Season 4, Episode 6 : YouTube
In this episode, Peter and Tom discuss YouTube and the possibilities it can present for us, as creative Artists and makers.
Between Social Media, websites, endless online marketing options, online course making and hosting, Patreon and similar, online galleries, promotional websites, (the lists goes on)…the potential ways for artists and creators to put themselves out there in the world is often, if not always, overwhelming.
However, it is also important that we at least explore possibilities and options to see if they may fit us as creatives and business owners.
YouTube is a video sharing platform which attracts 2.6 billion monthly users, which accounts for nearly 1/3 of monthly active internet use. 1 billon hours of content per day is watched on YouTube. 500 hours of video is uploaded every minute! Those stats are pretty overwhelming but how, can we as Artists, utilise it effectively.
Peter and Tom both have YouTube channels and begin by discussing some of the different content you could create:
· Studio vlog / plein air vlog
· Process videos
· Stories behind paintings
· Reviews
· How to / instructional / teaching
· Tasters
· Can also be used to embed videos on your website
· Live streaming
It may not be the right avenue for everyone, but Tom and Peter discuss how everyone has something to offer and if nothing else, it might be another platform to exist on and validate you as an Artist in some way. As a tutor, it can be a fantastic way of sharing your knowledge but also marketing your other forms of teaching.
After the break, they discuss it’s potential, pitfalls and different ways to monetise your channel. Given the usage and the stats above, it’s easy to see the huge potential to build your follows and audience if you do it “right”. It allows you to directly connect with very specific audience and build relationships with customers and potential customers. When it comes to monetising from it, Peter and Tom discuss the different ways this can happen, namely advertisements, affiliate links and using it is a marketing platform to direct people to other places.
They move on to discuss good (and not so good) practice as well as some technical tips to do with lighting, audio, thumbnail choices and titles. If you want more advise or help – there are a lot of videos on YouTube itself, teaching you how to use it!
This week’s takeaway… whilst you may get lucky with video and “go viral”, YouTube is generally a long game. Slow and steady consistency – we may even be talking 2 – 5 years of work before you really see big benefits. Be clear about what you want out of it. YouTube is yet another place we can have an online presence. Whilst in reality it requires a certain level of commitment to yield any results, and it won’t be for everyone, with the huge and ever growing numbers of users, it is definitely a platform that should be considered with an open mind by serious creatives.
Photo by Laura Lee Moreau on Unsplash
This Podcast is sponsored by Rosemary & Co Brushes. For more information about the full range of Artist’s brushes and to order a free catalogue, please visit https://www.rosemaryandco.com
