Should I Just Do What's Popular?

Scootakip [Lana]

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Because whenever I make a video that I wanna do, if it isn't a hot topic or some kind of clickbait, it fails tremendously.
I spent an entire month on my latest video, and it only has about 50 views. Yet my most popular videos have a few thousand views.
Should I just make sure that I'm only making videos based on what's currently popular? It's extremely discouraging to spend a s**t ton of time and effort into a video only for it to fail.
 
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GameVestment

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There's 3 ways to do Youtube in my opinion

1. It's a hobby, it's your channel, you do what you want, you play what you like to play. In this one you should not care about views or growing cause usually it's a really small niche and thousands of viewers aren't interested in that or they don't care about watching something new, they also have the right to watch whatever they want

2. You see YouTube as a future business so you follow trends and make content people want to watch. In this one you focus in trends, smart clickbait and you listen to the majority of your viewers and what is happening outside your channel, you wanna reach more viewers and grow even if your subscribers aren't interested in that.

3. You combine both, try to have fun and grow at the same time. This is what I do, I cover a popular/trend game I like and do content people want to watch. If tomorrow there's a new game, it's more popular and my viewers want to watch content about that... even if it's not my favourite game I will still try it and if it performs better than my last videos,,, bye bye old game! and this is only because I enjoy creating content more than I enjoy playing a game

I see a lot of gaming channels saying, this is MY channel... I play whatever I want! and yeah they are right but they can't complain if people aren't watching their videos or the channel isn't growing!
 

Dutchie Abroad

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@GameVestment makes a good point. I think you should base your decision on what your payoff is. If you feel accomplished by by getting a lot of views, even if you have to play a game you're not all that crazy about, it is worth the effort. If you feel accomplished by playing a game you love really well and you don't care how many people see you do it, than play for fun, not for views. It just boils down to WHY you make videos. Do you make them for fun, for views, for attention, for business? When you pin this down, just let go of all other things and focus on what makes you feel accomplished and happy.
 

PhysicsFreak101

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I personally do both. If there is a video I really want to edit, I'll make that video first, and then the other videos I don't really want to edit as much. For me, the editing process and seeing my friend's reactions to my videos is what I get out of it, and YouTube is pretty much a distractor for me from my real problems XD. I would say do 50/50 because then you can get the satisfaction from views and also have fun making them.
 

allthingstodd

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Because whenever I make a video that I wanna do, if it isn't a hot topic or some kind of clickbait, it fails tremendously.
I spent an entire month on my latest video, and it only has about 50 views. Yet my most popular videos have a few thousand views.
Should I just make sure that I'm only making videos based on what's currently popular? It's extremely discouraging to spend a s**t ton of time and effort into a video only for it to fail.
I totally understand how you feel, as I am experiencing it now. But you know what? Continue putting your ALL into your content. No, it may not have a huge take off but once you begin gaining a loyal audience they will make there rounds on your channel and eventually come across it. You never know, it may be a "slow and steady wins the race" situation.

Try doing a nice mix, click bait and videos that require a lot of attention. Oh! and make sure your thumbnails are captivating!

:D[DOUBLEPOST=1547138552,1547138402][/DOUBLEPOST]
I personally do both. If there is a video I really want to edit, I'll make that video first, and then the other videos I don't really want to edit as much. For me, the editing process and seeing my friend's reactions to my videos is what I get out of it, and YouTube is pretty much a distractor for me from my real problems XD. I would say do 50/50 because then you can get the satisfaction from views and also have fun making them.
Yea I agree, also your content looks super fun and interesting. Gonna check it out :D
 
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VloggySam

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Combine them. If you are able to create content based on trends, your channel will receive more views and subscribers which can benefit more original content.

However if you focus solely on trends, as everyone will be making content based on the same thing (hence the fact it's trending) you won't stand out and could easily be forgotten.

At the same time, focusing purely on original content will make it harder to get views if you haven't got regular subscribers.

Combine both and you can't really go wrong.
 

allthingstodd

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Combine them. If you are able to create content based on trends, your channel will receive more views and subscribers which can benefit more original content.

However if you focus solely on trends, as everyone will be making content based on the same thing (hence the fact it's trending) you won't stand out and could easily be forgotten.

At the same time, focusing purely on original content will make it harder to get views if you haven't got regular subscribers.

Combine both and you can't really go wrong.
This is so true. I just want to keep working hard and one day I’ll have the gem video.

:)
 

BlandMark

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Totally up to you, but I would say no. I don't get many views or subscribers either, but for what it's worth I feel proud of most of my videos. I like what I do and my small group of fans like it too. I would rather be a low level content creator with some pride than a multi million subscribed vacuous bore. Reading this back I might come across as a bit of a hippy, preachy idiot so feel free to ignore me if you wish.
What ever you decide to do, good luck, and keep enjoying what you're doing!
 

EVO

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I think do both. Upload whats on trend followed by something that you hope to create a trend.
 

Darius Dominte

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No. Why? Because what is popular is not so original. What to you need to do is just what you think and what you want. Like popular things when you make yes of course have some resonance but after a time people is bored about that thing and take another and another thing wich is popular. But original will be come popular. Like egg challenge, who know will be most loved picture on Instagram? No one. But was original not popular. In this fight Original win in face of the Popular. Not to be like everyone, just be yourself.