Quantity vs Quality — the Battle of the Algorithm

Hi all!

To those new to my Newsletter, welcome to the family! It’s been so surreal, seeing my latest video catch a small wave in the YouTube “algorithm”; we’re already almost at 1000 subs! Truly insane. Numbers are one thing, but all the supportive comments have left me breathless. I have a huge list of video topics/ideas I want to execute on over the next two years, and I can’t wait to start a conversation around these, one good video at a time.

Before I released this latest video on how I raised over $1M through Crowd-Equity, I spoke with a friend/mentor of mine who suggested I focus on quantity over quality…. he’s been in the YouTube scene as a consumer since the very dawn of the platform, and he believed pushing out simpler, weekly videos would have a bigger/faster impact on the growth of the channel compared to releasing a higher quality video every month or so. While I agreed with him (the best method would be to retain both quality and quantity, but that is difficult as a solo, non-paid creator) it seemed funny that a YouTuber in the artistic filmmaking niche, no other, would have lower production quality videos… perhaps any other niche wouldn’t benefit as much from it, but it seemed ironic for myself to lack a professional quality that I exemplify in my narrative work.

I suppose that is a tradeoff I have to make if I am to focus more on the quality of my work in relation to my frequency of posting. Alas, the stats of my latest video have proven to me that there is a world where focusing on quantity can generate SOMETHING. Maybe the growth wouldn’t be as exponential as if I had focused purely on generating as much content as I could, but I am in this for the long haul; I want to do this for myself as long as I can. It’ll be difficult as I’m currently juggling many many freelance editing projects to pay the bills whilst in post production on my feature and creating these videos (each of which take almost 150 hours!), but I’m having the time of my life creating these little pieces of work on a more frequent basis — at least compared to my narrative work which take years!

When I look back on my small career, I attribute much of any success to the fact that I’ve always put all my eggs into one basket. I’ve always made each short film as if it were my last — raising as much $ as I can to deliver on the best version of my vision, rewriting/iterating the script countless times, scrutinizing over every word and detail, investing literally everything I have (financially, emotionally, physically) into each project with the hope that it’ll return on its investment somehow. Perhaps it is not sane or wise to do so, but that risk-taking and aiming for quality over quantity has been an invaluable key for my narrative journey, proving itself worthwhile time and time again. I can only hope that this formula also applies to the YouTube game, despite what others say. Check back in 6 months, and we shall see!

Finally, I want to dedicate this to all my friends and loved ones out in LA… seeing all the fires and horrific news has been so devastating, and my heart has been heavy in deep empathy and mourning. Despite all the tragedy around the world, I think it’s more important than ever to find glimmers of hope in our work and the small, personal wins we have along the way. Sending all my thoughts and prayers to those affected.

Currently scripting my next video! It might make you cry… we’ll see if I can execute as planned haha. And if you haven’t seen the latest video, I think you’ll find it enjoyable and insightful! Much thanks and love to all. ~TPK