spintowinrx7

iTrader: (1)

So I’m buying a garage to continue learning about building cars and to build my fd RX7 and my 2011 STI. One of the biggest factors for this is I want to start making youtube content and tracking my progression/knowledge. One of the biggest things I realized is that rx7 content creators don’t really grow besides Rob Dahm. I’ve seen some really good content for rx7 content creators but they lack views and many of them don’t really grow. Im curious as to why you guys think these content creators don't grow? I think its because the RX7 community is a very small community and most people aren’t searching things for it. I could be completely wrong about this but Im really curious as to the communities opinion on this is. Why did Rob Dahm grow so much? Yet other small RX7 content creators dont grow as much?

I don’t have the funds to build both cars so I have to choose which car to build first. I really want to build the RX7 as its my favorite car but is it the smartest idea since I plan on creating content and the growth for RX7 content isn’t there? I’m debating building the subbie first to grow the channel and then build the RX7.

My question for the community is:

-Why do you think RX7 content creators don’t grow as much? Is is the quality of the videos? The fact that its a small community? Not interesting videos?

-If you were in my situation what would you do?

Thanks again. I’ve been asking a lot of questions lately and the community has been very helpful and supportive!

scotty305

iTrader: (2)

I agree there are less rotary owners than STI owners, I think that's probably part of why some rotary channels stay small. Also these cars are old and rx7club has already covered a lot of tech info in good detail; what are the odds I will learn something new from a video you make next month or next year?

I didn't watch Rob Dahm regularly until he started getting serious about doing a lot of the fabrication and wiring and tuning work himself. I appreciate that he doesn't pretend to know everything, I enjoy seeing him learn new things, and he strikes a good balance between goofy and serious/technical. It's not always nice but I try to guess what will go wrong next since that's inevitable with such an insane project built by someone who is basically a DIYer with lots of time and determination. I like the youtube channel RAD Potential for rotary content, he approaches things very differently than Rob and tends to work on cars that are closer to my budget and sensibilities. If you search youtube it's possible to find some videos with RE Amemiya in them, they are in Japanese but the subtitle translations seem good enough that it's watchable.

Then again, I have a youtube channel that is very old and very small. I can't say what would help get lots of views or grow a channel, because I haven't done that either.

spintowinrx7

iTrader: (1)

Thank you for your response! I’ve watched RAD potential a lot his channel deserves a lot more growth then what it gets. You’re right there’s a lot of information on RX7 club so there’s not really a point on watching someone on YouTube when it’s all here for everyone. The only thing I can think of is putting written guides into a video format so people can follow and watch visually instead of reading it. There’s a lot for me to think about when it comes to this. Again thank you!

ZacMan

I'll watch anything automotive related on youtube if the people seem relatively honest and genuinely passionate about what they're doing. You can usually spot a video where someone has bought a specific car because they things its going to get them watchtime. Are you wanting to build an RX7 to have a sweet RX7, or are you wanting to build a car to have a sweet youtube channel? Build the car you want, put it out there, show your enthusiasm, don't **** up the audio, and with a huge amount of luck, people will watch.

I'm not a BMW guy at all, but I genuinely fizz when a new M539 Restorations video comes out. Not into some of the cars Speed Academy does but those guys seem honest about what they're doing so I watch. I'll give Adam LZ and TJ Hunt a miss though, too much talky talky, not enough spanner spinning for my taste (although both have put out some stunner cars).

TeamRX8

iTrader: (2)

not everybody is, or desires to be, an attention harlot.

that’s not to say there aren’t any good or knowledgeable people making Uboob vids, but by and large the majority of them are cons, hucksters, and hacks; who maybe on occasion have deep pocket resources but little else, trolling for sucker-fish to fund their avoidance of a real job, receive free handouts for performing their trained seal routine, and/or fill their insatiable desire to be the Sun that everyone in their solar system orbits about.

A real job can be downright annoying at times, but imo it must really suck being compelled to make some bs video up when there really is little or nothing worthy to be had, or even worse, to parade their dirty laundry shamelessly; what was referred to as “making content”. A pretty phrase for what more often than not is a bucket full of bovine fecal matter. They’re on the hook of the wrong higher power and have no clue about who it is they really serve.

That some hack can be exceedingly popular and even praised says plenty about the worshippers. Really it’s sad that people don’t know any better or are that gullible while truly talented and knowledgable people are either ignored or overlooked because they aren’t trying to be edgy or making fools out of theirselves by flailing about and yelling with all their might, “don’t look over there, look over here instead”.

Listening to some con artist say “hey guys” or “youz guyz” etc., the most overplayed and nauseatingly repeated words ever to be heard on a video, over and over again becomes sickening. It just rings the aural stench of unadulterated vanity, pride, arrogance, and the wisdom of their own puffed-up self conceits. Pretending as though they command over an audience of the world when in fact they’re more or less alone talking to an inanimate camera begging and pleading for your devotion.

and I fully expect to get a lot of hate for spitting it out so directly, but people hating the sound of truth is as old as Adam and Eve … not only to be expected, but of no notable concern either. Better to go to the grave being unpopular, even despised yet real than a loved yet fraudulent panhandler. Because divider of The Truth awaits us all there on the other side.

The very one that somebody like Rob Dahm openly curses his name over and over again without a second thought for the whole Uboob world to bear witness of. People hear it, listen to it, and think nothing of it, but will then get more twisted than a pretzel over this post.

but getting back to the first post; just cut the crap. If you’re seeking what will be most popular, which is cutting to the chase on the reason for starting this thread, that’s just not worthy of respect in my book because it tells the story I just already told. It’s just clicks for either dollars or attention, and not your real passion.
.

j9fd3s

iTrader: (3)

just speaking for myself, but i hardly ever even look for Rx7 content, i feel like i've seen it all. (or done it myself)

teh algorithm demands regular and frequent content, which makes anything except a talking head format too time consuming (and maybe too expensive). there is nothing wrong with doing a talking head thing, but when everything is that way its disappointing. imo its kind of a lost opportunity to do something more cinematic; or simply its film you're supposed to show and not tell, but all we get is tell....

i've really been enjoying a couple of Japanese channels just because they have a different format.

spintowinrx7

iTrader: (1)

I want to build the RX7 the way I want the video stuff is just something I’ve been doing before I was even into cars. I found my passion for cars about 2 years ago and I want to put that passion out there with my skills of recording/editing.

spintowinrx7

iTrader: (1)

I can understand where you're coming from. But I disagree with some parts. No such thing as a "real job" if it makes money it's a job. Seems like you've created a standard for what a job is and isn't. I do see a lot of videos online where it's just for attention and the content is useless. I click on their videos for 2 seconds then leave their videos from how awful the content is. The reason for me creating videos isn't because I want to make money it's because I've been doing videos editing/recording for a while and I want to merge my two passions of cars and videos together. I think the coolest part about recording is building a community that you can interact with and learn and grow with. I've seen a few car youtube channels learn from the comments of the viewers and I've also see viewers express how they learned or enjoy watching genuine content. Maybe I can create entertainment for people to watch after they finished working their "real job".

spintowinrx7

iTrader: (1)

Thank you for the response! This is actually very helpful information. I was thinking when not uploading the main content I want to make, I can make cinematic videos and POV driving videos. Can you please link the Japanese channels. I'm really interested in seeing the different format.

j9fd3s

iTrader: (3)

if its something you're passionate about, by all means go for it. i think there is a big opening to do something fresh and different.

ZacMan

100% agree with you here spintowin, I've spent time both in front of, and behind the camera, and it is an absolute slog at times. The planning, prep, knowledge and investment in gear to produces something barely passable is significant. I said I wont watch the Adam LZ / TJ Hunt type of channels because I'm not a huge fan of the style, but I 100% respect the amount of work that goes into them. Its so much more than most of the audience realises. Producing anything that gets a massive audience is hard work, real work.

Hot-take: The video in this arena that has stuck in my brain the most recently is WhistlinDiesel's, getting a green lambo. His channel is an lesson in trolling and hilarity, and when you look at it through that lense, its a masterpiece. That video had me GLUED, and I'm a typical middle aged balding dad, hah. Fair play, I was a coupe of glasses of red deep, but its was just perfectly paced, pretty hilarious, and the cinematic shots are without a doubt, 100% the best I have ever seen on youtube. They outstrip 99% of anything you'll see on TV / topgear, and the like. The length of the driving shots is insane, to keep the things framed up, focused, while on a motorway, for that length? Holy ****, that's a talented production team right there. The audio mixing in these shots is just perfect too, the way the music hits at the key moment, the mix with the engine sounds. Seriously, its completely epic (I've just gone an re-watched it with the speakers cranked :-). ).

Totally agree. Something with good technical content, honesty, and some epic cinematics? ****, I'll like and subscribe ;-).

TwinCharged RX7

iTrader: (14)

Haha. Yeah, whistlin diesel isn't for everyone, comes off as an idiot but he knows exactly what he's doing. Just the kind of think you can't take too seriously. I agree, the production value on some them like the lambo episode was amazing. Too bad he put a hammer through it haha.

Sgtblue

iTrader: (16)

Seems like you have too….and with a very low bar to qualify.
So if your videos attract just enough attention to clear a buck apiece you can call it a “job”?

Do you have other means of support? Another “job”? Some other way to pay for you groceries, gas, insurance, obligations, these cars, that shop and the tools and equipment to make your videos? If so than it absolutely qualifies as the “real job” whose existence you deny.

Or maybe someone is indulging this “passion” you speak of. Because this all seems pretty ambitious for all but a very few fortunate 22 year olds.

Natey

iTrader: (19)

Dahm has set a pretty high standard for rotardism. If your vids and car are on par with his, you'll get some clicks.

su_maverick

It honestly depends on what you want to do with the content.

If it is technical and just following the build then you wont get much in the way of views/follows. Most people will just be searching for a particular 'how to' in those areas. The plus is that it will be pretty low effort and dont need a lot of investment. Just need to know what you are talking about.

If it is entertainment and you are looking to get a good amount of views/follows then you are going to have to put a lot of money and effort behind it. Youtube is very ADD and if you are not uploading all that much, people are going to lose interest pretty quickly and find something else to watch. From my side, some things you are going to need to have a somewhat successful channel
- You need to have a 'why' you are building the car. General builds tend to be a dime a dozen. The car having a purpose at least targets a demographic of car enthusiasts
- You need to have very steady progress on the car. to keep the content going. If there is a delay, you need to find some other topic to fall back on.
- With the above, having just one build is going to be rough for keeping content going. A lot of the channels you see (Gears & Gasoline, Speed Academy, Tommy F Yeah, Adam LZ etc) are working on multiple cars at once. Of those, I only really have stuck with G&G and Speed Academy as the others just became repetitive with no purpose (except maybe for Adam LZ but he is a little too hype-boy for me)
- You have to be a personality as the 'face' of the channel. People tune in for the car but decide to keep watching based on whether they like watching you or not. If you are dry or monotone, it could cause your channel views to dry up.

Just my .02

TwinCharged RX7

iTrader: (14)

That's a good assessment. Also, if you want to make money on it, it has to be a big part of your life. You can't just post a few videos and expect to drive revenue. All the successful automotive content creators spend a huge amount of time, effort, and money on it. Even if they are annoying, the level of effort is clear. Once they get famous, then they leverage that into more opportunities and keep the flywheel of growth spinning. That's why someone like Adam LZ has YouTube, instagram, Facebook, owns a parts company DriftHQ, has a podcast, has an amazing compound, tons of cars for content, professional drifter, clothing/merch, sponsorships. The list goes on and on. You have to have a ton of drive, and a bit of luck, to make all that happen.

BryanDowns

iTrader: (2)

You've heard alot of this already by previous posters, but I'll also support most of what they have said. I've got a youtube channel I play around with for the past 2 years. Here are lessons I learned:

1. Making entertaining content is hard. Like, way harder than you think it is. Youtube gives you all the metrics to know if the audience likes it or not though. It seems to be easy to figure out what they dont like, hard to figure out what they do. I promise you if you havent done this before its not at all what you think it is
2. Editing takes a long time. Like, every ~10 minute video I've uploaded has at least 8-12hours of editing in it. You'll get better and faster as time goes on, but really, this step takes way longer than most think it does
3. A planned video is better than an unplanned one. You dont just grab a camera and start recording. If you do, the editing phase will teach you why thats a bad plan. You'll spend 4x as long editing it into something coherent than if you just planned it up front. Planning saves editing time all day long. Most of my friends that want to do a video on the channel or start their own just dont grasp that. You wont until you are trying to edit through 6 hours of footage to find 10 minutes of decent content only to realize it sucks unless you flip the order then the background changes, or there isnt enough filler between scenes to make it coherent. Just film it in a planned manner and close to the shots you want up front.
4. To be successful on youtube you have to play to the algo. Thats really THE differentiator of Rob vs all the channels youve found but arent popular. The algo. The algo biases towards high CTR, good SEO, subscriptions, duration of watched minutes, and how often your channel uploads. I can tell you Ive played with this a good bit. If you upload more often all your other videos will suddenly start showing up in sidebars and peoples feeds as a halo affect. Every time I post a video I see my other videos views increase as well. Ive even experimented with bundling videos to release weekly for a few weeks, it works. However, filming enough content AND editing it on a weekly basis is pretty intense and feels like a second job. I hope you are committed if its your second job, you'll be grinding for a year or two before you have enough videos to create gravity on your channel.
5. Speaking of which, subs are like gravity, it will be hard to get subs at first, and they will come in easier as people see others already subscribed to you. Its like a quality indicator to people about your brand that makes it easier for them to also sub I think.
6. You wont get many subs until you have multiple videos. Its a slog and it wont feel worth it
7. You 99.99999% wont make money off of this. If thats your goal, I hope you have alot of startup capital and plan to run it like a startup venture burning capital and doing paid traffic to build an audience. Thats what it'll take short of a massive stroke of luck that you arent likely to get.

Now all that said... Hey if you enjoy doing it for fun, by all means do it. If by some chance it takes off even better. Just make sure that if it doesnt take off, you are cool with it just being a time consuming hobby. I continue to make videos because I find editing fun, and frankly, it eats time and is way cheaper than purely buying parts and working on cars. It also makes it fun each time I get a new part or do a new project to film it. If people get enjoyment out of it, cool. If they dont, well I still have videos to look back on for memories and enjoyment so whatever

Also hey, random link to channel because we are talking about it https://www.youtube.com/c/CarGuyFridays however, the Rx7 featured occasionally isn't a rotary. Try not to burn me at the stake! Of course, I am only a tick north of 1k subs, so take what I say with whatever grain of salt youd like.

Good luck with your future channel, I hope it takes off!

j9fd3s

iTrader: (3)

this is true, if one wanted the real life example Hitchcock (in)famously spent a long time in the planning stage, to the point where he says things like ''ve already made the film, i just have to shoot it'
to his credit it is also much less expensive to do it this way, its basically free to plan the thing, but when you're shooting you have all the crew and equipment and such.

Psycho is the famous example, it was $800,000 to make, and grossed $50 million, but that wasn't an accident, every Hitchcock picture was cheap to make, its because he had all everything planned out before hand.

if you're doing car stuff this is theoretically easier, because you can have a setup to show what you're working on, and a setup for the talking head bit

twinturborx7pete

iTrader: (3)

It is interesting the things you will subscribe to and watch. Personally, I like seeing builds but I think the main draw is the personality of the person doing the video. I love watching the Throtl guys even though some of the cars I have zero interest in. They are just entertaining and remind me of all my car friends growing up. TommyFyeah is fun because he's no bullshit, has no problem talking ****, and does clean stuff. I can't watch TJ Hunt because its all VLOG and "look at me" stuff. Gears and Gasoline is good to watch because they have fantastic film crews and editing. They do a lot of stupid **** though and frankly waste a lot of time doing things cheap or stupidly. Speed Academy, also a great channel due to the overview and the two guys on the show.

All in all, I think you have to realize it is like a TV show. People are watching for entertainment in a different setting. Watching Rob Dahm is entertaining to me. He learns as he goes and has a TON of videos. It all starts somewhere I guess.

At the end of the day you have to ask yourself, am I going to be entertaining? Do I have good content to put out there? Is the content I want to put out saturated already? What makes me different?

And yah, don't plan to make money. You're fooling yourself.

H_M

iTrader: (7)

I think Rob Dahm grew for several reasons. He already had an established fan base from years of content. He was able to collaborate with other big youtubers (Super Speeders Rob, Vehicle Virgins, TJ Hunt, etc.), he was the first to start a really crazy build (his awd 4 rotor), he's good at marketing, and he's a likeable guy that puts in a lot of hard work.

When I bought my first two RX7s, I made many of videos on Youtube. I saw good growth, was averaging 200-300 subscribers a month, and most videos were getting 2000-5000 views. Then all the bigger automotive youtubers began buying RX7s and my views & subscribers plummeted. They had unlimited budgets, had big shops behind them, were doing fast car transformations, and were tailoring their builds to the 8-16 year old audience. I think that they saturated the market and made viewers accustomed to fast flip & big money builds. All their videos got promoted and my new videos got stuffed so far down the Youtube hole that they won't even show up if you did a direct search. I eventually stopped posting car related videos. 50 hours a month editing videos was not worth the $50 monthly Youtube paycheque.

Regularly partner and collaborate with big youtubers. This is probably the only way to build a good fan base right from the start. I live so far away from any other youtuber that this is impossible for me to do but someone in the New York/ Florida/ Texas/ California region will have better options. The other way is to have a bunch of content already made and then get really lucky with several viral videos to draw in & retain new viewers.

ZacMan

What be your channel? :-)

scotty305

iTrader: (2)

His is Howzer Tech: https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCL6...pL_bJplbFkFTGw I think I might have been a subscriber. Dozens of FD RX-7 videos, nicely edited, basically a build thread vlog showing a guy and his car(s).

scotty305

iTrader: (2)

This thread makes me think it might be nice to keep a list of rx7club-recommended youtube channels or videos, so we can help each other find interesting videos without relying on weird youtube algorithms. I started a google doc spreadsheet, feel free to add to it: https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets...it?usp=sharing

quichedem

iTrader: (4)

As with many things, Dale has already started us down this rabbit hole...
https://www.rx7club.com/3rd-gen-gene...ispreloading=1

yurcivicsux

i could imagine that the same effort and investment into your full time career will pay off better in the long run.