Allow me to gaze upon your channel...
- Thread starter Klink
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Pat Simmons
Well-Known Member
For all the help you've given all these people, I'd like to help you by suggesting you get a proper channel trailer. If you make it look absolutely professional, it'll help a lot. Once you do that, you can utilize Adwords to bring more traffic to your channel. You might also need to rethink your sharing strategy, because though you are growing effectively super fast, with that quality I personally think it should go quicker. I don't know much about growth though, so there's that.
If you could review my channel and this video, that'd be great:
If you could review my channel and this video, that'd be great:
Klink
I've Got It
@MiAndMore
6 videos in 2 weeks and already 47 subscribers? Not bad at all! That being stated, you need to keep your branding consistent. The channel is about you so it's good to see that you're using images of yourself as part of your branding. Your logo sting, channel header and end card however, are not only using 3 different primary colours but they have 3 different fonts/typefaces. Keeping everything consistent is key to good branding.
You're free to experiment with fonts/typefaces in your thumbnails but again, keep them consistent with each series/playlist you intend to make. At the moment, your thumbnails have too much going on visually that it's confusing to look at. There are a lot of graphics just slapped in lazily and it shows. Try your hand at simplifying your thumbnails and making it clear what your video is about and that it's clear the videos belong to you.
Content wise, you should save up and invest in a condenser microphone. Your headset microphone is holding your channel back from an audio perspective as it's quite low quality and peaks often. Having good, clean audio is a must. Also, there's no reason to have the 'MiandMORE' text under your face-cam as it obscures your face.
It's a great start to your channel. Work on the issues I've pointed out, be persistent and have fun with this!
@supimnathan
Right off the bat, your channel art, avatar and overall branding are fantastic. Everything is beautifully designed and consistent. Well done!
The only major issue I can see with your channel is your thumbnail design. You should find a way to incorporate your logo and your fonts/typefaces into them more to not only help keep your brand consistent but to help solidify to viewers who stumble upon your channel through 'Recommended Videos' at the end of each video.
I can't tell if you're using a headset mic or not. In your latest video your voice over is clear and of quite high quality but in your 'Blade and Soul - HOW TO LEVEL UP FAST!' video, I can hear breathing in the mic and it overall sounds lower in quality. If you haven't already, consider investing in a condenser microphone and pop filter to help give you a clearer and cleaner audio signal.
Other than that, you're doing extremely well. You have over 960 subscribers and some videos clearing over 2000 views (hell, your first Blade and Soul video blew past 21,000)! Keep it up!
@Hipbone
What you need to work on most is your audio. Your mic quality is quite frankly terrible. You definitely need to save up and invest in a condenser microphone and pop filter to give high quality voice overs. Doing some good audio mixing is also key. In your 'Let's Play Stranded Deep' video the game audio is quite loud compared to your voice and in your 'Let's Play: Game Dev Tycoon #1' video you're completely inaudible.
You also need to find a way to incorporate your logo or font/typeface into your thumbnails and make sure that your branding is consistent. At the moment, your intro movie is not representative of your brand at all. If you want to use the 'lightning' from your channel art and avatar, find a way to incorporate that into your intro movie.
Good luck with your channel!
@Pat Simmons
I have thought about making a channel trailer except for the fact that there's at least 2 more shows (next to Experience and iNTERACT) that will be launching hopefully soon and several more in the pipeline. If I do decide to make a trailer, I want to design it in a way that it showcases every show on the channel, much like a television channel promotion of what's coming up in the month.
Personally, I like using the 'Channel Trailer' space to help promote the latest videos from our creators. I don't do it for iNTERACT as it's my show and I'd rather help push other content creators to the forefront. The success of Experience is proof of that and I hope to emulate that success for our upcoming shows. It's also important to note that most of the successful content creators on YouTube also do this, including TotalBiscuit, JesseCox, Markiplier, PewDiePie etc.
You say we are growing super fast but it's actually quite the opposite. The 86 subscribers we currently have was built up over a period of three and a half years. 2015 was our most successful year to date and I'm absolutely happy that Experience continues to reach more viewers than we have subscribers. It's a testiment to the quality of the show, even in episodes that clearly aren't that great (RTX being one of them and even the 'pilot' episodes in 2014). I honestly prefer the slow growth, as it shows that our subscribers actually care about the content on the channel rather than just subscribing because it's the 'in thing'. Would I absolutely love to see the channel explode in subscribers and view count? Absolutely! Do I want to do it by sacrificing the integrity of our content creators and using malicious marketing and advertising means? Hell no!
On the subject of advertising, what is also detrimental to our channel from a business perspective is an outright refusal to monetise it through ad revenue/Adwords. We have ideas on how we can earn money but we don't want to do it through sponsorships or ad revenue. What we're leaning towards now is a very cheap subscription rate but we'll only ever consider it seriously once we gain enough viewers and subscribers.
I learned something almost a decade and a half ago in a web design class but the principles still apply to YouTube and other forms of media entertainment. Back then, the idea was that users had about 10 seconds to know exactly what your web site was about and be able to navigate it to get to the content they want. If it took longer than 10 seconds, you've lost that user forever. Nowadays, the attention span of most individuals is practically non-existent. On YouTube, if a viewer can't get to your content immediately then they will not stay to watch the video and will never return to your channel. Waiting 15-30 seconds, sometimes longer, for an ad to play or hitting the skip button after 10 seconds is more time that a user would be better spent watching your content. It's the reason our logo stings and title cards are no longer than 10-15 seconds.
I completely understand that my mentality behind running my channel/network is quite experimental and may very well be the reason it's not growing as fast as some of the other channels that I've seen in this thread. Nevertheless, thank you very much for your advice and your kind words. Now, allow me to gaze upon your channel...
Your logo that you use in your channel header, avatar and logo sting is extremely simple but well designed. You should consider using the same font/typeface in your thumbnails. At the moment (starting from your channel reboot) your thumbnails are just screenshots from the videos themselves so if viewers stumble upon your channel from 'Recommended Videos', they won't have any idea the videos belong to you.
You should also save up and invest in a condenser microphone to give you a higher quality and cleaner audio signal. At the moment your mic quality is subpar.
Good luck with your channel!
@Octa604
Your logo for your channel/brand is spot on! Good work on that. Thumbnails starting from 'Let's Play: Outlast Part 1' are simple but well designed, although you should consider adding in your stylised 'O' to ensure viewers know the videos are yours and to nail down your branding further.
Content wise, like many in this thread (and this post) you need to save up and invest in a condenser microphone and pop filter to give a cleaner and clearer sound. It'll also help add to the professionalism of your Twitch stream.
Keep it up and good luck!
@Ultar
I like the modern, simple font/typeface you have in your channel art. You need to incorporate that font/typeface and style into your avatar or create a new logo. At the moment, using an image of a sprite used as the basis of a tutorial series isn't recommended. Yes, it's a wrestler and fits with what your channel is about/suits you but you need to create something that is unique, striking and representative of you.
Your thumbnails need work. It's great you have a different colour between each series/playlist but overall they look cheap. Having a logo and nailing down your brand will help you to better visualise your thumbnail designs going forward.
Content wise (and I know I'm repeating myself), you need to save up and invest in a decent condenser microphone and pop filter. Your mic quality at the moment is terrible.
It's a decent start to your channel. Be persistent with it, work on the issues I've mentioned and your channel will grow in no time!
6 videos in 2 weeks and already 47 subscribers? Not bad at all! That being stated, you need to keep your branding consistent. The channel is about you so it's good to see that you're using images of yourself as part of your branding. Your logo sting, channel header and end card however, are not only using 3 different primary colours but they have 3 different fonts/typefaces. Keeping everything consistent is key to good branding.
You're free to experiment with fonts/typefaces in your thumbnails but again, keep them consistent with each series/playlist you intend to make. At the moment, your thumbnails have too much going on visually that it's confusing to look at. There are a lot of graphics just slapped in lazily and it shows. Try your hand at simplifying your thumbnails and making it clear what your video is about and that it's clear the videos belong to you.
Content wise, you should save up and invest in a condenser microphone. Your headset microphone is holding your channel back from an audio perspective as it's quite low quality and peaks often. Having good, clean audio is a must. Also, there's no reason to have the 'MiandMORE' text under your face-cam as it obscures your face.
It's a great start to your channel. Work on the issues I've pointed out, be persistent and have fun with this!
@supimnathan
Right off the bat, your channel art, avatar and overall branding are fantastic. Everything is beautifully designed and consistent. Well done!
The only major issue I can see with your channel is your thumbnail design. You should find a way to incorporate your logo and your fonts/typefaces into them more to not only help keep your brand consistent but to help solidify to viewers who stumble upon your channel through 'Recommended Videos' at the end of each video.
I can't tell if you're using a headset mic or not. In your latest video your voice over is clear and of quite high quality but in your 'Blade and Soul - HOW TO LEVEL UP FAST!' video, I can hear breathing in the mic and it overall sounds lower in quality. If you haven't already, consider investing in a condenser microphone and pop filter to help give you a clearer and cleaner audio signal.
Other than that, you're doing extremely well. You have over 960 subscribers and some videos clearing over 2000 views (hell, your first Blade and Soul video blew past 21,000)! Keep it up!
@Hipbone
What you need to work on most is your audio. Your mic quality is quite frankly terrible. You definitely need to save up and invest in a condenser microphone and pop filter to give high quality voice overs. Doing some good audio mixing is also key. In your 'Let's Play Stranded Deep' video the game audio is quite loud compared to your voice and in your 'Let's Play: Game Dev Tycoon #1' video you're completely inaudible.
You also need to find a way to incorporate your logo or font/typeface into your thumbnails and make sure that your branding is consistent. At the moment, your intro movie is not representative of your brand at all. If you want to use the 'lightning' from your channel art and avatar, find a way to incorporate that into your intro movie.
Good luck with your channel!
@Pat Simmons
I have thought about making a channel trailer except for the fact that there's at least 2 more shows (next to Experience and iNTERACT) that will be launching hopefully soon and several more in the pipeline. If I do decide to make a trailer, I want to design it in a way that it showcases every show on the channel, much like a television channel promotion of what's coming up in the month.
Personally, I like using the 'Channel Trailer' space to help promote the latest videos from our creators. I don't do it for iNTERACT as it's my show and I'd rather help push other content creators to the forefront. The success of Experience is proof of that and I hope to emulate that success for our upcoming shows. It's also important to note that most of the successful content creators on YouTube also do this, including TotalBiscuit, JesseCox, Markiplier, PewDiePie etc.
You say we are growing super fast but it's actually quite the opposite. The 86 subscribers we currently have was built up over a period of three and a half years. 2015 was our most successful year to date and I'm absolutely happy that Experience continues to reach more viewers than we have subscribers. It's a testiment to the quality of the show, even in episodes that clearly aren't that great (RTX being one of them and even the 'pilot' episodes in 2014). I honestly prefer the slow growth, as it shows that our subscribers actually care about the content on the channel rather than just subscribing because it's the 'in thing'. Would I absolutely love to see the channel explode in subscribers and view count? Absolutely! Do I want to do it by sacrificing the integrity of our content creators and using malicious marketing and advertising means? Hell no!
On the subject of advertising, what is also detrimental to our channel from a business perspective is an outright refusal to monetise it through ad revenue/Adwords. We have ideas on how we can earn money but we don't want to do it through sponsorships or ad revenue. What we're leaning towards now is a very cheap subscription rate but we'll only ever consider it seriously once we gain enough viewers and subscribers.
I learned something almost a decade and a half ago in a web design class but the principles still apply to YouTube and other forms of media entertainment. Back then, the idea was that users had about 10 seconds to know exactly what your web site was about and be able to navigate it to get to the content they want. If it took longer than 10 seconds, you've lost that user forever. Nowadays, the attention span of most individuals is practically non-existent. On YouTube, if a viewer can't get to your content immediately then they will not stay to watch the video and will never return to your channel. Waiting 15-30 seconds, sometimes longer, for an ad to play or hitting the skip button after 10 seconds is more time that a user would be better spent watching your content. It's the reason our logo stings and title cards are no longer than 10-15 seconds.
I completely understand that my mentality behind running my channel/network is quite experimental and may very well be the reason it's not growing as fast as some of the other channels that I've seen in this thread. Nevertheless, thank you very much for your advice and your kind words. Now, allow me to gaze upon your channel...
Your logo that you use in your channel header, avatar and logo sting is extremely simple but well designed. You should consider using the same font/typeface in your thumbnails. At the moment (starting from your channel reboot) your thumbnails are just screenshots from the videos themselves so if viewers stumble upon your channel from 'Recommended Videos', they won't have any idea the videos belong to you.
You should also save up and invest in a condenser microphone to give you a higher quality and cleaner audio signal. At the moment your mic quality is subpar.
Good luck with your channel!
@Octa604
Your logo for your channel/brand is spot on! Good work on that. Thumbnails starting from 'Let's Play: Outlast Part 1' are simple but well designed, although you should consider adding in your stylised 'O' to ensure viewers know the videos are yours and to nail down your branding further.
Content wise, like many in this thread (and this post) you need to save up and invest in a condenser microphone and pop filter to give a cleaner and clearer sound. It'll also help add to the professionalism of your Twitch stream.
Keep it up and good luck!
@Ultar
I like the modern, simple font/typeface you have in your channel art. You need to incorporate that font/typeface and style into your avatar or create a new logo. At the moment, using an image of a sprite used as the basis of a tutorial series isn't recommended. Yes, it's a wrestler and fits with what your channel is about/suits you but you need to create something that is unique, striking and representative of you.
Your thumbnails need work. It's great you have a different colour between each series/playlist but overall they look cheap. Having a logo and nailing down your brand will help you to better visualise your thumbnail designs going forward.
Content wise (and I know I'm repeating myself), you need to save up and invest in a decent condenser microphone and pop filter. Your mic quality at the moment is terrible.
It's a decent start to your channel. Be persistent with it, work on the issues I've mentioned and your channel will grow in no time!
supimnathan
Active Member
@Klink
Thanks for the review!
Glad you think my branding and design work is great! I did it all myself and I am glad that the design and time was well spent!
I do really agree with you on this. Heaps of time and thought goes into my banner and everything, but the thumbnails are just something I think up and go with. Not much time or thought goes into them. I will work on them a lot more and try to make something more appealing and possible refreshing to viewers.
I just use a common headset mic, it is a condenser mic and that is why it may sound a little better than the average headset mic. Main reason some of my videos sound different are really due to my environment. I recorded my last video home alone and could be loud and full of energy, and no one was making noise in the background. As with my blade and soul video, there were people home and sleeping and I needed to be quiet and less energetic. I will definitely look into a desktop mic.
Thanks so much for the review!
Ultar
Well-Known Member
Thank you for the feedback!
Im just starting with Youtube so im learning something new every day
.Gonna work more on my audio and doing a new banner and thumbnails.
Rome wasnt build in one day as they say
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