Am I A 'YouTuber' Now?

So, this was a post I wrote back in October 2020 but, for some reason never quite finished or published it...🤔

The situation has escalated somewhat since then, in August 2023 my little hobby channel had acquired an astonishing 2,500 subscribers! 

I wonder if my musings of three years ago are still valid (I have made some minor edits to the original draft for spelling and grammar) ...

Well, it was just a little hobby, to share the fun I was having with my Sims 3 stories and now I've reached the first big 'proper YouTuber' milestone ... 1,000 subscribers!!

In December 2015 I uploaded my first ever gameplay video, "Slade Dynasty Chronicles Intro : Sims 3 Lets Play"

As ropey as it was, I think I was actually using just the microphone on my cheap-as-chips headset, I actually enjoyed the process of creating videos and the very kind Sims 3 community were encouraging in their support.

I experimented with other games and types of video, trying to work out what I most enjoyed doing and discovered a modest number of viewers who seemed to like the stuff I was uploading.

So I tootled along for a while, slowly improving the quality of my uploads and finding additional ways to engage with viewers, subscribers, and other creators. Along the way I discovered a small community of fellow creators on Discord who were incredibly helpful and encouraging and also helped me find ways to connect with developers and publishers who might be prepared to provide keys to games that I could help promote.

So, with new-found confidence I added a few more games to my roster. With those new titles and, especially and unexpectedly, being granted early access to Transport Fever 2, viewer and subscriber numbers started to steadily increase through the end of 2019; hitting 500 subscribers in December. 

It's when you get to these sorts of numbers you start thinking, 'this is more than just me and a few friends' and I found myself starting to watch and wonder about all the numbers YouTube throws at you on the Analytics pages.

 A temptation I had to fight against, was that I now had to take this "seriously", that I had some sort of obligation or responsibility to all these people who were, apparently, trusting me to provide them with, well, whatever it was they enjoyed seeing on the channel.

And that's kind of the problem: why do people subscribe to your channel? Is it for a particular game? Is it for certain types of video? Do they like your 'style'? If you were to do something quite different would they all unsubscribe? I started doing this just to have some fun sharing some of my games and stories, as something of a creative outlet and, most certainly, not as any sort of job or business. Does having a significant number of views and subscribers change that?

I know that several of my 'creator buddies' do take their channels very seriously and it is a significant source of income for some of them and their insight and advice has been very useful in helping me make my videos more watchable and 'attractive'. However, I had to stop myself from spending too much time worrying about all the numbers because I knew that I could easily start obsessing and stressing and that would not be good for me or my channel. I'm at that stage in life where I'm done with having to work to live and a fun hobby that added a little extra to my income was all that was needed.

The one piece of advice I did pick up, and always remind myself of, is that for the majority of viewers to enjoy what you do, you need to enjoy creating the videos in the first place. The viewer will notice when you're not having fun and will soon find someone else to watch.

So, if I'm not going to be obsessing over the stats, how can I answer that question - why are people subscribing? OK, yes, the number of views and likes is a pretty good indicator but by far the most compelling evidence is in the comments. And I reckon anyone who creates a YouTube video will say the same thing; having someone take the time to actually make a comment is the most rewarding thing and then that they are so appreciative when I, in turn, take the trouble to reply to them.

I still have fun creating these videos and love engaging with those who comment on them. There's also that really good feeling when you can help promote a small indie game and actually get involved in helping the developer to create something many other people will love playing. All these relationships are only virtual but in these dark and troubled times, beset with negativity and distrust, any positive connection, however made, is to be treasured.

Although I am most definitely of a 'mature age' and many of my generation might think it an age inappropriate activity; something that only 'kids' and narcissists do, I'm increasingly OK with telling more of my friends and family about this odd hobby of mine. It's fun, why wouldn't I want people to know I'm enjoying myself?

I don't need to make money on YouTube, I'm not striving to create a sustainable income stream so I don't have the pressure of having to create, and also being innately 'relaxed' about my lifestyle means I have managed to avoid falling into the trap of obsession over analytics. Like anyone else I love seeing views, likes and subscribers on my videos but I'm not desperately chasing clicks and views, I do my best to not stress over videos that don't do as well as previous ones. Of course, I don't like to see videos for games I enjoy not getting the views I think they should but I'm not beholden to anyone so I can stop or continue creating videos as I see fit and hopefully continue to satisfy my 'audience'.

So, three years on from achieving the milestone of becoming a 'YouTube Partner' and being able to monetize this ad hoc hobby, yes, I do consider myself a YouTube "Content Creator". Long may it continue to be fun for me and all you lovely people who have found some entertainment or help here on Ajaxpost Plays.

Adrian

(YouTube Creator)