I read this and thought “my work here is done 🙂 Of course, it’s not always positive feedback. Occasionally passing viewers feel it necessary to tell me how my videos *should* be shorter, or better edited or filmed differently…and so on. I often reply – as politely as I can – that while it may not be obvious to them, my videos are in fact doing exactly what I want them to do. Why then would I change them? Just to please you? Their assumption is that, as a content-maker, I’m trying to please them – but the truth is, I’m absolutely NOT. I know who my market is, the value I’m giving them AND the return I get back from that market.
The reality is that people who don’t like the length / style / lack of editing in my videos aren’t my target market. This is not a convenient coincidence; I planned it to be this way. Being clear about who my target market is (and isn’t) allows me to say “Hey, no problem – I’m probably not the right channel / guitar tech for you” without any bad feeling. I’ve learned that as long as I make the right content for my target market (and don’t compromise chasing likes from everyone) I get everything I need from my channel and content.
As it happens, my channel brings me two main things:
1) new customers for my set up / refurb services who have already decided that they trust & want me to work on their guitars (my primary goal)
2) about $175 a month ad revenue (a nice bonus!)
Ultimately, positive feedback is – for me – just nice; icing on the cake and I want it (and ad revenue) to stay that way. Should I ever find myself chasing likes and ad revenue, I’ll be en-route to a world of clickbait and my ego will be in danger of being sucked into a black hole from which there’s no escape. Best avoid – and the best way to avoid it is to know your market, the benefit you bring it and why…and stick to doing that.
When viewers are kind enough to take the time to thank me for sharing my experience I’m able to keep their words in perspective. “I’m very glad that you found something useful in this video…” is my honest reply.