
Do You Need a Response Channel?
Early on, YouTubers decided that as they got bigger - more views, more subscribers, more comments - they needed a place for all their less-than-entertaining videos. They needed a place for unedited vlogs, or video responses to others’ videos. I mean, c’mon, these Tubers couldn’t bore their audience with a video of them just talking to the camera…
So, the idea of the “response channel” was born. Response channels are secondary (or sometimes tertiary) accounts which YouTubers use when they want to make “throw away” videos, videos which are not expertly edited or shot, or scripted.
That said, even if you don’t have thousands of subscribers, you too may want a place separate from your main channel to host video responses or experimental videos.
YouTube allows you to register multiple channels with one email address. And registering is free. But before we run off and register twenty separate channels, let’s do a quick pros and cons:
PROS
- Having a response channel can feel freeing. Knowing you have an alternative outlet to your main channel makes taking risks with your videos a little easier.
- Response channels feel more intimate. Almost everyone’s response channel has less than a tenth of the subscriber count when compared to their main channel, allowing for you to actually reply to and manage the comments and PMs on your repsonse channel.
CONS
- As just mentioned, response channels usually have very low sub counts when compared to your main channel. When you’re used to thousands of views, barely breaking 100 views on a response can be depressing.
- One more log-in, password and profile to worry about updating, designing and keeping up with.
I have a response channel, but I don’t actively use it. I’ve become less worried about subscribers leaving or not watching because I make a vlog instead of my regular comedy skits. It used to bother me a lot, until, it just never happened. No one’s said they’ve unsubscribed because I’ve vlogged at them.
If you do start a secondary channel, use it to challenge yourself - push yourself and your video making into new territory.
3 Responses to “Do You Need a Response Channel?”
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Viral Video Wannabe...
…is written by Alan “fallofautumndistro” Lastufka, co-author of the book, “YouTube: An Insider’s Guide
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August 24th, 2008 at 10:03 am
Some very helful tips, Alan. My first channel has all but been completely abandoned when I realized that this channel is what I really wanted to do. A response channel or other themed channel has come to mind more times than I can remember. I’ve made several attempts at shows/themes, some very successful and subscriber boosting and yet too time consuming. I have FINALLY resolved myself to the fact that the viewers that enjoy my random videos and/or collabs and my vlogs will stick with me, no matter what.
September 8th, 2008 at 6:10 pm
i made a separate youtube page away from the one i made for videos on my hometown. i originally wanted to be funny and called it johnswackyworld. but it ended up truning it hisotry movies for my hometown..opps..now i have made another called johnswackyworldblog — to try to be actually funny, I don’t think my older subscribers would laugh at me. so i separated the two ones. hope i made a good decision. if not. well..i guess i’m going to bomb on youtube.
December 29th, 2008 at 2:59 pm
I feel like I need two already, but I’ve only done 7 videos! lol