STORY IS KING

When I first started travel vlogging, I heard over and over again that “Story is King”. I’m at a point now in my journey where my understanding of this statement has changed. I originally understood it to mean the individual story of each episode, but I would now argue that, while YES that is very important, aspects such as

• ​knowing the value you bring to your audience;
• ​understanding how to attract the audience you want or what audience your content will attract;​
• ​creating a sustainable channel faster by thinking about a product or service in advance;
• and doing the deep thought work of branding​

are far more important to the success of your YouTube channel.

Part of that is because the playing field has changed and is increasingly becoming more competitive. Another part of that is because “going viral” is not a strategy that will work for the majority of us. So instead we turn to story in all its forms.

What is the story of Your Channel?

If you haven’t already, go read my last newsletter about branding. Your YouTube channel overall needs a story, not just each episode. People connect with stories, and having an overall story for your YouTube channel signals who your potential audience will be and helps tie each travel vlog together.

A good way to think about your channel story is that it tells the origin behind why you started your channel. The catalyst behind my new channel is a medical emergency which happened in 2021 which pushed me into some deep work that made me realize I wasn’t enjoying sailing as much as I could. I was in my head and mentally ruining the experience.

When I give advice about how to change your mindset to live life to the fullest, people can identify with the fact that I hit rock bottom first before dishing out advice. The rock bottom moments I refer to make me relatable, and it also makes people more willing to receive my messages. I refer back to this origin story often.

But if you don’t know what part of your story is powerful, you’ll likely end up following the pack and not standing out. For example, when I first started my YouTube channel pre-medical emergency, my channel was very much ‘same same’. Like numerous other couples out there, I was working, burnt out, bought a boat with zero experience, and went sailing. Looking back now though, I can see several aspects of my story that I could have highlighted to make my YouTube channel more unique.

First and foremost, I come from an international development / humanitarian response background, and that has often given me a unique perspective when dealing with different cultures and interacting with what is one of the most expensive sports in the world. I am also a beer brewer, runner, homeschooled, middle of 7, speak multiple languages, and have sailed more of New Zealand than most YouTube sailing channels.

If I had chosen to focus on any one of these things, my channel would have been that much better. But instead, I focused on some of these things in a few of my episodes, but I mostly was just another sailing channel. The aspects above are each part of my story, and I could have used them to stand out.

What are the unique bits about your story that you might use?

Remember your goals.

A good story can give your YouTube channel a real chance, but keep in mind the story you choose should be in line with the audience you are trying to attract. Not every part of your story will attract the audience you desire, so find your uniqueness that also attracts them.

For example, I really like craft beer. I gained this love while living in the mountains of Colorado and learning heaps about how different ingredients impact the flavor of beer. However, is unrelated to the mission behind my new channel, and in fact, I am on a new journey to reduce my alcohol intake. Talking about my journey of loving the flavors of craft beer would do nothing to enhance my new focus.

Anytime I am thinking through whether or not to include something in my storyline, I refer back to my mission, and that ensures I remain focused on a storyline that supports my goals. As a result, I am often not including the craft beer, running, or homeschooled tidbits unless I can specifically see how they enhance my mission.

Some other channel examples:

I remember when Expedition Evans blew up, and I was racking my brain trying to figure out why. This is the conclusion I have come to: They blew up because they had every element in the “vlogging formula”: good looks, photography skills (which if you listen to this podcast, you’ll see translates well to YouTube), a location which is highly searched, and a beautiful boat. People mostly watch YouTube sailing channels to dream, and the closer a channel is to that dream, the higher their chances of success.

BUT, they wouldn’t have been as successful as they are if it weren’t for their very unique story compared to other sailing channels. Similar to Parlay Revival, the fact that they were refitting what was basically a dead boat made their story super unique and interesting. And, if you are a true follower, you will know that Jade has major chronic pain, which makes the major refit that much more impressive and relatable.

More recently, one of your fellow readers, The Bumbling Sailor, blew up. In just 5 short months, Terry has 13,100 subscribers and over 1/2 million views. Not the same growth as Expedition Evans, but impressive, nonetheless. But Terry doesn’t have the entire perfect formula to go viral. He doesn’t have the dream boat, bikini bod (but you are sexy, Terry), photography skills or really even a unique story on the face of it. BUT what he does have is his own unique and very relatable story, and that comes through very quickly when you watch his channel. Terry is 100% himself, and within the first minute of his first video, he is already embracing the “story” of his channel, which is an “inept person totally not dying. Probably.” RELATEABLE.

He also TELLS a good story…

But Terry would not be as successful as he is if it weren’t for his epic storytelling skills. From the minute you watch the first episode, you are brought into not only the episodic story but the overall story of what’s to come. Here is the structure of his first video:

• Quick context which hooks you and shows you a trainwreck is coming (wink wink) – this is a brilliant intro!
• Tells you who he is
• What is he doing here
• How he got there (watched YouTube videos)
• What are the obstacles (no money, not creative)
• Context (tells about the boat & condition it’s in)
• What’s to come (boat needs love, sailing on an instable boat, engine fix,
• More obstacles (not enough money and no help)
• More what’s to come (big trip up north of England)
• More obstacles (zero experience)

And then he brilliantly ends by including the audience in the potential storyline. He says, “When I get to Fleetwood, I don’t know what I will do, but if this channel works because of YOUR support, then here are the big dreams I have.”

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Action

As you are thinking through both your episodic travel vlogs and overarching channel story, think about the following:

• What part of my unique story will set me apart from other channels and ALSO align with the goals I have created for my channel?
• What parts of my story do I need to tell to keep people engaged from episode to episode?
• Who or what is the focal point / subject of my channel and each video?
• What are the stakes of my channel and each video?
• What will happen if they don’t get what they need / want?
• Who or what helps them?
• How do they get what they want?
• How are they transformed by this experience?
• Are there any relatable moments in the video? People identify with you when you are at your worst and vulnerable and when there is humor.
• Could someone start watching my channel from the middle and understand the overall story of my channel?

I can’t say this enough, but once you decide what your channel goals are and what story you will tell to attract the audience you want, FOCUS. Don’t get caught up in following trends and switching it up all the time. You’re trying to bring back the same audience over and over. They will not stay if they don’t get wrapped up in your overall story and cannot trust the experience will be consistent every time.