How to Grow Your YouTube Channel

My YouTube channel

A few years ago, I started my own YouTube channel. I have been making youtube videos ever since then. Luckily I have gained quite a following on my channel. I currently have over 1700 subscribers and close to half a million views on my channel overall. There is a lot that goes into making/keeping a YouTube channel going. Today I will be going over a few of the things that I have learned about running a successful YouTube channel.

 

1. Be Consistent-

If you look around at all of the most successful YouTube channels right now, one of the main things that they all have in common is their consistent uploads. People don’t want to subscribe to a YouTube channel if they don’t know if they’re even going to upload another video for the next couple months. “Taking the extra effort to upload every week or even every day will pay off in the long run” (Peterson).

 

2. Quality over quantity-

If you regularly watch YouTube, you can probably name a YouTuber that has very high quality videos but doesn’t upload very often, and vice versa. The YouTubers that find the perfect in-between of these two things will have a faster growing channel. This will also reduce the stress of running a YouTube channel by lessening your workload. “Keep in mind that having higher quality content is more important than producing more videos” (Greene).

 

3. Think of video ideas-

It is vital to almost always think of video ideas when running a YouTube channel. “Many channels start dying due to the lack of originality in their video ideas” (Struzik). I personally have had this same issue myself. There are several tricks and other yoyo related things that I can upload onto my YouTube channel, but recently I haven’t learned too many new yoyo tricks that I could make tutorials with. This left me with my fans being slightly upset with me for not uploading. Thankfully I have gotten back into uploading more often recently and my channel is growing even faster than it was before. Here is my most recent video upload:

 

Hopefully I helped some beginners out with these simple tips. Have fun growing your YouTube channel!

Works Cited

Greene, Bob. “5 Tips to Design the Best YouTube Channel Page.” Mashable. Mashable, 26 May 2013. Web. 30 Apr. 2017. <http://mashable.com/2013/05/26/youtube-channel-design/&gt;.

Peterson, Seth. “Scales Podcast Ep. 5 – Save Deth.” YoYoNews. N.p., 21 Mar. 2017. Web. 30 Apr. 2017. <http://yoyonews.com/2017/03/21/scales-podcast-ep-5-save-deth/&gt;.

Struzik, Marcin. “How to Start a YouTube Channel.” GetResponse Blog – Online Marketing Tips. N.p., 16 Feb. 2017. Web. 30 Apr. 2017. <https://blog.getresponse.com/things-remember-starting-youtube-channel.html&gt;.

 

Creating a Yoyo Freestyle

To compete in  a yoyo contest, you need to create a yoyo freestyle. When you create a freestyle, you find a song that you would like to yoyo to and then choreograph your yoyo tricks to that song. A yoyoing freestyle is usually 2 or 3  minutes long depending on what kind of contest you are competing at. Today I will be going through the steps of creating a yoyoing freestyle with you.

First, you need to pick a song. As I have stated before, you need to find out if your freestyle is supposed to be 2 or 3 minutes long. Now let’s say that I need a 2 minute long freestyle. Now you want to find a song that goes well with your style of yoyoing. “If you are a very fast yoyoer, you should pick an upbeat song, and if you are a slow yoyoer, you should pick a slower song” (Vu). If your song is longer than 2 minutes (which is pretty normal) you will need to shorten your song by cutting it with mp3 cutter. You need your song to be exactly 2 minutes because, “if your song is longer than the amount of time that you are given for your freestyle, the music booth will stop your song exactly at the set amount of time that you have. If your song is too short, you will end up doing less tricks therefore scoring lower at the contest” (Spinworx).

Now that you have picked the song that you want to use, you need to choreograph your tricks to the song. Having your tricks choreographed to your song greatly helps you score higher in the contest and also, “helps you remember where you are in the freestyle” (Montgomery). You should practice through your freestyle so many times that it is muscle memory or you could almost do it with your eyes closed. That is how to know that you are ready for the contest. Also, properly having your routine memorized decreases anxiety on stage when you are preforming which will help you hit your tricks much cleaner.

Now that you have your freestyle ready and you have done enough practicing, you are ready to head over to the contest. You want to make sure that your string is in fairly good condition and that your bearing is too. Many people, including myself, use baby powder or certain sprays to prevent sweaty hands on stage. Having sweaty hands on stage can really mess your freestyle up so make sure that you have something beforehand. Another thing that I have realized during contests is that the players who care “too much” about their performance and execution of their freestyles end up over-stressing themselves therefore messing themselves up in the contest. A good mindset to have during your freestyle is to just go with the flow and accept whatever happens. This will help you do much better at the yoyo contest. Here is a video of my preliminary freestyle at the National Yoyo Contest last year:

Hopefully, my insight can end up helping out some beginners or maybe even some advanced yoyoers with their ventures in the competitive scene of yoyoing. But for now, keep your eyes peeled for my next blog post!

 

 

Works Cited

Montgomery, Mike. “Introduction to Freestyle Yo-Yoing.” YouTube. YouTube, 19 Nov. 2013. Web. 31 Mar. 2017. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8xIlBYow8Ik&gt;.

Spinworkx. “Planning a Freestyle.” Spinworkx Blog. N.p., 01 Jan. 1970. Web. 31 Mar. 2017. <http://blog.spinworkx.com/2012/12/planning-freestyle.html&gt;.

Vu, Brandon. “Yoyoing to Bad Music.” YouTube. YouTube, 26 Feb. 2015. Web. 31 Mar. 2017. <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XC4LpcGIoZo&gt;.

Current State of Yoyo Competitions

Today I will be doing a recap on PNWR and also be giving my opinions on the upcoming yoyo contests: Cal States and BAC. PNWR, also known as Pacific Northwest Regionals, was a very successful yoyo contest this year. It is held in Seattle, Washington every year. The 1A division was won by a close friend of mine, Nate Dailey. Here is a video of his winning freestyle:

(yoyo contest central)

The 2A division was won by Ryan Lai, 3A was won by Elijah Tan, 4A was won by Christopher Chunn, and 5A was won by Kyle Hedges. “Divisions 2A-5A weren’t as competitive this year due to the lack of people signing up for those divisions”(Brown). Each division, other than 1A, only consisted of 2 to 5 contestants but like always, 1A was packed with players. Sadly I wasn’t able to make it to the contest this year but I will hopefully go in one of these upcoming years.

The next contest that we’ll be talking about is Cal States. This contest used to be in downtown Sacramento for quite some time but was moved to Chico last year due to the construction of the Golden 1 Center (Steel).This year it is being moved again to Oakland. I am quite happy for this change due to the fact that this contest will be so close to an airport. One of the main reasons of moving the contest away from Chico was because of how far the nearest airport was. “Any yoyoer that wanted to come from any other part of California would have to fly in to Sacramento airport and then drive another 2 hours to get to the contest”(Lite). I am planning on competing in Cal States this year.

The final contest that I will be talking about is BAC, aka Bay Area Classic. This contest has been around for quite some time now. It has always been in San Francisco on the theater by the DeYoung Museum. This year the contest organizers chose to move the contest to a children’s museum in San Jose. The venue will most likely not be as nice but it will really lower the cost of the venue. I am also planning on competing at BAC too.

Thank you for taking the time out of your day to read this blog post. Also, be ready for my next blog post to inform you more about the world of yoyoing.

 

Works Cited

Brown, Steve. “2017 PNWR Results & Video.” YoYoNews. N.p., 27 Feb. 2017. Web. 28 Feb. 2017.

Lite, Zerif. “Contest Proposal.” YoYoContest.com. N.p., 30 May 2016. Web. 28 Feb. 2017.

Steel, JD. “2016 California State Yo-Yo Contest.” YoYoContest.com. N.p., 02 Apr. 2016. Web. 28 Feb. 2017.

Yoyo Contest Central. “Nate Dailey – 1A Final – 1st Place – PNWR 2017.” YouTube. YouTube, 25 Feb. 2017. Web. 28 Feb. 2017.

Responsive Yoyos vs. Unresponsive Yoyos

There are two different main types of yoyos: Responsive and unresponsive yoyos. The responsive yoyo is the conventional “up and down” yoyo that everybody has once owned and usually cost under $5. The unresponsive yoyo is the modern type of yoyo that I went over in my last blog post. The ball bearing in the center of the yoyo lets the yoyo sleep for very long periods of time and allows you to perform more complex/longer tricks. The unresponsive yoyo, unlike the responsive yoyo, doesn’t come back into your hand when you pull up on it. Instead it just stays spinning at the bottom of the string. You now must be wondering: Then how does the yoyo come back into your hand?

To bring the yoyo back into your hand you need to perform a trick called a bind. To do a bind you must to throw the yoyo straight down. Then, you must put your non-dominant hand in front of the string hanging down and then pull the string over that finger into the gap of the yoyo. You have to pinch the loop around your non-dominant hand while changing the height of your hands. The yoyo will then come straight back into your hand. Here is a more in depth tutorial on how to do the bind.

So now you’ve gotten the bind down, but you want to learn some cooler/flashier yoyo tricks. Another beginner’s trick is called the “brain twister”. “The brain twister is a very simple but flashy yoyo trick that you will be learning.” (Boulay).  So first you want to get into a front mount. The front mount is just like the mount you get into to bind but just the other way around. Then put your pointer fingers in front and behind the strings and swing the yoyo around and around. When you’re done, just bind to bring the yoyo back into your hand. Here is an in depth tutorial on how to do the brain scrambler:

“Most of the simplest yoyo tricks end up being the coolest yoyo tricks.” (Brown)  After learning these tricks, you should have some of the simple basics now. If you end up really getting into yoyoing and want to learn some new tricks, I would recommend either www.yoyotricks.com or my own YouTube channel https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCnBqCL2bX6RaQK1nA4MA23g where I also make yoyo trick tutorials.

 

Now let’s get to the responsive yoyos. “Responsive yoyos are not the most popular choice of yoyo in the yoyoing community.”(Geo) The style of yoyoing that uses responsive yoyos is called 2a. You have most likely seen most of the simple 2a tricks and they are probably the first thing that comes to your head when you think of a yoyo. In 2a, yoyoers have a responsive yoyo on each one of their hands while doing “looping” tricks. Here is a video of 2a professional, Shu Takada, at the world yoyo contest last year (freestyle starts at 0:55):

 

So hopefully you have learned a few more facts about yoyoing and it’s different styles. Tune in next week for some more yoyo info.

Works Cited

Dillon Kermani. “How to Bind an Unresponsive Yoyo (Front Bind).” Online video Clip. YouTube. YouTube, 2 December 2013. Web. 30 January 2017.

Boulay, Andre. “YoYoExpert.” YoYoExpert. YoYoExpert.com, n.d. Web. 30 Jan. 2017.

Brown, Steve. “Learn To YoYo.” YoYoNews. YoYoNews, n.d. Web. 30 Jan. 2017.

Dillon Kermani. “Brain Scrambler aka Brain Twister Yoyo Trick” Online video Clip. YouTube. YouTube, 28 December 2013. Web. 30 January 2017.

Geo, Samad. “Tricks with Responsive Yo Yos.” Tricks with Unresponsive Yo Yos. YoYoExpert.com, n.d. Web. 30 Jan. 2017.

yoyovideoarchive. “2016World Final 2A 01 Shu Takada” Online video Clip. YouTube. YouTube, 6 September 2016. Web. 30 January 2017.

What Are Yoyo Competitions?

One of the most enjoyable and memorable things about yoyoing are the yoyo contests. A yoyo contest is a convention where yoyoers come together to hang out, teach each other new yoyo tricks, trade yoyos, compete, and do pretty much anything else that has to do with yoyos. There are state competitions, regional competitions, national competitions, and even world competitions. But just because you are going to a yoyo contest doesn’t mean that you have to compete. Many people just go to yoyo contests to hang out with their friends and just have fun. Depending on what kind of contest (state, national, world) you would create a 1, 2, or 3 minute yoyoing freestyle choreographed to a song of your choice, and after practicing for many hours you compete at the contest. There are also judges that score your freestyle. Out of the many categories that you are scored on, the 3 most important ones are:”Performance, hardness of tricks, and execution of your tricks.”(Elliot).  Yoyo contests are the best place for yoyoers to collaborate with each other, share thoughts, and share new tricks, “You can learn a lot from watching a video of somebody yoyoing, but you can learn infinitely more by just talking to them while yoyoing for just 5 minutes.”(Brown). Yoyo contests attract people from many parts of the world. “On average at a state or regional competition there is usually about 300 people; at a national competitions there is about 1,000 people; and at world contests  there is more than 5,000 people.”(Malowney).

 

 

 

 

 

 

(Yoyo)

Yoyo contests are very costly to organize though. “Having a nice venue, good speakers, and announcers ends up costing a lot of money. That’s not all though, there are many more expenses than you would think.”(Allen). Here is a list of all the expenses to run a state competition.

(Expenses)

In order to raise enough money to run these contests, organizers charge contestants a fee to compete at the yoyo contest. Also, as shown in the first picture, contests are sponsored by different yoyo brands. Some of these brands even set up small vendors for selling yoyos and other yoyo accessories.

(Contest)

The main part of the yoyo contest is the actual competition part of it. All of the people that sign up for the yoyo contest get to show their freestyle on stage to the crowd with the main goal of winning the contest. Here is a video of Gentry Stein, one of the top american competitors, winning the World Yoyo Contest in 2014. (The actual freestyle starts at 0:37.)

 

I hope you guys learned a lot from this blog. Stay tuned for my next blog where I will be covering more facts about yoyoing and the yoyoing community!

Works Cited

Brown, Steve. “Clubs & Events.” YoYoNews. N.p., 08 Mar. 2016. Web. 29 Nov. 2016.

Elliot, Jake. “How Are Yoyo Contests Judged.” Yoyoexpert. N.p., n.d. Web. 29 Nov. 2016.

Malowney, Bob. “About.” 2016 World YoYo Contest. N.p., 07 Feb. 2016. Web. 29 Nov. 2016.

Yoyo Contest. Digital image. International Yoyo Federation. N.p., 29 Aug. 2014. Web.

Contest Vendors. Digital image. Vice Sports. N.p., n.d. Web.

Yoyovideoachive. “2014World Final 1A 01 Gentry Stein.” YouTube. YouTube, 13 Aug. 2014. Web. 29 Nov. 2016.

Expenses. Digital image. YoyoSkills. N.p., n.d. Web.

Allen, Chris. “Doc’s Tips: Running a Yo-Yo Contest.” YoyoSkills. N.p., 01 Sept. 2015. Web. 29 Nov. 2016.

What Makes Modern Day Yoyos So Different?

Modern day yoyos work much different than the old fashioned dollar store yoyos that most people are used to. They are shaped differently, they spin longer, and they are made out of much higher quality materials. Today I will give you an in-depth run-over on how modern day yoyos spin for such a long time.

Modern day yoyos spin for a long time because they have a steel ball bearing inside of the middle of the yoyo.

(Shutter)

The circular piece of metal on the top of the yoyo is the bearing. Many of you might be familiar with what a bearing is because skateboards also use ball bearings to make their tires spin.

(Dissected)

Here is a picture of a dissected ball bearing. To put it as simply as possible “The inner ring of the bearing is stationary while the outer ring rotates around the inner ring.” (NMB Tech. Corp.) The steel balls greatly reduce the friction and allow the bearing to spin for a very long time. The cage keeps the steel balls in place so that they don’t fall out of the bearing.

(Bearing)

Some bearings also have shields, “Bearing shields protect the yoyo from dirt or sand.” (Divedi) Bearing shields are not completely necessary but if you happen to drop your bearing in sand or dirt, you will have a lot of trouble getting it spinning like it used to spin before you dropped it. Now that you know how bearings work, you might be wondering: What does a bearing have anything to do with a spinning yoyo? Well first of all, the yoyo string is wrapped around the bearing like so:

(Open)

Most yoyo strings are made out of polyester or nylon that are twisted together. At the end of each yoyo string there is a little loop,”you want to then wrap the loop at the end of the string around the bearing of the yoyo.” (Leumas) Then when you throw the yoyo down the outer ring stays stationary while the inner ring (which is connected to the actual yoyo) is spinning with the yoyo. A bearing doesn’t make a yoyo spin forever though. On average if you throw the yoyo pretty hard it can spin for up to 4 minutes. The world record for longest spin time for a yoyo was actually 30 minutes and 28 seconds with the C3yoyodesign BTH.

(BTH)

Not all yoyos can spin for this long though. This yoyo was made especially for this kind of thing. It also had a very good bearing that also helped it spin for so long.  On top of that, the yoyo weighed 200+ grams (which is 4 times heavier than the average yoyo). With the technology of putting a ball bearing inside of a yoyo, yoyoers are now able to create and learn harder and more complex yoyo tricks without having to worry about needing to bring the yoyo back into your hand every 10 seconds or so. Keep your eyes peeled for the next blog post and if you do enjoy these kinds of posts please don’t forget to subscribe to this page for updates!

 

 

 

Works Cited:

Shutter Yoyo. Digital image. Yoyoexpert. N.p., n.d. Web.

Dissected Bearing. Digital image. NMBTC. N.p., n.d. Web.

NMB Tech. Corp. “What Is a Ball Bearing?” NMBTC.com. N.p., 30 Sept. 2014. Web. 31 Oct. 2016.

Divedi, Harikesh. Bearing Shields. Digital image. HKDivedi. N.p., n.d. Web.

Divedi, Harikesh. “BALL BEARING SEALS, SHIELDS AND SNAP RINGS.” ENGINEERING MADE EASY. N.p., 01 Jan. 1970. Web. 31 Oct. 2016.

Open Yoyo. Digital image. Pocket Pros. N.p., n.d. Web.

LeumasYrrep. “How To Make Yo-Yo String.” Instructables.com. N.p., 29 June 2007. Web. 31 Oct. 2016.

BTH Yoyo. Digital image. Yoyoexpert. N.p., n.d. Web.

When Were Yoyos First Invented?

There are many different stories and myths surrounding the topic of yoyos; the most popular one being when they were invented. “The first historical mention of the yoyo, however, was from Greece in the year 500 B.C.”(Oliver) These yoyos were made out of many different types of materials. Some were made out of metal, wood, or terra cotta. Some of the terra cotta yoyos also had paintings on them; some of which were merely aesthetic, while others has intricate paintings on them which told stories. But Greece was not the only country to have been seen using yoyos. Countries like China and the Philippines also used yoyos long ago. That brings us to a very interesting question about yoyoing: Were yoyos used as weapons? Many historians suggest that back in the 16th century Filipinos used yoyo like weapons to take out their prey. “They threw a contraption made of a stone on a 20-foot long rope or string at an animal’s legs. Because of the weight of the stone, the rope would get entangled in the animal’s legs which would allow the hunter to close in for a kill.”(Factly) That is not the only thing that the Filipinos have done with the yoyo, but they also created the name: yoyo. “Records claim that the word ‘yoyo’ came from the word ‘come-come’ in the ancient version of Tagalog, a Filipino language.”(Sprange) Over time the yoyo started evolve into a much greater skill toy than it once was. New features like ball bearings and different types of metal, were added to the yoyo, but I will be covering that in another blog post. Until then, keep your eyes peeled for my next blog post next month!

 

Works Cited

Oliver, Valerie. “Museum of Yo-Yo History.” Museum of Yo-Yo History. N.p., n.d. Web. 28 Sept. 2016.

“Ancient Filipinos Used the Yoyo As a Weapon!” IP Factly. N.p., 17 June 2015. Web.

“History of the Yo-yo.” YoYo Wiki. N.p., n.d. Web