Launching a YouTube Channel

I’m often lucky enough to find myself in the company of impressive and inspiring people, so I started a YouTube channel and podcast to share those stories with as many people as possible. Well-known people get a lot of airtime in the media - but what about the people you haven’t heard of who have achieved extraordinary things? I started having meetings with people over breakfast and recording them - hence the name Coffee, Eggs and Inspiration - which I’m really missing in lockdown. Being a YouTuber and Podcaster is certainly more of a hobby for me than a professional endeavour - I’m probably more of an oracle of what not to do than a font of wisdom! So here are five things I’ve learned from 10 months of YouTubing and podcasting.

1. Have a plan

I love doing research before starting an interview so I don’t meet my guest cold. Learning about them beforehand helps me develop a line of questioning that might be interesting to the listener or viewer - the primary social pipe for my interviews is a filmed version on YouTube. I don’t write a script. I’ve found that creating rough headings has worked best for me - it creates a route - a story arc - that we can follow as a bit of guidance, but can happily veer away from if the conversation is flowing and takes us somewhere else entirely!

2. It doesn’t have to be perfect

My YouTube videos and podcast is made entirely on a smartphone, so getting a good microphone and good apps for editing made a big difference. When I was interviewing Candy Crush creator Riccardo Zacconi, a jackhammer started pumping away in the background around five minutes in (disaster!). I made the decision to power through instead of stopping the interview. In hindsight, I could have edited that bit out. It’s a learning curve.

It’s okay for things to be scrappy and raw. Part of the appeal of YouTube videos and podcasts is their authenticity: the more imperfect they are, the more relatable (or at least that’s what I’m telling myself). I’ve given myself permission to be imperfect - people who watch YouTube don’t expect professional production. When I interviewed SBTV founder Jamal Edwards, there was a mouse scuttling around that was distracting us (mostly Jamal) - but we carried on and it made the interview more charming to see 6 foot something Jamal swinging his legs up on the chair to avoid the miniature monster.

3. Make it about them

As the interviewer, I’m there to help my guest tell their story by giving them cues and guiding the conversation in an interesting way. I try to fade into the background - it’s not about me, it’s about them. This is an important principle in leadership generally: lead from behind. A manager, like an interviewer, should create the context for other people to thrive. But, in interviews, you need to strike the right balance - I also received feedback that viewers wanted a bit more from me, so now I try to share my view in the conversations a bit more.

4. The benefit of a strong ending

People listen to these brilliant guests tell their stories as a source of inspiration. Where my interview is unscripted and is quite free flowing, I try to end on a piece of advice that brings together the story and that person’s learnings from their journey - even if the conversation itself has been more of a narrative.

5. Publicise with a hook

This is an attention economy - you need something to help catch people’s attention. I usually take an interesting line from the podcast to draw people in and frame the video’s title and thumbnail to catch the attention. Like James Dyson’s interview in the Times: “How I blew ￡500m on an electric car to rival Tesla”. It’s a golden nugget that gives a hint about what was discussed and how they discussed it. I read that interview! Creating a thumbnail image to package a quote like this is also something useful I’ve learned - Canva is a great tool for making fantastic looking content without any fuss.

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YouTubing and podcasting has been a process of learning what works and what doesn’t. From getting comfortable listening to or watching yourself on camera to getting a crash course in digital marketing, there’s been so much to take away from this, let alone what I’ve learned from my incredible guests. The best measurement isn’t views, it’s engaged views, making sure that as many people as possible who dip in for five minutes find themselves drawn into the story. If you read this article because you’re thinking of starting your own YouTube channel or podcast, do it. If I can do it, you definitely can, and I highly recommend it!