Hello! Checking in with some stats about how things are going with my seasonal game mode related vids/plans... Safe to say, it's going well lol. Just had a MASSIVE vid last night. Was really tough to throw together quickly but that thing took off really hard and will likely continue to tick up in the coming weeks. 27k views! That is wild for such a short time -- it is now my most viewed vid on the channel. Really cool to see. I had my first real experience of waking up to like 300 comments and that was overwhelming. I did manage to get through them all, but I can understand now why larger creators don't. Think it took me roughly 4 hours to knock them all out. Eek! lol I also want to add a quick note since I was talking with @Gemma Ferguson the other day about this. Something that has been really helpful for me in this process is very clearly defining why I'm doing this experiment, and then further defining the scope of the experiment/videos. To elaborate a bit: I have made seasonal content before. Every time it does better than my other videos, generally takes less time to produce, and has helped in growing the channel past milestones plus highlighted areas to improve in my production process. All of these things are really great, so to boil it down a bit; I do these stress tests for massive channel growth and process improvement. In this particular stint I also wanted to see if I could front load my content and then essentially relax once the game mode started (imagine actually playing and enjoying the game you make videos on lol). This is where I was coming from when I started this. Now, on the scoping out of the experiment/videos -- one thing I learned in previously stints like this is that making content quickly sucks. I work full time, so I often don't have that much time day to day. The way I get around this is by defining the space I have for making videos during the entire season plus each day and then deciding what I think I can fit within that. I am not always perfect at this but it does give me a much better success rate. Only have 2 hours to work on a Wednesday? Ok. What tasks or smaller videos could I fit into that time frame to keep with this seasonal game mode? I essentially work backwards from what time I know I'll have available and then decide what can slot in there. What I ended up with this time was essentially 2 months of content planned. The first 3-4 weeks would be at a pace of 2-3 vids a week. I had space in the following 3-4 weeks for daily videos (this is the phase I am in currently) and then a bit of space on the end for a few larger daily videos as the game mode kicks off. I'll be trailing with 2-3 follow up videos after the fact, but the main goal is to allow myself space to enjoy the game mode.

The game I have been waiting to blow up my channel is coming out in 3 days! I was very lucky enough to get one-week early access to the game, but as I was under an NDA, I could not speak about it. The embargo has now been lifted, and it feels amazing but also overwhelming. I feel like I have a million ideas, and when I go to build, nothing. I know exactly the aim of my channel and the content I want to make (Tutorials, helping and inspiring people to play the game) but I also feel this overwhelming anxiety, like an imposter. I'm desperate to learn as much as I can and teach as I go but it's a lot! I am trying to take one idea at a time. Do one video well and upload it as soon as it's ready, not caring about time zones. It's a scary thing. Usually, I would schedule one video to go out only at the weekend but I'm giving myself the freedom to do it now. Upload, let it fly, and move straight to the next video idea. If your interested in this little journey in classic YouTube style (I'm getting my practice in) give me a thumbs up.

Just a quick question but what video editing platform do you use? I use Sony vegas 14 had it years and dose the job but planning on getting a an upgraded version or a different platform to use due not being able to use some plugins I would like to use. Now should I stick with SV or maybe broader my horizons. What’s your thoughts and why do you use the platform you do. Thanks Penguin 🐧

Do you read your YouTube comments and if so do you respond to them? Comments are great and help with engagement, but I often find that reading them can be a real mood changer. It's a real mixed bag, depending on what you read—the good, bad, and ugly. The YouTube "gurus" tell you to engage with your audience, but I cringe sometimes when I don't know what to say. Especially when comments can negatively impact my mood. Ignorance is bliss, and at the end of the day, it is my channel. I can't control JIM263, who thinks I'm an idiot, but I can choose not to read Jim's comments in the first place.

Hi all! I am BRAND new (pun intended) on YT so have some flexibility in crafting my brand and I want to do it intentionally. My name is India Witkin and I am creating content about food, travel, history, and self discovery. It will be very documentary style videos (vlogy style + talking head, explainers, interviews). I will have a food series coming out later this year that will be comprised of seasons (8 episodes posted once a week) that will be called INDIA EATS THE WORLD. I imagine this as a YT playlist. I am thinking of either calling the channel and my handle India Witkin OR I am thinking of changing the name of my channel and handle to My Name is India. Alternatively I can have my handle be @mynameisindia and keep the branding to just my name across. I am not a huge fan of my last name and constantly hear how confusing my name is to people ("wait india is your name??"). I know I need to center my name. What do people think!?