This transcript was generated from the episode audio and may contain minor errors.
[Music]
We have been talking about ideas and crafting an initial roadmap to launch. It's your first project. You're gonna get started this year. We got a lot of people out there in that situation. But I am also aware that we also have a significant group of listeners who are already well ahead.
And that's so cool as well, because beginning in the second half of year one of the show, we began to see an increasing percentage of the stories we featured came from listeners who had joined early on. This is one of my favorite things about making Saada Soul School, because I know it works. We've got all these success stories, case studies from our community. So whatever stage you're in in the process, so glad you're here. We try to keep things as relevant as possible for the whole broad community.
Now this Australian listener today, the reason why I say that is because we're gonna hear today from somebody who is further along. In fact, they are really far along. This Australian listener already has a very popular home cooking YouTube channel with more than 100,000 subscribers. One hundred thousand subscribers. He is now looking to expand his reach further.
What comes next? Let's talk about it. [Music]
Hey Chris, this is Gabe from Melbourne, Australia. And I've been listening to this show for most of 2019. My side hustle is my home cooking YouTube channel where I create and share videos with myself preparing my favorite meals in a relaxing way.
I have recently passed 100,000 subscribers and also landed a partnership with a brand. And I'm now looking to further expand my reach. My question is, how do I expand this type of business without losing my channel's identity? I've read about SEOs and have studied the data for my analytics. But the data is telling me that in order to grow quickly, that I need to be making the same popular dishes that are also being featured by larger channels.
This gives me adventuring into already saturated spaces, which in my opinion, kind of increases the risk for each video I invest time and resources into producing. I don't want to sell out too much and lose my OG viewers, but I would also like to grow my numbers, I guess, as with any business. So what direction do you think is best to share my project towards? Thank you so much, Chris. [Music]
So first things first here, what's the most important thing to say?
Congratulations. Listen, Gabe, this is a tremendous accomplishment. This YouTube channel is really the embodiment of what many of our listeners want to create. So we can learn from you. You should come back on and tell us how to do it.
But let's talk about your question. Since you did have a question, let us talk about growth. And the question that comes to my mind here is, why are these people giving you their most valuable resource? Which of course is their attention. It's obviously because you're doing something right.
Like all of these people have subscribed to your channel and are returning to watch your videos because they are learning, they are enjoying, they are being inspired, they're being educated, informed, whatever it is, probably some combination of those things. So whatever you do, I don't think you should stop doing that. Like if anything, perhaps the answer could just be, do more of what's working, okay? Because I was looking at the channel and it looks like you're making about one video a week. Now I know it's a lot of work.
You're clearly putting a lot of work into this. But my first question is, can you double it to two? Can you make different kinds of episodes perhaps? Now looking at the kinds of foods being prepared, demonstrated through this remarkable channel, Gabe has got foods like kimchi fries, milk tea, onigiri breakfast. That's his most popular one actually with several million views.
A lot of the others have like 15,000, 20,000, et cetera. So still good. Now these are definitely non-standard kinds of foods, at least for Westerners, okay? So as for this point about making the same popular dishes that you see on larger channels, well, I understand that could be important for discoverability because even though kimchi fries sounds interesting and creative, I bet a lot more people search for kimchi fried rice, for example. So my question is, could you not make that in a way that leads to more people stumbling upon your content without feeling like you're being inauthentic somehow or overselling or otherwise taking too much of a risk?
And maybe that's the second video of the week. Maybe one is a more traditional dish, done with your twist, your presentation, et cetera. And the other video is more imaginative. Next, are you trying to cross-populate your strong YouTube subscriber base on other platforms? The cooking space is very visual, so I'd wonder, you know, what are your goals for Instagram and Snapchat, for example?
And then last but not least, one final note, because we can all improve, even though Gabe has five million views on this channel so far, most of them from that one mega popular video, but a respectable amount from many others, the about section in his YouTube profile is completely blank. Whoa, don't do that. Your subscribers wanna know more about you. I think people sometimes kind of hold back or they're restrained, but listen, don't do that. Your subscribers want to know more about you.
That's why they have chosen to subscribe, 100,000 people, so don't be afraid to tell them. That's my two cents, and listeners, go check it out for yourself. YouTube.com/foodforthegaps, food for the gabs, G-A-B-S, we'll link it up in the show notes. You might wanna learn to make your own milk tea and more. And if you do, leave Gabe a comment letting him know that you're cheering him on just as I am.
And also if you have a question, come to sodustleschool.com/questions. We'll feature them throughout the year along with updates from other listeners as they launch their projects. Hopefully many of them growing to be a success just like this one. All right, this has been episode 1147. Come back tomorrow, 1148.
This is Chris Guillebeau for Side Hustle School. [Music]
From the Onward Project.
