So last week I told you that I was going to be photographing the first 20 pictures for my e-book. Well, I have some news: That didn't happen.
I know, I know, but it's ok. I'm over it. Life happens. However, I did come up with an even better idea.
YouTube.
Well, I didn't invent youtube. That's obviously not what I mean. I am going to start a youtube channel!
Now, let me tell you, I'm passionate about youtube. I really am. Every single time I need to learn something, I go to youtube. Goodness, youtube has taught me just about everything I know. That sounds pretty sad, but it's really not. There are some major experts out there and, through youtube, you're treated to a master class. Now,, I'm not calling myself an expert, but I know a few things about knitting and crochet. There's no doubt in my mind that I've surpassed the 10,000 hour mark (a lot of people speculate that it takes 10,000 hours of doing something to become proficient at it).
I remember back to when I was just getting into knitting and I would look up absolutely every little thing I was confused about. I'm eternally grateful to the people who taught me those things, and now I want to do that for others.
Here are 3 major things that I want to make certain I do in every single one of my how-to videos:
1. Write 500+ words for each video & create an outline.
My very favorite teacher in the world, Sean McCabe, always says the key to short, concise how-tos is writing a very, very long "un-concise" body of words explaining everything and then, once your thouights are all out on paper, condesing it all into a very thought-through tidbit. Once you've written this huge body of work, you can...
2. Make the steps quick, to-the-point, and easy to remember.
The only thing that frustrates me about some youtube videos is that some people take f o r e v e r to get to the point. I'm going to keep my intro very short and then get right to the point with very thought-out instructions. Also, since I'll be making an outline to speak from, it'll keep all the ahs and ums to a minimum.
3. Every few videos, provide a fun, quick pattern to practice what was just taught.
I'm not sure how many videos I'll put up every week, but I know that every few videos I'll be creating a unique pattern for people to practice on. Rather than just saying, "go make a scarf" in order to practice, I want to create patterns that even experts would be attracted to making. Then, I'll put a link to the Ravelry page for that pattern in the youtube description.
My apologies, this was kind of a brain-dump post. This week has been crazy for me and I really just needed clarity on all this. Thank you for being my sounding board!
Hopefully this youtube adventure will begin over the next few weeks. Youtube is a fantastic place to extend your online reach, and I'm looking forward to doing that!
I may even create private videos demonstrating the trickier parts on my patterns (or even techniques for my e-book!). People who purchase would be granted the link. Endless possibilities! :)
My Goal: Week 5
This week I'll be setting up my youtube channel so it's ready for videos. I'll need to create an icon and header, and write up a channel description. This channel will be beginner-focused so I want it to be easily identifiable as perfect for the novice.
Until Tuesday,
Grace
