5 YouTube Secrets to Make You a Better Writer

Who knew this video platform also applies to your writing

A few months ago, I was a YouTube creator and had created over 100 videos with over 1500 fans. I learned a lot on that platform that actually helped me as a writer. Other than video creating, there are a lot of marketing tips that you can easily apply to writing.

When I first started making videos, I knew a little bit since I had made videos with my phone and shared them on Facebook. Facebook wasn’t paying me anything so I decided to give YouTube a try. YouTube pays their creators if they have 1000 subscribers and 4000 hours of watch time from viewers.

I didn’t succeed to be a paid creator but was paid as an affiliate a few times. So it wasn’t a total loss.

As a person who has a passion for money, I met a lot of people with similar interests. These days anyone can invest and change their life without talking to a financial planner.

When I started making videos, I used my phone for 85% of my videos. The other 15% I used Zoom to create videos.

Maybe I’ll jump back there one and follow up since I never mentioned taking an extended break. Until then, I’ll be here.

If you’re curious what you can learn from the second largest social media platform after Facebook, these are the five areas I’ll mention that will help you as a writer:

• Capture your reader’s attention fast
• Keep your reader entertained
• Your true fans expect more from you
• You’ll make mistakes, but try not to make the same mistake twice
• Your writing will get better the more you write

After a few months of writing, I started to notice a few similarities on these different platforms. These tips could give you some insight and correct some things you may be doing wrong.

Capture your reader’s attention fast

Remember that your reader’s attention is only yours for a single instant. They will not use their valuable time trying to figure out what you mean.

John Caples

These days, people have short attention spans. They want things instantly and as a reader, you may be guilty of this as well. You can’t wait until you get to the point of the article or the meat of what the writer is talking about.

Sometimes you have to read through hundreds of words before you know where the writer is going.

You can think of the same when watching a movie. You can’t wait until the movie gets to the point but the movie director knows what they’re doing. They’ll lead you to think this person is the one who killed someone when in fact it was the other person who made a brief appearance early in the movie.

As a writer, you have to leave clues to keep your readers engaged.

• You might have to change up the format of your article.
• Make shorter paragraphs than you’re used to as compared to the articles you had to write in school.

Readers can be very impatient but that could be because the world we live in has changed so much over the past few years. Maybe you can blame Bill Gates, Steve Jobs, or Mark Zuckerberg. Their computer systems allowed you to connect with friends you hadn’t heard from in years or get news right from your phone.

Short attention spans are here to stay for the time being.

Keep your reader entertained

So my first responsibility is to entertain the reader, But if, addition, I can help move readers to thought and judgement about issues that concern me, so much the better.

Garry Trudeau

People like to be amused, shocked or learn something new that they didn’t know before. You wake up every day and wouldn’t you like to see something different today as compared to yesterday?

I think we all do. Life can get monotonous and repeating the same thing day after day can sometimes get boring.

Reading something new and exciting can capture your reader’s attention.

Whether you write about fact, fiction, or poetry, your reader wants to see something different from you today. How are you going to entertain them?

In a sense, you are a part-time marketer to get more people to read your work and keep them entertained and engaged.

You probably didn’t think about that when you started out writing, did you?

Just as a person who writes a book, they have a marketing team to help promote their book. As an online writer, you are probably your own marketing team as well as the lead writer.

Your true fans expect more from you

Fans, true fans, are hard to find and precious. Just a few can change everything. What they demand, though, is generosity and bravery.

Seth Godin

Kevin Kelly who authored 1000 True fans said your true fans will always be there for you. The same can apply to your work. Your true fans want to see what else you have waiting for them to read.

True fans expect to see your next article if you write Monday, Wednesday, and Friday. Or they want to see your next article if you write five days a week.

You can’t keep your fans waiting. You have to provide what they’re looking for.

Whether you start out with 10 fans or 1000 fans, you need to keep your fans hooked. Holding your fans and keeping them coming back for more is the most important thing you can do as a writer.

Just as you may have your favorite author, you can’t wait for their next book. You may even preorder their book as soon as they make an announcement about it.

That’s exactly how you need to cater to your fans. Keep them coming back for more.

Do your best to entertain your fans.

Work on keeping your fans engaged.

You’ll make mistakes, but try not to make the same mistake twice

My main strength as a young writer was that I had no fear of making mistakes. I knew I would and I knew I could and would learn from them.

Nikki Giovanni

As a writer, you probably made some mistakes. Take time to review your work and as well as edit.

You are the first line editor who gets the first peak on your writing. This takes time but the more time you spend editing, the better your finished product will turn out.

Don’t be in a rush after you have written your first draft. Take a break before you read through to make corrections.

A fresh set of eyes will do wonders and improve what you have written only to make it better.

Your writing will get better the more you write

You can make anything by writing.

C.S. Lewis

As I get close to finishing four months of writing every single day, the more you write, the better your writing gets.

You may try some new ideas or change the format of your articles. The more you write, the better your work gets. You may try a new idea, and then that new idea becomes a signature to your writing style.

There are so many ways you can write. You have to find out what works for you. After a while, you get into a good rhythm, and then your fans expect similar work from you.

This is your chance to be creative. Try out different styles. You can try listicles. You can bold text your paragraph headers. If you haven’t tried it, give it a shot. You have nothing to lose.

A lot of writers read your work on their smartphone. Adding the occasional bold text will help as they read your work on a small screen. Also making shorter paragraphs helps as well but you didn’t hear that from me.

Your way ahead

When you find your voice, you’ll find your fans. There are several ways you can keep your reader engaged as mentioned. Creating videos has a lot of similarities to writing in more ways than you imagined.

Both require a little bit of experimentation. Both also require a little bit of trial and error. The key point for both is you need to be consistent. Put in the work, and keep your readers happy. Don’t keep your fans waiting.

Have you tried experimenting with your writing?