The Busy Creator 39 w/guest Steve Dotto

Jan 5, 2015

Steve Dotto (@DottoTech) publishes a variety of videos on YouTube, mainly on the subject of personal productivity and software. Following a career in traditional broadcasting, he’s strategically moved into self-publishing and has since built a business with video, coaching, & speaking under his brand DottoTech.

In this conversation, Steve shares his strategies for online community-building, his preferred sites and software, and his personal productivity habits.

Below are some examples of videos that Steve produces:

Show Notes & Links

• Steve calls himself a YouTube Content Creator. His channel is DottoTech
• “YouTube is not a broadcast network, it’s a social network.” ← Click to Tweet
• Steve had the business acumen to create a profitable show from his time in television 
• Personal Branding, by whatever name, has to do with authenticity
• The MasterCaster, part of Steve’s business that focuses on content creation for video & podcasts
• “It’s not a broadcast; it’s a conversation” ← Click to Tweet
• TV/Radio networks, as well as Facebook, tend to hold your audience hostage
• iTunes doesn’t tell podcasters much about their audiences
• Google forces YouTube commenters to use their Google+ identities; controversial but beneficial in the long run
• YouTube is the second-largest search engine in the world, the de facto place to search for “how-to”
• Stephen Colbert’s final episode, viewed online rather than on TV
• Some claim “Facebook video is going to be more viable than YouTube within 6 mos.“
• Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
• “Search results on YouTube are based on merit, not Voodoo.” ← Click to Tweet
• 40% of Steve’s viewers aren’t subscribers, but instead find him through search terms
• YouTube > Facebook for community engagement and overall social interaction 
• Prescott says Facebook is a “bizarro Hong Kong marketplace” of distraction
• Mashable
• Google+ hasn’t quite taken shape as a social network. But perhaps it’s not supposed to be a social network.
• Martin Shervington‘s Google+ for Business
• A Song of Ice and Fire (The Game of Thrones series) by George RR Martin, on Audible
  
• The Harry Potter series by JK Rowling, on Audio CD (narrated by Jim Dale)
  
• Stephen Fry
• Ed Norton
• “Present the type of content you would like to receive.” ← Click to Tweet
• Green Screen effects
• “People will not watch good video with bad audio.” ← Click to Tweet
• Gary Vaynerchuk, high energy
• Mari Smith, warm and fuzzy
• The WayBack Machine
• Tom Merritt, of Daily Tech News Show, earns massive income from Patreon
• Chris Prillo
• The Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod
  

Tools

• Evernote
• Dropbox
• Google+
• Full Contact
• Reportive
• Patreon
• Screenflow
• Electro Voice RE-20
• AWeber
• Mailchimp
• InfusionSoft
• KickStarter

Techniques

• Get your crew to laugh; it’s a good indicator for your audience
• Create a personality that is a slightly amplified version of yourself, not a fictional character
• Ensure no one is holding your audience “hostage”; keep in touch with them on our terms
• Tweet or Text Message your audience prior to a live broadcast/webinar
• “Shine a light on your content” aka actively promote your own stuff; no one will find it naturally
• Use [paid] Facebook ads to promote a webinar or other paid event
• Use your community — perhaps a forum or Facebook group — to answer tough questions
• Poke around with software and look for “a story” to share in a video
• Push hard for a new video (within the first four hours); take advantage of YouTube’s algorithm which “honors momentum”
• Honor Your Content, Steve’s term for abiding by best practices in promotion
• Create a Photoshop template which you can quickly update
• Build your mailing list! Change your CRM system if you outgrow the first one.
• Before you post your Patreon effort, get friends and family to chip in.
• Offer your Patrons access to your digital products as a bonus

Habits

• Listen to podcasts/audiobooks while walking the dog.
• Research an SEO-friendly title
• Edit video to include calls-to-action, annotate thoroughly
• Learn to predict problems with sound & lighting, so you can solve them early
• Steal colors from other content creators (keep them in Evernote)
• Wake up early, do community engagement first; reply to comments
• Avoid email first thing in the morning
• Read and respond to every comment on YouTube (even if it’s only a Thumbs-up/Plus)
• Drink Smoothies

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Get The Episode

• Download The Busy Creator Podcast, episode 39
  (MP3, 58:13, 28.0 MB)
• Download The Busy Creator Podcast, episode 39
  (OGG, 58:13, 51.4 MB)