The Appletini is a highly requested cocktail that tends to be bright green, super sweet and built in 1980's style. Then, there are good recipes that build a better ...
+Andrew Campbell well, based on our blind rum tastings, bacardi is one of the best rums we've tasted. Not proud of it, but it's just how it worked out.
Not trolling, just giving my honest opinion on how I feel you can up your
subscribers on the channel ;) If you want my full opinion, please keep
reading and allow me to explain why I feel the following changes would help
grow your channel. I look forward to submitting a recipe for your
competition.
tl;dr --> shorten the videos, put the recipe cards at the beginning,
organized awesomedrinks.com store promotions
I feel, that some part of what makes your channel different from other
drink channels on the internetz, is the format. Let me start with what I
think you do well -
+Derrick is personable, and he surrounds himself with knowledgeable and
funny guests
+The 'collection' of alcohol displayed shows you mean business and conveys
that the show is serious about the spirits industry
+The theme weeks are awesome
+Showing is better than just telling -> the show does well by viewers in
that you actually explain why a product is bad, not just saying "don't buy
this, it's crap".
Now, don't think of the following as negatives, instead see them as
suggestions that I think might explain why certain other drink themed
channels get more subscribers.
-Shorten the videos -> if you search the youtubes for a drink recipe and
have to choose between a video that's 5 minutes long, or one that's 20
minutes long, typically people choose the shorter one. You may bring up the
valid point that they don't 'have' to watch the entire 20 min but the
decision on which video to click on is decided before that thought even
enters their minds, isn't it? The live tapings and exploration series
episodes (history of, reviews, blind tastes etc) are ok to keep longer, but
the cocktail recipes themselves could be shorter and sweeter to earn more
clicks. Think about maybe going for the 5-6 minute range, even if all you
do is cut down to the best stories, best jokes, best anything worth showing
in a short-ish cocktail video. Choppy as it may seem, it's a very modern
approach to video blogging aka vlogging.
-Drink recipe cards -> the show features many interesting, popular, and
classic drinks... when the drink is being made, there are times, in certain
videos, where the recipe and ingredients get a little lost in conversation
or are poured without being listed. You have included drink recipe cards
but often at the end of relatively long(er than other channels) videos. The
card upfront would help keep the viewer informed of exactly what is being
made.
-Your store promotion for awesomedrinks.com is totally fine. Promote the
hell out of it. I feel with a bit more organization (time you may or may
not have) you could use specific store items and promote them more
officially (less casually) and list the name and price of the item in text
during the video (plus a link in the description to the item's store page).
Your format is longer but has often brought me more knowledge about
drinking, cocktail making, and combined it with my love of history. The
show has a way of making you feel like even a common man can understand the
world of cocktails.
You don't need to listen to me, obviously. Again, I'm not harping. I like
your videos and want your channel to grow and succeed. Hope you are well.
Cheers!
+Matt Thielhorn Matt, I know what you're saying and I don't see it as trolling (usually with trolling people leave very little actual constructive criticism).My current goal is to get video's down to 8 - 10 minutes of time. My biggest reason I don't want to cut out too much is because there are a lot of our dedicated fans that like the way the video's are today. In some ways, I'd rather (if I could ever get the time) create a short-form summary of some of the popular ones. However, time is a bitch around here. On that same vein, I have to balance a show that may get more clicks because it's shorter with a show I'd rather do. In my personal view, I'd rather create a show that's both entertainment and educational and less how-to.So, if you can imagine, you could do a 3 minute show (or 5 with less edits) that contain step by step instructions and then the tasting, and then you're out. But, what I sorta imagine is more like a food network show that may have guest interviews/talks and show off a drink and some history, etc. More "show" format.The balance is, do I create a show that has more subscribers that meets the cookie cutter design...or a show I would rather do? The way I've always leaned is, if I love doing it, then screw the massive subscriber numbers. At the same time, I want a few key video's that do reach a wider audience yet still have enough personality to make it interesting and give people an idea of what any other show on the channel would look like.But, to your point, a short form style video may be something you'll see us do over the next couple of months as a separate channel/series of content. That way you can drive new attention with a more produced show (that launches much less frequently) yet still do what you used to do.As for store promotions and such, I would love to do that but time is way too tight right now to coordinate that, I'm lucky I have recipes ready on time, let alone promo's, but if I ever get to do this "full time" it would be high on the list of todo's.
Because you have opened this... you will get kissed on the nearest possible
Friday by the love of your life... if you don't break the chain. Tomorrow
will be the best day of your life. However, if you don't send this to at
least 10 people by the stroke of midnight tonight you will be forever
cursed in love. Just copy and paste this.. Good Luck!
PLEASE DON'T READ THIS. You will get kissed on the nearest possible Friday
by the love of your life. Tomorrow will be the best day of your life.
However, if you don't post this comment to at least 3 videos, you will die
within 2 days. Copy and paste this, to be saved.