We’ve all seen tutorials on YouTube. From do-it-yourself (DIY) to learning how to program, the phenomenon of educational instructional videos have many even questioning the necessity of a university degree.
Google published data in 2015 mentioning the growth of “How to” searches on YouTube, claiming that they are seeing a 70% increase in that search year-over-year; in 2015, viewers watched over 100 million hours of those types of videos. There’s no denying that viewers love it; the variety of topics to learn about, and the plethora of teachers out there makes the experience a very diverse one.
For the YouTube creator, though, this same convenience makes it hard to stand out in the crowd. But it can be done, and we interviewed Tom, the creator of the YouTube channel Satori Graphics, to learn how. With over 50,000 subscribers on his channel, he has published over 300 videos teaching amazing digital design skills.
Using Worthyt Ask to interview Tom of Satori Graphics, we were able to learn about both him as a person and also get some insight into the strategies that he used as a YouTuber to get him to where he is today. One insightful perspective he gave was concerning social media exposure:
Social media is a biggie. You need to publicize the channel on platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram etc. Not only for more exposure, but the YouTube algorithm really gets triggered if your channel is driving traffic from other social media platforms.
Take a look at the interview below. If you have any additional questions, you can always ask him via his Creator Page on Worthyt.
Hey Satori! Welcome to the Worthyt community. First and foremost, we wanted to learn more about what inspired you to create your YouTube channel?
I had always had a curiosity about video making and editing. I also wanted to help other designers specifically with Adobe Illustrator, as there were not too many technical advices and tutorials on Youtube.
What is one strategy that’s been very effective in marketing your channel?
Social media is a biggie. You need to publicise the channel on platforms like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram etc. Not only for more exposure, but the Youtube algorithm really gets triggered if your channel is driving traffic from other social media platforms
What do you think is the difference between a successful and unsuccessful YouTuber?
That would depend on how you determine success. It may be views, it may be subscribers, or it may be something like how much traffic your videos drive to your external website.
But a successful Youtuber, 99% of the time, has had to spend countless hours over a number of years, to build up a community around their channel. They have had to battle through thoughts of quitting that will and do arise from time to time, especially in the early stages, because it’s very hard to gain traction early on.
How long does it usually take for you to create a video?
It depends on the video length, but on average 1 minute of video take around an hour for me to produce. I need to come up with the concept first, then I record the screen of my Mac when designing the subject matter for the tutorial. I edit that recording down, and then write a script for it. I need to then record the audio script and edit that into the video. Finally I need to design the thumbnail and write a description, as well as other metadata. It is quite a lot of work, more than people expect
What is the number one mistake you see other YouTubers make when trying to grow their channels?
Not writing long descriptions and using tags, or researching relevant tags and metadata for their video to be found in search results. When a channel is very small, it is crucial to focus on metadata so that their vides can be found.
What is the best decision you ever made in growing your own channel?
Either posting my videos onto Facebook groups, or to post at least 4 times per week
If you could give another YouTube creator one piece of advice, what would it be?
There are so many things I would like to say, but if I must narrow it down to one, I would say be patient and consistent, whilst trying to improve your content each week
Looking back on growing your channel, what is one thing you would’ve done differently?
I would have liked to start making Youtube videos 5 years earlier lol. But apart from that, I should have invested money into better equipment earlier on in the channels history
What motivates you to publish consistently?
One of the biggest things is seeing so many comments from people across the globe, who let me know how useful they find my videos. That is always awesome to read
Which video was your favorite to create, and why?
That’s quite a tough question to answer. But I often really enjoy making digital art tutorial videos, because I rarely have a final piece of art in mind, and I just see where the creativity takes me. It’s rewarding having a nice piece of artwork at the end, and then even more rewarding to teach the techniques to others thereafter.
What’s the most memorable comment you’ve ever received from someone on one of your YouTube videos?
Ones where people mention that they have been watching my videos for over a year, and they have learned a lot about Adobe Illustrator, more than they ever did in school or college.
If you could create another channel, what would it be about and why?
I am slowly getting into wooden puzzles, not those puzzles that you have many pieces of an image, but things just as Japanese puzzle boxes. I would like to maybe solve and review those kinds of puzzles. If not that, then maybe a fitness channel, but that is very saturated on Youtube
Outside of creating these YouTube videos, what do you spend time doing?
I exercise a lot as I’m at the gym 4–5 times per week. I also enjoy dabbling in Photography, and I am a big movie buff too. I watch a lot of movies
