My First Year On YouTube: Honest Reflections, Surprises & Stats

stevenm19
Apr 22
5 min read

Just over a year ago, I took the plunge and hit publish on my first YouTube video. I'm pretty sure my thoughts at the time were not dissimilar to other so-called 'NewTubers':

What if no one watches it?
What if people do watch it… and hate it?
Am I engaging enough?
Did I sound awkward or fake?
What if I made a mistake and someone calls me out?
This thumbnail looks terrible.
I need a better camera and microphone (maybe I should’ve waited until I had a better setup).
Is this even valuable to anyone?

That list shows how insecure I was at first about taking this step. But that's the thing I've come to realise about trying new things - you will be terrible when you're just starting out. I just needed to get more reps in. And so over the last 12 months, I've tried to do just that.

My dashboard at this moment shows 53,482 views, 1,668 hours of watch time, and 392 subscribers. Not bad, but by no means 'successful' by YouTube standards.

So in this post, I’m breaking down my journey so far: what I’ve learned, what's surprised me, and how I’m using these insights to shape my next year of making content.

Why I Wasn't (That) Successful

Back in April 2024, my goal was (and still is) to make educational technology accessible to everyone through a mix of practical guides and inspiring ideas. At the time, I set some loose goals for myself:

Post consistently
Grow an audience
Improve my filmmaking skills

I thought my growth might have been a bit quicker, but it turned out to be a slow and steady climb.

The spikes mostly represent my dabbles into YouTube Shorts - they tend to get more views but over a very short period

Why I fell short of my expectations

I didn't post consistently enough

While I've aimed for regular uploads, life and work have got in the way more often than I expected. I've averaged about one long-form video every 12 days, with some big gaps (as of today it's been 3 weeks since my last upload - I'll be addressing that this weekend...!)

I didn't consider my audience enough

Early on, I was making videos based on what I wanted to share, not necessarily what my target viewers were searching for or struggling with. It took time to realise that solving specific problems for a clear audience is what drives growth.

I didn't leave my comfort zone

I stuck to formats and topics I was comfortable with - mostly tutorials using screen recordings. I avoided showing more of me, experimenting with storytelling, or engaging with behind-the-scenes type content that could have helped build connection.

My Updated Goals

Be More Consistent

I'd like to build a sustainable and realistic upload rhythm. I know I don’t need to post every week to grow, but I do need to show up regularly. This might mean planning and filming in monthly batches, or setting aside one focused day a week to work on videos. Even just reducing those big gaps between uploads will help keep the momentum going.

Focus on My Audience

The videos that answered a question or solved a problem build a better connection with the audience. Moving forward, I'll be trying to shape my content around what educators and tech users are actually looking for. Helping real people with real challenges will be my guiding focus.

Leave My Comfort Zone

I’d like to share more of my personality and try new formats, whether that’s behind-the-scenes content, quick YouTube Shorts, or more personal storytelling. That means taking a few more creative risks and letting people see the person behind the screen on a personal level.

2 Things That Surprised Me

Content > Visuals

My third ever video was the first part of a series of videos on using Google Sheets for iPad and still remains my best performing video on the channel, with 13K views, 11% CTR (click through rate) and 16% of my total subscribers coming directly from it. I still think my thumbnail sucks, the pace is slow and the sound quality could be a lot better, but hey, I'll take it. My analysis: practical, tool-based content for iPad users is in demand, and that value beats flashy production.

My third ever video still has the most views by far.

The more specific, the better

The data from my dashboard paints a clear picture: niche, hands-on iPad tutorials are well outperforming other generic content (like my videos on AI and AR). iPad tools are generally not covered as much as desktop ones and so there appears to be a demand for my Google Sheets and iMovie series aimed at iPad users.

How My Workflow Has Evolved

In the beginning, each video felt all-consuming and incredibly labour intensive. Now, I’m streamlining and refining where I see opportunities. Here’s how things have changed:

Planning: I used to script every part of every video, which resulted in a less engaging experience for the viewer. Now I try to just outline key sections and speak naturally (editing out the pauses and parts where I inevitably mess up!)

Filming: When I started out, the filming process was as simple as setting up my phone camera, hitting record and creating a screen recording on my iPad or Mac simultaneously. I'd read out my script one sentence at a time, word-for-word. These days, I use my planned outline as a starting point for recording something that's (hopefully) more natural and engaging for the viewer. To record activity on my screen, I've now started using Screen Studio, which is a game changer for creating dynamic content!

Editing: Last year I was using iMovie or Canva to edit my videos. I'm now on CapCut, which has a ton of visual effects, filters and transitions to choose from. I'm continuing to refine my editing techniques with each new video.

Screen Studio automatically zooms in on your cursor, increases the cursor size and smooths its movements.

Repurposing Content

Once I've uploaded a new video to YouTube, I try to think about how I can share the same content in other formats, including:

Instagram Reels / YouTube Shorts
Email newsletters or blog posts on my website / LinkedIn
Reddit posts in suitable communities

This hopefully allows me to reach different audiences where they already are. For example, I’ll take a 60-second tip or takeaway from the video and turn it into a short, vertical-format clip for Instagram or YouTube Shorts. Then I might pull a few key insights or a step-by-step breakdown to share in an email newsletter or blog post with extra context and links. When it makes sense, I’ll can join relevant conversations in Reddit communities and share the video as a helpful resource and as part of a genuine answer. I try to make the most of each piece of content, rather than starting from scratch every time.

Closing

Looking back on the last year, I’m pretty proud of steadily building a library of helpful, practical videos. Niche content is definitely the way to go, and that clarity and usefulness matter far more than polished production. I'm hoping to now simplify my workflow a little more, and definitely stress less about getting everything perfect!

Have you visited my channel before? I’d love to know which videos you found most useful!