This read feels long, so I’ll keep the reflection short. The other day, I told my toddler to breathe to calm down, and she replied, “I don’t want to breathe.” It made me chuckle, but also reminded me how often we resist the very thing that could calm us and give us a sense of peace, something I realized applies to my own life as I navigate unemployment. I talk more about this in my new YouTube video, The Unemployed Guilty Trap (And How to Escape It), where I share what it’s like to feel guilty for relaxing or enjoying life while laid off, and how to move forward without carrying that guilt. I’d love for you to watch, leave a comment, and let me know what you think, if it’s something you’re interested in!
🌀 In My Head About It
I have been deep in the audiobook, Iron Flame by Rebecca Yarros, book #2 of the Empyrean Series. It’s a magical love child from a threesome (‼️) between Harry Potter, Hunger Games, and Game of Thrones. A few notes:
I may lowkey be a fantasy girlie. This book captured my attention the same way the Harry Potter summer releases did.
Harry Potter served as a major distraction from life during the 2000s. The Empyrean Series serves the same purpose today. It is one of the best distractions from the real world while also closely mirroring the real world, especially due to the political lies and unrest. I stay for the character development, the primary plots (surviving year one of War College, discovering and dealing with the real war threatening their kingdom), and the subplots (romances, friendships, rivalries, etc.). I need a well-cast, well-directed movie series asap!
🎨 Creative Tingz
While I grow my YouTube channel, I'm focused on building a genuine community. People speak about the algorithm as if it has a mind of its own. What’s funny is, we haven’t seen anything yet. As technology and society continue to change and evolve, the algorithm will change accordingly (per usual). My strategy is to build for the future with these core principles guiding me:
1. The North Star: Build a Brand, Not Just a Library
The biggest shift in my thinking is that people subscribe to people, not just topics. These are the things I’m paying attention to:
Develop a Unique Style: I'm consciously thinking about my editing, music, and on-screen presence to create a consistent and recognizable vibe that’s…me.
Embrace the Power of Series & Playlists: Never in all my years of being alive would I think about creating “bingeable” content for viewers. Am I Netflix, or…? But this sounds like a fun challenge.
Be Unapologetically Me: “Authentic” and “being unapologetically you” might be played out term-wise, but the sentiment is timeless. Questions that I asked myself: What are the insecurities that may be holding me back? How can I push through those insecurities, let my guard down, and let my unique humor and perspective shine through? What is my story? How can I weave that into videos in a creative way that tells the audience more about me? What am I comfortable sharing?
I had to remember that I’m not for everybody and everybody is not for me, and that is ok. The end result is my niche. Something that no one else can copy.
2. The Algorithm is Evolving: From Topic-Matching to…Vibing
The current advice is to stick to being consistent and focus on one topic. The new reality is that the algorithm is getting better and better at understanding context (using tone, pacing, emotional resonance, etc.), not just keywords. It’s starting to match the vibe, not just the topic, to help course-correct the silos that people are currently in. I want to be intentional about creating a consistent feeling, knowing that this is how the algorithm will connect me with the right audience in the future.
3. Community, Driver of the New Algorithm
Watch time is king for distribution, but community engagement is evolving into king for promotion.
The Change: YouTube is starting to weigh activity in the Community tab (posts, polls, etc.) as a primary indicator of a channel's health.
The Societal Mirror: This taps into the basic human need for belonging (hey, Maslow), not just passive consumption.
My Action Plan: Once I can begin doing so, I'm committing to using the Community tab to build relationships between uploads.
4. The Practical Foundations: Focus & Metrics
All the big-picture thinking needs to be grounded in practical first steps.
Start Narrow to Grow Broad: For my first 20-30 videos, I'm practicing extreme topical focus to build my "library shelf." This teaches the algorithm and my audience who I am. Once trust is built, I can pivot with my audience into adjacent topics. I’m starting with a few subtopics inspired by my layoff, but looking forward to integrating other things that I’m passionate about.
Analyze the Right Data: I'm learning to focus on metrics that matter:
Retention Rate 👑: A good benchmark is 50-60% average view duration. Below 30% means I need to work on my hook and pacing. I have one video so far that’s around the 30% retention mark. It’s interesting to look at the data to figure out what’s working and what’s not, where people drop off on the retention graph, etc.
Traffic Sources: Where is my audience coming from?
Currently enjoying the journey of figuring it out and tying all the things together. It’s interesting, in the best way! 😄
💭 One Thing Before You Go…
If you had nothing joyful planned for this weekend (even if it’s something small), I hope you take this as a sign to add it to your agenda 🙂
