Why I started a YouTube Channel

I started a youtube Channel!  I’ve been debating whether or not to do so for a while, but I wanted to make sure I did it right. With the release of this blog and this video, I’m now going to be releasing around One video a week, and maybe more in the future.  Why am I doing this?  You can read on to find out, or just watch the video below.

There’s this misconception that youtube is for amateurs and people who haven’t found their way into the real film industry yet.  So I’ve already had a decent level of success in film, why am I starting one? While there is a bit of truth behind that misconception, the notion is outdated.  It’s best to view YouTube as it’s own social media platform, where some things work and others don’t.  After all, if Will Smith isn’t too big for youtube, there’s no universe in which I would be.

All of that only answers why not start a youtube channel, but I still haven’t stated why.  After all, I am busy with my work with film representation and distribution, writing blogs and books, speaking, appearing on podcasts, and more.  How is it worth my time to start a YouTube Channel?  Well, here are the 5 reasons I’m doing it. 
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I practice what I preach

Steve Lack: Audio
Donald Evans

Ashley P.
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Judah J.

Clever Username

I’m continually advising my clients to expand their social media presence.  If you don’t build a brand and a community around your work, you won’t be able to build a sustainable career in the film industry at this present time.  YouTube can be fantastic for engaging with your community, and can be a great tool for building your online presence. 
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Experimentation is necessary for growth

In order to grow your independent film career, you need to take risks and experiment.  Some of them end great, others end terribly.  The only thing you can do is to keep trying and measure your results as you do.  In lean methodology, this is summarized in the build, measure, learn feedback loop.  If you don’t build it and test it, you’ll never figure out what works. 
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Social media is constantly changing.

Pretty much any serious user of any social media platform knows that all of the major platforms are constantly changing.  Facebook and LinkedIn recently changed their Functionality of their share tools, so I’m looking for more ways to get in front of eyeballs. The other thing here is that diversification of the platforms you put out content for will help you make sure that your presence remains strong even if certain platforms change in a way that adversely effects you. 
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I’ve been blogging for a long time, but not everyone has time to read as much as they’d like.

At this point, my collection of blogs and books is fairly vast.  I believe I’ve written around 170 individual blogs across various platforms plus 3 books over my time writing.  While I did make one audiobook, These Vlogs and livestreams are likely to be something you can listen to as much as watch, at least to start.  That may change over time, as it’s likely I’ll start to implement graphics into the videos if this gets enough traction. 
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My life goal is to make the Film Industry a Sustainable investment class.

​That may sound like a complete non-sequiter, but a HUGE barrier to that is filmmakers not understanding business.  By helping to make the knowledge filmmakers need to build their own sustainable careers and companies practically ubiquitous, we can help overcome the knowledge gap and move closer to that goal.  Until Alex Ferrari’s FilmTrepreneur came along, very few people were doing this on YouTube, despite there being a dirty of knowledge related to filmmaking.

So that’s why I started a youtube channel.  Thanks for reading, but next time you should probably watch the video and listen to it.  If you like the idea, check out my channel, subscribe, and ring the notification bell so you know when I drop a video.  You can find that via the button below.  Also, if you’re super psyched about this, please share this post or any of the videos themselves.  It definitely helps.  See you Next week!
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