Kesler's Dad
Well-Known Member
Our turn to do a little boasting, even if it's rather misguided. I say that because after spending countless hours reading these forums after starting our channel, I realized that we'd have to use AdWords to kick start our channel, given how hyper saturated the kids channel vertical is.
We posted our first video 3.5 months ago (March 16, 2017) and after some deliberation and feedback from fellow experienced forum members, we decided to hold off on Adwords until last week (after posting about 29 videos - we were at about 3,000 views at the time and 40 subscribers). Given that we've put about CAD $110 so far (that's about USD $85), we gained about 6,500 "Suggested Videos" non-paid views and 65 subscribers, those viewers had to like the videos enough to click on another one and the subscribers had to at least have liked them enough to subscribe so I do find solace in that. And with audience retention figures of 30% to 40% and up for each video, I guess those are ho-hum based on what I've read on these forums for kids channels (certainly not great because the videos are so short). Always room to improve. That's why we're here right?
Some tips for others based on our experience so far...
1. Wait to have at least a dozen or more videos before using Adwords, it'll help your watch time metrics if the viewer likes what you've got and starts perusing through your library of videos.
2. Don't jump into Adwords until you've done exhaustive research and when you do, make sure you do a lot of testing with small budget amounts to determine the best use of your dollar. Aim for $0.01 campaigns, decent earned views (100% to 150% or higher), and $ per subscriber ($1 to $2/sub or better).
3. Ask questions on these forums
4. Don't give up
5. Create great thumbnails
6. And most importantly, create awesome content
Now off to edit today's video! Next goal, 1,000 subscribers by end of year.
Funny note, the thumbnail for our last video seems quite fitting when considering the milestone we've just reached. You know, with Kesler's cousin pointing at the number and all, heh heh. By the way, that wasn't planned, it's a complete coincidence.
We posted our first video 3.5 months ago (March 16, 2017) and after some deliberation and feedback from fellow experienced forum members, we decided to hold off on Adwords until last week (after posting about 29 videos - we were at about 3,000 views at the time and 40 subscribers). Given that we've put about CAD $110 so far (that's about USD $85), we gained about 6,500 "Suggested Videos" non-paid views and 65 subscribers, those viewers had to like the videos enough to click on another one and the subscribers had to at least have liked them enough to subscribe so I do find solace in that. And with audience retention figures of 30% to 40% and up for each video, I guess those are ho-hum based on what I've read on these forums for kids channels (certainly not great because the videos are so short). Always room to improve. That's why we're here right?
Some tips for others based on our experience so far...
1. Wait to have at least a dozen or more videos before using Adwords, it'll help your watch time metrics if the viewer likes what you've got and starts perusing through your library of videos.
2. Don't jump into Adwords until you've done exhaustive research and when you do, make sure you do a lot of testing with small budget amounts to determine the best use of your dollar. Aim for $0.01 campaigns, decent earned views (100% to 150% or higher), and $ per subscriber ($1 to $2/sub or better).
3. Ask questions on these forums
4. Don't give up
5. Create great thumbnails
6. And most importantly, create awesome content
Now off to edit today's video! Next goal, 1,000 subscribers by end of year.
Funny note, the thumbnail for our last video seems quite fitting when considering the milestone we've just reached. You know, with Kesler's cousin pointing at the number and all, heh heh. By the way, that wasn't planned, it's a complete coincidence.
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