Stamina is a very important thing. It is the thing that separates people who get chomped by lions from those who win at the Olympics (and score advertising contracts where they stick a finger in the air).
I have published a few long video tutorials recently. Looking at the statistics, it is very interesting for what it says about people (ok maybe about me and my content too).
Here is the Tutorial on Bass sounds, what they need to do, how to make them & mix them:
Now I absolutely don’t expect any of you to actually watch this. Especially if you are here on a Business, Blogging or some sort of Positive Thinking platform as this is about making music. However, I hope you might consider the type & quality of content in here (you can do that right even tho it isn’t in your exact discipline).
Sure the video is long and not very slick. No Scarlett Johansson in a bikini narrating over a lot of fast edits of people with beards, beanies & oversize headphones, drinking coffee whilst skateboarding to work at Google. This is more like a university tutorial of old. It is about the information you can gain from one who has done it already.
Here is what the viewer engagement statistics look like. This is essentially the same pattern for all my tutorial videos.
Suspicious Minds
Let’s dig into those stats. We’ll start with a closer look at the overview.
Obviously 100% of the people who started watching the video were there in the first moments. But look at how fast they drop off. Disneyland could make a mint off that thrill ride! By 30 seconds in, I am down to only 35.7% of viewers left. 64.3% of people bailed already. No stamina there.
One would assume that most people who clicked on a video like this would not be expecting it was Iron Man 4. They would be wanting to increase their knowledge on things Bass in Music. But before I even get to say anything they are gonski. Definitely no stamina. I hear some person in the free seats saying, “But maybe they will come back when they have the hour to spare”. No they won’t and you know that too, but are just saying that to try to soften the weak feeling you have as you bailed 15 seconds in. Know thy room-sharing elephant.
Now the interesting thing with YouTube’s Analytics screen is that I can watch the video to see what I was saying before/during the drop-off. The thing I have noticed in-common is that I say something that makes it clear that I am not about giving a simple recipe for making whatever is currently The hip EDM sound: turn this knob to 48 and that knob to 65 and you’ll sound like DJ Spankadelicus. Matter of fact any moment in which I make any sort of statement that I make it clear that I am not about making EDM stuff, they all leave in droves. It is kinda funny.
I pointed out that EDM Wub Basses are not really basses as they don’t play that musical role; they don’t underpin a melodic structure. Wubs take up essentially the whole sonic spectrum. They are not really Basses but Leads. Pop! goes the air as all the virtual kids leave. How dare I not tell them exactly what they demand to know (and they’ll pay me nothing for)?!!!! @#%#$@^@# Well I see it this way, I am actually answering their questions – fully. Thoughtfully. They don’t want to listen?
I am now below 20% of the people who started out. Over 80% of the people who thought they were dedicated to improving their musical journey turn out not to be that at all.
By the end of the video we can see who is hard core. Who is dedicated to finding something they didn’t have before.
Yep, the average on most videos is that only 6-7% of the people who started are dedicated enough to their craft to watch the whole tutorial. You can see them like the level line across the bottom of the Defender landscape.
Mind Of A Toy
Is it like this at University, do all the kids walk out 30 seconds into the lecture, with only 6 or 7 of the hundred left sitting there (hopefully not asleep) by the end of the hour? Methinks not for a couple of reasons: 1) you probably get tossed out if you don’t attend lectures as you are wasting a seat that someone else more dedicated could use, 2) the kids want to make something of themselves and know that if they don’t watch where to stick the scalpel, their careers will be short (and maybe not even morgue-worthy).
Perhaps I am too idealistic though. Maybe kids at uni are exactly the same. Right in the middle of wanting to know more & better tricks for getting prestige, they also want to pretend they already know everything and no one could learn em nuttin new, especially anyone older than them.
What I think happens on Social Media is that most of the passers-through are there to play. They hope to find Tricks from people more famous than themselves so they can apply them and immediately elevate themselves to the next level. Like it is all a video game. This is not the mindset of a craftsman. It is the mindset of a hopeful Vanilla Ice, or as I said, Ready Player One. Don’t worry when you die as you can re-spawn infinitely. Stamina is unnecessary for you.
If I Could Change Your Mind
The usual marketing material would say to find what the viewers want and to to give them more of that. I can see they liked a bit in the middle where I talked about Filter Resonance (oh how the EDM kiddies love Resonance).
I should do more of that and less of the bits where everyone leaves. Then I’ll be golden. A star!
Yes, that is what all the Marketing Blogs & Vids would say. But would it work out like that? Would it be me?
If Kenny Rogers took to trying to front a band like Metallica, would it work for you? Nope. Would that be working for him? Nope again. That is the quick fix attempt. Kenny has things about him as a singer, they may or may not be in-fashion right now but they are the things that people (do or will) love about him. Is doing something different a great plan? Nope again again.
(Re)Mind Me To Smile
I realize more & more that that 93-94% of the numbers are not for me to serve. They don’t even want serving – they say that by leaving – and that is ok. It is those few who appreciate what I bring enough to stay the course who are my people. They like the way I smile.
Yes I could have prettier videos with a flasher looking studio, lots of e_it_, and all that popular stuff. And it may even lift my stats a bit. But would it increase conversions: people asking me to work with them on a real live project? I doubt it entirely. If they were coming, they would only be looking to a) ride on my coat tails or b) force me into being the guy they really wanted, but couldn’t afford to hire. We all lose if we try to force Kenny Rogers to be a Metal singer.
We each should focus instead on what it is that we are good at. And to have stamina enough to realize that in the 6-7% of people who really dig what we are doing, there is enough business brewing to keep us in cheese.
In the car game we used to say that you only need one person to buy that seemingly unwanted used car. One day someone will arrive and be delighted that it is exactly what they are looking for. In the meantime, you keep the car clean and ready for the person who is the rightful owner. You NEVER mis-advertise it as “sporty” or a host of other lies. In the end it is honest that gets that car in the right driveway.
For me that honesty is the background stuff, “The Thinking Guy” stuff.
If my 6-7% reward me enough, I might even be able to afford a better camera for my videos. But it isn’t priority because the real information is priority here.