Yesterday, I was writing about how I’m a contrarian, but I couldn’t decide if it was organic or a reaction to societal norms. I wandered all over the place as is my wont. The reason I am thinking about this is because I am considering doing video. I have looked at a bunch of different videos in different genres over the year, and it’s pretty clear to me that there are a few general rules to follow if you want to be at all successful.
One, you have to pick a category and stick to it. Start with a broad category such as makeup. Then, pick a sub-category within that category/a niche. So, in makeup it would be–oh hell. let me switch to games, which I know better.
You want to do videos on games. Great. do you want to actually play games? Or do you want to talk about games? If it’s the former, then you have to decide if you want to stream or to just put up videos. Or both! And if it’s the latter, then are you going to edit or just put up the raw footage?
You also have to decide what kind of game do you want to play. Roguelike-like in which every run is roughly half an hour to an hour? That’s what Northerlion did in the beginning. Or rather, what he got famous for. He did four runs of Binding of Isaac: Rebirth a day with light editing. He did this every day for years before slowly starting to branch out. He did a live show, too, and that expanded as well.
I just looked at his channel and scrolled back. There is no obvious BOI content in the last three months. I would bet he hasn’t played it on the daily since Repentance came out. I would not blame him if he never played the game again. He also was responsible for boosting Cook, Serve, Delicious! (David Galindo) when it first came out, which was how I heard of the game.
Now, he’s more of a variety show, just playing whatever he wants. He also streams quite a bit–I know he did Elden Ring (FromSoft). He spent several years, though, building up his brand–and he did it by being consistent and insanely productive.
The thing is, you want people to think of you instantly when something in your wheelhouse comes out. That’s branding, and it’s very important. Here’s a silly example. I had a thing for Alan Rickman. I was passionate about him, and I could not stop blathering about him. I would go on and on on my socials, and it got to the point that when anytthing new concerning him came out, people would send me tweets asking me if I had seen it or post it on my FB.
For example. There was a video of him making tea. That doesn’t sound like anything, but it was shot very dramatically. Slo-mo and everything. At the end, he throws the cup of tea he had just made and then upends the table. It’s a little over seven minutes and I’ve included it below. There is also an orchestra backing him. It’s just incredible.
Anyway, when it came out, I had so many people sending it to me asking if I’d seen it. Of course I had, but it was amusing to me that so many people thought of me when they saw it. I always said that I wanted people to think of me when they saw him.
When he died in 2016, I woke up to hundreds of condolences on my socials. Ian sent me a message saying he was so sorry, and I was confused as to what he was sorry for. When I saw the news, it was such a shock. I joked wanly with Ian that I had said I wanted people to think of me when they saw him, and I guessed my wish had come true. Honestly, I felt as if I were being treated like his widow, which was really strange.
But that was my brand at the time. I was the one who really dug Alan Rickman. I still get people sending me tweets with him in it or posting things about him to my FB wall. I’m fine with that, but it shows the staying power my branding had on people.
Back to the point. I know what has the better chance to work. It’s being focused in a very narrow niche and do it well. I mean, that makes sense. I can’t even argue with it. You want to be known for something so that when that thing comes up, people think of you. Like Logitech and computer peripherals. Sorry. That’s one brand I am loyal to, with good reason. I don’t care about brands, honestly. I use what is best for the job. As much as I love Logitech, if they suddenly put out crap products, I’ll switch in a heartbeat.
If I could, I would love to be a variety show, so to speak. It’s what I did with my blog until I decided it wasn’t worth it. I supposed I could do a modified version. Three videos a week. Mondy would be just general musings. Wednesday would be wellness–in which Taiji falls. And now Bagua. Friday could be for fun, which means video games.
Monday would be about family, personal relationships, dating, and….anything political. Gender, religion, repro justice, and anything else that happened to be on my mind. Basically, twenty minutes of me talking about anything taht is on my mind.
Wednesday would be all about Taiji. I may even show my weapons. I’m so into them. I love my weapons with unseeming passion. I’m currently putting a hold on learning new weapons beacuse I want to refine the weapon forms I already know. The guandao is next, though. It’s basically a scythe/halberd, and it’s heavy.
I might do a form on video, but it’s such a personal thing for me. It’s my happy place and brings me such joy. I don’t want anything to ruin it, and people shitting all over it would do that. And, given that it’s the internet, someone would be sure to shit all over it. When I showed my mother just three movements from the Sword From the last time she was here (two days after I got hom e from the hospital), she gave a pained smile and said, “Oh. How…cute.”
I retorted that it wasn’t cute, but the damage was done. I don’t know why I shouwed it to her, but I never will again. I’m done for now. More later.