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My Q&A With Steve Cusato</h2>Question: What was your biggest obstacle in building your 240K+ following on Youtube?Answer: The biggest obstacle for me is the fact that I generally don’t chase buzzy or trendy foods, my goal is to teach people who severely lack confidence and know-how in the kitchen and flip that around quickly so that they have the fundamentals and the confidence to execute simply food at the highest level. So for every video, I create there are already like a thousand other videos I have to compete with for every single topic I cover. The market is saturated, and it covers the spectrum of talent, from grandmas to Michelin star chefs to celebrity chefs to youtube stars. So I guess the way I stand out is when everyone else is jumping trying to get attention, I’m standing still focused on one thing, making sure more people are cooking today with confidence than there was yesterday.So I guess the way I stand out is when everyone else is jumping trying to get attention, I’m standing still focused on one thing. — Steve CusatoQuestion: What are the key actions you took or possibly didn’t do to grind through the slow phase and eventually hit that exponential growth in subscribers?Answer: You just can’t stop. Once you know you’re on the right path, you just keep going and trying to evolve and trying new things. Eventually, you stumble upon something. In my case, it was pasta. Often it’s the thing you love the most that takes you where you need to be. My care and love for making pasta lead me to make the best pasta videos I can and therefore lead to my growth. Making the best thing you can with what you have is the most important thing. I have to say, the feedback, in the beginning, does keep you going. And In my case, seeing people making my recipes was fuel to keep going even when it was slow. And I will say, every time I was at my lowest, thinking this is going nowhere, was when I’d see a spike. So you need to just show up and keep showing up, keep sharing your knowledge and keep improving, and you may just get there too.Often it’s the thing you love the most that takes you where you need to be. — Steve CusatoQuestion: If you could give one piece of advice to someone trying to build a following on any social platform, what would it be?Answer: Think like a producer, act like a

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creator. Approach the project with the severity you would if Netflix hired you to produce a show, but then when you go to produce it, produce it in a way that is authentic and is something the youtube audience will embrace. Too many people take the principles of TV and apply it to the internet. But TV stars can’t make the transition for a reason. They require different muscles. They are used to being the talent. Youtubers are the talents AND the crew. You can see it now. When production shut down due to COVID, you could clearly see that “talent” had no idea how to be “creators”. No matter how much money or resources these famous people had, their shows fell apart once their traditional production model fell apart. Be an expert at all disciplines of the production. Approaching it this way will translate to the viewer; the audience will see you are sincere, hardworking, and care about them. Those who are in it for fame and money will not make it; those who have a reason for existing and then execute on that reason will see longevity. As long as I focus on making sure more people are cooking today than there was yesterday, I’m confident I will continue to grow and see my vision materialize.Think like a producer, act like a creator. — Steve Cusato<h2 id="209b">Three Key Takeaways</h2>There are so many great insights to take away from this, but I will limit it to three in hopes that you can choose what works for you.<ol><li>You don’t have to follow the trends. The way to build a genuine following is to be yourself. Be authentic. If your content is good enough, your tribe will find you. It just takes patience.</li><li>Find your strengths and keep showing up to grind each day. For me, it’s all about reaching out to others to gain information that I can pass along. That is my strength. I am not afraid of being turned down. In the end, if I can help my readers, that is all that matters.</li><li>Our individuality is a superpower. As a writer, you a unique voice. Use it to create content that no one else can. Too many times, we think that we don’t have the resources that other more established writers or entities do. This can be a strength, not a weakness. We are not boxed in by any constraints or guidelines. Use this to your advantage.</li></ol>I hope you enjoyed this story and cannot thank Steve enough for taking the time to share his knowledge. Together, we make each other better — one follower at a time.</article></body>

Meet The Man Behind One of YouTube’s Fastest Growing Channels

With over 240,000 subscribers, his recipe for success will help you build a following on any platform.

Image Courtesy of Author on Picsart.com. Original Photo Via notanothercookingshow.tv

The biggest struggle you’ll encounter as a creator on any platform is gaining a loyal following of people to consume your work. From reading the stories of those that have succeeded, you’ll find a consistent message — it takes time, effort, and a little luck.

To help my readers last week, I reached out to other successful writers to get their take on overcoming the initial doubts and excuses that plague us all. The story already helped some, as noted in the comments. It made me proud.

But I wanted to do something more for my readers. As stated in the past, I don’t have all the answers. I, like many of you, am new to the game. So once again, I did what I always do.

I asked for help.

Steve Cusato is the man behind Not Another Cooking Show, one of YouTube’s fastest-growing channels with over 240,000 subscribers since its launch in February 2018. For perspective, there were already 50 million users creating shared content in June of 2018, according to The Omnicore Agency.

So how was it that a man with nothing but a camera, a cutting board and a knife could build that large of a following in the already crowded space that is YouTube cooking channels? For our sake, I had to find out.

I reached out to Steve through email with some questions, hoping to get a few quick tips to make our own goals a little more attainable. What I got back was a whole lot more. His in-depth answers will leave you inspired and ready to build your legion of followers, no matter where you plan to go. Enjoy.

My Q&A With Steve Cusato

Question: What was your biggest obstacle in building your 240K+ following on Youtube?

Answer: The biggest obstacle for me is the fact that I generally don’t chase buzzy or trendy foods, my goal is to teach people who severely lack confidence and know-how in the kitchen and flip that around quickly so that they have the fundamentals and the confidence to execute simply food at the highest level. So for every video, I create there are already like a thousand other videos I have to compete with for every single topic I cover. The market is saturated, and it covers the spectrum of talent, from grandmas to Michelin star chefs to celebrity chefs to youtube stars. So I guess the way I stand out is when everyone else is jumping trying to get attention, I’m standing still focused on one thing, making sure more people are cooking today with confidence than there was yesterday.

So I guess the way I stand out is when everyone else is jumping trying to get attention, I’m standing still focused on one thing. — Steve Cusato

Question: What are the key actions you took or possibly didn’t do to grind through the slow phase and eventually hit that exponential growth in subscribers?

Answer: You just can’t stop. Once you know you’re on the right path, you just keep going and trying to evolve and trying new things. Eventually, you stumble upon something. In my case, it was pasta. Often it’s the thing you love the most that takes you where you need to be. My care and love for making pasta lead me to make the best pasta videos I can and therefore lead to my growth. Making the best thing you can with what you have is the most important thing. I have to say, the feedback, in the beginning, does keep you going. And In my case, seeing people making my recipes was fuel to keep going even when it was slow. And I will say, every time I was at my lowest, thinking this is going nowhere, was when I’d see a spike. So you need to just show up and keep showing up, keep sharing your knowledge and keep improving, and you may just get there too.

Often it’s the thing you love the most that takes you where you need to be. — Steve Cusato

Question: If you could give one piece of advice to someone trying to build a following on any social platform, what would it be?

Answer: Think like a producer, act like a creator. Approach the project with the severity you would if Netflix hired you to produce a show, but then when you go to produce it, produce it in a way that is authentic and is something the youtube audience will embrace. Too many people take the principles of TV and apply it to the internet. But TV stars can’t make the transition for a reason. They require different muscles. They are used to being the talent. Youtubers are the talents AND the crew. You can see it now. When production shut down due to COVID, you could clearly see that “talent” had no idea how to be “creators”. No matter how much money or resources these famous people had, their shows fell apart once their traditional production model fell apart. Be an expert at all disciplines of the production. Approaching it this way will translate to the viewer; the audience will see you are sincere, hardworking, and care about them. Those who are in it for fame and money will not make it; those who have a reason for existing and then execute on that reason will see longevity. As long as I focus on making sure more people are cooking today than there was yesterday, I’m confident I will continue to grow and see my vision materialize.

Think like a producer, act like a creator. — Steve Cusato

Three Key Takeaways

There are so many great insights to take away from this, but I will limit it to three in hopes that you can choose what works for you.

You don’t have to follow the trends. The way to build a genuine following is to be yourself. Be authentic. If your content is good enough, your tribe will find you. It just takes patience.
Find your strengths and keep showing up to grind each day. For me, it’s all about reaching out to others to gain information that I can pass along. That is my strength. I am not afraid of being turned down. In the end, if I can help my readers, that is all that matters.
Our individuality is a superpower. As a writer, you a unique voice. Use it to create content that no one else can. Too many times, we think that we don’t have the resources that other more established writers or entities do. This can be a strength, not a weakness. We are not boxed in by any constraints or guidelines. Use this to your advantage.

I hope you enjoyed this story and cannot thank Steve enough for taking the time to share his knowledge. Together, we make each other better — one follower at a time.