, and see if it appeals to what content you are creating. Check out your CPM which is your cost per 1000 views on your YouTube videos. I have also found that the clients that I have that don’t have MCN’s actually have a higher CPM than those who do use networkers, and vice-versa. It really varies.

Big guy review wants to know if he can put Amazon affiliate links in descriptions on his videos to make a little extra money:

Well, there is a real fine line here when you start talking about affiliate marketing on YouTube. One of the things that you need to be very careful with is when you’re doing your videos that if it is a review, you should do both links. Do an affiliate link along with a nonaffiliated link to give people the option. I do know people that create affiliate channels that get banned because they are breaking the terms of service. Don’t put them as clickable annotations in the video. You can have them in the description and I would use a URL shortner. Also, another important thing here is to label them as an affiliate with the other as a nonaffiliated link.

What kind of recording software would you prefer?

If it is screen recording, I have a video coming out in that series I talked about earlier. I also go into detail about where to find free software, but it depends on what type of content your are needing the recording software for, and what platform you are on. There is Camtasia or Screenflow. I love working with both of these. So, watch for my video series that is coming up in the near future.

Johnny wants to know if Abby paid for her channel evaluation:

No, she did not. Basically how this works is that I look for my subscribers that are engaged with my channel, commenting, liking, sharing, etc. And then I call them up and ask this subscriber if they want to do a channel evaluation with me. I will then do a consult, usually 2 or 3 meetings to find out what they want and need, and then I get to know this subscriber as we talk and make a plan. Then we finish things with a Live Channel Evaluation.

Would you talk about the keyword Google tool or AdWords tool:

The keyword tool has changed. It’s called the Keyword Planner and it is in AdWords. Google likes to change things around… I’m sure you have noticed. They were giving a lot of information out and people were using it to optimize their channel and not pay for AdWords. Now, you have to go into AdWords, use their tool to create an account to get access to that. They are not displaying as much information as they did before, however you can still search and find those keywords that are relevant for your content. I will also do a video on this to get you more information.

What is the fastest way to grow your gaming channel?

In this channel evaluation, I gave some great tips. You must have consistent content to have channel growth. This gives your audience a chance to anticipate your next upload along with them wanting to comment, like, and share. For the gamers out there, look to see what is hot and find out what people want to know. Look to see if it is a technique or a tip on how to play better.

I am a toy reviewer and was wondering if you could give me some tips on making intros and outros:

First thing is to have a game plan to figure out how you can improve your videos little by little. Realistically, you don’t have to do all of the tips at once. Find out where you can change things around to make small improvements and just begin little by little to see a major change down the line. Get to know your video creation formula. Keep your technique the same, but mix up your content to keep it interesting. The next important thing is to edit your content. Make it crisp so your audience will be engaged.

Please clarify on your retargeting:

Not a lot of people realize this, but it is important to collect data. This will allow you to tie your YouTube channel with your AdWords account and create lists. You can create lists of the people that have watched your video, liked your video, or create a list on those who shared or commented. The list can go on and on because there are so many variations, but you understand where I am going with this. Google doesn’t tell you who it is… they just create profiles of what was done. This list is power because in the future which is 540 days to be exact, you are able to remarket or retarget these viewers. If you want to sell something, this gives you the information to do so. For gamers, you may have a tip in a guide that you want to sell. With this, you can reach all of those that watched that video and have a pre-roll video ad come up to let them know what you’re offering. Or, you can have a Google display ad show up on the Google Ad Display Network and it will be across all different types of channels like CNN.com or wherever they are going when they are using AdSense to make money. You will either pay for the view or the click. It will then go through a funnel where they can buy your product while you make good money doing this. By setting this up and having it together, you can generate more money than you would have with only views. It’s crucial to figure out a monetization strategy for your channel by utilizing the data that you had from viewers watching your content. You can also use universal analytics where it ties in and creates profiles that will attach to your AdWords account. You can also use Perfectaudience.com to do the same thing, and also Facebook custom Audiences is a great way to utilize this tool to build up your audience. I have found that it works better to build up an audience on Facebook first and then convert it over to YouTube. This is a great way to remarket!

Should a small channel be a YouTube partner?

It is important to become a partner, but not necessarily monetize the videos. For my channel, I went from zero subscribers to 30,000 in one year with around 6 million views. I didn’t want anything to impede with me getting subscribers. My only goal at the time was to get subscribers. It was at least a year and a half later that I finally started to monetize. At first I monetized some videos, and now I monetize all of them. Where I am at now, monetizing my videos does not interfere with my audience retention on the video. When I consult with a brand new client who is getting their new channel going, I do have them become a partner but they don’t monetize at first so it can open up some other opportunities. Then it is my goal to get them to 1,000 subscribers, and then 50,000 subs as quickly as I can so there is added benefit. There is a lot of opportunity doing it this way.

Thank you all so much for coming on this Live Event! There is so much that we get to talk about. I love giving out tips… that golden nugget that will set you on your way to success. Doing these Live Events can really open up a lot of discussion that can benefit all of you.

I have learned so much from nonrelated channels, too, and now I’m trying out some unique things that have really opened up some cool ideas for me. I ask myself how I can apply these things to my own channel because it’s important to always look for other opportunities to grow your channel while keeping your audience engaged.

Keep an eye out for my new videos that are coming out. Thanks Guys!

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