⏳ Why I 5x'ed How Much Time I Spend On My YouTube Videos

Stephen G. Pope

👑

Jun 9 in 🎥 Content

AND why I'm currently making my own thumbnails (despite not wanting to) 👇

Building efficient workflows and processes is obviously something I enjoy.

And hiring people to help you can also be very helpful, like say your video editing and thumbnails.

But trying to be too efficient and outsourcing has taught me some hard lessons.

Sometimes we try to "put things on autopilot" before we even know where we're going.

"Well I've created 3 YouTube videos, time to automate everything!" right?

Probably not.

And, a graphic designer can make cooler designs that I can, so I should hire someone from fiver?

Maybe, maybe not.

What I've found is that if you try and automate too much, streamline too much, you end up producing bad videos. Your focus is in the wrong place. Yes, sure, automate your flow, make it easy, but put something in place and move on. Don't keep tweaking it, or trying to make it perfect.

I've created 1400+ videos on my YouTube channel (a lot of them shorts). That might seem like a brag but it's kind of embarrassing given where I'm at.

I see people with 20 videos with 100K subs.

So that tells you I was doing something wrong.

You could spend HOURS and HOURS over a year making videos efficiently and never move the needle.

Remember how you were trying to save time? Well you actually wasted it. That's what I did.

When I carve out the time, really get to the core of what I'm trying to create, and make a great video the videos pays BIG TIME.

And in terms of getting help on thumbnails, just because someone can make a cool design doesn't mean the thumbnail will work.

There is a little magic that happens in the thumbnail, where you convey a concept, create curiosity, or articulate a point (in a simple way). And it needs to be done quickly.

If the words are wrong, if the concept is off, even if it looks cool, it won't work.

And imagine spending all that time on a video and no one clicks it? Ouch...

I'm not the best at thumbnails but I've learned to move the needle. When you find a good thumbnail editor, it's likely that you spend time together strategizing on it together. Not just off shoring it.

Can you find a good designer? YES of course! Does automation help, YES of course! just be really thoughtful about it, strategic.

So, since YouTube has the potential to CHANGE YOUR LIFE, like it is mine, consider 5x'ing the time you spend on it.

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