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Deep Dive with Ali Abdaal
The Full Story of Colin and Samir
Oct 8, 2023
Colin and Samir, Youtube experts, share their 12-year journey on YouTube, the balance between self-expression and commercial success, and the dynamics of their co-founder partnership. They also discuss pitching a show to Justin Bieber, reflections on pursuing creative projects, and the importance of building trust and a brand with their audience.
02:34:43
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Quick takeaways
- Focus and discipline are crucial for long-term success in the creator economy.
- Understanding and serving your audience's needs are essential for standing out as a creator.
- Balancing creativity with commercial success can lead to sustained success in the online space.
- Overcoming fear and embracing abundance mindset is vital for personal growth in the creator economy.
- Finding a strong format and being consistent within it can drive content success.
- Podcasting offers a low-cost, enjoyable creative endeavor with potential for monetization.
Deep dives
The importance of focus and discipline
One key aspect that stands out among successful creators in the podcast episode is the importance of focus and discipline. Staying focused on the type of content you want to create and consistently producing videos is crucial. Creators who remain focused and disciplined tend to succeed in the long run.
Understanding your audience and providing value
Another significant factor is understanding your audience and providing value to them. By studying the audience and their preferences, creators can tailor their content to meet their needs and stand out from the competition. Passion for serving the audience and the ability to create meaningful connections with them are crucial.
The challenge of balancing creativity and commercial success
Finding a balance between creativity and commercial success is often a challenge for creators. While passion for the craft is essential, it's also important to consider the market, audience, and platform expectations. Recognizing the intersection between personal artistic expression and what resonates with the audience and the platform can lead to long-term success.
Overcoming fear and embracing abundance
A recurring theme in the podcast is the need to overcome fear and embrace abundance. Creators fear becoming irrelevant or losing their success but relinquishing scarcity mindset and cultivating an abundance mindset can lead to personal growth and long-lasting success in the creator economy.
The Power of Finding a Format
Finding a format is crucial in media as it unlocks consistency, allows for collaboration and brand building. Successful formats like Hot Ones, Chicken Shop Date, and Mr. Beast's one-dollar vs. expensive thing videos demonstrate the power of a strong format. Once you find your format, you can experiment within the confines of that format, ensuring that you have a consistent engine driving your content. However, it's important not to chase shiny new formats prematurely, as it can destabilize your engine. Experimentation should be done carefully and not jeopardize the strength of your established format.
The Evolution of the Colin and Samir Podcast
The Colin and Samir podcast started as a separate YouTube channel with interview-style episodes. Eventually, it transitioned to the main channel as The Colin and Samir Show, embracing a talk show format. This transition allowed for more variation in content style, while maintaining a consistent engine as the format remained the same. The podcast became the basis of their business and provided opportunities for experimentation, such as creating a documentary. Understanding the value of their format and the opportunities it brings has been integral to their success.
The Rewards of Starting a Podcast
Starting a podcast can be incredibly rewarding, not just financially, but also in terms of personal fulfillment and the enjoyment of conversations. It is a low-cost creative endeavor that allows for long-form discussions and self-expression. Rather than focusing on the financial aspects, it is important to engage in podcasting because you genuinely enjoy it. The rewards can come from the experience itself and the connections you make, and may lead to commercial opportunities down the line as your audience grows.
Challenges and Commercial Viability of Podcasting
One of the challenges in podcasting is the discovery process, as it can be difficult to find an audience. However, once an audience is established, podcasting can be a highly impactful way to monetize, as it allows for prolonged engagement with listeners. While the commercial viability may vary for newcomers, with limited discoverability, finding the right niche, building a strong brand, and engaging with the audience can contribute to long-term success in podcasting. It's important to approach podcasting with a focus on enjoying the process rather than purely seeking financial gains.
Building a Deep Connection with Your Audience
One of the main ideas discussed in the podcast is the importance of building a deep connection with your audience. The speaker highlights the significance of having a podcast or other forms of content that occupy the space in between your audience's ears. This deep connection can lead to a more engaged and loyal audience, which is valuable for creators and can even result in monetization opportunities. Additionally, the speaker mentions that this deep connection is not easily achievable with other platforms, making podcasts a unique and effective medium for building audience relationships.
The Secret to Sustainable Productivity
Another key point highlighted in the podcast is the importance of finding a way to make your work feel enjoyable, energizing, and meaningful. The speaker suggests that by making your work feel good, you not only increase your productivity but also have more energy for other aspects of your life. This concept is supported by research in psychology and neuroscience. The speaker also mentions that their upcoming book delves into this topic, providing science-backed strategies to help individuals achieve more meaningful and enjoyable productivity.
The Value of Brand Building
The podcast emphasizes the value of brand building and the importance of prioritizing brand over reach. The speaker argues that having a strong brand and building a loyal and dedicated community is more important in the long run than simply focusing on reaching a large audience. They discuss how building a brand can lead to opportunities for sponsorships, partnerships, and even monetization. Building a brand involves consistently providing value and building trust with your audience over time.
Determining the Right Time to Monetize
The podcast explores the question of when to start monetizing your content. The speakers suggest that the right time to monetize is subjective and depends on factors such as the size and engagement of your audience, the type of content you create, and the value proposition you offer. They emphasize the importance of having a healthy community of returning viewers or subscribers before considering monetization. Finding the right balance between creating valuable free content and introducing paid products or services is key to building a sustainable and successful creative career.
For a lot of people, the creator economy can seem like a bit of a mystery. You might be wondering how to start creating online, or how to scale a side hobby into a monetisable business. And with trends and platforms and algorithms changing all the time, it can be really hard to keep up, let alone know what your next steps could be to make the most of your potential. Today I’m joined by Colin and Samir, the podcasting duo and Youtube experts who have spent over ten years helping creators navigate the creator economy. They got their start building a small online network for college lacrosse, before their business was built and they then pivoted into helping creators make the most of the online space. Their main channel has over 1 million subscribers, and they have interviewed some of the world’s biggest YouTubers like MKBHD and MrBeast. They also have a side channel called Creator Support, where they answer questions from audience members to help them scale their creator businesses. In this episode we’re going to talk about everything they've learned in 12 years on YouTube, how to build a long-lasting creative business, and the future of the creator economy. Enjoy!
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📚Check out my New York Times Bestselling book Feel-Good Productivity!
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(00:00) Colin and Samir
(01:16) How did you get to becoming thought leaders in the creator economy?
(03:17) To what extent would you recommend being a creator as a career? Pros and cons
(06:58) How much money were you making in the early days and how much do you make now?
(10:41) Starting a job for passion vs. money
(26:21) A roadmap to success in the creator economy in 2023
(31:07) Advice for a music YouTuber
(40:51) To what extent passion is prerequisite for success in the creator economy?
(47:43) What are the commonalities you see among the creators who managed to make it professionally vs. the ones who treat it as a hobby?
(59:07) The fear setting exercise
(01:02:28) What is it like to be a duo of co-founders?
(01:10:19) Would you ever start a couple’s channel with your respective partners?
(01:15:16) Filming with no commercial intent
(01:21:10) Productivity guilt
(01:24:36) Finding the format
(01:30:46) Format FOMO
(01:33:19) Experimenting with formats
(01:40:54) To what extent would you recommend starting a podcast to someone who’s new to the creator world?
(01:49:23) The story behind publish press
(02:04:24) The “Daily Productivity” newsletter
(02:09:24) Is going viral a bad thing?
(02:12:59) “Brand is more important than reach in the long term”
(02:19:07) Long form vs. short form while building a new channel
(02:22:16) If you won the lottery, what would change about the way you’re spending your time?
(02:24:13) How long should you spend building and creating content before thinking about monetisation?
(02:27:52) What are you working on up until the end of the year?
(02:29:29) Final pieces of wisdom
🔗 CONNECT WITH COLIN & SAMIR
🎥 YouTube Channel
🐦 Twitter
📸 Instagram
💻 Website
🔗 CONNECT WITH ALI
📲 Join My Telegram Community - https://t.me/+bH5gLHty5kBiOGZk
🎙 ABOUT THE PODCAST
Deep Dive is the podcast that delves into the minds of entrepreneurs, creators and other inspiring people to uncover the philosophies, strategies and tools that help us live happier, healthier and more productive lives.
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