Have you ever asked yourself:
“What are the TOP YouTubers secrets to making videos?”
“If I just knew what they were doing, I could do it too”
Then take advice from a guy that has more than 7 million YouTube subscribers & over 1 Billion views (billion with a B).
His name is KSI and I recently watched a video where he shared his Top 5 Tips for Becoming a YouTube sensation. (via TelegraphUK )
Today we’re going to take at look at KSI’s Top 5 Tips and explain what his advice really means.
KSI’s Top 5 Tips For Becoming a YouTube Sensation
- Watch loads of videos
- Be Memorable
- Get Social (twitter, facebook, snapchat, instagram)
- Thumbnails
- Do What You Like to Do
What KSI Says:
Tip #1 – Watch loads of videos
What it really means: While KSI does recommend that you watch all kinds of videos the key takeaway here is to get you into a habit of monitoring your community.
The reason you want to do this is so you can keep up on the latest trends. This gives you an opportunity to replicate the most successful videos, but more importantly look for ways you can be different.
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Tip #2 – You definetly want to get a name that says in the mind, something that can be easily remembered, for instance KSI. It’s 3 letters K.S.I.
What it really means: We’re going to disagree with KSI here…and here’s why.
His actual YouTube name is KSIOlajidebt. On his website he explains what exactly it means, but lets rewind back to 2010 when he didn’t have 7million subscribers.
The way names are remembered has nothing to do with it being “catchy” but more importantly the person behind the name.
KSI goes on to say: “If you can’t write down your name and its like XIIS12552 no ones going to remember that.”
When you look at the random name he made up and his actual YouTube name you can see they’re similar in terms of “randomness” to viewers.
KSIOlajidebt vs XIIS12552. While he simply shortened his name to KSI you could also shorten XIIS12552 to XII and call your self “X Double I”. Ultimately it’s not your actual name that is going to make or break you.
Does it help? Yes it does. You want a name that is simple and clear to understand and best case scenario it should be in reference to what your channel is actually about.
So how can you be remembered?
We attach ourselves to people and remember them through their entertainment and through repetition. Try it out for yourself. Next time you meet someone, repeat their name back after you’re introduced and use it once more in conversation. Odds are you will remember them better. (It’s science and I read about it here)
So while KSI is attributing his success to his short and easy name, you shouldn’t sweat over what you want your name to be. Instead focus on how you will entertain your viewers.
The key takeaway here is to be memorable to your audience.
Tip #3 – Social media, it’s so important you want to make sure you have twitter, facebook, instagram & snapchat.
What it really means: You need to be transparent to your audience. Let them in to your world and let them see you for you.
More importantly it means to create content that is specifically designed for the actual platform.
MORE: In depth look at how to use social platforms like twitter, instagram, facebook & snapchat
For example, when the television was first created companies saw a new opportunity to advertise to audience and they could do it in video form! How exciting huh?
What ended up happening is they replicated how they advertised on radio and then did the same exact thing on TV. The problem here is that TV, and the video it produces, has an entirely different way to connect with its audience. From an emotional level and a production level.
MORE: watch the first ever TV ad
The same goes for things like Twitter, Facebook, Instagram & Snapchat. You can’t use them the same and expect to have success across all platforms. Each has its own unique experience.
We see it all the time. Gamers will throw up a web page link on their Facebook, then tweet a link to the facebook page showing the web link and the cycle goes on and on.
The key takeaway here is to get down to the emotional level of what each platform is used for and then create specific content for the specific platform.
Tip #4 – You want to make sure you catch your audience with your videos. You want to make sure when you make a thumbnail that it’s eye catching.
What it really means: Love this advice from KSI, but he’s missing one key point.
While it’s important that you’re thumbnails are flashy and eye catching it’s more important that they CLEARLY & SIMPLY explain what the video is about.
Make it easy for people to click and watch. Don’t assume that they know what the video is about. Make everything as simple as possible so they can decide quickly if they want to watch your video or not.
This also carries into other aspects of your channel. We talked about it last week, and we will say it again. Can we as a gaming community stop creating channel headers that say NOTHING about what the channel actually is?
Below is an example of what we mean.
Look at the difference between the two in terms of explaining what the channel is about. KSI without a doubt has a massive following and at this point he doesn’t need to change his process, but for you small YouTubers it’s important that you separate yourself from everyone else.
Looking at the images above, and comparing your channel header to it, which one is a better of example of your current header?
Ask yourself: How can you improve it? How can I make it more simple & clear.
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Tip #5 – Just do what you enjoy. Do what you like to do.
What it really means: Passion. You need to create content around your channel that is going to be something you enjoy doing.
Don’t just do a “Let’s Play” because everyone else is doing it.
Do what you want to do. Only you can answer this question so we will be short.
Find what it is you enjoy doing when it comes to creating content and stick to that. Don’t think that you “should” be doing something because “so & so” is doing it.
The key takeaway here is that you need to find something that you will enjoy doing over the long haul or it’s going to be extremely difficult to stick with it.
Find what wakes you up in the morning and what keeps you up at night
Do This Now
Share in the comments below what tips from KSI you will start using on your channel.
Be clear. Be concise.
Great article on KSI, followed him for years! Good to see his channel has grown this quickly.
Check this out guys, it’s my first video! https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XrJP43PY-xs