"STELLAR" at YouTube and TOTALLY SUCKING at Steemit: The Honest Ramblings of Temporary Disillusionment

in #youtube8 years ago (edited)

At the risk of sounding like a crummy person, I'm gonna be VERY blunt: When I first came to Steemit, the reality of my experience did NOT match my expectation...like...AT ALL! I was, quite frankly, lured here by greed initially....hey...just bein' honest.

I kept seeing things floating around on the internet about this platform called "Steemit." For about a month before I joined, others kept telling me, "Dude, you're stellar at YouTube, you gotta put some of your channel stuff up on Steemit; you'll be a whale for sure." I was getting text messages and phone calls from people who were inquiring as to why I hadn't joined the "blockchain community," and encouraging me to do so.


First of all, I didn't know what the heck a blockchain was. (Thank God for YouTube tutorials).

And cryptocurrency? I'd heard about it, seen some videos and even talked about it some...but I really didn't understand it. YouTube to the rescue on that one as well:


So, at the time, what I didn't understand, I initially ignored. So I ignored Steemit.

But then I saw the post that REALLY caught my eye. It said that Jeff @dollarvigilante made 15 GRAND on his first Steemit post in like, 12 hours! I had been a subscriber to his YT channel and had seen a LOT of his podcasts, so I was familiar with who Jeff was. I even sent him a message one time about a year ago asking him if he wanted to do an interview for my channel (back then, I only have about 70,000 subscribers). (Hey @dollarvigilante I'm still game for that if you are, btw).

Anyway, making the ungodly amount of money he had made in just 12 hours is what grabbed my attention! I did some digging and saw that, at the time, Jeff only had about 17K YouTube subscribers. Needless to say I got dollar signs in my eyes; I ain't gonna lie! Cause at the time I had just achieved 200k Subscribers on my own channel. So, of course, I reasoned that I'd have a pretty good shot at pulling down some serious crypto-cash.

I saw Steemit as an opportunity to quickly lift myself out of my circumstances and gain the financial freedom to do what I REALLY loved -- FULL TIME! That is, creating content people learn from and enjoy watching.

So I set out to make my Steemit fortune!


With my first Steemit story listed, I closed my computer and walked away just KNOWING that when I came back, I'd have a couple thousand dollars in my account. I was so excited thinking about all the upgrades I could put that money toward as I create more content for my channel. You can image in how disappointed I was when 12 hours had come and gone and I managed to pull in only 3 lousy CENTS! All the air immediately escaped from my sail.

Disheartened, but not utterly discouraged...I posted my second story....ZERO
Third - .45 cents
Fourth - 0.29
Fifth - .00
Sixth - .06

EIGHT stories into this thing and I'm sitting on a healthy .80 CENTS! What the heck? I couldn't even by a cheap cup of McDonald's coffee for that!!


I was accustomed to launching YouTube videos and getting THOUSANDS...sometimes TENS of THOUSANDS of views and likes in a matter of hours. What the Heck did I do wrong?

I didn't wanna admit it at the time, but my ego took a HUGE hit and I'm SO THANKFUL for it! It taught me something about myself...something VERY valuable. I was chasing a stupid dollar amount (something I know not to do and tell OTHERS not to do). I was focused on the wrong damn thing! My worth as a human being was diminished because I allowed myself to be ruled for a moment by greed.


Don't get me wrong; being monetarily rewarded for hard work and well-crafted content is nice....VERY nice. But it is a shallow endeavor when one focuses on that alone. Money makes people comfortable, allows for more options in life, creates a measure of security and grants a little bit of freedom. But money does not endow anyone with TRUE happiness. Yes...money can make you happy. But NOT TRULY happy.

And, I did not skimp on my content when I posted to Steemit...it's just that, for one reason or another, I wasn't able to attract the attention of whales, dolphins....heck, for that matter, I didn't attract many micro-plankton either. In fact, I was and still am, a small fish in the Steemit sea.

So, now, I say to you who may be discouraged, as I was at not making much on this platform. Hang in there....post things that you're passionate about and do it with EXCELLENCE. Give to people what you want to see from others; something they'll enjoy reading, watching, listening to or looking at! Give them something that's share-worthy! Your reward will come. Your reputation score will increase. People will start to notice. But make sure you get your cart before your horse.

I'm still not making very much money as of this writing. But that's cool. I'm doing what I love and I'm meeting some really cool people I would have NEVER met outside of this platform. And there is NO WAY you can put a price on THAT!!


I'm Brian, the owner and creator of the YouTube Channel HighImpactFlix and the HighImpactFlix Facebook page. My aim is to create useful, relevant, exciting and engaging content that will inform and IMPACT those who take the time to view it. Bottom line: I strive to make it worth your while to check out my videos!


Thanks for watching/reading. If you enjoyed this or, if it impacted you in any positive way, consider sharing and commenting. And, if you want, Upvote and alt text It's MUCH appreciated! Revenue generated goes back into creating even more "in-your-face" content. Peace!

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I big part of success here involves engaging with the community and building relationships. It's not just about bringing your followers to Steemit, it's also about catching the attention of the whales who reward content which will benefit the platform. Greed is a natural, understandable thing. But it can also put people off. Those who are here for long term relationships and building out the platform, I think, over time will be rewarded both with tokens of value and meaningful relationships. I haven't viewed your videos yet, but I'll catch them later and let you know what I think.

Well said,

Not saying highimpactflix has done this but. I have seen a few youtubers come here and simply post their videos and expect to get huge payouts... Comparing themselves with others etc etc.

If all you're bringing to Steemit is an invite to your youtube channel then I understand why not many people respond. Bulding Steemit with an idea to leave other social media behind is the future. Soon we will have our own videos here and those who already have an active role in Steemit "community building" will do well...

my .02

While I do admit that I saw a shot at "easy money" by posting my original content, my goal was to bring YouTubers HERE, not vice versa. My channel grows pretty much without promotion....Now I have the Steem vision and I'm not really looking for any money on this platform. Whatever I do make is just icing on the cake . I hate the intrusiveness and censorship of Facebook and other social media platforms.

Hopefully you will discover that I strive, here, to provide value content that people will enjoy and learn from.

Thanks for your candor!

Oh yeah man, don't get me wrong I have seen value in your post and also I found your youtube channel by way of your post here and subscribed :)

I also found some of your videos about Steemit, which really should have been better received here than they were... Who knows why they weren't but I suspect they will in time.

Interacting with this community is a big step towards making that happen I'm sure. And for the record, I am glad you're here...

Stay positive Bro....

Thanks man! I appreciate the encouragement! Peace!

Could not agree more. One thing I've learned on my time here on earth is that building relationships based on trust is truly priceless. Thanks for your comment, my friend. Been following ya since I got here.

Hey Brian. I've followed you for years. Even before the name change. You are one of the few channels on youtube that I can almost always, and almost always do, thumbs up before even watching.
I understand how you might have had unrealistic expectations when you joined Steemit. I heard Jeff and James Corbett talking about Steemit and I was left with the same impression. It's just that, like people such a Ron Paul, I'm really more of a tangible currency guy so I didn't get very excited about the money part of it. What excited me was the part about Steemit not being censored. Well, I won't go there. I even went so far as to proclaim in my introductory post, and others since then that I wasn't interested in the money. And I'm not. Good thing too as it turns out.

Anyway, I get the feeling that this place is evolving. It's not without censorship and it's share of unpleasantness. But I do think I've noticed that there does seem to be a more respectful climate here. Certainly less trollish than youtube comment sections. And because dialog is what is most important to me, I plan to stick around and see how things develop.

I would like to encourage you if possible. I know the quality of your work and the depth of your commitment to liberty and the betterment of humanity. So please hang in there. Be patient and continue the quality work that you consistently produce and I'm very confident that you will be rewarded for your perseverance.
But mostly, please remember that the most important thing you are doing you likely will never know about. Everyday, whether here or on youtube. You are bringing truth to someone who may not have every had it presented in a way that they could absorb until they found you. You never know how much of an "impact" that can have.

Wow! I'm speechless and humbled by your words Steve! You've encouraged me greatly. When I started posting to my channel back in 2012 it was because I was a part of the "Ron Paul Revolution." The mere thought of sparking freedom into mind of someone who might be listening was and is VERY exciting to me. I know the potential one illuminated mind has to change the world. And if we can set a "brush fire of freedom" in just a couple people along the way...it's SO worth it! I truly appreciate your comment. Peace!

This post is great - awesome to see you pulling in some real wedge on this one - the two vids are really helpful. If I was a large marine mammal I'd give you a huge bucket of plankton. Stick at it - you will get there.

haha...thank you my friend!

There are not that many users on Steemit yet. More are joining everyday though. 50 whales can only up-vote so many new people everyday and alot of good content gets missed. As more new users grow their SteemPower people like you should reap much reward. Stick with us! checkout http://www.steemd.com for statistics

I am definitely sticking with it!!! Thanks for the comment.

Thanks for such an honest rendition of something I and I'd bet many others here go through. When I saw your Steemit posts start popping up on FB I though "eh, scam" and like you passed on it for awhile. But the more I looked into it... (we all know the story!). I finally came because I knew it met a solution to a problem for me - webhosting without paying for it (I point three domains here now) and said "I'm not here for the money" but DARNED IF ... (we all know the story).
From my point of view you do pretty well here but I know it can't seem like true pay for the hours... yet. But seeing what (little?) you have earned kept me inspired to know it's possible. Seeing that $1,000 est acct value in your wallet makes you my Dollar Vigilante in fact! Thanks again fro your honesty tho, and glad you'll be sticking with it. One factor we're all hoping for (I think) is that short term rewards aside, what we earn here could multiply by 100 times or more if the platform and the Steem value ever sees the success we early adopters want to believe it will see, so there is that. Your efforts will have paid off financially even if you quit now, walk away for years and come back later. But I know you won't!

Decided to break this up, haha...

Yes, community and relationships are key here! We all know this too. I've found more people I want to follow in the comment on others peoples' articles than I ever found in "new", "trending," etc.
But if I may, I might advise you to make your post tabs more relevant to what's trending now tho - it seems you often post very obscure tags that are quite appropriate fro your article/video (or are good slogans and adjectives) - but don't reach anyone yet and don't stand much chance of getting noticed, by whales or anybody that's not already following you.
Ex: Your fantastic police brutality article about the kid that was unjustly killed had these tabs:
killercops policebrutality murder protest outcry
I think you'd've done much better by making your first tag "news" on that article. I play long game myself, by posting tags that might eventually become niche categories here, and earn me more followers like in a year, but for immediate payout I always go to the homepage and make sure at least one to three of my tags are categories that people are already using, and almost always make especially my first tab a well-traveled category (if appropriate that is - and I'm still a micro-plankton here so take any advice from me with a grain of salt!).
Of course the competition for views is tough there, but I just mean try mixing it up more. Sorry, been meaning to tell you that since that very video!

Thanks Guy...I always appreciate a fresh look.

Haha, that almost sounds like a polite political answer! Maybe you have a strategy in your tags that is working for you, sorry if I was insulting. So this post has inspired me to write a response to all of us micro-plankton to keep on Steeming. Been working on it all day, half done maybe, hope to post it tomorrow, God willing. Thanks for the inspiration again!

"Political answer?" haha. Not at all. Having a fresh set of eyes on a subject is always welcomed. I enjoy reading your content.

Great read. I am about to do a STEEMIT post a day for a month.... We'll see.

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