When do you draw the line between taking advice into account and staying true to yourself?

[Zetalou]

Well, if it helps at all, I think your new video is a marked improvement over the last one!

I think you should keep your content the way you want it to be. If you're happy with the way your videos turn out, don't change too much at once. If you get overwhelming complaints about specific things, you should probably think about changing it, but don't start making videos about Minecraft just 'cause that's what people want lol

Thank you! It's very easy to second guess yourself, especially towards the beginning, but at the end of the day, I'm doing this for me, so do not worry I can safely say that there won't be any minecraft videos coming from me haha.

For us it is very simple - we always stick to our guns.
Most advices from YouTube are either obvious (do not kill your viewers with boredom) or sometimes plane dangerous (especially for kids channels) - identify high audience retention picks in your analytitcs and exploit them!!!

Well said, I agree on all points!

Your heart always knows what's right, your head can be talked into just about anything. So go with your gut.

I'll do just that Thanks for the wise words

i have a feeling that this is not just a youtube question.. i think with experience and trusting your own judgement you will know what to follow

It's limited to Youtube I promise haha. I'm starting to realize that my original post might have come off as slightly desperate. I started getting feedback left and right that were interesting but kind of changed my vision, and I wanted to know if any of you had had any experiences with that. Like, did taking that advice into account make you try something new that turned out to be for the best, or if you stuck it out and stayed true to your vision.

 

[SandSeven7]

@markkaz couldn't agree more on not asking for subs and you gave me a good giveaway video contest idea. Find the 1 out of 500 videos I ask for subs and first to comment the video and time stamp wins.

As for when to stop listening to advise from either others or simply yourself and the knowledge of the system to stay true to yourself, is what I am or was or will always battle with. However, back on September 16th, I found an article that lead to 100+ hours of research into the gaming model of the game I built my channel on.

Learned what I was promoting when posting videos of pay to play accounts. Since then, I've dropped views by 50% or so with inactivity and lack of direction. I simply couldn't spew out the videos the audience wanted at the cost of staying true to what I believe in.

It wasn't until earlier last week that got back on track with purpose. My goal now is to promote the free to play side of the game and educate those who are willing to listen to what f2p mobile gaming is really all about. I have found it rewarding to be able to make videos on something I believe in and am enjoying making them again.

In the end, I'd rather let the channel die than completely sell out while listening to what my analytics are telling me to do.

 

[TheDutchTexan]

Always stay true to yourself. If you alter the way you act on YouTube you won't only alienate yourself, but your viewer base. Nothing says "unsubscribe or not subscribe in the first place" more than a fake. And viewers on YouTube will see that pretty much straight off the bat!

 

[Cybs]

How bad is it to change your vision? As your channel grows, you also grow. You learn how to edit better, film better, promote yourself better. You will have gained a lot of new experience.

With that experience, your vision changes. I wouldn't be to afraid to change what you are doing if it feels right for you. Ofcourse you have to keep in mind that people came to your channel "the old way". So you might lose some people if you change drastically. But I think, most of the change, will be seen gradually by the hardcore fans. And they will not mind if you make the official step. I hope this makes sense haha!

I will give you an example. I'm the creator of an airsoft team. When I set it up I imagined it more like a community. With maybe a 100 members so that you always had someone to play with. When I hit the 20 member mark, I started realizing, together with the team members, that it was way more fun to make it in to a team instead of a community. We took a vote on it and went for it.

You could do the same with a youtube channel in my opinion.

As for your question, take the advice and do with it what you want. If you think you can use it for yourself or your channel do so! But if you think it won't help your cause than don't. The tough part is deciding what helps and what not. When you can come up with a clear reason in a few seconds why not to do it, than its probably best to not do it.

 

[LaneVids]

Advice is incredibly valuable, but when do you know when to incorporate it and when to stick to your guns? Do you find the line between the two to be kind of blurry?

This is a really broad questoin because it depends on what the advice is in regards to.

 

[David Stoll]

When it comes to content, I can't be anything other than true to myself. I never understand advice to change what you are doing on your channel based on views or whatnot. But for non-content things, I don't assume I have all the answers, so I am willing to listen to advice and try stuff. For example, a YouTube Space person suggested that I not use text on my thumbnails because so many people watch videos on their phones which means the text isn't that prominent anyway. Taking his advice didn't reduce my views, but it did challenge me to be more creative when making thumbnails. I am not great at thumbnails, but I am enjoying the process of trying to be better!

 

[BarbMollyTV]

The way I draw the line is looking at my source. Is it someone who doesn't even have videos up or even a profile avatar for that matter, Is their advice valid "telling someone the quality of their video is horrible" while they're filming from a flip phone circa 2006... Seems pretty valid lol. Lastly depends on how I feel strongly I feel about what they're giving me advice on. If it's something that I like and have a strong feeling about I wouldn't change it. Personally I would suggest you just go with your gut bc at the end of the day it's your channel and your life win or fail. Best of luck!