Advice for YouTubers with no motivation.

IJustDidAFunny

Active Member
I struggle with being motivated to upload... a lot.

I think it's one of the main reasons why people who were once serious about youtube... just stop uploading. They spend a few weeks or months working hard to create a brand and forget to enjoy themselves while doing it--and that's the key. You forgot why you started. You had content that you wanted others to see. You had a drive to share that content. You had an idea, or several, and you just started out of impulse. So what happened?

Why you've lost motivation

You had an idea that smacked you in the brain cells so hard you could feel an actual light-bulb forming above your head and... light up. You were excited, and now you're just... doing it. It's just a routine.

Ever caught yourself uttering "s**t I have to upload a video tomorrow", leading to stress, a killer rush to film, edit, render, upload, publish and advertise a video--and a finished product that was, quite honestly, sub par? You're doing something wrong. If you're not in a mindset where you have 'sparks' or 'omg that's such a good idea i need to write that downoihergaobioeboege' moments, then you just aren't as excited anymore, and that's okay--but drive comes from a good idea. An idea that you want to see come to life. I mean, if you don't want to see your own idea become a reality... who will?

How to get motivated

Here's a list of a few things I do when I find myself searching for ideas, or feel like giving up, simply because it's getting difficult...

  • Watch other youtubers
It could be the youtuber that motivated you to start YouTube in the first place, or anybody you used to watch--before you started doing your own stuff and got too busy to spend time on youtube (outside of just uploading and advertising.)
But don't just watch their recent videos, go back to a few years or months ago and analyze their video. Look at what they've improved and try and figure out why you want to watch their videos. Doing this, I find, brings me back in to the 'YouTubers' mindset, and sometimes even gives me a video idea. It motivates me to make better videos whenever I do this, and helps a lot with the quality too.

  • Do what you enjoy doing
While we are all going to have to sell our souls at some point, and make things we don't have as much fun making in an attempt to appeal to... everyone (within our niche), don't forget to continue doin' yo thang. Look at your very first video and think about the thought process, if any, went into that... and do it again.
  • Take a break
DO NOT DO THIS TOO OFTEN.
Think of this as a last resort. If you have seriously gotten to the point where you are dreading your next upload, to the point where it stresses you out, you need a well deserved break. If you feel like this every week... maybe it's time to consider handing in your notice?
Also make sure to tell your subscribers before hand, or even throw something really quick together to upload while you're taking 1 out of your 2 annual sick days as a YouTuber.

  • Every milestone counts
Reached 50? Great! 100? Awesome! 1000? Holy s**t why are you even reading this?!

Remember every subscriber is an actual person. They aren't robots. (Unless you paid for subs, in which case don't do that again it's bad.) They are individuals who saw your video, liked it, subbed, and come back for more every now and then. THAT'S AN ACHIEVEMENT. Even getting 15 subs (not even kidding) you've got something that people want to see! You're already better off than the people who will inevitably one day watch your videos and say "I can't believe this guy is making a living off making videos that's so unfair l0l d1kh34d".

  • Talk to your subscribers
It's hard getting your audience to interact. Start off with friends and family, unless you want to refrain from that, in which case just ask everyone to comment about something controversial or something everyone wants to have their say about. Every subscriber is a door to more subscribers, you just need to have a good goddamn conversation with that door until it'll... open itself for you?

That's nasty.

BUT MY POINT IS talking to your subscribers also gives you a confidence boost! These are your FANS. and interacting with them on a one to one turns your subscribers into a fan base. It's not all about your videos, it's about YOU.

TL;DR
1) Stalk some people you used to stalk, but this time with your youtuber goggles firmly attached to your face peepers.
2) Do the s**t you used to do that made you want to do this s**t that you're doing for a living in the first place.
3) Take some time to sit on your a** and watch some goddamn pulp fiction because everybody needs Samuel L. Jackson booty permanently burned into their retinas.
4) Be thankful for all the sheep you've brainwashed into coming back and watching every single one of your videos. They're pretty awesome. Apart from the fact that you know... they're sheep. Who likes sheep?
5) Seriously reply to each and every one of your fans. Push aside the fact that they're brainless herbivores whose only motives in life are to eat and die (they're sheep) and make some friends! They watch your videos because you either entertain them or they can relate to you in some way, so talk to them--they all have one thing in common, they're all here for you; so use that s**t.

Thanks for reading this guys ^_^ I mainly wrote this to help motivate me actually... I've been getting pretty bummy recently and I needed something to push me, and YTtalk has really done that. Y'ALL ARE AWESOME!
 
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Actually you should do it as often as you need to. Taking a break from something doesn't mean you hate it or don't want it, otherwise parents who take breaks by leaving their kids with their parents or with a baby sitter could be asked to hand in their notice too lol

It could also cause an inconsistency issue with your subscribers, causing them to lose interest. YouTube is mostly marketing.

Also, you aren't looking after a baby, it's more like being the producer for a TV show. You can't take too many breaks or you just won't be a reliable source for entertainment. It's even more harsh in comparison, considering you aren't actually allowed a break due to time slot constraints.
 
It could also cause an inconsistency issue with your subscribers, causing them to lose interest. YouTube is mostly marketing.

Also, you aren't looking after a baby, it's more like being the producer for a TV show. You can't take too many breaks or you just won't be a reliable source for entertainment. It's even more harsh in comparison, considering you aren't actually allowed a break due to time slot constraints.
If your subscribers genuinely give a s**t about you they will stick with you until you come back from your break, if not, they're subscribers you don't need.

The analogy still applies, taking breaks or getting stressed doesn't equate to something you quit. The difference between YouTube and TV shows though is that you have that luxury to take breaks whenever you want especially at smaller sizes. If you started out to run your channel the same was as a TV show then yes breaks would obviously go against that, but if you started it to build a community, business or to have fun then if you don't take breaks you'll start burn yourself out and the quality of your content will suffer for it. Taking a break allows you to come back fresh and better than before. You can have reliable entertainment or quality entertainment, I prefer quality entertainment, I'm still subscribed to VirtuallyVain and their last video was more than a year ago. The bigger you get, then the less you'll want to take breaks.
 
If your subscribers genuinely give a s**t about you they will stick with you until you come back from your break, if not, they're subscribers you don't need.

The analogy still applies, taking breaks or getting stressed doesn't equate to something you quit. The difference between YouTube and TV shows though is that you have that luxury to take breaks whenever you want especially at smaller sizes. If you started out to run your channel the same was as a TV show then yes breaks would obviously go against that, but if you started it to build a community, business or to have fun then if you don't take breaks you'll start burn yourself out and the quality of your content will suffer for it. Taking a break allows you to come back fresh and better than before. You can have reliable entertainment or quality entertainment, I prefer quality entertainment, I'm still subscribed to VirtuallyVain and their last video was more than a year ago. The bigger you get, then the less you'll want to take breaks.

See that's weird. I came up with this idea of consistency based off of my own habits.

The chances of me clicking on a video I see appear in my sub box from someone who hasn't uploaded in ages, without me thinking they're irrelevant/wondering why I subscribed to them are very low. Idk. It's just whenever I look anywhere for YouTubing tips all I hear is be consistent. You've definitely given me a different perspective though and I seriously appreciate that!
 
See that's weird. I came up with this idea of consistency based off of my own habits.

The chances of me clicking on a video I see appear in my sub box from someone who hasn't uploaded in ages, without me thinking they're irrelevant/wondering why I subscribed to them are very low. Idk. It's just whenever I look anywhere for YouTubing tips all I hear is be consistent. You've definitely given me a different perspective though and I seriously appreciate that!
Consistency is definitely good to have, it's recommended for obvious reasons, but at smaller sizes it's more difficult because of things outside of YouTube. Since most people under 100,000-200,000 aren't always making a living off it (or haven't decided to yet and maybe aren't earning enough), they have other jobs to work, some people have families, some just like to relax, some have health issues etc... So that consistency goes out the window. I work in customer service, I deal with stupid people at work and stupid people at home, so the breaks I take from YouTube aren't entirely because of YouTube, but I do take them, primarily from the recording point, luckily I ALWAYS seem to have content to edit now days. But usually when I take a break from recording, and I get back into it, I feel alive again, I realise how much I miss it and that feeling gets stronger and stronger every time, if anything I feel like I improve more and more because of that. At smaller sizes as harsh as it sounds, no 1's really going to care if you take a break for a week or even a few months. 1 thing's for sure is if you take a break and don't start to crave with the urge to come back to YouTube, then that can be taken as a sign you should hand in your notice. Breaks could probably lead to more motivation than anything else.
 
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