The Struggle Is Real, The Road to 1000 Subscribers

It's been awhile, but I am back to Blogger.  I would to say thanks to all my new subscribers on my YouTube channel, we finally hit 100+ subscribers.

Where am I at these days?  Gaming Streaming on a regularly Mon.-Wed. on Twitch and Thur.-Sun. on YouTube.  Completed a second Season of drawings 22 episodes YouTube.  My website is still in the works but it is coming along ArtwithErrol.  Also I have recently discover Teespring a site that can be used to make and sell t-shirts.  Working on incorporating T-shirts I have designed for my Teespring campaign into my website.  What I have found is that linking to another site is not the correct way to go.  As YouTube doesn't allow you to link your web page if it links to a different site. So I'm am currently searching to find a solution to this issue.  Learning as I go, hopefully helping folks along the way.

Let's talk about growing Social media, what does it really take, is it possible for average person to grow and earn income? 

Developing a schedule and sticking to it.  It is not always easy to stick to a schedule while working a job, taking care of a family and doing the day to day normal life activities. Schedules are very important to growth.  What I have found is by keeping to a weekly schedule has increased my channels growth.  My current schedule is posting a drawing video once a week for my art viewers and game streaming throughout the week for my gamers.  Finding tools to help you stick to a schedule such as reminders or calendar apps that can keep you on task.

Another important factor to growth is engagement.  Yep, you got to talk to others.  Engaging with other channels has been a hug part of growth for my channel.  Supporting other will help you grow your channel, by engaging in chat on streams, dropping likes and commenting on videos and streams. I do NOT mean going to others channels and just promoting yourself.  Quickest way to be blocked!  That is not engaging!  Engaging is participating in that content creators channel whatever the channel, stream or video is about. 

And then there is sharing.  Sharing your own videos and streams is a must.  Posting something prior to video uploads or streams and then share the uploaded video or streams once uploaded or live.  This will help in keeping your other Social media active, gain following as well as notifying folks that you have something new coming. Where do I share?  Everywhere, Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Snapchat etc.... I know, I know this is a lot to do.... but these are all things that will help you as well as others trying to grow your brand or channel.  Well this is what I have learned thus far, I will continue to update this Blog as I grow and learn.  Hopefully this is remotely helpful if you have anything to add please comment.

We will find out the answers on my journey of building my brand ArtwithErrol.  Stay tuned.

FORTNITE BATTLE ROYALE (SOLO) LIVE STEAM ArtwithErrol

The struggle is real, the journey continues…

This last month has been a major learning experience for me. Art with Errol, Season 1 is coming to a close and I will finish the season with 22 episodes; taking a few weeks off from the art side of my channel and continue with gaming. I have not started any Vlogs as of yet, but it is in my plans to add to the channel. The pressure is on to improve during season 2 based off my experiences of developing season 1.

Video editing has been a practice. Learning the programs such as iMovie and Motion to create my videos have been challenging. Creating pop ups, picture in video, and my logo opening took a lot of effort to finely tune the videos. Now, creating is a little easier as I can copy and paste with most parts of any project. The videos that I am making are improving, but I would like to elevate the skill level of editing for season 2, by adding better thumbnails to make them look more appealing and adding a variety of new pop ups in the videos. Also by tweaking the way I record my videos, this should take them to the next level. There are many videos on YouTube that recommend these type of changes, so I will give this a try.

Sharing via the many social media platforms, I feel will always be challenging. Posting and reposting/retweeting is a task that I will have to constantly stay on top of. Becoming better at sharing will help the exposure of my channel Art with Errol. Social media sites can be connected to each other, but I found that sharing on just one platform connected to the others views differently, such as, sharing a picture with an attached link on Instagram shared to twitter as well as Facebook doesn’t fully translate across all platforms. The best way to go about this is to go on each site individually and post for the best looking product on that site.

As with anything, hard work will pave the way. Moving forward, I will continue to strive to produce better product and share what I have learned in my BLOG. Hopefully this is helpful and not me just rambling on. 
Feel free to share and check out my website Art with Errol.

The struggle is real, starting a new chapter

Getting going is one of the hardest things I find for myself. I have discovered that over the first half of this year, starting something new takes a lot of energy and time. Balancing becoming more evolved in social media, starting up my art business (ArtwithErrol.com) and managing my work life is extremely difficult. For anyone who may be seeking out a new profession, here is my experience so far:

As I become closer to retirement from one profession and starting a new one, I am experiencing the early struggles in this new chapter of my life. My number one biggest challenge is understanding the human behavior of getting people to respond to the promotions that are sent out via social media. An example would be when a promotion is viewed, then having the person respond by liking, commenting, subscribing or following. This is probably the most important part, because these options push the promotion farther for more views or even monetization of your content or website (ArtwithErrol.com) via YouTube or AdSense.

My second biggest challenge is managing my time for work, my art business (ArtwithErrol.com) and family life. As a father and a husband, I have to be ready for anything. Family is the most important part of my life, and it is why I do what I do. Thus far, I have be able to stick to a schedule that works, but there will always be the unexpected to account for. Using just two days a week to work on my art business (ArtwithErrol.com) is a great start for me, but as I expand my reach I may need to increase the days.  Working hard to use what little time I have between work and family to piece everything together is a true challenge. 

The desire to achieve pushes me to try harder every day for myself and my family. Pushing myself to learn more on how to use social media, promote my business (ArtwithErrol.com), and the challenges I am facing head on is a new road for me. As I continue to learn and move forward, the only thing that stands out the most is hard work and dedication. Hard work and dedication is needed to perform at the highest level of success and in to allow me to continue day in and day out. Being prepared to step outside your comfort zone is required in this transition.

Check out my drawing tutorials ArtwithErrol.com