How To YouTube
An explanation of what I mean when I write about "How To" YouTube + Why I went missing for a month and what I am working on next.
How To YouTube: An Explanation & Index
For the past few months, I’ve been publishing an ongoing series I’ve been calling “How To YouTube.” It’s an expanded version of a book I wrote a few years ago, and my goal is to tell the story of my YouTube experience and document what’s worked (and what hasn’t) for me over the long haul.
This series is focused on a specific kind of content: “How To.” That’s not just a label—it’s an actual category on YouTube. And it requires slightly different strategies than channels in entertainment, podcasting, vlogging, etc. I love all those, but my experience is building educational, evergreen, and sustainable content libraries.
The title How To YouTube is a little tongue-in-cheek. I’ve spent a long time in the world of Search Engine Optimization, and it’s still one of the things I’m best known for. “How To” titles have served me well, for both YouTube videos and written content. The titles for this series are also a nod to one of my favorite filmmakers, John Wilson. I love how he uses “How To” titles as a jumping off point for strange, funny, and personal stories.
This is a long way of saying that not everything in this series applies to every YouTube creator. But regardless of what you’re creating, I hope you find some value here.
I’ve had quite a few questions about how to read them in chronological order, so I put together this index of the articles so far. I’ll keep this updated.
01: How To Fail at Filmmaking
02: How To Start Something New
03: How To Start a YouTube Channel
The creation of the Hilah Cooking channel.
04: How To Make (and Sell) Your First Digital Product
We create a revenue stream that we can control by creating and selling a digital product
05: How To Level Up
Building an Audience Is Kind of Like Playing a Video Game
06: How To Start a Yoga Channel
I decide to create a second YouTube channel to see if this system can be replicated.
07: How To Turn ClickBait Into a Tipping Point
The Chik-Fil-Gay Story
08: How to Make Videos That Get Watched 13 Years Later
We use SEO to turn a competitive keyword into a long-term asset that generates revenue 13 years later.
09: How to Turn Setbacks Into Success
Adriene loses her voice, and we are forced to take a break from publishing new videos.
10: How We Built a 7-Figure SVOD Business From a YouTube Channel
How we launched a membership service and how it transformed our business.
11: How To Run Your Own Streaming Service
Launching our SVOD was only the beginning…
12: How To Quit a YouTube Channel
We decided to quit Hilah Cooking after seven years. Here’s what I’ve learned about burnout, growth, and the natural cycles of creative work.
Coming up: I will tell you all about our 30 Days of Yoga series, our SEO strategy and how it’s changed in the age of AI, building a team, going on tour, creating a real community, why we quit the Hilah Cooking channel, and more…
I will also gradually write more about what we’re up to today. I’ve spent a lot of time in the past. A few of you have guessed that I am working on a YouTube project that is substantially more “creative.” You were right. We are in pre-production right now. Out of all the things I’ve attempted, this one has the highest chance of failure. But if it works… it will be amazing. I can’t wait to tell you all about it.
Until next time… keep creating,
Hi Chris, your working ethic is outstanding! I am glad to hear you are fully recovered. I have a question: do you think there are still room for new YouTube channels to emerge and grow into a profitable business?
I am asking yes because I am experiencing content fatigue. I only use YouTube and Substack but there are so many content, newsletters out there. We only 24 hours and limited attentions.