Key Tips for Starting a Successful 3D Printing Youtube Channel
Less than a year ago, I finally decided to take my enthusiasm for 3D Printing and share it with the world. I started a YouTube channel. Nobody - certainly not I - could have imagined what happened next. Within just a few short months, I had over 50,000 subscribers. I generated thousands of dollars monthly in sponsorships, brand deals, AdSense revenue, and affiliate income. I’d built up a mastermind with 5 of the most respected content creators in the niche and my blog about 3D printing. And best of all, I was having a blast doing it.
In this article, I’ll share my story and a few tips you can apply to get started yourself.
1. Just Hit Record
The #1 reason why people don’t start a YouTube channel - in 3D printing or any other niche - is because they don’t feel confident. Either they don’t feel confident in their knowledge of 3D printing, or they don’t feel confident in front of a camera, or maybe they don’t feel confident with their editing skills, equipment… whatever.
But here’s the thing: we all started somewhere.
You see, what I didn’t tell you was that before starting my 3D Printing channel, I’d been working hard for 10 years on developing my content creation skills. I've done online courses, podcasts, YouTube channels, and other projects. And let me be real with you: my first efforts were really bad. I look back today on my first video course, and I’m mortified:
That course was recorded on a Macbook pro webcam, with a towel over the keyboard so the microphone didn’t pop. I taped a blanket on the wall, flipped my mattress against another wall, taped a bag over my desk lamp, and just. hit. record. The product wasn’t perfect, but it was a great MVP (and I got really lucky because, over time, it would generate hundreds of thousands of dollars in sales!). Over time, as my skills (and my budget) improved, I improved my video quality. Little by little, I invested in things like lighting, cameras, microphones, and even outsourced editors… But NONE of that is possible until you first dive in and get started SOMEWHERE. So, my first tip is this: just get started. Hit record. Use your iPhone and iMovie if that’s what you have. But you need to get off 0 (0 subscribers, 0 videos, 0 experience) somehow.
Then, and only then, can you start to…
2. Invest in Quality
You might think that YouTube is a goldrush, where anyone can make millions of dollars… but that’s only a part truth. The fact is that because youtube is such a golden opportunity - with such tremendous growth potential - the competition is already pretty fierce. Millions of content creators are out there, and audiences are spoiled for choice.
hat makes you stand out from the rest of them? Well, fortunately, the YouTube algorithm is very good at promoting content. Even if you have 0 subscribers, you can grow beyond your wildest dreams with your first video. My first 3D printing video now has over 30,000 views, and that video alone was enough to get my channel monetized, plus gain my first 5,000 subscribers.
So how do you do it? One word: QUALITY. Leveraging an AI video maker is a great way to ensure that your content maintains a high standard of quality. Gone are the days when you could just point your smartphone at your 3D printer shakily, talk, and expect to get 100,000 views. With so many 3D printing youtube channels producing such high-quality content, you need to come correct.
Don’t get me wrong… this doesn’t mean you need a $3,000 camera, professional editing software, and a professional studio to create quality. As I demonstrated earlier, even with a little effort, such as repositioning your desk lights and taping a blanket on the wall, you can dramatically improve your quality. Your iPhone already shoots GREAT video, and with a simple tripod and a window, you can get stable, well-lit shots at no cost. You can learn editing on YouTube or Skillshare to record videos and make YouTube shorts out of them for your channel. And of course, quality doesn’t just mean production value. It also means quality content. Personally, I script out ALL of my YouTube videos word-for-word, and I know that most of the other “big” creators in the space, from Thomas Sanladerer, to CNC Kitchen, Maker’s Muse, ModBot, and more do as well. When it comes to YouTube, your audience wants clear, concise, educational, and informative content.. And the best way to do that is to script the content out.
One other tip, and something I learned nearly a decade ago. Audiences will forgive “so-so” video quality… but they cannot stand bad audio. So when you do start to invest in gear, hold off on the fancy lights or camera. Your first investment should be a high-quality microphone.
3. Iterate Based on Feedback
In the beginning of my channel, I discovered what most YouTubers probably already know; people have a LOT of feedback, and some of it can be harsh. Early on, I got hundreds of comments with all manner of “criticism,” ranging from “the audio wasn’t balanced” to “too much shilling” all the way to “back away from the camera, your nose is too big.”
There are many different ways to take this kind of feedback, but I decided to take it as constructive and thank the audience for the feedback. Instead of taking this stuff personally, I took it to heart and applied every comment I could into improving my videos.
I balanced my audio, cut down on the plugs, and shot my videos at a wider angle with a different lens. And guess what? My audience noticed. I started getting fewer comments like that, and some even remarked that they were impressed I’d taken their feedback. Suddenly, the “shill” comments turned into compliments on how well I transitioned smoothly into sponsored segments.
And naturally, my channel grew proportionally. The lesson here is simple and reminds me of the bible for every startup owner, The Lean Startup by Eric Ries: Take customer feedback, and use it to improve your product. Your “customers,” in the case of a 3D printing youtube channel, are the community and your viewers, and they are telling you how to serve them better so that they come back to watch again and again. So instead of getting offended, just use their feedback to improve your channel. If they don’t like a certain type of joke (my audience told me early on that joking about my wife hating the 3d printers was getting old), cut those jokes out. Simple as that. In fact, there’s one other source of information you can use to grow your channel:
4. Study Your Analytics
More than any other platform, YouTube gives creators a TON of data. And the best creators, from Mr. Beast to Mark Rober, use that data to their advantage. YouTube will tell you how many people are clicking on your videos, how much they’re watching, what they’re looking for, who else they’re watching… and much more. If you want your 3D printing YouTube channel to grow, you must become a student of that data. Look deeply into your analytics, both for your videos and for the channel as a whole. By doing this, you can not only figure out what’s working so that you can do more of it, but you can also identify problems and correct them before it’s too late, such as changing the title and thumbnail of your video if it’s not performing well enough. You can check out an article by Adobe to learn how to make a thumbnail for Youtube in minutes.
As makers, many of us would rather be doing many things, such as building a new 3D printer or even printing stuff, than studying boring analytics. But if you want to succeed on YouTube, you simply don’t have a choice.
Conclusion
When I was first considering starting this journey, even I was intimidated by the competition and the high bar in the 3D printing youtube niche. However, I was lucky enough that a few content creators that I admire encouraged me to just do it. So, while I’m certainly no CNC Kitchen, now, I feel it’s my turn to do the same for all of you. Hopefully, the tips I’ve shared can help get you started. And remember: it’s all about iteration. We all start somewhere, and even the best are still working to improve their craft.
But you have to get started. I’ll see you on YouTube!
About the author:
Jonathan Levi is a bestselling author and a 3D Printing expert. He runs The Next Layer blog and YouTube channel, where he educates and inspires new 3D printer hobbyists on the latest technological news and creative projects.
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