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Questioning what ever occurred to Bam Margera? Inquisitive about Waka Flocka’s life story? Head over to Patrick Cc: on YouTube and yow will discover out. With over 1.2 million subscribers, Patrick Cc: affords deep-dive documentaries about among the most controversial and mysterious figures in music and popular culture. We had an opportunity to speak with Patrick about his inventive course of and his strategy to working a profitable YouTube channel.
Patrick Cc:
Subscribers: 1.21M
Uploads: 316
Video views: 164,848,724
Content material sort: Leisure
Person created: Aug 4th, 2017
Scratching the inventive itch
Earlier than beginning the Patrick Cc: YouTube channel, Patrick made music.
“I was making electronic music and trying to basically become a DJ producer,” Patrick tells us. “And, long story short, didn’t really work out the way that I wanted it to.” It was a busy time in his life. He had simply transferred to Rutgers College, and pursuing music couldn’t be a precedence. Patrick knew he needed to concentrate on faculty and work. On the similar time, although, he nonetheless wanted one thing to scratch his inventive itch. That’s when he turned to YouTube.
“I was just a fan of YouTube — I was a YouTube watcher. I never had any, like, intentions of being a creator myself,” Patrick says, “but when I needed a hobby, essentially a creative hobby, I was like, you know what, why don’t I just try this out?”
Patrick began a channel along with his then-girlfriend the place they posted foolish movies they made collectively. Although this primary channel didn’t work out in the long run, it did assist Patrick uncover a brand new inventive outlet: video modifying.
“I kind of like fell in love with the process again,” he explains, “because I loved making music, and I only quit because I had to make, like, the adult decision to quit. Basically, it was responsible for me to quit making music, but my passion was still there. But once I’ve like started editing videos, I was like, ‘wow, this is just as fun.’”
Patrick factors out the various parallels between music manufacturing and video modifying: “It’s the same kind of idea. You’re starting with an open canvas and you can create something.” He discovered a brand new ardour. “I think I actually liked editing more than filming and making videos,” he tells us.
It was this love of modifying that propelled Patrick into making extra video content material: “Once I fell in love with editing, I was just like, ‘okay, I need to make stuff to edit.’”
The early days of Patrick Cc:
Patrick began his essential Patrick Cc: channel in early 2018. To start with, he didn’t have excessive expectations for the channel. He actually didn’t see it changing into a full-time gig. “I knew in the back of my mind that it was possible,” Patrick recollects. “I knew that people were making money on YouTube and you could do it full-time. Like, I think people were well aware of that at the time. But I, you know, I didn’t think it was gonna happen to me.”
Impressed by fashionable YouTubers like Casey Neistat, Patrick tried his hand at vlogging. “It was during the 2016-2017 vlog era of YouTube, so I was, like, really into that. But my life wasn’t exciting enough.”
For the primary few months of the Patrick Cc: channel, Patrick uploaded no matter he needed at any time when it was prepared. However this wasn’t serving to his channel develop. “I realized,” he tells us, “that, like, you’re never gonna get any momentum by doing that.”
First, he concluded that he wanted to stay to a extra constant schedule if he actually needed to develop as a creator. “I knew that I just had to pick a rate of upload.” Nevertheless, there was one other issue that he believes was holding him again.
The significance of discovering a distinct segment
“I actually met someone through YouTube who was an artist. He was a musician, and basically, he told me … ‘you need to only make music content.’ And I was like, ‘yeah, but I don’t want to be boxed in.’” His good friend insisted that Patrick’s music content material was his greatest stuff. He even prompt that Patrick might be the subsequent Anthony Fantano, music critic and host of the extraordinarily fashionable and influential YouTube channel, The Needle Drop.
“That wasn’t necessarily my goal,” Patrick says, reflecting on the praise, “but I was like, ‘he is right.’” On the time, Patrick Cc: nonetheless solely had round 100 subscribers, and Patrick was posting all kinds of content material. “My normal videos would get like 60 views,” he says, “and then my music-related videos would get like 150 views. So I knew that he was right.” Patrick’s information of music manufacturing and perception into the music trade offers him a novel perspective that has clearly resonated along with his followers. But, this wasn’t apparent to him: “It took somebody to be like, “Yo, just focus on this. Don’t worry about getting boxed in. Like you can worry about other stuff later.”
In the long run, Patrick credit his speedy development to conserving a constant add schedule and specializing in a distinct segment. “And I kind of got lucky. It happened really fast actually, but I had no expectations.”
Discovering what works
Regardless of having drastically narrowed his channel’s focus, Patrick nonetheless sees a constant through-line from his earliest content material to immediately. “Funny enough,” he says, “if you really, really dissect my very first video I uploaded, which is basically a channel intro type of thing, if you really dissect it, I’m kind of just talking gibberish.”
Wanting again at that first video now, he sees a child who has no concept what he desires to do. Nevertheless, one factor is obvious: Patrick is extra fascinated with different folks’s tales than his personal. “It’s like I’m kind of doing exactly what I set out to do,” he tells us, “I never really made my channel about me, and I said that in my first video ever … In a weird way, I think my content has always kind of been the same. I know that sounds crazy, but it’s always kind of had this, like, general theme of music and pop culture.”
Patrick’s private pursuits affect solely about 20 p.c of the content material on the Patrick Cc: channel. The remainder is content material he thinks different folks will probably be fascinated with.
“I think that’s a really good standard,” Patrick says, “because I treat YouTube kind of like a business. I know that some people treat it as a passion piece … if it’s your passion piece, do whatever the heck you want. But I think if you have employees and you have an operation, which is what I have now, you have to treat it like a business.”
Patrick reminds us which means typically making sacrifices, and on this case, which means balancing what performs nicely and what’s most attention-grabbing to him: “20 percent is just stuff that I’m interested in, I want to talk about, and I just hope that it does well — and sometimes it really does. But a lot of the time, the stuff that I really want to talk about doesn’t perform as well.”
For Patrick, conserving the Patrick Cc: channel working is extra vital than indulging his private whims: “As much as my channel is named after me, like, I have to make money so I can pay my people.”
What the folks need
To determine what audiences wish to watch, Patrick turns to social media. “I just spend an insane amount of time on social media, mostly Instagram,” Patrick admits. “I feel like Instagram is a really good way to find the balance between what are, at least in my niche, what are, quote-unquote, normal people talking about — like your everyday Instagram users — and what are … other content creators talking about.” Patrick warns in opposition to focusing an excessive amount of on the thrill inside content material creator circles. In spite of everything, nearly all of your viewers aren’t content material creators; they’re simply common folks with their very own pursuits. He says social media is invaluable in discovering developments and exploring what’s fashionable and why.
“A lot of people mindlessly scroll on social media. I don’t. I, like, really pay attention to everything.” Patrick particulars how he dissects feedback sections and cross-checks numerous platforms to grasp the deeper motivations behind rising developments.
Alongside along with his personal social media analysis, Patrick additionally makes use of the key phrase analysis software VidIQ to observe developments. “You can search any keyword and it’ll show you, you know, how many people are searching for that particular thing [and] other things that people are searching for in relation to that thing,” he explains. Patrick additionally makes use of Google Tendencies to see what matters are fashionable for the time being.
Lastly, Patrick faucets into the YouTube zeitgeist instantly by way of the search bar autocomplete perform: “A lot of people use YouTube to search questions … You need to find stuff that people are searching for and then you need to find stuff that is interesting to watch. It’s like a balance of like entertainment and then also providing like some value, right?”
The place each Patrick Cc: video begins
Patrick collects all of his potential video concepts right into a spreadsheet he’s stored going all through his YouTube profession. Typically, entries are so simple as an individual’s title. Different instances, Patrick will write down a extra particular idea. “Here’s a more specific example: ‘How Napster almost crumbled the music industry.’ That’s a story that I know very little about … but I was like, ‘That kind of sounds like a good title.’ I’ll write that there and maybe one day I’ll explore that.”
Patrick emphasizes the significance of a very good title and thumbnail: “I think if you know what the title’s gonna be and what you envision for the thumbnail, I think you have a banger. Because as funny as it sounds, the video is the third most important because nobody’s gonna see your video if they don’t click.” In his expertise, understanding the title and thumbnail prematurely normally results in a stronger video.
Brainstorming is the very starting of the manufacturing course of. As soon as he selects a subject, Patrick begins his analysis. “I watch a lot of podcasts related to a subject or just hunt for articles online,” he says, “Again, just using those keyword searches, trying to find any coverage.”
The manufacturing course of
Patrick nonetheless does the entire analysis himself, however as Patrick Cc: has grown, he’s employed on assist for among the different components of manufacturing.
“At first, I just did everything. I think that’s very important. I think every creator needs to do everything all the way down the line,” Patrick advises. “Starting day one, learn how to make the thumbnails, learn how to edit the videos, learn how to write the scripts, learn how to do everything yourself first.” His subsequent piece of recommendation is a little more shocking.
“A lot of people would say whatever part you’re the worst at, outsource. But I think, whatever part you’re the best at, outsource because then you’ll be able to teach somebody really, really well.” He offers an instance: “I hired basically my best friend to work for me, and I hired him as an editor. But I loved editing and I still love editing, but I knew that I could teach him that the fastest, right?” Patrick theorizes that handing off the less-enjoyable jobs would simply make him complacent with the outcomes. “But with editing,” he says, “since I loved it so much, I was very detailed and very specific about what I wanted and that made him a phenomenal editor … So three years ago, he started working for me and now he can, he can edit faster than me for sure.”
Over time, Patrick has expanded his crew to incorporate three editors. He additionally will get assist with writing scripts and creating thumbnails.
The Patrick Cc: channel is a enterprise
Patrick views YouTube as a enterprise, and a part of that enterprise is getting viewers to look at his movies. That’s why he has one editor completely dedicated to creating intros whereas his different two editors cut up the remainder of every video’s runtime. “It’s kind of commonly known that the intro is like your hook,” Patrick says, “And I think that it’s very important to convince the viewer that this video is worth watching.”
So what makes a very good intro? Patrick begins by telling us what to not do: “Never, ever, ever, ever summarize your video in the intro.” He says this can be a widespread mistake on YouTube, nevertheless it simply offers your viewers an excuse to click on off your video sooner. “The viewer’s like, ‘Okay, I got all the information I need, I’m gonna go.’” Clearly, this isn’t what you need. “I need to give them enough information to convince them that this story or this video is worth watching all the way through.” It’s a steadiness, Patrick reminds us. “I can’t summarize exactly what happens because then it’s basically like watching a TikTok.”
To draw viewers, Patrick suggests contemplating your personal YouTube habits. ”You see a title on a thumbnail you want, you click on. What number of instances have you ever clicked off that video inside the first 5 seconds? Since you’re like, ‘Yeah, this wasn’t what I assumed.’ … When you actually begin to concentrate, you do this on a regular basis.“
Working with the algorithm
There’s, after all, one other think about whether or not or not a video finds success: the YouTube algorithm. “YouTube likes when you do the same thing over and over again … I know anybody can relate to this. You watched two videos on puppies and all of a sudden your whole recommendation [feed] is puppies.”
Patrick used to see YouTube’s algorithm as a limitation, however now he embraces it: “Now, I used to think, ‘Well, screw that. I’m gonna do whatever I want.’ But you can’t fight the beast. Like, the thing about being a successful creator is you have to adapt. If YouTube wants to start doing this, you have to adapt to that.” He says anybody engaged on YouTube as a interest ought to simply do need they need, however Patrick is working a profitable enterprise. “I’ve realized over the years, when you do something really well, YouTube wants you to do more of that, and chances are the audience does, too.”
He tells us his technique for appeasing the beast: “What I attempt to do is, make a chunk of content material. As soon as I discover out that it does nicely, okay, how can I simply take that, add slightly twist — slightly twist so I don’t go insane for making the identical factor over once more time and again, and the viewer doesn’t really feel like I’m simply repeating this similar content material.
“You’re gonna get higher click-through rates, you’re gonna get better recommendations, and then if you can turn that into your whole channel — which is very difficult, I’m making it sound light … But if you can just find those little changes that you can make, and then slowly, slowly you can pivot into a new market, a new subgenre, a new niche. But it’s all about doing slow transitions,” Patrick concludes.
Why have a number of channels?
One other approach Patrick works to maximise click-through charges is by siloing several types of content material into completely different YouTube channels. “I’m a huge fan of starting new channels,” he tells us.
“So basically what I did is I had two major forms of content … I had these mini-documentaries where I basically talk about an artist or somebody in pop culture and I kind of highlight their life … Those videos were doing, you know, between 500,000 and a million [views]. And then I would do these silly, more fun videos where maybe I’m reacting to music videos or I’m coming up with a just goofy video with my friends and it’s a little bit more personal, a little bit more focused on my personality. And those videos would do less views, you know, maybe a hundred thousand or so. But that’s still good, you know?”
He took observe of the distinction in efficiency between the video varieties and determined to separate them up. He made a brand new channel to concentrate on his extra private initiatives in order that he might dedicate his essential channel completely to his mini-documentary initiatives.
Not everybody agrees with the choice, nevertheless, “People were like, ‘What are you doing? This is main channel content, blah, blah, blah.’ But now I had the, I had the plan, I had the vision … And now my second channel has almost half a million subscribers. My main channel has over a million subscribers. They’re two totally different pieces, two totally different versions of content. And in fact, a lot of people on my second channel don’t even know about my main channel.”
The outcomes
All of this technique has paid off — actually. “I’m fortunate to have really solid AdSense money,” Patrick says. “Not a lot of creators have good AdSense.” Each channels herald regular ad income, however he is aware of this isn’t one thing each creator can depend on: “I wasn’t able to actually make a living off of my ad revenue until I had, like, half a million subscribers.”
Through the years, Patrick’s revenue streams have advanced. At one time, the Patrick Cc: channel was pulling in most of its income from subscriber music critiques. Then, simply when he was starting to burn out from this taxing format, Twitch stepped in with a streaming deal, giving him the chance to modify gears to extra sustainable content material. “Fortunately, in that six-month time span, my second channel and my main channel. basically blew up,” he tells us.
As of now, Patrick brings in about 10 to twenty p.c of his revenue by way of sponsorship offers. Merch drops characterize a small piece of the pie as nicely, however many of the cash that retains his channel working comes instantly from YouTube.
How Patrick Cc: avoids stress
Via all of this, Patrick retains a stage head. “I think every job is gonna have its stresses,” he admits. “I mean … man, I just love my job a lot. I’ve worked a lot of different jobs and I just, I don’t really stress about too much.” He says this mindset comes all the way down to belief. “I mean, I trust myself, I trust my vision, I trust my skillset. And I think that no matter what happens, I will be able to pivot and adapt to the changes.”
For Patrick, worrying is a waste of vitality that might be used for problem-solving: “I try not to worry because there’s so many things you can worry about. Oh, what if this video doesn’t do well? Oh, what if, what if people stop liking me? What if this and that? All of that stuff is not productive. So I just — nothing really stresses me out. I know it sounds like privileged or whatever, but I try to eliminate that because it’s hard enough to be like an entrepreneur, so if you add all of that unnecessary stress, it’s just gonna hold you back.”
“I’m just very based in reality. What’s the problem? Let’s solve the problem. Let’s not worry about what if. ‘Cuz that’s most of what stress is, is just worrying about the unknown,” Patrick concludes.
What actually issues
To take care of this mindset, Patrick focuses on what actually issues to him. “It hasn’t been about the numbers or the money,” he reveals. “I was able to hire like my first employee and my best friend when I hit like 150,000 subscribers. That was a long time ago and I was like, ‘Wow, I’m already living my dream. Like, I’m doing this full-time. I hired my best friend.’ Like the only thing that can happen from here is I can hire more of my friends and make more videos.”
Now, he says his essential motivation is creating a fantastic life for himself and his buddies. “I’m just not too deep about it,” he tells us. “It’s like not this like burning passion because I find that I had that passion for music and … that’s what made it all come crashing down. When you are too passionate about something, you will not be able to make concessions and you will not be able to realize when it’s time to change something.”
Patrick says he nonetheless has a ardour for YouTube, however he doesn’t let it flip him right into a perfectionist: “I can move with the punches and I can flow. And I think that’s what makes a good creator. You can’t be held back by your own, like, personal bias.” He reminds us once more that creators have to determine early on whether or not to deal with YouTube like a enterprise or a interest: “If it’s more of a business … just be ready to make concessions and make changes and, and just don’t get too, like, personally attached.”
In the long run, Patrick actually makes content material for different folks. “When you do things for yourself too much,” he says, “it becomes too selfish, and that selfishness will probably bring you down.”
What’s subsequent for Patrick Cc:
After studying all this, it’s no shock that Patrick thinks like an entrepreneur when contemplating his future. He has just a few enterprise concepts he plans to pursue, however YouTube remains to be his basis: “I’m sure there’s another business endeavor I could take up that would make me more money or whatever, but that’s not it. It’s more about, like, this is what the people have decided I’m good at, so I’m gonna keep doing that for them.” Different plans embody opening a recording studio that might probably evolve right into a file label. He’s additionally thought of taking over bigger video initiatives, with a watch towards streaming platforms like Hulu and Netflix. A clothes enterprise is one other risk.
“I try to keep my future a little bit more open-ended,” he says. “A lot of people are like, ‘Yeah, what are you gonna do in five years?’ I don’t know. I’m good at what I’m doing right now … I’m keeping myself open-ended and open-minded. Who knows where I’ll go.”
Remaining recommendation
Earlier than we ended our dialog, Patrick was desperate to share this recommendation with aspiring YouTubers:
“Before you start your YouTube channel, figure out if you want to make it a business or if you want to make it a passion piece … and don’t say both, right? You’re not allowed to be like, ‘Well, it’s both.’ It’s not both. It’s one or the other.” Upon getting that determined, Patrick tells us to house in in your area of interest:
“If it’s a business, focus on a niche. Be really consistent, but think about long term. Where do you want to end up? Okay. You want to end up with a million subscribers and you want to talk about baseball? Okay. Come up with the most niche, tiny, tiny thing that nobody else is talking about related to baseball. Talk about, you know, high school players in Western Iowa that are going to be superstars, right? You’re not gonna get a lot of views, but there’s gonna be some really specific people that want to see that … Don’t talk about what they’re talking about on ESPN, ’cause you’re never gonna punch through the algorithm.”
Patrick says that after you’ve earned a bigger following, you can begin to speak about extra mainstream matters: “Picture it like an upside-down pyramid. When you’re, when you’re at the top and you have millions of subscribers, you can pretty much talk about whatever you want. But when you’re at the bottom, the only way you’re ever gonna punch through is if you’re talking about something that nobody else is talking about.” This, he guarantees, is the important thing to YouTube success: “What’s the smallest niche topic you can cover? And cover that consistently. And it will work.”
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