At the outset, a career - or even a hobby - in content creation feels labyrinthian. You’ll feel lost, you’ll doubt yourself, and you’ll spot stumbling blocks around every corner. Eventually and with persistence, you’ll figure it all out, but it sure would be easier if there were a community of experienced content creators willing to share lessons they learned the hard way. What’s that? Just About Content Creators was right in front of you the whole time? Good news! And we’ve already asked them about rookie errors in content creation so you don’t have to.
Just About Content Creators is filled with gamers, YouTubers, streamers, and others. It’s composed of newhats like Horror and Cats - “I’ve just hit my 19-month YouTube anniversary, so I’ve got a lot of fresh learnings to share” - as well as ten-year veterans like avrona and those somewhere in the middle like BeyondBelief - “I’ve been a content creator and streamer for well over five years now; I’ve learned quite a few things that can be applied to creators at any level.” In other words, you’re in safe hands. And if you’re a content creator looking for a welcoming new home, hit the ‘join community’ button at the top of the page. Now, read on for our community’s expert advice on rookie mistakes to avoid as you launch your creator career.
Branding and identity mistakes
First impressions are everything, and if by chance the algorithm blesses a piece of your content, you don’t want to make a bad one. As Avrona explains, you want strong branding from the start, and it’s easier than you might think:
“I always was - and still am - awful at graphic design. That means my early logos and banners were awful, and it made my channel look a lot more amateurish than it should have. Especially with the rise of easy-to-use AI tools, it’s a lot easier to achieve great results nowadays.”
Branding is necessary but not sufficient; to really stand out on any major platform, you need more. ‘Finding one’s voice’ is the term usually given to this process of discovering what makes you and your content sing, and while you must be prepared for it to take time, you can hasten the process. Don’t be afraid to try new things, especially in your early days, and even once you’ve found something that works, don’t make the mistake of sticking with it forever. Stella explains how that can go wrong:
“Don’t box yourself into a niche content format or passing trend. Sure, it’s important to have a theme if you want to find a consistent audience, but one content creation mistake I often see new creators commit - especially with short-form content - is becoming a ‘one-trick pony’. It’s not impossible to break out of this mould once you’re in it, but you should always stay open to developing your content. Another way to look at this is not being entirely motivated by short-term gains; don’t devote all of your energy into racking up views in a trending format that will be of no significance in a few months (or weeks!).”
In response to Stella, Matthew Addis raises an excellent point: “This is huge when looking at the kinds of brand deals you can get. If you’re in too much of a niche, you limit the brands that will work with you.”
Returning to the point of finding one’s voice, here’s EveOnlineTutorials on a line he never crosses: “Don’t swear in your videos. It puts people off, and there’s really no need for it. I have over 500 videos live across my two channels, and I don’t swear in any of them.” This is also important if you want to monetise your videos. Last year, YouTube cracked down on swearing, announcing the removal of ads on videos with profanity in the first 15 seconds.
However, we would add that what’s good for the goose isn’t always great for the gander. Knowing one’s audience is important, and so is authenticity. If you’re swearing just to be edgy, it’s not going to attract followers. But less can be more, and a comedically timed and unexpected swear word for the right audience? That might just f**king work.
With the basics out of the way, let’s take a look at some more focused tips. First up: what rookie errors should you avoid if you’re all about video content?
Common mistakes for video content creators
Everyone’s video content is different, but the rules below should apply to everyone. We’ll start with the content itself:
Creating content: beginning, middle, and end
Beyond Belief believes that two of the most common rookie errors are not including CTAs (Calls to Action) on videos, and failing to grab viewers’ attention early on, such as when creators forget to include hooks in short-form videos. EveOnlineTutorials expands on both points:
“You need to get to the point. The first 15-30 seconds of a video is the most important part. That’s the time in which people will decide whether to keep watching. Either list what’s coming up or just get to the point, people don’t like non-stop waffle. Once you’ve finished a video, end it with a friendly CTA, like: ‘I hope you guys and gals enjoyed the video, please feel free to like and subscribe.’ Politeness costs nothing.”
And what about the content of your content? In the previous section, we warned against boxing yourself into a niche format, but that doesn’t mean you can’t tackle niche subjects. Sturmer advises newer creators to steer clear of crowded triple-A topics:
“Focus on less popular, low-frequency requests. If you plan to release a review of the most popular game of the moment, your video will be buried deep in the search results. Whereas if you cover a niche indie game, you’ll be closer to the top of the pack. Plus, indie developers appreciate the coverage and might share it on their social media channels, giving you an additional boost.”
If you’d like to explore that more, we have a separate guide that delves deeper into how big releases should affect content creators. Sturmer goes on to explain that if you manage to attend events - in his case, game conventions - you’ll want to keep his last point in mind:
“If you have the opportunity to attend events like WASD or Gamescom, steer clear of the long lines for triple-A hands-on demos. Instead, head to the indie area, collect as many business cards as possible, and build your contact list. This can lead to free game codes and opportunities to help smaller companies without large marketing budgets gain exposure. Supporting them can, in turn, significantly aid your own growth.”
Uploading content: thumbnails, descriptions, edits, and frequency
This next section covers the most effective ways to present your content to would-be followers. We’ll start with the ever-important video thumbnail:
Thumbnail errors
Every YouTube video ever watched started with a thumbnail. Don’t think about that for too long, otherwise you’ll realise it might not be true. But it got your attention, right? A thumbnail needs to do the same thing. Beyond Belief recommends “eye-catching thumbnails using poses and key text” while adding that “captivating titles are a must too.” EveOnlineTutorials points out that great visuals don’t always look great when they’re shrunk: “fancy artwork isn’t going to work on a tiny image”.
When it comes to short-form content, don’t rely on your video platform of choice to choose your thumbnail for you. Even with YouTube Shorts, you’re able to choose your own frame if you upload directly from your phone. Horror and Cats says to “strategically place interesting text or click-worthy images in your Short, then select that frame as your thumbnail.”
While this might change if you make it big, several of our community members warn against putting your face in your thumbnail before anyone knows who you are. You're not Mr Beast (yet). And - once people do care - the ‘face reveal’ video can be a big content opportunity in and of itself. Why squander it early?
Discoverability, video descriptions, and tagging errors
Don’t ignore your video’s description box or just lazily write ‘like and subscribe’. Use it for what it’s meant for: describing your video. This isn’t only to introduce viewers to what they’re about to watch, but to draw new viewers to the content, because as Horror and Cats notes, “it feeds into the algorithm”.
The same is true for tagging. Here’s EveOnlineTutorials again: “YouTube has a Research tab for a reason; use it. Type in the primary purpose of your video to receive the top tags for that topic.” These tactics will help you surface your content on YouTube just as SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) will surface it on the open internet via search engines like Google - which is why, as Sturmer passionately argues, you should also understand and apply SEO:
“One crucial lesson I’ve learned as a content creator is not to underestimate the power of SEO, especially in the early stages when your channel or brand isn’t yet widely recognised. You basically have two ways to generate traffic: pay for it or optimise your content for search engines. There’s a wealth of guides and books on how to develop your semantic core, create interconnected content webs, and tailor your offerings to address specific issues or needs of your audience.”
On the topic of the needs of your audience, one content type that always performs well is guides. It’s one of the reasons we're publishing this very guide. As Dean notes, they work best when they’re detailed and reliable:
“If you’re going for search-friendly content like guides, then be thorough if you want to gain subs. They’ll come back to learn from you if they know you’re thorough. Take, for example, Esoterickk for Destiny 2; he doesn’t even do a voiceover but his guides and how-tos are so solid that people always come back for more.”
For more on this topic, check out another of our guides: how to get discovered as a content creator.
Frequency and uploading errors
‘That sounds like a lot! How am I meant to do that five times per day?’ Short answer: you’re not. At least not according to creators like Beyond Belief and EveOnlineTutorials, who warn against publishing huge quantities of mediocre content over less frequent, higher-quality pieces. It’ll depend on your content, but one video per day is often more than enough.
Talking of high quality, greybill reminds you not to take the ‘audio’ part of your audio-visual content for granted: “Normalise all audio levels before you render a video. Even if it’s just that one clip. Everyone’s ears will thank you later. I can forgive cropped videos and imperfect quality, but having uneven audio levels is an unjustifiable sin. It’s a few clicks well spent.”
Rendering can lead to issues of its own. An uploading mistake as old as time - or at least as old as YouTube - is failing to perform a final check. Here’s Horror and Cats:
“Don’t render an edited video and immediately put it online. Watch it in its entirety before beginning the upload. Several times I’ve made a last-minute change and accidentally shifted background music, censor bleeps, or overlay assets off from where they should be in the timeline. This probably won’t be an issue once you’ve learned your editing software and found a standard workflow, but when you’re beginning, definitely ‘measure twice to cut once.’”
Streaming
Next up, a few common rookie content creation errors unique to streaming. Beyond Belief identifies two:
“Failing to read and respond to live chat while broadcasting
“Just posting ‘going live’ on social media and hoping people turn up, rather than putting in the effort to build an audience”
Here’s Lanah Tyra elaborating on that second point, while explaining some of the differences between major streaming platforms:
“You can't just stream and expect to grow; no one will find you. This is one I learned the hard way. You have to be active on social media, post about what you do, and create other content like short videos which will help you get discovered. YouTube is a bit better for discoverability, because past streams show up on your channel. With Twitch, however, no chance! Videos are bumped up the page and prioritised by viewer count, so as a beginner, your channel will be at the very bottom of the pile.”
So what does that promo look like? There are plenty of guides explaining what you should do, but here’s Twitch creator Retro Stu explaining two things you shouldn’t:
“Don’t self-promote on other people’s channels! Whether or not you’re joining a stream for the first time, coming into someone else’s stream and - without being prompted - telling everyone about how you’re currently playing this on your channel or dropping unsubtle hints of ‘got to go now, I’m about to stream myself’ is not cool. You’d think this would be limited to newer creators, but I still see old hats do it; it’s not a good look. Another person’s stream isn’t a platform for you to freely advertise, it's a place to enjoy someone’s content, so get to know the community and become a part of it.
“Don't backseat or foreshadow! While viewers also do this, I see fellow content creators offering every bit of unsolicited advice they can in stream chats. If you want to see a game played the way you would play it, then go play it yourself. Don’t ruin or try to influence someone else’s experience of a game. Passion for a game is great, but channel it the right way.”
Community and follower interaction mistakes
As stated above, community is everything. Sometimes, that means moderating. What do you do, for example, if someone commits those aforementioned streaming faux pas on your streams? Here’s Lanah again:
“If someone comes to your stream just to promote themselves or posts unconstructive criticism on your videos, just delete the comment and/or ban them. Be ready to protect yourself early before it gets out of hand. If you have to pause your stream, just let your viewers know, go to your dashboard, and find the mod tools. Big channels have moderators for this, whereas you’ll only have yourself. Your true fans will appreciate that you’re looking out for them and working to provide a safe and positive experience.”
Lanah advocates a similar no-nonsense approach to bots and spammers:
“It’s difficult for small creators, because you don’t always know who is genuinely starting a conversation and who only wants to spam you with their art or promotions. Check their profile first, what they post, and whether it’s even relevant to your content. Make the decision there and then, and don’t waste your time on spammers. I used to spend way too much time responding to every single ‘hi!’, going back and forth with smalltalk before eventually discovering they were just another spammer trying to sell their art. You don’t need to reply to every single DM; use your time wisely by doing a little research and working out who’s genuine.”
As for building a community of your own, Lanah has some great advice for that too:
“Find friends and you’ll find new viewers as well. That means networking with creators you follow, introducing yourself in their Discords, and speaking with their community. Try it with creators your size; they’re more likely to be approachable and willing to help since you’re in the same boat. You might even get a nice collab out of it one day! I’ve even discovered new creators by being thrown into their channel with an MMO raid!”
And here’s EveOnlineTutorials again, with three quick community-building tips:
“Interaction: Just because you’ve started to gain subs, it doesn’t mean you can start ignoring your community. I put aside an hour per day to respond to video comments.
"The Community tab: Use it! Whether it’s for posting patch notes, game imagery, or random polls. You never know what people think until you find out!
"Social media: Use this too! Twitter, Reddit, Pinterest, all of it. Make profiles, work on them, use the right hashtags, and get your videos out to a targeted audience.”
There are counter-arguments that you shouldn’t spread yourself too thin. And while we agree with EveOnlineTutorials’ advocacy of getting community feedback, Avrona reminds us that not all feedback is worth listening to. How does the old adage go? Opinions are like…
“I spent way too much time thinking that communities like Reddit and Discord are good places to get feedback. You'll most likely end up banging your head against the wall, trying to discern worthwhile nuggets of advice. Every channel is unique, and expecting random strangers online to give advice perfectly suited to the specifics of yours is wishful thinking.”
Equipment, gear, and set up mistakes
We’re moving on from hard lessons to hardware. You don’t need to break the bank to get started. In fact, we’ve published a list of creator-recommended, budget content creation gear. However, standards are a lot higher than they used to be, and you need to invest in at least half-decent gear. Here’s Avrona:
“One of my biggest mistakes was pushing out videos I didn’t have the gear to do well. I understand that investing in good gear might seem unwise as a beginner, but recording with old mics or bad cameras dooms your channel for the foreseeable future. Get some good gear before you even begin.”
Dean agrees: “Nothing turns a viewer off quicker than bad capture or voiceover. Be sure to put yourself in the viewers’ shoes and think about whether you would watch the content you’re putting out.”
And what about software? As is made very clear in this list of free and paid video-editing software, there’s rarely any need to pay for premium products until way later in your career. Avrona also warns against paid channel growth tools like VidIQ and TubeBuddy: “They’re a waste of money; avoid them like the plague. I tried one for a month a long time ago, and I still regret giving them my money.”
A time for everything, and everything in time
We’re dedicating this final section to perseverance and timing. Don’t run before you can walk and think about the future even if you’re just at the beginning. Beyond Belief warns against focusing on quick success and financial gain. Instead he advocates finding your feet, improving your content, and doing things right.
And, if you’ll forgive us a cheesy cliché, don’t forget to enjoy the journey. You will make mistakes, and you will learn from them. Creating content is hard and doesn’t get any easier even with success. If you enjoy the early stages, you’ll likely enjoy the later ones too. Plus, genuine happiness is infectious; it might even land you a follower or two.
We’ll leave you with the words of EveOnlineTutorials: “Good luck and see you in the club when you get there!” By ‘the club’, we’re going to generously assume he means Just About Content Creators, where you’ll find plenty of guidance, bounties, advice, prompts, and articles that will help you take your content creation to the next level.
What’s the biggest content creation mistake you’ve made? Let us know in the comments! In the spirit of Sturmer’s advice about webs of interconnected content, here are two more articles that you might find helpful: how content creators got started and content creation motivations.
Some text has been amended for brevity. You can find the original wording at the bounty post. Image credit, in order: Emmanuel Ikwuegbu, Austin Chan, Patrik Michalicka, Jakob Owens, superanton, Alexandru Zdrobău, spoiu23, Hannah Busing, Jacek Dylag, truefanz.
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