Great video Johan! 10 hours a week minimum is really good! I'm trying to figure out what I can do better to change how I make videos, because it can get pretty tiring. Right now I only post 1 maybe 2 videos a week and I'm doing this full time 50-60 hours a week. I'm always surprised when I see people posting 3 videos a week because that seems so far out there for me. I write scripts for my videos, and typically that takes a long time, probably too long. I spend a lot of time coming up with ideas and writing out the script, and could probably get better at time management in that area. Editing takes up a lot of my time as well, but it's something I prefer to do myself for the time being. Right now making videos takes up most my life, and I can feel the burn out sometimes. I think a lot of what slows me down is perfectionism, and that's something I need to work on. I'm always re-doing takes while I film until I get it just right, though I'll still go off script when there's something I think of to add to the discussion. I think the issue is that I care too much about each video I'm putting together 😂 This past week I decided I should start working on caring less, allowing myself to ramble a bit or trip up, and also work on just taking some notes for some videos and rolling with it, rather than writing out a line for line script. So hopefully with time this will allow me to fix my approach to making videos! I'm curious what your process looks like for scripting? Do you script out your videos, or do you just have a basic structure or point form notes to go off of?
Hi Jay! Thank you for the comment and for sharing your thoughts. I have also been incredibly impressed by your videos but I can definitely see that spending 50-60 hours a week is not sustainable. I have SO many thoughts about this topic! Feel free to reach out to me on Instagram and I would be happy to share everything regarding scripting etc! Keep up the amazing work!
Captured in words makes good videos....my advice would be start hammering Pat Rothfuss for all his bull crap. I know you love the books and I like them too...but there is so much going on with Pat,someone needs to cover it.
Today is actually my 1 year Booktube anniversary, ironically I have the opposite issue you had, I am at almost 6k watch hours but not yet hit 1k subs - hoping to hit in the next few months though! My why is community - making bookish friends, getting to talk about books and make content that hopefully entertains and informs.
I love your channel! I'm really impressed with how organized your content is. I hope the channel starts paying greater dividends because you truly deserve it.
I'm just starting booktube and this is helpful! Definitely not doing it for the money, just for funsies. I spent months and months saying what if and worrying my first videos will be rubbish, but like you said just dive in! Just post that first video! You can only get better and theres no point waiting to make that perfect first video
Thank you for the insights! I just started a channel myself and while I definitely want to keep it as a pure hobby, it is interesting to see someone talk about the money side of booktube. I think compared to other niches on this app, full-time creators are just at a slight disadvantage if they talk about books due to not being the most attractive for sponsorships and adds...
Thank you for watching and congratulations on the channel. I hope you will enjoy the journey. I have found booktubers to be some of the very nicest people and I am sure you will experience the same. When it comes to sponsors there are actually quite a few brands willing to pay for an integration. I think the biggest challenge is to grow big enough for a company to actually show interest due to how small the booktube niche is. I found that I started getting some emails at around 10k from sponsors but I really started receiving quite a lot of offers at the 40k mark. All the best, Madi!
I started watching you whe u had like, idk, less than 5k subs, maybe 3 and you git me out of my reading slump and your channel gave me some of my best reads, like john Gwynne stuff Remember your first livestream etc, but then i fell off as my clg started, and i had 0 time for books, i completed only wot book 1 ober the year, and last 2 months i had my first professional exams which was the roughest months i had to live through, like 2 to 4 hrs sleep a day with studying or giving the exam the rest of the day was exhausting, its about to end in 5 days, excited to start again, see ya then
Great video, thanks for the transparency. As someone really only interested in being a Funtuber, it was interesting to learn more about how you make such nice videos as a grinder. My process is to film my thoughts on a book and literally the only editing I do is to slap images on over it, lol, unless my camera broke the recording up into multiple vids and I have to combine them, which happens sometimes. Really cool advice though, and I 100% agree. You do need a reason to keep going - even with my barebones process it can be tiresome sometimes.
Very interesting video and one I’m sure will help new BookTubers. 100% agree that it isn’t easy and there are some idiots out there (but thankfully not many!)
great video! thank you for the transparency :) I think for me, the funtuber/grindtuber is more of a spectrum. for me, I am a student, so i have to save money but also i wanted to grow fast to start getting involved in discussions quickly (and hey I think I'll hit 10k before the end of my 1st year so I'm v happy with my progress!). I watched that Mr. Beast video too about improving something in every video and I think it is a fantastic piece of advice and over time I do think my videos are improving. however, because I have to be money conscious I did research about what is more and less vital for me to invest in: from my experience I found that a good mic is more important than good lighting (shoutout to Matt's Fantasy Book Reviews because i got this from him). Also for me who is in the middle of that funtuber/grindtuber spectrum, I want to do both types of videos! I obviously want to discuss what I read, but I want the video to do well, so instead of making TBR/wrap up videos, I try to make it more themed (by subgenre, author, or series). It's working for me so far anyway :) A goal I have for the future is to do more B-Roll and to make my some of videos feel more like a journey or story that the viewer follows. Kind of like your recent challenge video in the Faroe Islands (loved that video!). Suma sumarum, this is an amazing video. I like learning from others and then applying their years of experience to me instead of having to learn it all myself from scratch haha. and I guess I wanted to share my experience too. 😁
Yes, it is a spectrum which I probably could have mentioned! I think you have done well for yourself so I would just keep "grinding". I think you have done incredibly well for yourself considering you are already nearing 10k! I for I am glad you enjoyed The Faroe Islands vlog. I want to do more vlogs! Keep up the good work!
What a great video! And very timely reminder as I’m reaching the 5 month mark on BookTube. Will def go back to this as a good reminder not to get hung up on numbers!
Great advice, Johan. And I love your "whys". Very solid tips for anyone interested in doing this, no matter what your initial reasoning is. Thanks for being a shining light for the BookTube communtiy 😊 Also... boo to the idiots 😂
Ugh YT is so frustrating but ur channel is great and all the best!!! I’m glad things are looking up for u and wow… u spent so much!! Glad the investment is worth it
This is a really cool and informative video. Thanks for posting. I created a TH-cam account just with the notion of posting occasional videos that my active readers could look up if they wanted. But as I see how much of an active bookish community there is on here, I really feel like I'd like to do more, to be active on here.
as a booktube content consumer with no desire to be a booktuber this was super interesting look into the space, thanks for the transparency and overview!
This was very interesting to me since I am probably as far out in the "funtuber" sphere as I can be compared to your approach. The most important point is definitely the why question, I agree with that. One point we rarely talk about is how there are hidden costs in doing booktube because unless we get our books from a library, these are expenses for a video and even if we get them from a library, unless that library is free, there's still a monthly or annual fee - small as it may be. Add to that the fact that bookhauls are among the easiest and most popular content on booktube and suddenly there is a temptation to spend a whole lot of money for a video that will maybe make a few bucks in return. I currently make somewhere between 5 and 8$ per month in TH-cam ad money which does not even cover the simplest of Audible / Everand subscription models and TH-cam ad money fluctuates a lot depending on a lot of factors that are just outside a creator's control. Sponsorships can definitely help a lot but you don't get those until you reach a decent subscriber count. Patreon is the most stable income stream smaller TH-camrs can have and while it definitely comes with its own issues, those are more in the area of responsibilities of creators though and a different topic.
Patreon is something I plan to look into eventually. Another booktuber I follow, Book Time with Elvis, only has just over one thousand subscribers, and I think he makes around $80 a month from Patreon. He keeps his Patreon simple too. It doesn't sound like a lot, but it pays better than adsense and I know I'd still be excited to earn anything with a smaller following. Plus, a Patreon isn't reliant on watch hours and views, so it's more consistent. It can be extra work, but I've looked at the Patreons other booktubers have and some are very simple - I plan to cherry pick what I like (one creator makes a monthly bingo card, for example), and keep it basic. I think I'm leaning more towards the funtuber approach too. I tried the grindtuber approach, and it's one of the reasons I burned out and had to step back from my channel. If I'm going to do this long term, I have to focus on the fun of running a channel, not a monetization goal which is probably still a couple years away.
@@otherworldlyfiction It took my channel two years to reach the monetization goal and during that first year I made videos almost daily plus it was the height of the pandemic and my main topic that year was Malazan which had a bit of a hype back then. Since then my channel growth has slowed massively and I don't expect it to pick up a lot in the future. I have a very poorly organized and run Patreon too but I'm also making something around 90$ per month there so yeah, this is a good idea for a smaller channel, especially if you have an active community of returning viewers and commenters. Good luck and nice to see you pop up here!
Some great advise for a new Booktuber like myself. The part I engaged most with was about gradually improving. Even in the short time I've been doing this I've been asked about getting started and the answer is simple: just start, it will be crap, but the next one will be slightly better, and the next one slightly better again, just keep at it. Don't go out and blow all your money on a studio set up, you can gradually upgrade over time.
Glad you found it helpful! I love how Mr. Beast just states that a TH-camrs first 100 videos will be bad. It is pretty brutal advice but I found it helpful. Don't overthink it and just start and yes, you can always upgrade over time! I wish you all the best luck on your TH-cam journey!
Thank you so much for this insightful video! You are one of my favourite Booktubers and deserve all the success as a pillar of the community (aka Hashira from Demon Slayer). All the best and keep being awesome!!
Great advice. One piece of advice I would give you is to slow down a bit in your speaking. Sometimes you talk so fast I can understand what you are saying, so I turn on the closed captions, and they do not always solve the problem. In this video I could not understand the name of the editing software you recommended (which is not in the description). I ended up finding it based on the logo you showed, but it took some googling to do so. Also, if you sow down a bit, your videos will become a little longer and that should give you some more "watch time." Good luck going forward.
Haha, yes, I do talk too fast often! You are not the first person to state that. I will try and take that into account going forward. Thanks for mentioning it. I have added a link to the editing software in the description!
This is such an important conversation! I don’t think we talk about money in a transparent enough fashion when we discuss TH-cam. As someone who embodies a fun-tuber mindset but also values the quality of my videos (and thus lies in between the two categories), I feel like we have to make it clear how much effort goes into the creative process relative to compensation. Booktube is not for those looking to make a quick buck…this community is beautiful because of the passionate people who populate it. I’m happy to hear your channel is on the up and up! It’s well deserved :)
New booktuber here! Thank you so much for making this video. I created my channel because I wanted the opportunity to create a community and connect with other like-minded people, but I did start to wonder if I could make some money on it eventually. It helps to get a healthy dose of reality with everything that you just shared.
Thankfully, I got to check most, if not all, of the positive behavior boxes. Love your content, sir! I have my channel built so I can remember my reading experiences (and work on speaking skills), and have fun with my media editing software. Glad to hear being frantic about creating and reading all of the time isn’t the point. At least not for me. Keep spreading positivity! ✌️❤
i don't have a booktube channel, i have a disctube😂 i collect movies on disc. i too reached 1K sub long before 4k watch hours. and after it got approved for monetization recently, the ad revenue is so small (like $10 a month small), its discouraging and at times make me feel like a total failure. but i cannot stop making videos because i love doing it, not the making video part but the sharing part. TH-cam allows me to share my passion while no one around me is willing to listen. so i think its true that one should not treat a channel as a business, i mean you can, but not for most of us... if you want to make one, just dont pour all your hopes and dreams into it 😢 but thats just my opinion 😊
I loved this video, I definitely learned so much! I definitely had to stop and think about why I started my channel. You gave me a lot to think about moving forward. Thank you so much Johan, I think I needed to hear this more than I thought I did!
Thanks for the great video! Super interesting to see how you approached your channel and videos as you grew. I use my channel mainly to host the audiobooks of my urban fantasy series, so that's my why. It's a helpful framing to have in the back of your head.
Best of luck! If you can then spend some extra time on the title, thumbnail and intro to increase your chances of getting more exposure. Keep up the great work!
Absolutely agree with the "Don't do it for the money". My channel I've been running for over 10 years now on board game playthroughs. It's my passion, not my job. Once it becomes a job . . . well, there goes the fun IMO. I earn enough from TH-cam to buy maybe 1 or 2 board games per month, which is fine since I'm not doing it for the money, obviously. I'm also a bookworm into mostly Sci-Fi, Fantasy and Horror and found your channel through searches for new books to read. Great video and I wish you all the success. Keep up the good work!
Great video, Johan. Thanks for sharing the advice. The biggest thing holding me back from starting a booktube channel (even as a funtuber!) is reading a book in the time to upload a video a week! I can't imagine how a person who reads three books a week does it! Haha! Thanks again.
Thank you, Ted. Glad it was helpful! It is all about trying to make videos (every once in a while) that do not require you to read a book every week! Yes, reading is important if you are a booktuber but for this video I didn't read a single book. A lot of booktubers will make Top 10 lists, TBR videos etc! There are many ways you can create content without reading a book every week. Best wishes!
One thing that always amazed me: Everybody seems to be here to make money. Nobody is just here for fun, as a hobby. Which is a shame because when you try to maximize your income, you often become mediocre and one out of many…. So don’t calculate how much you earn or loose. It‘s a hobby. Hobbys are allowed to cost money.
This is such a good video! Knowing your why is definitely important and tbh i don’t even care about monetization anymore. I just want to grow my little community of book lovers.
This is just great TH-cam advice in general. I saw that Mr. Beast interview with Lex, and people need to give themselves the grace of making bad videos in order to make good videos. It's a process for some but if you're willing to put the effort in you'll get results eventually.
I don’t even know what category of booktuber I fall into. I started almost 2 years ago to basically share my joy reading and collecting books. I only post when I feel inspired. Only 61 subscribers but I honesty didn’t expect to go past 20 lol. Maybe one day i’ll get some money to buy more books.
I think I would start a booktube channel at this point in my life to have some people to discuss the books I read. No one in my circle reads. So it's tough to keep this hobby of mine going. Thanks for the video, it's really informative to someone like me who don't know where to start.
Very cool insight, personally the biggest drain on my channel is just simply editing time. Id love to be able to just turn the camera on and go---then hand off the rough cut to someone else to do the heavy lifting.
When I first started, I had intentions to be the grindtuber, but then I fell into being a funtuber, which I found more manageable and enjoyable. This was great advice!
Honestly, If you're starting out with BookTube I think you should just throw the idea of getting monetized out the window. The money you make from TH-cam ads is laughably bad these days, especially if your videos are getting a few thousand views each. After you get monetized, it's just a distraction. I'm willing to bet the vast majority of people who get monetized on TH-cam only get paid out 1-2 times a year (so probably one to two hundred dollars). Monetize when you can, but don't fixate on it. It really doesn't make much of a difference early on. You're better off focusing on making good videos and interacting with your community. Patreon has been a huge difference maker for me. At this point my channel makes more per month from Patreon than I make per month from TH-cam. So anyone watching shouldn't underestimate the effect that a simple $1-5 per month can make on your favorite creators and the difference it makes on their end of things. I'm still faaaaaaaar from making a profit on my videos, but I do it for fun, so until the financial strain becomes too much I'll enjoy the ride. Great video, Johan!
hi buddy - im a very very amateur booktuber. what was the name of the software you recommend to use for editing? i thought you mentioned it on this vid but cant seem to find the reference!
It always reminded me of the advice a writing teacher gave me: "Don't go into it expecting to get rich." It's supposed to be done for enjoyment first and then maybe it turns profitable. Which is the antithesis of modern society where the most successful examples are thrust in our faces 24/7. People seem to expect to make money right away... but something like this is already a niche and one that is well-filled. No one really grasps the work that goes into it until they begin.
Your issue is that you need to forget about the "Library" side of things and focus on the "Viking" side of things. More pillaging and plundering. Plundering is a great classic source of income for a viking.
I like booktubers that are authentic and love to read. I'm not looking for a booktuber that is 'perfect.' They don't have to speak perfectly or have the best equipment. Just show me books that aren't popular on booktok, go shopping, browsing, do hauls. Talk about book/author gossip etc. I like book stuff.
To give some perspective for those outside the UK on the amount of money Johan is earning, £11 an hour is less than minimum wage here, so definitely not the thing to be doing if you want to get rich 😂
They censor me too much here for me to ever consider making a channel where I actually upload stuff. I read a ton of books and always have a lot to say about them, but they don’t allow my kind of opinions here.
@@libraryofaviking Just wanted to encourage you. There are people who are fine hearing about your faith. Those who don't like it, aren't meant to watch your videos anyway. :) God bless you, Johan!
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“Know your why” is the best advice anyone starting a BookTube channel could heed. Thank you for the video, Johan!
Absolutely! Thanks for watching, Philip!
Great video Johan! 10 hours a week minimum is really good! I'm trying to figure out what I can do better to change how I make videos, because it can get pretty tiring. Right now I only post 1 maybe 2 videos a week and I'm doing this full time 50-60 hours a week. I'm always surprised when I see people posting 3 videos a week because that seems so far out there for me. I write scripts for my videos, and typically that takes a long time, probably too long. I spend a lot of time coming up with ideas and writing out the script, and could probably get better at time management in that area. Editing takes up a lot of my time as well, but it's something I prefer to do myself for the time being. Right now making videos takes up most my life, and I can feel the burn out sometimes. I think a lot of what slows me down is perfectionism, and that's something I need to work on. I'm always re-doing takes while I film until I get it just right, though I'll still go off script when there's something I think of to add to the discussion. I think the issue is that I care too much about each video I'm putting together 😂
This past week I decided I should start working on caring less, allowing myself to ramble a bit or trip up, and also work on just taking some notes for some videos and rolling with it, rather than writing out a line for line script. So hopefully with time this will allow me to fix my approach to making videos!
I'm curious what your process looks like for scripting? Do you script out your videos, or do you just have a basic structure or point form notes to go off of?
Your videos are top notch so all the hard work shows. But wouldn't mind some more casual / off the cuff vids from you too
Hi Jay! Thank you for the comment and for sharing your thoughts.
I have also been incredibly impressed by your videos but I can definitely see that spending 50-60 hours a week is not sustainable. I have SO many thoughts about this topic! Feel free to reach out to me on Instagram and I would be happy to share everything regarding scripting etc!
Keep up the amazing work!
You have the most visually amazing videos on BookTube! I guess all that magic comes at a cost 😢 Hope you're able to find a good balance
Captured in words makes good videos....my advice would be start hammering Pat Rothfuss for all his bull crap. I know you love the books and I like them too...but there is so much going on with Pat,someone needs to cover it.
Today is actually my 1 year Booktube anniversary, ironically I have the opposite issue you had, I am at almost 6k watch hours but not yet hit 1k subs - hoping to hit in the next few months though!
My why is community - making bookish friends, getting to talk about books and make content that hopefully entertains and informs.
Saw your comment and just subscribed 839! I look forward to going through your videos!
Audience: Hey Mike, have you ever considered doing BookTube for a living?
Me: LOL
😂😂😂
I love your channel! I'm really impressed with how organized your content is. I hope the channel starts paying greater dividends because you truly deserve it.
That is very kind! Thank you, Ronnie!
I appreciate your transparency. Thanks for the video!
I love the transparency. Keep going!! 🙌
Great video! Enlightening and motivational. Definitely know the why before you start out couldn't agree more.
I'm just starting booktube and this is helpful! Definitely not doing it for the money, just for funsies. I spent months and months saying what if and worrying my first videos will be rubbish, but like you said just dive in! Just post that first video! You can only get better and theres no point waiting to make that perfect first video
Amazing, I just subscribed!
Thank you for the insights! I just started a channel myself and while I definitely want to keep it as a pure hobby, it is interesting to see someone talk about the money side of booktube. I think compared to other niches on this app, full-time creators are just at a slight disadvantage if they talk about books due to not being the most attractive for sponsorships and adds...
Thank you for watching and congratulations on the channel. I hope you will enjoy the journey. I have found booktubers to be some of the very nicest people and I am sure you will experience the same.
When it comes to sponsors there are actually quite a few brands willing to pay for an integration. I think the biggest challenge is to grow big enough for a company to actually show interest due to how small the booktube niche is. I found that I started getting some emails at around 10k from sponsors but I really started receiving quite a lot of offers at the 40k mark.
All the best, Madi!
Best wishes with what you are reading and to your channel.
I started watching you whe u had like, idk, less than 5k subs, maybe 3 and you git me out of my reading slump and your channel gave me some of my best reads, like john Gwynne stuff
Remember your first livestream etc, but then i fell off as my clg started, and i had 0 time for books, i completed only wot book 1 ober the year, and last 2 months i had my first professional exams which was the roughest months i had to live through, like 2 to 4 hrs sleep a day with studying or giving the exam the rest of the day was exhausting, its about to end in 5 days, excited to start again, see ya then
That is so nice. Thank you for the support! I wish you all the best with your exams!
Great video, thanks for the transparency. As someone really only interested in being a Funtuber, it was interesting to learn more about how you make such nice videos as a grinder. My process is to film my thoughts on a book and literally the only editing I do is to slap images on over it, lol, unless my camera broke the recording up into multiple vids and I have to combine them, which happens sometimes. Really cool advice though, and I 100% agree. You do need a reason to keep going - even with my barebones process it can be tiresome sometimes.
Thanks for the comment, mate! Keep up the good work. I really enjoy your videos!
Very interesting video and one I’m sure will help new BookTubers. 100% agree that it isn’t easy and there are some idiots out there (but thankfully not many!)
great video! thank you for the transparency :)
I think for me, the funtuber/grindtuber is more of a spectrum. for me, I am a student, so i have to save money but also i wanted to grow fast to start getting involved in discussions quickly (and hey I think I'll hit 10k before the end of my 1st year so I'm v happy with my progress!). I watched that Mr. Beast video too about improving something in every video and I think it is a fantastic piece of advice and over time I do think my videos are improving. however, because I have to be money conscious I did research about what is more and less vital for me to invest in: from my experience I found that a good mic is more important than good lighting (shoutout to Matt's Fantasy Book Reviews because i got this from him).
Also for me who is in the middle of that funtuber/grindtuber spectrum, I want to do both types of videos! I obviously want to discuss what I read, but I want the video to do well, so instead of making TBR/wrap up videos, I try to make it more themed (by subgenre, author, or series). It's working for me so far anyway :)
A goal I have for the future is to do more B-Roll and to make my some of videos feel more like a journey or story that the viewer follows. Kind of like your recent challenge video in the Faroe Islands (loved that video!).
Suma sumarum, this is an amazing video. I like learning from others and then applying their years of experience to me instead of having to learn it all myself from scratch haha. and I guess I wanted to share my experience too. 😁
Yes, it is a spectrum which I probably could have mentioned! I think you have done well for yourself so I would just keep "grinding". I think you have done incredibly well for yourself considering you are already nearing 10k!
I for I am glad you enjoyed The Faroe Islands vlog. I want to do more vlogs!
Keep up the good work!
What a great video! And very timely reminder as I’m reaching the 5 month mark on BookTube. Will def go back to this as a good reminder not to get hung up on numbers!
This is a great video! As a newish booktuber I really enjoyed this advice. Especially, "Know your why"
Great advice, Johan. And I love your "whys". Very solid tips for anyone interested in doing this, no matter what your initial reasoning is. Thanks for being a shining light for the BookTube communtiy 😊 Also... boo to the idiots 😂
I appreciate the nice comment, mate. Thank you for all the support you've given me!
Ugh YT is so frustrating but ur channel is great and all the best!!! I’m glad things are looking up for u and wow… u spent so much!! Glad the investment is worth it
Thank you for the support!
This is a really cool and informative video. Thanks for posting.
I created a TH-cam account just with the notion of posting occasional videos that my active readers could look up if they wanted. But as I see how much of an active bookish community there is on here, I really feel like I'd like to do more, to be active on here.
as a booktube content consumer with no desire to be a booktuber this was super interesting look into the space, thanks for the transparency and overview!
Awesome video! Thank you so much, as an up and coming booktuber this was very helpful! Love your channel man!
This was very interesting to me since I am probably as far out in the "funtuber" sphere as I can be compared to your approach. The most important point is definitely the why question, I agree with that. One point we rarely talk about is how there are hidden costs in doing booktube because unless we get our books from a library, these are expenses for a video and even if we get them from a library, unless that library is free, there's still a monthly or annual fee - small as it may be. Add to that the fact that bookhauls are among the easiest and most popular content on booktube and suddenly there is a temptation to spend a whole lot of money for a video that will maybe make a few bucks in return. I currently make somewhere between 5 and 8$ per month in TH-cam ad money which does not even cover the simplest of Audible / Everand subscription models and TH-cam ad money fluctuates a lot depending on a lot of factors that are just outside a creator's control. Sponsorships can definitely help a lot but you don't get those until you reach a decent subscriber count. Patreon is the most stable income stream smaller TH-camrs can have and while it definitely comes with its own issues, those are more in the area of responsibilities of creators though and a different topic.
Patreon is something I plan to look into eventually. Another booktuber I follow, Book Time with Elvis, only has just over one thousand subscribers, and I think he makes around $80 a month from Patreon. He keeps his Patreon simple too. It doesn't sound like a lot, but it pays better than adsense and I know I'd still be excited to earn anything with a smaller following. Plus, a Patreon isn't reliant on watch hours and views, so it's more consistent. It can be extra work, but I've looked at the Patreons other booktubers have and some are very simple - I plan to cherry pick what I like (one creator makes a monthly bingo card, for example), and keep it basic.
I think I'm leaning more towards the funtuber approach too. I tried the grindtuber approach, and it's one of the reasons I burned out and had to step back from my channel. If I'm going to do this long term, I have to focus on the fun of running a channel, not a monetization goal which is probably still a couple years away.
@@otherworldlyfiction It took my channel two years to reach the monetization goal and during that first year I made videos almost daily plus it was the height of the pandemic and my main topic that year was Malazan which had a bit of a hype back then. Since then my channel growth has slowed massively and I don't expect it to pick up a lot in the future. I have a very poorly organized and run Patreon too but I'm also making something around 90$ per month there so yeah, this is a good idea for a smaller channel, especially if you have an active community of returning viewers and commenters. Good luck and nice to see you pop up here!
Some great advise for a new Booktuber like myself. The part I engaged most with was about gradually improving. Even in the short time I've been doing this I've been asked about getting started and the answer is simple: just start, it will be crap, but the next one will be slightly better, and the next one slightly better again, just keep at it. Don't go out and blow all your money on a studio set up, you can gradually upgrade over time.
Glad you found it helpful! I love how Mr. Beast just states that a TH-camrs first 100 videos will be bad. It is pretty brutal advice but I found it helpful. Don't overthink it and just start and yes, you can always upgrade over time!
I wish you all the best luck on your TH-cam journey!
@@libraryofaviking appreciate it 😁
Thank you!!! For an interesting video thanks for sharing!! 😊
Glad you enjoyed it!
Thank you so much for this insightful video! You are one of my favourite Booktubers and deserve all the success as a pillar of the community (aka Hashira from Demon Slayer). All the best and keep being awesome!!
Loved this video Johan! Thank you for the info!
Great advice. One piece of advice I would give you is to slow down a bit in your speaking. Sometimes you talk so fast I can understand what you are saying, so I turn on the closed captions, and they do not always solve the problem. In this video I could not understand the name of the editing software you recommended (which is not in the description). I ended up finding it based on the logo you showed, but it took some googling to do so. Also, if you sow down a bit, your videos will become a little longer and that should give you some more "watch time." Good luck going forward.
Haha, yes, I do talk too fast often! You are not the first person to state that. I will try and take that into account going forward.
Thanks for mentioning it. I have added a link to the editing software in the description!
@@libraryofaviking Thank you! I appreciate your willingness to listen and your thoughtfulness in your videos.
This is such an important conversation! I don’t think we talk about money in a transparent enough fashion when we discuss TH-cam.
As someone who embodies a fun-tuber mindset but also values the quality of my videos (and thus lies in between the two categories), I feel like we have to make it clear how much effort goes into the creative process relative to compensation.
Booktube is not for those looking to make a quick buck…this community is beautiful because of the passionate people who populate it.
I’m happy to hear your channel is on the up and up! It’s well deserved :)
New booktuber here! Thank you so much for making this video. I created my channel because I wanted the opportunity to create a community and connect with other like-minded people, but I did start to wonder if I could make some money on it eventually. It helps to get a healthy dose of reality with everything that you just shared.
Welcome to booktube! I am glad it was helpful.
Thankfully, I got to check most, if not all, of the positive behavior boxes. Love your content, sir! I have my channel built so I can remember my reading experiences (and work on speaking skills), and have fun with my media editing software. Glad to hear being frantic about creating and reading all of the time isn’t the point. At least not for me. Keep spreading positivity! ✌️❤
i don't have a booktube channel, i have a disctube😂 i collect movies on disc. i too reached 1K sub long before 4k watch hours. and after it got approved for monetization recently, the ad revenue is so small (like $10 a month small), its discouraging and at times make me feel like a total failure. but i cannot stop making videos because i love doing it, not the making video part but the sharing part. TH-cam allows me to share my passion while no one around me is willing to listen. so i think its true that one should not treat a channel as a business, i mean you can, but not for most of us... if you want to make one, just dont pour all your hopes and dreams into it 😢 but thats just my opinion 😊
I loved this video, I definitely learned so much! I definitely had to stop and think about why I started my channel. You gave me a lot to think about moving forward. Thank you so much Johan, I think I needed to hear this more than I thought I did!
Thanks for the great video! Super interesting to see how you approached your channel and videos as you grew. I use my channel mainly to host the audiobooks of my urban fantasy series, so that's my why. It's a helpful framing to have in the back of your head.
I don't plan to start a booktube but the video was very insightful. Love your videos keep making content.
Thank you!
Your videos are always informative, interesting and unique!🥰
I’m working on my first large project right now, and it’s taking so long but I cannot wait until it’s done. Even if it’ll only get like 50 views 😂
Best of luck! If you can then spend some extra time on the title, thumbnail and intro to increase your chances of getting more exposure. Keep up the great work!
I have just started reading a few months ago and your recommendations are the best!!!
Absolutely agree with the "Don't do it for the money". My channel I've been running for over 10 years now on board game playthroughs. It's my passion, not my job. Once it becomes a job . . . well, there goes the fun IMO. I earn enough from TH-cam to buy maybe 1 or 2 board games per month, which is fine since I'm not doing it for the money, obviously. I'm also a bookworm into mostly Sci-Fi, Fantasy and Horror and found your channel through searches for new books to read. Great video and I wish you all the success. Keep up the good work!
Great video, Johan. Thanks for sharing the advice. The biggest thing holding me back from starting a booktube channel (even as a funtuber!) is reading a book in the time to upload a video a week! I can't imagine how a person who reads three books a week does it! Haha! Thanks again.
Thank you, Ted. Glad it was helpful!
It is all about trying to make videos (every once in a while) that do not require you to read a book every week! Yes, reading is important if you are a booktuber but for this video I didn't read a single book. A lot of booktubers will make Top 10 lists, TBR videos etc! There are many ways you can create content without reading a book every week.
Best wishes!
@@libraryofaviking Very good ideas! Thank you again!
Really solid advice, Johan!
One thing that always amazed me: Everybody seems to be here to make money. Nobody is just here for fun, as a hobby. Which is a shame because when you try to maximize your income, you often become mediocre and one out of many…. So don’t calculate how much you earn or loose. It‘s a hobby. Hobbys are allowed to cost money.
I've been seeing this happen to so many TH-cam creators recently.
It's definitely better if these places are treated as hobbies.
Way too much work, but more power to you. 👍
This is such a good video! Knowing your why is definitely important and tbh i don’t even care about monetization anymore. I just want to grow my little community of book lovers.
This is just great TH-cam advice in general. I saw that Mr. Beast interview with Lex, and people need to give themselves the grace of making bad videos in order to make good videos. It's a process for some but if you're willing to put the effort in you'll get results eventually.
Thank you! Yes, that Mr. Beast interview is so helpful for anyone trying to learn how do get into doing TH-cam. We all need to start from somewhere!
Not a TH-camr I just really enjoy your content! I have purchased/read many books based on your reviews.
Thank you for your work.
Wow, thank you!
I don’t even know what category of booktuber I fall into. I started almost 2 years ago to basically share my joy reading and collecting books. I only post when I feel inspired. Only 61 subscribers but I honesty didn’t expect to go past 20 lol. Maybe one day i’ll get some money to buy more books.
I think I would start a booktube channel at this point in my life to have some people to discuss the books I read. No one in my circle reads. So it's tough to keep this hobby of mine going. Thanks for the video, it's really informative to someone like me who don't know where to start.
Very cool insight, personally the biggest drain on my channel is just simply editing time. Id love to be able to just turn the camera on and go---then hand off the rough cut to someone else to do the heavy lifting.
When I first started, I had intentions to be the grindtuber, but then I fell into being a funtuber, which I found more manageable and enjoyable. This was great advice!
Me too. Almost 9K subscribers and I'm still not to 4K watch hours. 😂 But I enjoy talking to authors so I'm still here 😁
Honestly, If you're starting out with BookTube I think you should just throw the idea of getting monetized out the window. The money you make from TH-cam ads is laughably bad these days, especially if your videos are getting a few thousand views each. After you get monetized, it's just a distraction. I'm willing to bet the vast majority of people who get monetized on TH-cam only get paid out 1-2 times a year (so probably one to two hundred dollars). Monetize when you can, but don't fixate on it. It really doesn't make much of a difference early on. You're better off focusing on making good videos and interacting with your community. Patreon has been a huge difference maker for me. At this point my channel makes more per month from Patreon than I make per month from TH-cam. So anyone watching shouldn't underestimate the effect that a simple $1-5 per month can make on your favorite creators and the difference it makes on their end of things. I'm still faaaaaaaar from making a profit on my videos, but I do it for fun, so until the financial strain becomes too much I'll enjoy the ride. Great video, Johan!
@@AuthorJacksonDickert 100% agree with you! And yes, Patreon is incredibly valuable! Keep up the good work, mate.
Oh, I felt it when you were saying about monetisation from TH-cam itself. Now I have 2k subs and my watch hours are 3600 hours 🙃
Shoutout to being a funtuber lol
Booktube is definitely not one to do for the money!😂
hi buddy - im a very very amateur booktuber. what was the name of the software you recommend to use for editing? i thought you mentioned it on this vid but cant seem to find the reference!
@@eggbert6900 DaVinci Resolve!
It always reminded me of the advice a writing teacher gave me: "Don't go into it expecting to get rich." It's supposed to be done for enjoyment first and then maybe it turns profitable.
Which is the antithesis of modern society where the most successful examples are thrust in our faces 24/7. People seem to expect to make money right away... but something like this is already a niche and one that is well-filled. No one really grasps the work that goes into it until they begin.
I have a booktube channel that is not great I need to get better at the videoing and editing but this is very helpful to know!
Your issue is that you need to forget about the "Library" side of things and focus on the "Viking" side of things. More pillaging and plundering. Plundering is a great classic source of income for a viking.
Hahah!
I need this I'm reaching 2k but damn if you struggle at 50k... its brutal but its nice someone will be honest about how hard it is...
I'm neither a funtuber or a grindtuber, but a secret third thing.
Great video btw. A lot of truth here. 👏
I like booktubers that are authentic and love to read. I'm not looking for a booktuber that is 'perfect.' They don't have to speak perfectly or have the best equipment. Just show me books that aren't popular on booktok, go shopping, browsing, do hauls. Talk about book/author gossip etc. I like book stuff.
I totally agree! I think most viewers are more interested in finding a connection with a booktuber rather than fancy equipment etc!
Can you possibly post the app you suggested, because I can't fine them. Thanks
To give some perspective for those outside the UK on the amount of money Johan is earning, £11 an hour is less than minimum wage here, so definitely not the thing to be doing if you want to get rich 😂
$11 an hour is below minimum wage where I live.
Why do you have 2 channels? Captured in Words & Library of a Viking.
Did you just say that the way you run your channel is mainly viable because of sponsorships? (13:58)
Books are expensive 😭
They are :( If you can then the library is great!
Vile comment
All that was just a sponsorship vid.
They censor me too much here for me to ever consider making a channel where I actually upload stuff. I read a ton of books and always have a lot to say about them, but they don’t allow my kind of opinions here.
I think you would have done a lot better if you kept your religious views to yourself
That is a price I am willing to pay :) Thanks for watching and God bless.
@@libraryofaviking Just wanted to encourage you. There are people who are fine hearing about your faith. Those who don't like it, aren't meant to watch your videos anyway. :) God bless you, Johan!