@dronecamps – Justin,
It’s clear you are struggling with your channel and its your main source of income. Youtube and FPV have changed since you started making content.
You know this, and its clear to see over the last 2 years you’ve been trying to find a way to make it work, but it’s not. Your channel is struggling, 2% of your subscriber base watch your videos.
I am sorry you are in this position, and I would hate to be there too. There is a way out, if you are relying on your channel as your only income, maybe its time to find a full-time job and move youtube to the side-hustle.
Let’s objectively look at your channel and videos:
1. You spend too effort on saying what you are instead of letting your actions show. Saying “honest reviews” is not honest, its actually a signal you are about to lie to their face. Trust me, I am Real Estate Agent.
You make your videos to serve You and serve the Company who gave you the product, which is why you push affiliate links so hard and its why your videos suck.
Where is the value for me as a viewer to watch your video. You don’t tell me anything new that I cant get from watching all the other videos about the product. I honestly don’t care what you have to say, especially when you say the same thing about every product you review.
THis comes from FUD. Fear, Uncertainty, Doubt. All stemming from that if you say bad things manufactuers wont work with you. But, who are you serving?
The Company!
And this means because you are serving the company, not the viewer, what’s their incentive to watch? None.
If you make videos to serve the viewer, so they get value, then companies will want you to review their products because viewers (their customers) value your oppinion.
And please don’t tell me you make videos that serve the viewer. Your view count is the biggest single indicator that they’re not being served.
2. Your video ideas are reviews, and reviews are done. You and UAV futures killed them. Not to mention reviews are not a format youtube viewers want. Every viewer knows they’re all provided to the creator for free so they’re not genuine or honest anymore.
3. Videos should share your experience with the product, how you use it and where you find it valuable and what flaws it has. But, since you are using the products in your own life – you are providing reviews based on products sent to you by the company, they’re not part of your everyday use of the product — Everyday use means how you normally use them in FPV.
4. Go and watch of videos about how MrBeast makes successful videos, adapt that to FPV. Watch FilmBooth and CreatorBooth on how to make educational videos, or Creator Science. Always Be Learning. You need to keep learning about Youtube and FPV. Go and buy Ali Abdaal’s Part Time Youtuber Academy if you want a course that will tell you how to do it properly.
5. First you need an IDEA for the video, then packaging of THUMBNAIL & TITLE, then a STORY structure, then data and analysis for each point in the story. Then write your story. Save the Cat, Harmon Circle are two great structures.
– Thumbnail should be clean and easy to understand. Yours are overcooked, like you are trying to put every ingredient in it to hopefully make it taste better.
– Title shouldn’t be “The Best” this should covey the Idea of the video.
– Story, take me on a journey and share your experience with the product. Don’t sell me on it. All you do is market products in your videos.
6. Stop trying so hard and looking for different little things. Keep it simple and consistent. Stop going on these tangents or trying to get in on trends. You are far too late on them. The NFT one is a perfect example, they died and then you went lets do FPV NFT’s. Mate, stick to the basics. Just focus on making the best videos that serve and give value to the viewer.
If you want me to help you with a deep dive, reach out and I will happily help you!
source
An open letter to Justin Davis….
Please go away.
good content, good approach and great points. just a little thing: can you mount your camera in a way that doesn't constantly shake as you move on the table? 🙂 thanks!
Guy is a sell out. He seems like a chill guy and what not but in terms of being a credible dude, he is not. I'm not even the biggest fan of botgrinder but I respect his not g a f attitude while speaking his opinion and not saying buy everything under the sun. I was about to buy a bunch of stuff based on that guy and im happy I had a gut feeling he was just a shill. Now I can wait for the new mobulas
Careful bro, you'll get a cease and desist letter from Douche Camps.
Bot is struggling cuz of the whole FAA thing, at least he stopped smoking meth
Haha cheeky little thumbnail comparison, I'll take that praise thanks Darren 😜
In fact I’ve got the best drones! Ill race anybody over 10km out
I wonder if some of the 200k ish subs were purchased…
The most significant point made in this video was at 49:55 … creators "got to have a story and take viewers on a journey, while providing value to them" (the viewers). The second significant point was concerning "cleaner, simpler thumbnails" at 48:15. Not exactly stated, but 'consistency in setting viewer expectations' across videos is a positive thing. Insights from a content creator and business perspective were great, but were more about setting the context of metrics for what is a successful channel.
Darren, I appreciate your approach to this whole toxic youtube community comment thing. By using empathy to create a positive context to help a fellow FPV community member. At the end of the day, FPV is a smaller community and having people adding positive vibes and value is a good for the community. So much better an approach that polarizing opinions.
♥😎👍👍
BTWa: at some point in future, you might consider making an edited version of this (or not), as it gives perspective from a creator point of view that many views do not understand. It's definitely not easy, and way more skills required that most realize.
I've only come across "Drone Camps RC" recently, somehow, watched one video and was astonished at the number of subs he had….
But drone camps is weak af so like…..
Is justin getting all this gear free from manufactures ?? Maybe people are jealous a bit . Id love to be sent so many drones .
Yes his content is often not believable . He just needs to start have fun flying rather than shoveling sh1t into potential buyers mouths .
The advice in your description is so spot on. Success on YT requires doing small things right for a long time. And if you have a history of doing things wrong for a long time, it takes a while to turn that ship.
DC listed it as “cyber-bullying”…this was Bot putting his thumbnail up for 1/2 second..
I’m betting he is getting bombarded by the FPV community…. In NOT a good way.. I hope he is prepared.
I stopped watching Drone Camps vids long ago. I use to listen and see a great review and think I will try it and found his Best drone so far to be far less than good in anyway
I learned reviewers review to get free stuff and DC was/is one of them
YT creator guru's like to lie and stretch the truth so to say, so ALL of them ( including this one ) needs to be taken with a grain of salt .
Now I watched some of this Allatt guys vids and found much of his claims were also far from facts , and have said so in the past and am not subbed to them, Mostly useless in my opinion, but again that i MY opinion and I have a RIGHT to it, like they do. This very video is an example
But consider what is happening with DC or Bot or anyone else , it is really their business and the rest of us can comment, but neither one of them influences my life, or FPV fun or product purchases etc. It is basically meaningless, and that should be the same mindset of everyone else, agree or disagree who cares, let them sort it out between them, it is just that simple.
WHAT i FIND HILARIOUS IS all the other so called influencers making videos about this….almsot like everyones analitics are down, and like the democrap party, aLWAYS ATTEMPT TO TAKE ADVANTAGE OF A BAD SITUATION. Maybe send drone camps a private letter, over air what you think on youtube, it is dirty and you know you are just doing it for the views just like all the others. So glad I keep to myself, seem people today elevate themselves with others.
I've been building homes for 38 years. I would hate to think I would have to rely on YouTube for income. There are many great channels out there who have made millions but this hobby is so small. I too looked at his views based on subscribes. He has not been doing well at all! And now this choice on his part. Terrible move!
The drop in views is telling for someone with 196k subs and dropping. Drama Camps
I don't envy the subject of this (DC) but also agreed 100% with botgrinder's take. The viewer picks up on these nuances, eventually, but it's after learning the hard way in a lot of cases, which doesn't help the hobby.
I used to allow drones to be sent to me for free, to do a review, but then I progressively found I hated it. I love flying. I love flying drones I love to fly. The crap they sent me was… crap… But, I wanted to be fair and fly it awhile before publicly putting out a video saying its crap. So… here I am flying crap for 5, 10, 15 hours to give it a fair shake, and, YEP! ITS CRAP.
So I post the video that it's crap… and… queue the haters. "Did you calibrate it?" "Obviously you've never flown a drown before!" "You obviously don't know how to fly a drone," blah blah blah….. OK, whatever smart guys.
So I've wasted 15 hours or more, get grief, and I didn't enjoy any of it. Solution? No more drone reviews. Now, I'll post up videos on drone RELATED things like Flite Test Remote ID modules, but it's different. I'm posting up stuff I'm doing for fun (3D prints I made up), and tinkered with (hook it up to rechargeable coin batteries for light weight, portability and "because I wanted to try it out)…
I can get the RID haters, griefers.. but now… I don't care. I enjoyed the process and helping one, two or a few other people with their ideas, thoughts, obersvations, compliance, whatever…
Or how many cups of coffee you drank before getting to the product review when his house is bigger than everyone watching the video
I hope he sees this video as a positive and a very supportive one to help his channel, and acts on some of the great advice, but his reaction to bardwells email that everyone else could see was legit good advice, was taken as hate mail which tells me he isn't ready yet.
The channel won't change until he accepts that the channel needs to change. From where I sitting that's where the real challenge lies.