EXCLUSIVE: Four tips for finding an audience via YouTube (from an artist who knows)

#1 Trust yourself and go with what you feel

In any regard, to perform on social media is scary. You’ve really got to trust yourself and go with that. Hesitation is naturally going to come in the early stages (and sometimes in the later ones too), but if you trust yourself and approach it with a positive mindset, the world’s your oyster. You’re never going to know if you don’t have a crack.

Don’t be afraid of what people will think. If it makes you happy, then that’s all that matters.

More importantly, do it because it makes you happy. Cut out the rest of the bullshit that happens. Don’t worry about how many views you get at first or how many people are watching, because that will come over time. Do it for you - if that’s what you love, that should be what it’s all about.

#2 Be patient

Artists coming through today might get the impressions that social media success happens overnight. Growth will come, but again, don’t do it for that reason - do it for you. 

With social media being so prevalent now, there’s pressure to be successful fast. But fast is the exact opposite of how it should be for you. You’ve got to take your time to get things right.

I put up a video a few years ago, and overnight it got a lot of views which blew me away. But that video is still there, and if you look two years before I posted over 20 videos that attracted just a handful of engagement. It’s all about the ’crawl before you walk’ theory. Luck plays a part, but a larger part comes from your patience. Don’t expect everything to come at once.

#3 Find artists/bands that inspire you and learn from what you see

UK artist Lewis Watson got his start on YouTube, and he was a really big inspiration for me. I followed him for a while, and then ended up meeting him at a little show in England. Two years later, I landed a support slot on his Australian tour and I found so much inspiration in that experience.

I cop some shit about talking at the start of my videos, but I saw Lewis it. He was engaged with the audience and showing them that he not only could sing and write songs, but that he was also a person and not just a voice with a camera. I really connected to that approach. I found this realness to Lewis, and I saw him as an artist.

He’s one of the biggest influences I’ve ever come across. Things you watch give you ideas that you can adapt to your own work. Take what other successful people are doing and apply it to how you approach your performances. Learn from that.

#4 Make time for anyone that reaches out to you

If someone can write something positive (or sometimes not) about you, take those two seconds out of your day and write back. You can engage and grow longterm fans, and also make some really good friends. This is the BIGGEST tip!

It’s not as if 100 people are going to be messaging you at first. Again, these things take time. But I remember one of the first things that ever happened to me was someone from Melbourne messaged me. Lewis was a few years younger than me and said, “man, I love your music” and he’d written a few nice comments. He eventually ended up adding me on Facebook. From that simple message and him supporting my music, we’ve since established a great friendship. 

If someone takes a moment out of their life to write something positive about you, there’s no reason why you can’t do the exact same thing and thank them. Other people will see that realness of you the same way as I still see with Lewis. You’ll see the person and push through the bubble that you sometimes forget is there. You can end up with long lifelong fans and lifelong friends. It works well in a business sense and in a general life sense.