It’s nearly a week since my tech reviews YouTube channel hit 100,000 subscribers.
I’ve watched several others cross that threshold and I’ve always wondered what it felt like. It’s such a huge number, after all, and there’s a gaping chasm of hard work between it and your first 1,000 subscribers.
Well, I’m in Club 100K now, and I can tell you exactly what it feels like.
Like so many instances in life when you reach something for which you’ve been striving, hitting 100,000 subscribers on YouTube feels no different to how you feel when you have ‘just’ 99,999 subscribers. It’s the most arbitrary of figures and relates to nothing more than YouTube’s willingness to send you a framed version of their logo as a “well done, mate”.
I am not downplaying this. It has taken me three years of the hardest work I’ve ever put into anything to reach that number. Seeing those six numbers in YouTube Studio put a genuine smile on my face, too; Easter Sunday was a wonderful day for that reason (and the fact that I received so many lovely comments from my audience, friends, and family).
It should also be noted that at the exact time my subscriber number ticked over 100,000, the total views achieved by the channel swung passed 15,000,000. For a channel which is yet to be touched by the golden hand of a viral Short, I’m immensely proud of the latter number in particular.
There’s also a misconception in YouTube land which suggests that all hell breaks loose once you surpass certain subscriber totals. Hit that number, and you’ll watch your subs soar thereafter, they’ll say.
This isn’t the case - at least in my experience - and this week provided the perfect example. A week after hitting 100,000, I’ve picked up just 329 additional subscribers. This is poor - really poor given the size of the channel and the fact it’s my full-time gig. But it’s also the harsh reality of YouTube; you’re almost ‘forced’ to celebrate a particular growth achievement only to immediately face the deepest of slumps for several days afterwards.
I’ve experienced this consistently over the last three years. Although Mark Ellis Reviews has grown quickly at times, it has also faltered on numerous occasions, due in part to a lack of trending topics in tech and the cataclysmic impact a poorly performing video inevitably has on subscriber growth.
This is the reality of YouTube.
Despite this, I’m the happiest I’ve ever been, professionally. It’s far too easy to get lost in the numbers. I’ll celebrate the arrival of that YouTube award and hang it proudly in my studio, but it’ll be nose-down, and crack on immediately thereafter.
I’m dealing with the biggest numbers I’ve ever dealt with in my life right now, but the bigger the numbers, the faster the self-imposed pressure arrives. Thankfully, I’m acutely aware of that now, and hitting the 100,000 milestone has taught me the best of lessons.
Thank you so much for helping me reach that number - it means the world.
Onward!