Starting a YouTube channel is EASY! In a matter of minutes you can be up and running and uploading videos. What’s hard is to grow a following of 1000, then 10,000, then 100,000 followers. Jon Patton started the YouTube channel The Gun Collective and has managed with his team to grow that channel to over 165,000 subscribers in under four years (AMAZING)! In this video, I discuss with Jon some ways you can grow your community and YouTube channel. It isn’t rocket science, but there are some strategic things you can do to make your channel grow quickly!
How To Grow Your Channel
To summarize my conversation with Jon, here are some things we discussed that you can do to quickly grow your following:
- Be Consistent: Establish a schedule for publishing (ideally at least every week) and stick to it.
- Be yourself: Authenticity is key- be the person on camera that you are off camera- show your genuine enthusiasm on camera.
- Share your story: Bring people along to experience your story first hand- the ups, the downs, the successes, the misses.
- Support other channels: We (GunTubers) are a community! Help promote others’ content, start conversations with other channels. It’s more fun that way!
Being a YouTuber isn’t easy- especially for the gun community. Everyone (Google, Facebook, YouTube, …) wants to shut you down. It’s also VERY time consuming and can be VERY expensive (audio, lighting, and picture quality are important). But being a YouTuber is also very satisfying- to have a community of like-minded people to share with is priceless.
Some additional thoughts from Gavin:
- Take your branding seriously: This includes your logo, acronym, colors, typography, and identity.
- Deliver Engergy: Watch your own videos- if you didn’t create them, would you be bored or uninspired?
- Have a short unforgettable name: “LR Shooters” is better than “Long Range Shooters and Predator Hunters of the Midwest”.
- Do something different: Have a niche market, or do something mainstream that’s better than what others are doing.
- Think about information density: Get to the point, don’t ramble, but cover all the details needed. People will watch a 1/2 hour video if it is compelling from start to finish.
- Sometimes less is more: An intro/outtro is ideally 5 seconds or less, and isn’t always needed.
- Invite people to subscribe: Give them a reason to!
Some Up and Coming Channels I Follow
These are some up-and-coming gun-related YouTube channels that I’ve subscribed to recently- please check them out and subscribe, these are some great guys!
Vaughn Precision
On Vaughn Precision, Kurt Vaughn covers rifle builds, long-range shooting, and much more! I just learned a TON from his Boyds stock glass bedding videos (I’ll be posting a similar video soon).
West Desert Shooter
On West Desert Shooter, you’ll see a unique perspective on long-range shooting, and see lots of great shooting stories. You’ll also see some unique gear like the Uintah Precision bolt-action AR-15 upper!
Gun Gamers
Ready for something different? Check out the Gun Gamers YouTube channel! These guys review and use airsoft guns and related guns/gear. But this isn’t a casual channel- these guys are hard-core about their reviews and stories and they even cover airsoft ballistics in detail! I also like that their initials are my personal initials: GG. 🙂
Eagle Eye Shooting
I got to meet the guy behind Eagle Eye Shooting (his name is Kenny) at the SHOT Show, this is a solid dude! He also has a TC Compass in 308 Winchester (just like mine). That has led to swapping stories and load data! You’ll want to check out his channel:
So there you go, these channels should keep you entertained and informed for HOURS (I suggest you watch on your TV!).
Thanks to Jon Patton and TGC for taking the time at SHOT to talk with me, and thanks for your advocacy for “our cause”!
Lots more SHOT Show 2019 content coming!
Thanks,
Gavin
