Okay, so I am quickly going to go through 10 key lessons I learned from Ali Abdaal’s part-time YouTuber Academy. Keep in mind that as of 2022 This is the best course to learn how to start and grow a YouTube channel.
Ali Abdaal is a very successful YouTuber. He has over 3 million subscribers but if you are reading this, you probably know him already.
Before I jump into the 10 lessons, I’ll insert a marketing plug. If you want to get a full summary with the key insights from this course. You can get a full 50-page summary of the course here.
So here are 10 lessons that I learned from Ali Abdaal’s Part-Time. YouTuber Academy.
1. Don’t try to be perfect.
The truth is, you will never be. Most people don’t start on YouTube because they want their first video to be perfect. And…Nobody cares about your first video.
So don’t lose hair over this. Just start creating videos. It takes around 152 videos for an average channel to hit 1000 subscribers. That’s a lot of videos. So don’t agonize over your first videos; they are probably going to be bad anyway.
On one hand, yes, you want to make good videos. And it’s good to strive for excellence. However, you will never achieve excellence if you don’t start. And that’s the problem with perfectionism.
So just start uploading videos. And that is a great segue to lesson number two, which is about gear.
2. Is gear important?
This is one of the biggest debates on YouTube, so how important is gear for someone who is starting?
Ali has a very interesting framework to answer this question. So, according to him, if you want to become successful on YouTube, there’s only one thing that you have to do and it’s very simple. You have to upload one good video every week for two years, and then your life is going to change exponentially.
And so following this framework, if you’re struggling to make one video per week, then gear absolutely does not matter. You can use your phone and the built-in audio to film your videos.
If you’re already making one video per week, gear is still not that important.
Now, if you are at the level where you’re already making one good video per week, then definitely yes, gear is important and you should upgrade your camera, microphone, and your lighting.
3. Audio is #1.
Since YouTube is primarily visual we assume that video quality is more important. But it is actually the opposite. Audio quality is more important. Viewers will watch a video with bad video quality if the audio is good, but they will turn off a video with bad audio quality.
People can’t be bothered to sit through a video with bad audio. So if you are thinking about gear, make sure to put audio as a priority. Because it’s going to have a bigger impact on your video quality.
4. Consistency is the bedrock of everything.
Once you start, you need to keep going. Most creative endeavors fail because the creators didn’t keep going. Now, let’s say you already sorted out the gear question, and embraced the fact that your first videos are most likely not going to be so good. That’s just the beginning… Now comes the hardest part. To keep going. Again, remember that it takes on average 152 videos to reach 1,000 subscribers, so you likely have a long journey ahead.
What Ali recommends is to commit to uploading one good video per week and keep going. The top YouTubers rarely miss their posting schedule, and that is what sets them apart from all the others who try and fail.
5. Steal like an artist
This is actually inspired by Austin Kleon’s book Steal Like an Artist.
And this idea can be disheartening for those who strive to be completely original. But the reality is that most of what is created in terms of literature, ideas, movies, technology was built on other people’s ideas. Creators don’t live on a deserted island (even though some would like it) so they end up interacting with other people’s work.
So there’s almost nothing that’s 100% authentic. All the great artists, including the best movie directors, the best writers, painters, either consciously or subconsciously took some ideas from other creators. And if the finest artists from all time took ideas from other people, believe me, you as an aspiring YouTuber can take ideas from other creators.
Just make a list of channels that you enjoy, grab some ideas from them and apply them to your channel, of course, eventually you’re going to discover your own style. But this is great advice when you are starting.
6. How to never run out of ideas?
Ali has a specific system to never run out of ideas… if you just try to squeeze as many ideas as possible from your brain on sheer willpower, you will get a few but eventually you are going to run out of steam. You need a system to constantly come up with ideas.
So, he uses several methods. Like doing research and getting inspiration from other creators. The point is, you can’t rely on memory to come up with a constant stream of ideas.
7. How to crack the YouTube algorithm?
Success on YouTube comes down to two things.
One, you need to get people to click on your videos. That’s where your title and thumbnail come in. Two, you need to keep them watching your videos. These are super important. These are the two levers that you have to pull in tandem to be successful on YouTube.
In the course, Ali mentions how to get people to click on your video, and how to keep them watching, he also recommends some useful tools you can use to track key metrics on YouTube.
8. Different ways to monetize a channel
When it comes to monetization most people think about Youtube’s built-in Adsense system. So basically making money from the ads that appear on your videos.
Now that’s actually the monetization strategy that’s going to bring you the least amount of money.
Ali shows a breakdown of how much money he makes on YouTube, and surprisingly ads make up a small percentage of the revenue.
So this opens your mind to the possibilities that you have way beyond YouTube ads. And gets you thinking about other ways to make money on YouTube.
9. Rely on systems
Producing one video per week is very, very challenging, especially if you have a full-time job.
So Ali recommends systemizing everything so you can produce these videos. This not only applies to YouTube, but to any content business.
There’s just some things that are going to slow you down. And the idea is to get rid of these bottlenecks as early as possible.
The biggest bottleneck when doing YouTube is editing. In the full course, Ali goes into detail on how to find and hire an editor.
But the main idea here is that you need a process where you can produce the biggest amount of output in the least amount of time.
And the last one is…
10. The right mindset
Ali really positions you into this mindset of, hey, you know, this is a long-term thing. You’re not going to have overnight success with YouTube. But here’s the formula, the steps that you can take, and if you are consistent and you keep doing it, there’s a very high probability that you’re going to have a positive return on investment.
And also, if you enjoy the process, then you are not going to be that focused on the result, which will make the whole journey more enjoyable.
So if you think this course can help you start and grow your YouTube channel but you can’t afford it or you’re not ready to take it. You can always get the summary. Click here to get the full 50-page summary of the course with all the main insights.