About My Video Experiment

“Always run experiments!” That’s what I always say.

The experiment I’ve been running lately is making YouTube videos, called 15 Minutes on Air. The purpose of these videos is to see if I can reach an audience of people who normally don’t read.

I can’t complain about the number of readers of my books, blog, and mailing list. But I’m sure there are many more out there who never read, and who could use a bit of help to create a better workplace.

Well, after nine videos I’m evaluating the results, and so far they’re not encouraging. The statistics of the videos are actually rather disappointing. 🙁 Sure I understand, everyone has to start at the bottom, but I don’t see any trend upwards either. Neither in views, nor comments, nor retweets.

Hmm, what could be the issue here…

• Maybe I need a different format/style for the videos?
• Maybe I need other topics or other guests?
• Maybe nobody on YouTube is interested in this kind of stuff?
• Maybe my marketing and promotion should be improved?
• Or perhaps it’s a bit of everything?

You may not realize it, but making 15-minute videos is quite a lot of work. I estimate it’s between two and three hours on average of inviting, preparing, interviewing, editing, and uploading. I know many other things I could be doing with that amount of time! 🙂

I don’t regret any minute of any experiment I run. But experiments require observation and evaluation. In Lean Startup terms: the metrics tell me it’s time for me to pivot. What do you think I could do?

Better marketing? Other videos? Or other content (no videos)?

I’m curious.