We’re trying to figure out what to do with the content on the Solo Club YouTube channel. The team are working behind the scenes on a strategy we’ll be discussing next week - but I’d like to hear from you, too.
This is for a very specific reason. It’s because you’re nosey. I am, too - in fact, I think human beings are inherently interested in what other human beings get up to behind closed doors.
That human trait could work wonders here, but I need to get to the bottom of whatever it is that fascinates you about me, my industry, and what I do each day.
Let’s try and figure this out together.
Solo Club is a loss leader. It is funded entirely by the revenue generated by Mark Ellis Reviews. We have no sponsors, no AdSense revenue, and not a whiff of any affiliate income. That means it is expensive to run, and requires an awful lot of ‘big picture thinking’ as they say in soulless, grey-walled board rooms. It does, however, have huge potential - massive, in fact, if we get this right.
I want to help people follow in my footsteps because I know there’s a significant desire out there to do just that. I’ve experienced this firsthand; I wanted to follow in the footsteps of the creators I admired. So, I did, and that’s why I’m sitting here now, coffee placed next to my laptop, writing this newsletter. It’s why I started Solo Club in the first place, and it’s why the Creator Academy exists. This is a really cool job - it’s the hardest job I’ve ever had, but relentlessly good fun. I never get ‘that Sunday night feeling’. I always want to get out of bed and start work. Although ‘that Friday feeling’ has pretty much gone, the fact I never have to answer to someone I don’t like or sit in a pointless meeting arranged by someone else, more than makes up for it. The key to helping others get out of those situations is to create content that inspires, engages, and encourages them to act.
The challenge I’ve had with Solo Club is finding a rhythm, cadence, and style for the content on the YouTube channel and short-form platforms like Instagram and TikTok. There have been two constants - these Friday newsletters and my weekly livestreams. I’ve stuck at both because I enjoy doing them, there’s brilliant audience interaction (on the livestream’s part), and they are relatively low-cost in terms of production time. The rest of the content? Not so much.
We’ve dabbled with regular ‘5 ways to grow your newsletter’ videos where I stand there and waffle on about the topic in question. There have been attempts at regular vlog-style videos. The Solo Club podcast has been a success in my eyes because it has placed some wonderfully interesting people on the channel. The problem is that all of this stuff is expensive to produce, time-consuming, and - bar the podcast - not as enjoyable to make as I’d like. That’s why the content on the Solo Club YouTube channel has been so inconsistent and why the growth has completely stagnated.
This needs to change. As I noted earlier, we’re working internally on a strategy that results in content which is sustainable, fun to make, cost-effective, and, most importantly, valuable to you.
However, I know the perils of undertaking this kind of planning with the blinkers on - that’s an inherent problem when you plan without asking the audience. This is where I turn to you, my most loyal Solo Club audience on Substack (honestly, the open and read rates on these emails are overwhelmingly positive). What sort of video content do you want me to make? What do you want me to share from my experience, knowledge, and daily life?
The curiosity you have about my business and daily movements might feel intrusive or overly nosey, but I’d like you to leave those concerns at the door. You can’t be too nosey in this instance - I want you to want to know more about what I do. The reason is simple - as noted earlier, my goal is to help people follow in my footsteps, and I can only do that if I reveal the stuff you’ve always wanted to know about full-time content creation and living the life of a content creator.
I’ve opened up the comments on this post to everyone - so, please get involved and let me know: what do you want from me?
Firstly- thanks for all the content you put out Mark. I’ve been a follower for some time and appreciate all the work you’ve put into building both channels.
I think the big challenge here is pitching it for people who might be at very different stages of their journey. The total newbie who’s just on the edge of getting started is going to need very different stuff from you than someone who is, say 3 years in (could be an assumption of mine)? Maybe you could break your Solo Club content into different streams for beginner/improver/expert?
As someone from the ‘improver’ category I’m really interested to know more about how you build the business around the content. It seems that there is loads to learn about how to scale a business and integrate sponsors/brands in an authentic and engaging way. Approaching brands, negotiating deals and not leaving money on the table is the main stuff I’m wrestling with at the moment. Hope that helps!