Baseball Sims on Youtube
Things I've learned along the way
As most of you already know, I’ve been creating YouTube videos at the same time that I’ve had this blog.
I’ve done a combination of gameplay videos and videos on a few subjects of general interest to baseball history fans for a little over a year now.
I’ve discovered a few things along the way that might be helpful to some of you. I know that there are a number of people in the hobby who make YouTube videos, and I know that finding success can be frustration — especially when you’re first starting out.
A few tips I’ve learned along the way:
Focus on your audio. The most important part of any YouTube video is the audio. Most people listen to YouTube while they do other things. I’m no exception; I prefer to listen to videos while I work, write, or play baseball games. Poor video quality and shoddy (or absent) editing can be excused, but poor audio is guaranteed to get your viewers to turn away.
Focus on the audience experience. This is extremely difficult in the baseball sim world, especially when it comes to playing complex games (i.e. Fourth Street Sports Baseball). Not only should you keep in mind people who have never played the game before, but you should try to do whatever possible to help the experience make sense for the viewer. As much fun as it is to have trivia questions and quizzes during your gameplay, you’ll likely get more viewer retention if you focus on doing things that makes the experience easy and pleasant for them. And, no, it’s not easy; I’m pretty bad at it, actually.
Keep it brief. This is almost impossible when it comes to gameplay. I’ve found that the ideal video time is somewhere around 10 minutes. It’s very difficult to satisfactorily play a 10 minute game of baseball even with an engine that goes quickly, like APBA. Non-gameplay videos really need to be around that 10 minute mark. I’ve found that engaging and interesting videos that are longer struggle to get any views at all.
Mix things up. People in the world of gaming on YouTube will tell you that Let’s Play videos are dead. It’s simply not true. Not only do big names continue to attract large view counts, but some new names also find themselves drawing a large crowd. One thing that successful people in the genre have in common is the willingness to mix up their content styles from time to time. Putting out videos on game related concepts — such as little known real life lineup disasters — can help attract a wider audience, and can bring along viewers who normally would not watch your gameplay content.
Be creative. It’s easy to get in the swing of a routine and do the same thing every day. I’m a slave to my own routines, and constantly struggle to get myself to think outside the box. If you come up with an interesting and wild idea for content, go for it. Don’t tell yourself that it won’t work and abandon it. Don’t stifle your own creativity. Have fun with what you do, break things now and then, and see what the result is. The big secret is that the worst YouTube videos (and blog posts, and prototype baseball games, and novels) are the ones that nobody’s seen anyway. Failure isn’t being publicly embarrassed; failure is being publicly ignored, and silence is forcing others to ignore you. So give it a try!
I first had the idea to write this blog and create videos around 8 years ago. I wish I had started then. There are some things you can only learn after you’ve started. Having said that, I’m certainly glad I’ve come as far as I have!
You can view my baseball YouTube channel here.
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