I'd like to offer thoughtful reviews of your channels

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Hi Teh Pickelz,

Thanks for waiting so graciously for me to get back to you. I spent some time on your channel today and I have some thoughts I’d like to share. Here we go.

- You have a clear introduction video in which you state who you are and what you’re going for with your channel. Whether you’re writing a book, giving a speech, or making a YouTube channel it is so important to lay out your thesis and objectives right up front, and you did that very well. Nice work.

- On the other side of that coin, it’s here that we run into what I think will be the biggest problem with your channel moving forward. It only took about 30 second of your introductory video for me to feel like I really wouldn’t enjoy listening to you. While you did a great job of making a clear channel vid, you did a very poor job of using the video to sell viewers on why they should want to watch what you do. The humor didn’t hit and you came off as smug and rude. Now, please stick with me here, because I don’t want you to get discouraged. I watched more of your videos and came away with the impression that you’re a fun and decent guy, but in your intro video you chose to go the tough route and it just didn’t play well. When it comes to YouTube and gaming channels, there are about a zillion choices out there and people are usually going to invest their time only in watching someone they root for and like. You are the star of the channel and you’re the reason people will watch, but that means that if the channel isn’t doing very well it’s also because of you.

- In light of this, I’d encourage you to reconsider how you’re presenting yourself. You don’t have to be over-the-top nice, but you might consider reframing your presentation so that viewers feel like they’re more in on the jokes and trolling. Right now the tone feels more like we’re on the receiving end.

- One way to build a connection with your audience and to make them like you (even if you are doing some light-hearted trolling videos) is to let them see you. If you show your face and speak to your audience they’ll feel less like the butt of your jokes and more like they’re having a laugh with a friend about funny things from the world of gaming.

- I’ve mentioned this in other reviews, and it’s just a matter of preference, but I’ll throw it out there again anyway. I consider dialing the swearing back a lot. All words are useful in one way or another, but certain words wear out their welcome more quickly than others, and hard profanity fits that description. It just doesn’t sound sharp or witty and, even though you might not feel the same way when you watch, it’s a turn off for a large portion of your audience. I’m not proposing a squeaky clean Sunday School channel, I’m just suggesting that your channel might benefit from using certain words more sparingly.

- You’re a good player. I particularly like the moments in your videos that highlight that. It’s fun to see someone who’s good at something doing it very well. I’m a respectable COD player and have been for a long time, but you’d absolutely shame me if we played.

Clearly you’re at the very beginning of this thing and still developing your brand and approach. You’re talented and have some good ideas percolating here. I mean no disrespect when I say that I think you should reimagine the tone of your channel before you go much further with it. I believe the persona you’re choosing to present won’t attract the kind of viewers you’ll need to generate buzz and advance your channel. I think you’re at your best when you are a little more human and coming off like a big brother who’s invited a younger sibling to watch him play games and rib gamers online. I think you struggle the most when you sound gruff, harsh, and cocky.

Everything I’ve thrown out here is meant to be constructive and is intended to genuinely help you improve your following and develop as a YouTuber. You and I have different tastes and that’s okay. My opinions aren’t necessarily the right opinions, they’re just the thoughts of one guy who was willing to take the time to offer some suggestions.

I genuinely wish you the best as you grow in your skills as a YouTuber and as a gamer.

Take care,




Hi Supertraff,

Thanks for requesting a review. I enjoy seeing what other YouTubers are up to, and it’s a privilege to offer an opinion on someone else’s work. In your message you said that your goal is to grow your channel and to do so quickly. I really appreciate you mentioning your goals, because it makes it easier for me to give you quality, honest feedback. I’m going to level some pointed criticisms, but I’ll follow those up with lots of constructive suggestions, so please stick with me through the entire review.

Truth to be told, I don’t think you have much cooking right now, and I think you’ve got a very long way to go before your channel has any chance of gaining traction. The bottom line is that there’s no reason for any non-League of Legends player to ever watch your videos, and potential viewers who do play League of Legends are very unlikely to watch your videos because there are hordes of vastly superior channels out there. What that leaves you with is basically zero potential audience. Here’s what you can do to change that.

- If you’re committed to being a League of Legends channel, then you need to find a way to be different and better than the others.

- In the past you did some stuff on other games, and if that’s your plan, you’d be wise to create playlists to sort those out. It might also be good to create a few show formats that would generate different points of connection for audience members.

- With your current format you have no chance of beating other channels, because most your videos are completely contextless and personalityless. There is literally nothing interesting or distinguishing about most of them other than the thumbnails. However, if you added introductory remarks explaining what we’re looking at, some face time from you, enjoyable commentary, informative gaming/community news, and interaction with your audience, people would have a reason to watch.

- Those videos where we do hear you speak at length are your strongest, but your recording equipment is hurting you. The quality is so poor that it makes listening to you difficult. Better recording gear and more of you will help a great deal.

- As it stands right now, your recent League of Legends videos are the equivalent of someone being dropped out of the sky into the middle of a sport they don’t understand for 45 seconds at a time. That’s not fun or funny. It will generate indifference at best and a hostile reaction at worst. That said, you can address this by playing the role of commentator and educating your audience while also riffing on what’s going on in the game clip you’re showing.

- Currently, your channel has no brand, no host, no format, and no point. Not many gaming channels that lack those things are going to land more than friends and family pity subscriptions. All of that is fixable though, but it takes work. Just throwing some gaming footage on the screen is meaningless, but if you find patterns and points of interest and then present them to viewers, they’ll like you for your insights that take them deeper into something they already have an interest in.

- Again, the number one solution to all these weaknesses it YOU. More you makes the channel better. You can inject your videos with more humanity by being verbally and visibly present in your videos or by being highly creative in your editing. Shows need a star; a main character to succeed, and right now the main character is pixelated characters on a screen. That’s not compelling enough to make people watch. You need to be the main character, and you need to bring value to your viewers (humor, knowledge, comradery) to really be an effective main character.

In a way, I sort of feel bad giving feedback, because you really haven’t done much yet and I don’t want you to feel discouraged. You’ve posted a little game footage and some channel art, so you’ve dipped your toe in the water and that’s good; it means you’ve got some motivation and the savvy needed to grow your skills in this area. Making a channel people want to watch with their very valuable free time is work, and if you want to do it right you’ve got a lot of work ahead of you. The thing to consider is how invested you want to be in this. If it’s something you’re really going to tear into, then I’d say you’re in the right place (YTtalk that is). There are tons of people, including me, who’ll be glad to offer advice and kick around ideas with you.

I’m clearly not a YouTube expert so you can take my advice here with a grain of salt, but I have a ton of experience in film, writing, branding, and communication, so if I can help there please let me know and I’d be delighted to think it through with you.

I hope you get what you’re looking for out of your time as a content producer on YouTube, and I’m happy to continue the conversation in the future if that would be helpful.

With humility and respect,

Matt
Thanks alot on all of this feedback i will take it all in and hopefully learn from the advice and improve my channel :)
 
Hello! I know I'm a little late to the party, So I hope you're still interested..

I would really appreciate some feedback for my channel! Anything to help me..
Thank you in advance:)
 
I requested for one but I think you've might have missed it out! :) Haha...nvrmind but can you still do one for me? Merci!
 
I requested for one but I think you've might have missed it out! :) Haha...nvrmind but can you still do one for me? Merci!
I haven't forgotten you Galvin, though I am sorry for the long wait. I think you're only a couple more reviews from being up.
I put a lot of time into these so I'm a bit putzy, but I will get your way very soon and I'm honored and excited to see what you're up to and to offer thoughts.
With gratitude for your patience,
Matt[DOUBLEPOST=1429288792,1429248896][/DOUBLEPOST]
I would absolutely love to hear your perspective on my channel. I am very new and still getting used to editing and being on camera. Still getting the awkwardness out of me. I know its easy to tell on the videos.

Hi Miss Fushi,

There's a lot to like about your channel. I think you're getting a bunch of things right that some of the newer channels I've reviewed would benefit from imitating. I've been reviewing a lot of gaming channels lately and, if you're super bored, you might appreciate some of what I've written in those as well. But enough about that, let's talk about your channel.


I have a friend who’s been doing a lot of work to get ready to launch his gaming channel, and I keep telling him the same thing I keep telling everyone here: Be the star of your channel and be likeable. The video games can’t be the star of the show – no one wants to watch that for anything more than what it takes to get past a tricky spot, but people tend to like brave, clever people who are basically friendly and share similar interests. You get this most basic principle of gaming channels. You’re doing a great job of featuring yourself.

First, the shtick works. You come off as sweet and genteel but still very savvy. That’s a great combo that few people use. Second, you edit for funniness. Too many gamers edit their videos as though they think we’ve never seen the cool parts of video games before. But the truth is that most people have already seen it and are no longer dazzled by most things in video games; rather, we watch people on YouTube play video games because we want to hear what they make of games. We want to look in on their gaming experience. I know there’s a place for instructional, self-important, hard-core gaming channels, but unless you’re really good and playing competitively, there’s no reason for anyone to watch that. But there is a reason to watch a funny, likeable, witty person offer a fresh take on what they’re playing or reviewing. You’re nailing this. Third, your production value is sufficient for what you’re doing. You look nice and sound clear. If you decide to really try to build this thing, simple improvements on this front will be easy to make, but for now it’s all working.

There are maybe a few small points here and there that people could critique you on, but I think they’re more minor personal taste issues. In general the channel comes off very well for a relatively new one in very crowded genre. You are way ahead of the game because you’re differentiating yourself from others using the single best asset you’ve got which is yourself. You present yourself well and allow yourself to be the star of the channel. That alone will net subscribers and keep people interested. My guess is that you are just about out of the find your voice phase and just about to start the build a consistent brand phase.

You’ve got a fun show and you’re off to a great start. Best of luck!

Thanks,

Matt
 
Hey man, since im only just starting to make videos again id love to know what you like about my videos and aspects that i should get rid of, i'm thinking about maybe starting a podcast in the future, so any advice on that? thanks bro :)
 
I haven't forgotten you Galvin, though I am sorry for the long wait. I think you're only a couple more reviews from being up.
I put a lot of time into these so I'm a bit putzy, but I will get your way very soon and I'm honored and excited to see what you're up to and to offer thoughts.
With gratitude for your patience,
Matt[DOUBLEPOST=1429288792,1429248896][/DOUBLEPOST]

Hi Miss Fushi,

There's a lot to like about your channel. I think you're getting a bunch of things right that some of the newer channels I've reviewed would benefit from imitating. I've been reviewing a lot of gaming channels lately and, if you're super bored, you might appreciate some of what I've written in those as well. But enough about that, let's talk about your channel.


I have a friend who’s been doing a lot of work to get ready to launch his gaming channel, and I keep telling him the same thing I keep telling everyone here: Be the star of your channel and be likeable. The video games can’t be the star of the show – no one wants to watch that for anything more than what it takes to get past a tricky spot, but people tend to like brave, clever people who are basically friendly and share similar interests. You get this most basic principle of gaming channels. You’re doing a great job of featuring yourself.

First, the shtick works. You come off as sweet and genteel but still very savvy. That’s a great combo that few people use. Second, you edit for funniness. Too many gamers edit their videos as though they think we’ve never seen the cool parts of video games before. But the truth is that most people have already seen it and are no longer dazzled by most things in video games; rather, we watch people on YouTube play video games because we want to hear what they make of games. We want to look in on their gaming experience. I know there’s a place for instructional, self-important, hard-core gaming channels, but unless you’re really good and playing competitively, there’s no reason for anyone to watch that. But there is a reason to watch a funny, likeable, witty person offer a fresh take on what they’re playing or reviewing. You’re nailing this. Third, your production value is sufficient for what you’re doing. You look nice and sound clear. If you decide to really try to build this thing, simple improvements on this front will be easy to make, but for now it’s all working.

There are maybe a few small points here and there that people could critique you on, but I think they’re more minor personal taste issues. In general the channel comes off very well for a relatively new one in very crowded genre. You are way ahead of the game because you’re differentiating yourself from others using the single best asset you’ve got which is yourself. You present yourself well and allow yourself to be the star of the channel. That alone will net subscribers and keep people interested. My guess is that you are just about out of the find your voice phase and just about to start the build a consistent brand phase.

You’ve got a fun show and you’re off to a great start. Best of luck!

Thanks,

Matt
Thank you very, very much! Reading this made me so happy! At first I felt incredibly awkward trying to make myself the star of my channel since I am not a self-absorbed person. The more I watched the more renowned youtubers I realized it is - All about them. I would never watch people like Markiplier unless I could hear his voice and see his smiling face. The games are irrelevant if but only to get me interested if I've never seen him before. After that, him alone is what keeps me watching. Thank you so much for reinforcing that idea. Your time is very appreciated. <3
 
Can I Get a Review Please?? :)

Hi Paul,

I’ve been hanging around on your channel over the past couple of days, and I’ve got some feedback for you. I’ve been looking at a lot of gaming channels lately, and while some have been well-developed and strong, and some have been in their infancy with a lot of room for growth, it’s been refreshing to see something in the vlog category as a change of pace. Galvin Lee had the great idea to offer a rating on several categories on each channel. I’m going to experiment with that for a few reviews as well. I’ll try to implement that where possible, although it’s difficult to really establish such a scale given the incredible diversity of YouTube. With that in mind, any grades I give will be relative to similar channels at a similar place in their life cycle. There’s no objective way to quantify things like this that are really about opinion and taste, but I think a few grades might lend further clarity to my thoughts. Please take my silly opinions for what they’re worth and glean from them what’s useful while pitching what’s not. Okay, here are some thoughts:

- Your channel looks fine. Though your banner art doesn’t really communicate what content will be offered, it does clarify how often content will be offered, and it highlights you which is important. The look is evocative of 1980s Patrick Nagel prints and font which is fun. You’ve got tons of variety in your thumbnails and they make it look like you’re having a good time. That’s key. Nothing about the look of you channel stand in remarkable relief to similar channels, but the look isn’t hurting you either. Let’s call it a B-.

- I can tell you’ve been picking up some tricks of the trade at university. Your production value has improved steadily, and I expect you’ll continue to grow by leaps and bounds. Your audio is clean and you use natural light well (can’t tell if you’re using a lighting set when you’re filming with a window open, and that’s just fine). It looks evenly lit and good. I like the graphics you use, and I like that they aren’t so obviously purchased that they stand out as garish against the backdrop of a vlog. This is a strong suit for you. Compared to your competition with similar subscriber bases I think you’re doing very well here. A/A-

- The content itself is at its best when crafted and tight, and at its worst when meandering, unfocused, and long for no reason.

o I like that you’ve messed around with different programs on your channel to deal with different subject matter. This is something I need to improve at when working on my channel.

o You’ve got a good sense of eye-line, camera position, and framing – especially in your more recent efforts.

o You’ve got a good sounding voice and you speak well. If you want to continue to connect with an American audience, just be aware that we struggle with anything that sounds Irish and humor us with excessive enunciation.

o In your channel’s genre, you have only seconds to earn a new audience member and you usually seem to be aware of that in your presentation style. You’re at your best when you say what you want to communicate clearly and once. You struggle when you say it again and again but in slightly different ways. I’m sure you don’t mean to, but you convey lack of confidence in your audience when you do that.

o Short videos are fine. Your best stuff is tight and to the point. Some of your videos felt like you had something to say that you’d really thought through, but some others felt like you were freestyling about nothing. That’s fine if you’re killing it, but I think you’re in a place in your development that you don’t kill it unless you’ve got some real ideas to riff on. I found myself enjoying watching you on any subject when you had clear, organized thoughts, and moving on to the next video when it felt like you were just gesticulating and saying words. Take as much time as you want if you’ve got golden subject matter and developed thoughts or carefully-crafted humor to go with it, but if you don’t have that, just make your video a quick-hitter that only has your very, very best bits in the final edit. Thirty seconds of pretty funny is endearing, but those 30 seconds of pretty funny spread out over five minutes of nothing-much-going is pretty hard on an audience.

o You’ve got talent and good ideas, and when you frame those as the reason and the centerpiece of a video, you do a good job.

o I find your content to be a mixed bag. I very much liked some of what you put out, and found that others didn’t have the subject matter, humor, or production to justify a watch. If you keep playing to your strengths, content will continue to grow as a draw for your channel. Compared to similar vlogs I’d go C+ on content, but, because of your raw talent and charisma, I expect that to grow into an area of strength quickly as you continue to progress.

- Which brings me to my final point. You’ve done a great job of being the star of the show on your channel. You’re sharp, you sound good, you’re likeable, you look good on camera, and you’re willing to put yourself out there and be expressive. Even if you address none of the weaknesses of your channel, I think it will still grow because you come off well and I think your viewers will like you, root for you, and want to connect with you. I won’t give a grade on this, because I’m talking about how you come off as a human being and I’m not prepared to reduce that to a single letter. I would just say you come off well and I think this is a real strength of what you have going on.

In all, I think you have some good things cooking, I can see clear improvement since you’ve started, you’re diligent in producing content, and you’re likeable. The biggest weaknesses of your channel are all very addressable and areas where I’m confident you’ll continue to grow. I’m a subscriber and I’m excited to watch you progress.

I wish you all the best moving forward,

Matt
 
Hi Paul,

I’ve been hanging around on your channel over the past couple of days, and I’ve got some feedback for you. I’ve been looking at a lot of gaming channels lately, and while some have been well-developed and strong, and some have been in their infancy with a lot of room for growth, it’s been refreshing to see something in the vlog category as a change of pace. Galvin Lee had the great idea to offer a rating on several categories on each channel. I’m going to experiment with that for a few reviews as well. I’ll try to implement that where possible, although it’s difficult to really establish such a scale given the incredible diversity of YouTube. With that in mind, any grades I give will be relative to similar channels at a similar place in their life cycle. There’s no objective way to quantify things like this that are really about opinion and taste, but I think a few grades might lend further clarity to my thoughts. Please take my silly opinions for what they’re worth and glean from them what’s useful while pitching what’s not. Okay, here are some thoughts:

- Your channel looks fine. Though your banner art doesn’t really communicate what content will be offered, it does clarify how often content will be offered, and it highlights you which is important. The look is evocative of 1980s Patrick Nagel prints and font which is fun. You’ve got tons of variety in your thumbnails and they make it look like you’re having a good time. That’s key. Nothing about the look of you channel stand in remarkable relief to similar channels, but the look isn’t hurting you either. Let’s call it a B-.

- I can tell you’ve been picking up some tricks of the trade at university. Your production value has improved steadily, and I expect you’ll continue to grow by leaps and bounds. Your audio is clean and you use natural light well (can’t tell if you’re using a lighting set when you’re filming with a window open, and that’s just fine). It looks evenly lit and good. I like the graphics you use, and I like that they aren’t so obviously purchased that they stand out as garish against the backdrop of a vlog. This is a strong suit for you. Compared to your competition with similar subscriber bases I think you’re doing very well here. A/A-

- The content itself is at its best when crafted and tight, and at its worst when meandering, unfocused, and long for no reason.

o I like that you’ve messed around with different programs on your channel to deal with different subject matter. This is something I need to improve at when working on my channel.

o You’ve got a good sense of eye-line, camera position, and framing – especially in your more recent efforts.

o You’ve got a good sounding voice and you speak well. If you want to continue to connect with an American audience, just be aware that we struggle with anything that sounds Irish and humor us with excessive enunciation.

o In your channel’s genre, you have only seconds to earn a new audience member and you usually seem to be aware of that in your presentation style. You’re at your best when you say what you want to communicate clearly and once. You struggle when you say it again and again but in slightly different ways. I’m sure you don’t mean to, but you convey lack of confidence in your audience when you do that.

o Short videos are fine. Your best stuff is tight and to the point. Some of your videos felt like you had something to say that you’d really thought through, but some others felt like you were freestyling about nothing. That’s fine if you’re killing it, but I think you’re in a place in your development that you don’t kill it unless you’ve got some real ideas to riff on. I found myself enjoying watching you on any subject when you had clear, organized thoughts, and moving on to the next video when it felt like you were just gesticulating and saying words. Take as much time as you want if you’ve got golden subject matter and developed thoughts or carefully-crafted humor to go with it, but if you don’t have that, just make your video a quick-hitter that only has your very, very best bits in the final edit. Thirty seconds of pretty funny is endearing, but those 30 seconds of pretty funny spread out over five minutes of nothing-much-going is pretty hard on an audience.

o You’ve got talent and good ideas, and when you frame those as the reason and the centerpiece of a video, you do a good job.

o I find your content to be a mixed bag. I very much liked some of what you put out, and found that others didn’t have the subject matter, humor, or production to justify a watch. If you keep playing to your strengths, content will continue to grow as a draw for your channel. Compared to similar vlogs I’d go C+ on content, but, because of your raw talent and charisma, I expect that to grow into an area of strength quickly as you continue to progress.

- Which brings me to my final point. You’ve done a great job of being the star of the show on your channel. You’re sharp, you sound good, you’re likeable, you look good on camera, and you’re willing to put yourself out there and be expressive. Even if you address none of the weaknesses of your channel, I think it will still grow because you come off well and I think your viewers will like you, root for you, and want to connect with you. I won’t give a grade on this, because I’m talking about how you come off as a human being and I’m not prepared to reduce that to a single letter. I would just say you come off well and I think this is a real strength of what you have going on.

In all, I think you have some good things cooking, I can see clear improvement since you’ve started, you’re diligent in producing content, and you’re likeable. The biggest weaknesses of your channel are all very addressable and areas where I’m confident you’ll continue to grow. I’m a subscriber and I’m excited to watch you progress.

I wish you all the best moving forward,

Matt
Haha @TMBH You found my thread! Yes, I made the categorized criteria so it is separated into elements that they can improve on! :) I love your detailed reviews though!
 
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