Hello, fellow normies. It’s a new year, and I forgot to make my 2024 goals my first post, so I’ll dedicate this week’s post to talking about it.
Even though you’re reading about my channel goals in the second week of January, I actually start thinking about my goals in November. I got this idea from Cal Newport: rather than create the goals in January, give yourself some time to think about them earlier so that you can create more specific, actionable goals.
And here’s the list that I came up with:
1. Work at a consistent pace
In 2023, I really struggled to upload consistently. While I have not seen any concrete data on the benefit of a consistent upload schedule, I do believe that a consistent schedule is easier to plan around. It also gives your subscribers something regular to expect from you.
I shifted from a weekly pace to a 10 day pace in November, but did not resolve the fundamental issues that blocked my consistency. The only thing that was consistent was that I always fell behind schedule.
This was not because I didn’t have enough days to go through my process for making videos. In actuality, the blocker was writing. Subsequent voiceover and editing can be allocated time everyday, but none of that can happen unless I have a finalized script ready. And a finalized script only happens when I write a detailed outline of everything I want to cover. I would upload a video, but not have a script ready, so days needed to be spent writing, when I should ideally just start editing the next project.
If the writing is done consistently, then the editing can happen every day at a more relaxed pace. I’m trying to do away with late-night editing as much as possible, while still uploading at a consistent rate. Not weekly, not 10-day, but the pace that editing 2-4 hours a day will allow me to upload. Maybe the channel will suffer in the short-term, but it will allow me to preserve the channel for the long game.
I don’t like setting goals without thinking at least a little bit about specific action items I’ll take to achieve them. Here’s some things I’ve thought of to achieve my desired pace:
How will I concretely achieve this?
The writing habit is paramount. 1K words on average over a month, first thing in the morning, on the iPad. Once outlines are run, make entries on more polished scripts. Once the scripts are ready, finalize them in Obsidian.
Keep 2 videos in a consistent format: statistics explainers for basic concepts and a coding spotlight. The third video of the month will be experimental, and these are specifically made to try to attract new viewers and expand the reach of the channel. A shorter coding video for specific statistics functions will need to come up as a separate video, but I anticipate these to be quicker to edit since they’re now divorced from the explainers.
2. Create a paid product
I’m writing this one because I got a specific comment on YouTube, asking me not to change “when I get big.” While I’m nowhere near close to striking it big, I want to be transparent. I’m aware that YouTubers making courses is a commonplace thing, it almost feels like a faux pas to have one. I’m not trying to sell you the hottest marketing course or how to succeed at Youtube though, so don’t worry about that.
I would be lying if I said the profit motive was not a part of my thinking. I will be fully transparent and say that I am partially doing YouTube to earn extra income. Of course, I love teaching and making my “Understand [CONCEPT]” videos, but the reality of the channel is that these videos do not garner much attention in their current form. I believe there’s potential to have them be evergreen content, but it’s not there yet. I’ve heard that sponsors are also a main source of income, but the channel also is just not there yet.
That being said, I am confident in my ability to teach and provide valuable statistical skills to people. I am still mulling over how to provide extra value on top of just explanations, but there’s only so long I can think before I just need to act and figure it out. The goal of the channel is to provide value to viewers in the form of statistical education and coding knowledge.
How will I concretely achieve this?
Study other coding creators and see how the structure their courses. Courses are probably not the only thing I can make, but as an educational channel, it seems to be the most obvious
A first major hurdle is to get ahead of polished scripts by an entire month. This alleviates the pressure of rushing scripts so that I can get to voiceover and editing.
Writing habit, baby. Course content is, at its heart, writing content.
3. Write weekly newsletter content
Here’s a bit of Very Normal lore for you. This Substack actually precedes the YouTube channel. I made this newsletter in the first year of the PhD, when I was deluding myself that I could write regular content while thinking about my qualifying exams. It was good practice for writing content, but there was absolutely no strategy behind it. Little did I know that statistical education was not the most exciting thing to land in people’s inboxes.
In 2024, I want to use the Substack to write more about topics that I don’t think would fit within the current material on YouTube. There were a few video formats that I tried out, but they didn’t really pan out. At the same time, I still believe it would be useful to have this information/advice recorded somewhere. If someone happens to want to follow the same path I did, then it would be helpful to see what I did or what I tried to get to where I am.
I suspect that people who subscribe to the Substack are at least a little more interested in things I’d like to teach. I want to be useful to you all, so the Substack will also be a place we can interact more. I am cagey about looking at YouTube comments, but it’s fun to interact with my viewers. There are features of Substack I haven’t explored yet that can facilitate this, but I’m excited to research this more.
How will I concretely achieve this?
You already know what habit will be used here.
Research more into the Substack by Scott Cunningham. He does a fantastic newsletter on casual inference, and it’s a useful model for teaching statistics online.
Find 3-4 consistent topics to write about. I think that writing about my strategies for balancing the channel with work is important. Answering questions that I get on Youtube and Substack could be another. Stories on my PhD are another option.
If there’s stuff you’d like to know about or have recommendations, let me know! See you in the next issue.