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52 VIDEOMAKER >>> MAY 2019
viewers will relish the magic and rush
to subscribe to the channel.
One YouTuber who turned his pas-
sion into internet success is Roman
Mica. For ten years, Mica has run the
popular YouTube channels TFL Car
and TFL Truck (TFL stands for “The
Fast Lane”). The channels have rough-
ly 1.2M subscribers and 509M total
video views, including three smaller
channels, TFL Now, TFL Classic and
TFL Off Road.In this article we’ll explore four key
points that can help turn your You-
Tube channel into a major money-
maker. We’ll also get tips from a pro
who found his own unique path to
YouTube success.Share your passion
What are you passionate about? May-
be you have loved cooking ever since
your grandmother introduced you to
culinary delights at the age of 10.
A YouTube channel featuring a
sweet grandmother and her adoring
grandchild cooking classic home-
spun recipes could be a hit. The best
videos tell a compelling story through
captivating on-camera personalities
that viewers genuinely like. If the
authentic and loving relationship of
the two cooks shines through, then4 Ways to get more subscribers
Let’s face it, in the world of You-
Tube, content is king. Successful
YouTube channels serve up fresh
content that loyal viewers rush to
experience. But how do you get
to that point?
by David G. WeltonHere’s some insight into Mica’s
take on YouTube subscriber success:
“Viewers are initially drawn to a
channel because of the topic of the
content, but they keep coming back
because they connect with the story
and the hosts.”
Mica warns against producing
content that is focused solely on
making you, the video producer,
happy. The goal is to engage a large
audience with your content, not
just a single person. In other words,
don’t over emphasize the “you” of
YouTube when producing content
destined for a mass audience.Keep it fresh
According to Mica, dropping more
than one new video per day is over-
kill — even faithful subscribers will
fall behind. His goal is three or four
releases per week, per channel.
“Evergreen stories” have an im-
portant place in Mica’s video lineup.
Like evergreen plants, evergreen
stories never go out of season. An
evergreen story, for instance, might
revolve around an enterprising young
woman’s efforts to rebuild the classic
car that her recently deceased dad
drove in high school.Roman Mica built a successful YouTube channel by staying engaged with his audience and
maintaining transparency in all of his car and truck reviews.384 C05 Online.indd 52 3/19/19 2:31 PMONLINE VIDEO
VIDEOMAKER >>> MAY 2019 53
4 Ways to get more subscribers
ONLINE VIDEO MAY 2019
The storyline of restoring a classic car to its
former glory may initially draw in the viewers.
But, they will also likely connect with the emo-
tional human side of the story, especially when
the relationship of the daughter and father is
explored on-screen.
An example of a television series that does a
great job of connecting with viewers emotional-
ly while telling compelling stories is “American
Pickers” on the History Channel.
Compare the evergreen story to one about the
launch of a new model of a Ford SUV. The prod-
uct launch story will not stay fresh. In fact, it
will be mostly irrelevant in a matter of months.
A balance of story types is best, but don’t over-
look the utility of compelling evergreen stories.Build community
YouTuber producers often become over-
whelmed with e-mail questions from view-
ers — and maybe not even answer them all.
Unanswered mail is a lost opportunity to
become more engaged with an audience and
build community.
The TFL Live channel helps build com-
munity through weekly live broadcasts each
Thursday at 4:00pm Mountain Time. The
live broadcasts give viewers a chance to ask
questions of the on-camera personalities,
like what truck they recommend for towing a
heavy trailer. Questions answered during live
broadcasts have a good chance of stemming
the fl ood of e-mails.David G. Welton teaches in the Radio/TV/Film Department
at Butte College in Northern California. For fun, he runs a
recipe site with his 90-year-old mom at NanasRecipes.com.Each TFL Live episode draws between 200 and
500 viewers who watch in real-time with about
5-10,000 viewing the archived show. For Mica,
live streaming is costly since it requires a four-
person crew. It’s money well-spent, however,
because it builds the community — essential for
a successful YouTube channel.Spread the word
Not everyone spends as much time on YouTube
as you likely do; some people fi nd content else-
where. Promoting outside of YouTube is a great
way to fi nd new viewers who will hopefully
become loyal subscribers.
Depending on the topic of your YouTube
channel, you might also use Snapchat, Insta-
gram, Facebook, Pinterest, Vimeo, Twitter or
other more niche social networking sites to
spread the word about your amazing YouTube
channel. As for paid advertising, Mica’s advice
is to put your money into building quality con-
tent by investing in staff and equipment rather
than advertising.
Mica has some fi nal words of advice for those
desiring to build YouTube subscribers and suc-
cess: “Listen to your viewers; when they offer
suggestions, pay attention. And, always attempt to
engage audiences emotionally.”You can comment on this article by going online:
http://www.videomaker.com/?p=72000209When posting a new video, Mica makes sure to spread
the word beyond YouTube. Twitter, Facebook and
other platforms can be great places to engage with
viewers and let them know about your content.Regular live streams help Mica and his team stay in touch with viewers and
mitigate the barrage of questions in e-mail and on social media. The result-
ing community engagement is worth the extra time and energy required to
produce a live broadcast.384 C05 Online.indd 53 3/19/19 2:31 PM