- I wanted to talk specifically today about gaming on YouTube because I feel like it's a lot different than creating other types of content on the platform. Generally speaking, people play games for fun. They're something to do after a long day of life, school, your job, housework. They're a way to unplug and relax. So when you take something you love, like playing video games, and then you add this extra element on top of it, such as creating content with those games, what you've just established is one less way to relax after a long day. And I think this is the number one mistake gaming creators tend to make. It's this assumption that because it's games, it's somehow different than creating any other kind of content on YouTube because it's games and they're fun. It's this attitude of I get to play games and make money doing it. And I want to literally help you do just that.

I want to help gaming creators get tons of subscribers, and potentially maybe even make a little money. But in order to do that, we need to first address some major pitfalls that I see so many channels get caught up in. The first one I wanna talk about is what I'll call the hobbyist mindset. And this might sound a little familiar to you. So, question for you. Have you ever looked up via on YouTube or Google ways in which you can grow as a creator? You're watching this video right now, so I'm going to assume that you probably have some interest in growing in this gaming space. And with that, I have another question for you. Do you consider this a hobby? Because if you do, I'm going to challenge you to never refer to your gaming channel as a hobby ever again. If your goal is to grow, and even make money one day, then it's time now to swap to having a business mindset.

Don't get me wrong. YouTube is fun, and I want you to have fun doing it. But it's also a grind at times, truly. And at the end of a long day of grinding, what I would like for you to do is then turn to your hobbies, so you have some time to unplug and relax a little bit. If you want YouTube to actually be a job one day, then it's important to treat it as one right now. But that also brings me to my next point. And I'm gonna call this one the money doesn't make you good conundrum. Now yes, there is an undeniable benefit to spending money to improve your YouTube channel. Whether that's a nice camera, microphone, some fancy lighting, or an expensive gaming rig, all of these things will improve your content. But make no mistake. Not having those things is certainly not holding you back. If this is something you are truly, truly passionate about,

you're gonna find a way to make it work, even if all you have at your disposal is a smartphone. Instead of sinking money into improving your gear, what I would encourage you to do instead is to spend time and maybe a little money on improving your skills. You can buy courses for things like video editing and thumbnails, but YouTube itself is also full of a bunch of free tutorials on all of that stuff, Photoshop tutorials, Canva tutorials, all these things you need to become better at creating content. Or you could spend that extra time researching, whether it's titles and ideas for your next video, or whether it's spending time in discords and subreddits of gaming communities for the games that you're actually making content within. Most importantly though, you should be trying to spend some time improving as a gaming personality. Pick something you want to improve and just start working on it. You won't grow an audience on YouTube

by just throwing a bunch of money into your channel and crossing your fingers, hoping that it all works out. Successful creators have a bunch of skill sets that they're constantly improving. And sure, you can spend on products and services, and even software like vidIQ to help make your life a little bit easier. But there is ultimately no substitute for experience. On the subject of gaining experience though, it's also possible to go too far in the other direction. And that's where we're gonna talk about what I'll call the time pit paradox, which yes, I totally just made up, but now it's a thing. With all of the advice I just gave you, I just need to caution you a bit. It is possible to spend too much time on this in any given day, week, et cetera. With any endeavor, I think it's important to set aside some time to work towards your goals. But I also think it's equally important

to set aside time to just rest and unplug. This is where I failed miserably with my first gaming channel, and I wanna help you either avoid the same fate, or if this is already a cycle that you're in, I wanna help you break it right now. Basically, I got to a point where if I wanted to relax after a long day of making gaming videos, I would turn to my favorite hobby, which was gaming. I would start playing something, and then I would ask myself, Why don't I just stream this? I mean, I'm sitting here anyway at the same desk I record my content. What would really be the difference? So I did, and that mindset during those livestreams kept me in a state where I was always on, and I was forcing myself to still be an entertainer when I just desperately needed a break. So what I want you to do to try and avoid this is to pick and choose what your content is about.

In this example, let's say it's a game. Make that game what your channel is about. And then take all the other games you love and save them for you. And then I need you to choose when your content is. What part of the day or week are you setting aside time to work towards these goals? And that includes the self-improvement stuff we just talked about a little while ago. Don't use the time you should be resting and unwinding to learn how to make better thumbnails. Burning out as a creator has huge consequences for not only your mental health but the growth of your channel. You need to plan to take breaks, even if it affects your upload schedule. Because if you wait until you need a break, it's already too late. Now you're looking at taking an extremely long break because you've just hit a wall and you can't go on. Or you're looking at making really subpar content.

just to keep your upload schedule or your streaming schedule afloat. If you plan your breaks ahead of time, though, you can get to a point where maybe you build up one or two extra videos, and then while you're away, your audience may not even know you're gone. And making some extra videos, especially when you come back feeling refreshed and ready to go, is a lot easier to do than when you wait until you desperately need a break. (angelic music) Ooh, you feel that? That's a plan all coming together. If you approach your channel with a business mindset and then set aside some time to improve your skills and set aside some time to have a break, I promise the likelihood of failure will decrease dramatically. And because I like you, I'm gonna help you with that self-improvement step right now. This video right here is about how to clickbait your viewers. Well, kinda.

It's about making better titles and thumbnails that always win the click. But if you follow the advice in this video, your next upload could be a viral moment for your channel.

Why Gaming Channels FAIL on YouTube

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