Top Takeaways from VidSummit

Let’s just say right out of the gate: the best moment of VidSummit was when Colin and Samir passed 1 million subscribers live on stage. It was completely unplanned and closed out the event with an uproar.

Apart from that crazy and wild time, VidSummit was an informative two days where creators large and small heard from top-performing YouTubers about how to grow their channel, build multiple revenue streams and create a better workflow.

It was my first YouTuber conference and my favorite part was meeting creators from around the globe—a VTuber from Nevada, an artist from Australia, an editor from the UK.

I got to see a snapshot of the creator space, which was interesting to witness IRL—it skewed young, male, and mostly white.

With over five keynotes and about a dozen talks in between, there was a lot of ground covered. Here are some of our top learnings.

Thumbnails are a BFD

A year ago, there weren’t full-time thumbnail designers or creators that made thumbnails their whole brand, but the YouTube sub niche has blown up over the last year, and for good reason. “If you leave here obsessed with thumbnails your channel will be in a different place next year,” Ryan Trahan said. “It accounts for 80% of success on your channel.” Here are some top tips about the most consequential images on YouTube:

• The idea of your video is the most important part. A thumbnail can never make up for a bad idea. That said, how you frame the idea is important. The goal is to evoke curiosity and get your viewers' attention long enough for them to interpret, understand, and make a decision based on what you present.

• Create contrast. Whatever look dominates on YouTube, try the opposite so it’ll stand out. That will likely involve using large sections of color-blocking.

• When someone’s face is core to the design, resist the urge to use exaggerated, crazy expressions—respect your audience’s intelligence by offering a more realistic, subtle expression.

Focus on story

We’ve heard time and again that “story is everything,” and “idea is king”—but what does that actually mean? How do you apply it? Hayden Hillier-Smith shared the recipe for his editing style.

Videos need to focus on three things: story, emotion, and rhythm.

Where is it going? How should I feel? What is the flow? If a video doesn’t answer those questions, go back to the drawing board.

He uses Pixar’s Inside Out as a chart of emotions to touch on throughout a video—joy, sadness, disgust, fear, and anger.

• To convey fear, you can slow down cuts and desaturate the colors to make it feel like something has been taken away.

• For anger, use high-tension elements like hard-hitting drums, the color red and fast-paced music.

• Happiness can be conveyed through upbeat music, bright colors, and a juxtaposition of shots.

“An editor needs to make the audience feel the same way as the creator. Not an observer, but the main character,” Hillier-Smith said.

More work doesn’t make for a longer career

Career sustainability and longevity was a common theme, with speakers addressing the frequent problem of burnout. “It’s better to operate at 80% over decades than at 120% and burnout,” Dhar Mann said.

Ryan Trahan demonstrated that by showing his work calendar this year compared to last year. Even though he worked less this year, he uploaded more videos and had a higher view count than in 2021. “It’s important to have balance and rest so you can bring restoration to others through your work,” Trahan said. “I also edited down my employees, building a small team I trust and love.” Ironically, with less (but higher quality) employees, his productivity increased.

For Dhar Mann, to combat burnout, hiring was his solution. Production essentials (research, editing, graphics, color correction) can be hard to move around, but when hiring someone you are removing one piece of that workflow that you need to be a part of. “As you start eliminating yourself from positions you’ll start to do the job you’re focusing on exceptionally well and the quality of content will go up.”

As some creators work best with less, and some with more, it comes down to your leadership and workflow style to determine what operations are best for you.

The next Big YouTuber will be a triple threat

With the introduction of Shorts monetization, YouTube is aiming to be an all-in-one platform for Shorts, long-form and livestreams. YouTube’s creator liaison Rene Ritchie said creators should see Shorts as a funnel to feed into their longform content. Shorts serve as the discovery mechanism, long-form drives views, and livestream builds community. “Everyone is going to be multi-format in the future,” Ritchie said.

During MrBeast’s Q&A he had a similar prediction. “The next big YouTubers will be the ones that leverage short and long form. It’s not just either/or,” MrBeast said. “Over the next year, now that the financial incentive is there, we’ll get the Ryan Trahan’s and the Airracks of Shorts.”

Our Take

This year’s VidSummit reflected the massive growth the creator economy has experienced over the last year, with more attendees and more specialists in disciplines like editing and thumbnails. As the career of being a creator becomes more professionalized, we expect to see these focused vocations manifest through more diversified channels, with multiple revenue streams and creators prioritizing the quality of their uploads over the frequency.

Sponsored by Jellysmack

This Is a Reminder...

That your views, likes, and subscribers are not a measure of your self-worth.

As a creator, you’re much more than any metric.

We’re saying this because sometimes it’s easy to forget. And with World Mental Health Day coming up on October 10, Jellysmack wants to do their part in reminding you, too.

In an article for the Creator Post, Jellysmack connected with fellow creators who got real about their own ups and downs.

“It’s not always easy to be the bright, vibrant person that everybody turns to for a laugh,” says reaction queen Charlotte Dobre in the piece. “Just understanding that it’s bigger than you and knowing that it’s just not about me, it’s about the people who watch, is what helps me get out of bed every morning and create.”

Read the article in the Creator Post for more mental health tips from Charlotte and other creators. And make sure to sign up for their newsletter for similar posts in the future.

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