How to Stay Motivated on YouTube as a Small Crafting Channel

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Learn How to Stay Motivated on YouTube as a Small Crafting Channel with these seven powerful suggestions. You will also find YouTube related resources + download my own personal content calendar especially geared for crafters.

Staying motivated on YouTube can be tough, especially if you’re a small channel (like mine).

Maybe you’re just starting out on YouTube and you want to make sure that you’re doing everything you can to set yourself up for success.

Or maybe you’ve been slogging away at this YouTube thing for years and you need a little kick in the pants and some friendly encouragement as well.

Go ahead and get your FREE YouTube Resource for Crafters with loads of information and my own personal printable content calendar specifically created for you.

How to Stay Motivated on YouTube

In April of last year, I [finally] got monetized on YouTube. While money is definitely a huge motivating factor for me now, I needed something to encourage me when I wasn’t making any money at all.

And while I do make an income on YouTube, it is still pretty small, so I need to find other things to get me fired up about regularly making videos.

You can find more information about how I got monetized on YouTube and how much I was making seven months later:

Read more about How I Got Monetized on YouTube as a Crafter

Curious About How Much a Small Crafting YouTube Channel Make?

Watch the YouTube Video!

Learn About YouTube

Some people find great success on YouTube all on their own. They naturally make amazing content and grow exponentially right out of the gate.

This post contains affiliate links and at no cost to you I may earn a teeny tiny commission if you choose to purchase them. Please know that I only recommend products I use and love! Thank you for supporting Le Petit Saint Crochet! You can read my full (and slightly boring) full disclosure here.

Then there are the rest of us.

I officially started my YouTube channel in March of 2018, but I didn’t begin uploading regularly until January of 2019.

Before I began posting a new video each week, I enrolled in the course, Video for Bloggers by Lisa Bass. She has grown her own YouTube channel to almost three hundred thousand subscribers and began teaching other people how to do it.

Thankfully I took her course and her advice, otherwise I don’t think I would have ever gotten monetized.

Find Out More About my Favorite YouTube Course Here

But I haven’t stopped there.

Learning new things is a huge motivator for me. I thrive when I discover something I didn’t know before.

Recently I heard about the new book The YouTube Formula: How Anyone Can Unlock the Algorithm to Drive Views, Build an Audience, and Grow Revenue. I immediately ordered it because I love learning about YouTube almost as much as I love learning about knitting and crocheting.

This book by Derral Eves, has been just what I needed to spark a little inspiration and get me more motivated to keep making videos on the regular.

I’ve learned so much about how to create better content and it has been the perfect next step in my YouTube education.

Create a Content Calendar

I hate to admit that I was very hesitant about creating a content calendar for the longest time.

Thinking that it would stifle my creativity, I put it off…. that is until last month.

Content calendars are a great tool for YouTube creators, but I have also found them to be super motivating.

Before I started seriously planning my content, I randomly chose videos to make, week by week. At first it felt like a great strategy because I was constantly brimming with new ideas.

Then reality sunk in.

I started to find that trying to think up new ideas each week was stressing me out. And that was killing my creativity. I actually started to feel so stressed that I wanted to quit.

Finally I took the advice of every successful YouTuber I have ever followed and created a content calendar.

My Content Planning Process

• First, I created a Google doc and listed as many ideas for videos as I could think of. Then I tried to find ways to expand any topics I had previously tackled. Also, I explored the answers to frequently asked questions. Anything I could think of, I typed out in this document.
• Second, I got out my content calendar and began planning out when I would post those videos.
• I quickly realized that I had to plan when projects needed to be finished for those video upload dates. Then I rearranged the calendar to make sure I could finish the projects and film/edit the videos.
• I created another calendar to include dates for when projects needed to be finished in order to stay on track.

Brainstorming dozens of topic ideas for videos and making sure I have enough time to complete projects + film/edit the videos as been an absolute game changer for me.

Get the Content & Project Calendar Templates along with all the other resources for FREE here:

Create a Schedule (And Stick to It)

I got this idea from Little House on the Prairie. Totally random, I know.

But for every day of the week, Ma had a task:

Celebrate Your Wins (Big or Small)

Sometimes I get lost in my own doubts and insecurities.

But when you are building a YouTube channel it is important to stop and celebrate your wins.

Ultimately we have zero control whether our video and channels do well or not. Instead of focusing on specific view counts or subscriber growth, I try to acknowledge what I am in charge of.

I regularly stop and congratulate myself for sticking to my content calendar and posting each week. Sometimes I buy myself some yarn I’ve been eyeing. Other times I pick up dinner instead of cooking to reward my hard work.

I have found that YouTube is marathon, not a sprint. As creators we need to stop and recognize what we have achieved, even if it’s just something small.

This is one way for how to stay motivated on YouTube as a small channel.

Watch YouTube as a Student

We all love YouTube, otherwise I doubt we would be creating content there.

Instead of watching videos for fun, begin watching videos as a student.

Look at some of your favorite channels. It doesn’t matter what niche they are in.

Answer these questions:

• What keeps you coming back for more?
• Why do you watch their videos to the end?
• How often are they posting?
• What is it that makes this channel stand out to you?
• Check out their “About” section – what do you see?
• Look at their thumbnails – what makes you want to click on them?

Start studying your favorite channels to see if you can figure out what makes them so watchable.

This always helps me to feel motivated as a YouTube creator.

Make Some Videos Just Because it Makes You Happy

Sometimes you just need a break. You need to just be a crafter and create projects that feed your soul. Don’t worry if others want to see it or not, make it for you.

Many times, in my crafting journey, I’ve created videos that showcase what I’ve made as a video journal for myself. Instead of worrying about whether anyone else likes it, I will create something that just makes me feel happy.

Try this for yourself. Document a project that you made just because you absolutely loved it. Don’t worry about whether or not it’s a searchable topic or that others will be interested. Make the video just for you.

I have found this to be a powerful motivator for me on YouTube.

Make Friends with Other YouTube Channels Your Same Size

I cannot recommend this more. Finding other creators can help you discover how to stay motivated on YouTube.

In the video course I mentioned above, we have a private Facebook group so that we can connect with other YouTubers in many different niches. We share our triumphs, our challenges and support one another.

Many creators in the group have shared their struggles for how to stay motivated on YouTube. It’s wonderful to get the perspective of other people who have been there, done that, got the T-shirt.

Find those people. Look for local or online groups that you can connect with. It makes a world of difference to be able to bounce ideas off of other people and (commiserate) with other people who just get it.

Hold Yourself Accountable

Now that I’ve been encouraging and sweet about how to stay motivated on YouTube, buckle up because now I’m going to give it to you straight.

Hold yourself accountable. It’s all well and good to create that content calendar, but it means nothing if you don’t follow through.

Give yourself a time frame to work on your goals and reevaluate to see if they are working or not, then pivot if necessary.

YouTube is a long game. Most of us aren’t going to go viral and make a full time income in a short period of time. It takes work and dedication, just like everything else.

It can be easy to look at those channels that are killing it. They all look like they are having so much fun and that it’s effortless.

What we don’t see are the hours and hours of work that went into making that video look easy. They didn’t always feel motivated. They kept on working even when they didn’t necessarily feel like it.

Stop making excuses for yourself. Staying motivated on YouTube takes almost as much work as actually creating the videos.

Ok, now I’m back to being reassuring and supportive. Keeping yourself on track will actually give you motivation to keep going.

Favorite Resources for How to Stay Motivated on YouTube

In addition to the resources above, I regularly find inspiration for how to stay motivated on YouTube from other YouTubers.

YouTube Channels

• Cathrin Manning is one of my favorites for all things YouTube. She shares everything from how she grew her amazing channel to her actual income reports (this gal is making really good money on YouTube). She has quite a few videos on staying motivated and this is one of my favorites: Finding The Motivation To Keep Going // If You’re Struggling With YouTube YOU NEED TO WATCH THIS!
• Ali Abdaal is another of my favorite YouTubers. Although he’s an English medical doctor, he also has an extremely successful YouTube channel about personal growth. His video about Why Motivation is a Myth was really helpful to me, but make sure to check out his entire channel.
• Video Creators is a fantastic channel with advice for YouTubers. One of my favorite videos for how to stay motivated on YouTube is When You’re Ready to Quit YouTube. This video is less about motivation and more about welcoming the challenges of being on YouTube.
• Although Lisa from Farmhouse on Boone mainly focuses on cooking from scratch and DIY projects, she has been a huge inspiration for starting a YouTube channel. Check out her full playlist about blogging and YouTube.

How to Stay Motivated on YouTube as a Small Crafting Channel

The good news is that there are more viewers on YouTube than ever before.

There are more than thirty-eight million American knitters and crocheters. That statistic doesn’t include the other crafters from all over the world.

According to the Pew Research Foundation, people come to YouTube to learn new things. In fact 74% of all Americans watch YouTube.

Staying motivated on YouTube as a Small Crafting Channel is vital for your long-term success.

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