Feedback, please!

[Omeo]

Hey, everyone!

I'm glad there's a section like this. I would love some feedback on my channel. The link below doesn't work - I've tried several times to get help for this, to no avail - but the name of the channel is Serious Issues.

In addition to any feedback on my thumbnails, titles, etc, I'm interested in any thoughts about splitting up the channel into two. I've got a variety of things I like to talk about - as you'll see - and I'm concerned that my lack of focus could really be hurting me. Please tell me what you think.

Thanl you, everyone.

 

[Jed]

Ok so I'm going to preface this with a warning: I looked up Serious Issues and went onto the first channel there. I think that's your channel but if not I'm reviewing the wrong channel. Anyway here we go:

Thumbnails:
I think your thumbnails are ok but they could be improved. Mainly in terms of the text on them I don't particularly like the warping effect that you have on your text as they make it harder to read what you have put and I am on my laptop looking at them so it will be really hard for mobile users to view them. I also think that when you don't use the warp effect such as in your 'WTF is Wrong With the Democrats?' video or your 'Not So Serious' videos you need to make the text bigger and so easier to read. Also in an attempt to make the text easier to read I would try making them a solid white so that it stands out on the blue and green background instead of having blue and green text on a blue and green background. I think everything else about your thumbnails is done nicely and I like that you have a base design that you can manipulate for each video

Titles:
I like them nice and concise and no clickbait. They're fine

Videos:
You have a Green-Screen and you don't really seem to be using it well in my opinion. You just put one picture behind you and just leave it as that. To be honest with you I think it would be more better if you were able to use pictures to illustrate what you are saying whether that be behind you on the Green-Screen (although the problem with that is that you can't really see the full picture so you might have to adjust your positioning and framing for videos) or have them as an overlay whilst your voice carries on on top. I think this would engage audiences more as there is more to look at and it can really help drive a point you are trying to make. This would require more editing but I think it's worth it

I would also move the camera down a bit so there isn't that much of a gap between the top of your head and the top of the frame (just an aesthetic thing)

One other thing is that you don't really seem to be excited about what you are talking about, your voice comes across a little monotonous and you seem a little bored. You may be really passionate about what you are saying but to me that doesn't really come across which to me as somebody watching means that I am not as interested. I think you just need to add a little bit of 'life' and energy to your videos. But maybe this is something that will just come with time and practice. I'm not saying become the next JackSepticEye or PewDiePie but maybe a little bit of energy will draw people in and make them listen.

Oh and also your latest video seems a bit out of place. If that is what you meant by splitting things in two. I agree I would probably put gaming stuff on a different channel.

Those are just my opinions feel free to take or leave them as you see fit. I hope they help

 

[Omeo]

You found the right channel.

Thumbnails:
I've always wondered how other people felt about the warping effect of the text. Thanks for letting me know. Actually, I was watching a video by some YouTube guru the other day and he recommended not putting the titles of your videos in the thumbnails. He said it's neeedlessly redundant. He said if we're going to have any text in the thumbnails, it should be related to the topic or something you say or do in the video, but don't just repeat the title. I think I'm gonna try that. I will also try your suggestion of using plain white text.

Videos:
I've been thinking about using more illustrations, but I haven't done it because of the extra time it would take, but maybe that extra time would be worth it. I'll try to do that from now on.

I know what you mean about adding more life and energy to my delivery, too. These ARE things I'm passionate about, but I agree that that seldom comes across in the videos. I know Jacksepticeye, so I know what you mean, there. I've actually watched "The Evolution of Jacksepticeye", so I know that he was much more low-key and subdued when he started out. That's naturally how I am when I talk about a lot of this stuff and I kinda feel like being more energetic would come across as phony, but maybe I should give it a try. Like you said, if I sound bored, my audience is probably gonna be bored, too. People respond to passion. I need to do a better job of conveying that.

The latest video IS quite a departure from the rest of my stuff, but it's not my intention to do a lot of gaming on my channel. It was just an idea I had that I thought would be fun to do and that people would like, so I did it. I really want to do more casual, fun stuff because I think I have a more lively personality that doesn't come across in the videos where I talk about more serious topics. I'm so passionate about that stuff that my lighter, fun side doesn't surface when I do that stuff, which is why I do the more casual, fun videos. I want people to know that I'm more than just this guy who sits there droning on about politics all the time. I think I have a good sense of humor that other people would enjoy, but that side of me doesn't show up in the political videos. I wish it did. I wish I was naturally better at combining those things.

I really appreciate your feedback, Jed. Thank you. ^_^

 

[Jed]

Glad that I didn't spend the time reviewing the wrong thing. Although you did give direct instructions

I too am of the opinion that in a thumbnail if you can just use a picture without any text in your thumbnail then go for that but if not then less is more, but I also appreciate that that doesn't always work for everybody and everybody has their own way of doing things and their own style. Maybe for you if you are looking to get rid of text you can edit pictures in their place?

I think you should try adding in the pictures in for your next few videos and see what the response is like and see whether you get longer retention times and increased engagement. You could even come back on here and ask people what they think about it in a few weeks after you have tried it for a few videos and if you see that it doesn't really help you in any way then feel free to leave it if it is just wasting your time. YouTube is a kind of trial and improvement process, you try things out and if they work for you great, if not then move on but you never really know until you try them. I do think you will have a more finished product if you add the pictures though

Showing passion will come with practice and time (and the amount of time differs per person). At first it might seem unnatural, like you're almost acting but if you stay yourself and talk to the camera (and your audience) the way you would a good friend then showing emotion will come easier to you. Just don't be discouraged by the fact that you're not there yet

I like the fact that you're venturing into other types of videos that you're interested in as well as the political ones and if they are being watched (and even if they're not and you like doing them) I say why not? It will just make doing YouTube even more enjoyable for you.

You're very welcome for the feedback, I'm just glad I could help