Building an Audience and Other Advice for Creators

Brownlee attributes his channel’s growth to a decade of consistent videos and the lasting interest in technology. He describes growth as gradual rather than tied to one breakthrough, with a large back catalog and established reputation helping viewers decide to subscribe.

Brownlee evaluates how well a product works for people, including whether a feature is useful every day or merely impressive at first. He tested the LG G8’s hand gestures and found that they did not help much in a practical cooking scenario. For qualities such as screen quality, he recognizes that his preferences may matter less to mainstream buyers.

Brownlee is broadening his coverage with car videos, a series about creators’ workspaces, and plans for conversations with other creators. He sees video as his preferred medium and describes 360 video as useful for a studio tour, while finding fewer productive uses for it elsewhere. In reviews, he builds a story by comparing a product with what came before and with competing products.

Brownlee advises new creators to draw inspiration from others but develop their own perspective, then get started despite YouTube’s crowded landscape and the role of luck. He aims for high production quality, but says a timely video at 95 percent complete can be better than one left unfinished while chasing perfection. For startups approaching creators, he recommends personalized outreach and offering access or material that makes a better video for the audience.

Brownlee recommends diversifying creator income through ads, affiliate links, sponsorships, merchandise, and, where appropriate, direct viewer support. He estimates that ads make up about 40 to 50 percent of his income, sponsored work about 20 percent, and affiliate income about 10 percent. His next challenges include improving production and sharing work such as editing and set design with a team.