What I‘ve Learned After My First Week on YouTube as a Developer

As a full-stack web developer with over a decade of professional coding experience, I‘m always looking for ways to share my knowledge and connect with the broader programming community. I‘ve written technical blog posts, spoken at conferences, and even livestreamed a few coding sessions on Twitch.

But there was one creative outlet I‘d been nervous to explore: starting my own YouTube channel.

I‘d been telling myself I‘d do it for years, but kept coming up with excuses. "I don‘t have the right equipment." "I don‘t have anything valuable to teach." "I‘m not entertaining enough to be a YouTuber." My perfectionist tendencies always seemed to get in the way.

Well, last week I finally broke through the inertia and published my very first YouTube video. It wasn‘t flawless by any means, but that‘s kind of the point. I‘m learning that when it comes to creating content, done is better than perfect.

Here are some of the key lessons and realizations I‘ve had over the past 7 days as a newbie tech YouTuber.

Overcoming Imposter Syndrome

One of my biggest mental hurdles was the feeling that I wasn‘t "qualified" to have my own YouTube channel. After all, there are already so many brilliant programmers and engaging teachers putting out videos – who am I to add to the noise?

But as I started watching more coding content on YouTube, I realized a few things:

1. Everyone has a unique perspective and teaching style. Just because a topic has been covered before doesn‘t mean you can‘t add your own spin to it.

2. There are millions of people learning to code, from all backgrounds and skill levels. No single channel can serve them all. The more diversity of voices, the better.

3. Even the most popular creators had to start somewhere. They weren‘t born with huge production budgets and subscriber counts. We‘re all figuring it out as we go.

Armed with this mindset, I was able to quiet my inner critic and focus on creating. I may not be the world‘s greatest coder or a natural on camera, but I have a decade of hard-earned lessons to draw from. And I genuinely want to help others along their programming journey, however I can.

Hitting record for the first time was nerve-wracking, but also invigorating. It felt like I was finally owning my expertise instead of downplaying it.

The Technical Learning Curve

Of course, mindset is only part of the equation. There‘s also a huge technical side to YouTube creation that I had to wrap my head around as an absolute beginner.

Some specific skills I‘ve been picking up:

• Screen recording with OBS Studio
• Editing video and audio in DaVinci Resolve
• Adding effects, transitions, and b-roll footage
• Designing thumbnails in Adobe Photoshop
• Optimizing titles, tags, and descriptions for search
• Analyzing audience retention and engagement metrics

It‘s a lot to absorb, especially while juggling a full-time job and other responsibilities. But as they say, the best way to learn is by doing. Each video I make is a chance to experiment, make mistakes, and improve for next time.

One thing that‘s helped is adopting an iterative, MVP-style approach (something all too familiar to me as a software engineer). Rather than trying to master every aspect of production right away, I‘m focusing on small, incremental upgrades:

• Version 1: Minimal viable video (screen recording + voiceover)
• Version 2: Added intro/outro, background music, graphics
• Version 3: Multiple camera angles, lighting, green screen
• Version 4: Tighter scripting and editing, calls-to-action

By gradually leveling up the quality, I‘m able to maintain momentum while avoiding overwhelm. It‘s not about making the perfect video, but the video that‘s slightly better than the last.

Encouraging Early Results

So what does "success" look like for a brand new coding channel? To be honest, I purposely kept my expectations low. I knew that building an audience on YouTube is a marathon, not a sprint.

That said, I‘ve been pleasantly surprised by the initial reception. In my first week, I gained:

• 200 subscribers
• 1,500 total views
• 10+ comments
• 50+ likes

Obviously, these numbers are tiny compared to established creators. But they‘re deeply meaningful to me. Knowing that even a handful of people found value in my content is incredibly motivating.

I‘m also starting to see some interesting patterns in my analytics:

• My average view duration is around 3 minutes (50% retention)
• The majority of my traffic is coming from YouTube search (60%)
• My CTR ranges from 2-10% depending on the video
• Tutorials and how-to videos are performing better than vlogs

Again, it‘s early days, so I‘m taking these insights with a grain of salt. But it‘s exciting to have some data to inform my future content plans.

For example, I‘m starting to hone in on my niche and ideal viewer persona:

• Self-taught web developers
• Familiar with HTML/CSS/JS fundamentals
• Looking for practical tips and project ideas
• Prefers concise, hands-on tutorials over long theoretical lectures

By really understanding my audience and the value I can uniquely provide, I‘m hoping to build a highly engaged community over time.

Key Takeaways

Reflecting on this whirlwind of a week, a few big realizations stand out to me:

1. Starting is more important than being perfect. As a recovering perfectionist, it‘s hard for me to put work out there that feels incomplete or unpolished. But I‘m learning that the only way to make progress is to embrace the messiness of being a beginner. Quantity leads to quality.

2. Consistency is key. While going viral is alluring, I‘m much more interested in sustainably growing my skills and audience over time. That means committing to a regular upload schedule (2x/week for me), rain or shine. The compound effect of showing up repeatedly cannot be overstated.

3. YouTube is a skill like any other. I naively assumed that my coding ability would translate smoothly to being an effective YouTuber. Nope. Scripting, presenting, editing – it‘s a whole different muscle to build. The only way to get better is deliberate practice and feedback.

4. The developer community is incredibly supportive. From the comments on my videos to the DMs of encouragement from fellow creators, I‘ve been blown away by the positivity and generosity of the tech world. It‘s a powerful reminder that we‘re all in this together.

5. Creating is energizing. Yes, it‘s been a tiring week wearing all the hats of a one-person production studio. But it‘s also been deeply fulfilling to stretch new creative muscles. Making videos has reignited my love for programming and learning in a way I didn‘t expect.

If you‘re on the fence about starting your own channel (or blog, or podcast, or side project), I hope my experience gives you that extra nudge. It won‘t be easy, but it will be worth it.

And if you‘re a few steps ahead of me on the creator journey, I‘d love to connect and swap war stories. Us newbies gotta stick together. 🙂

See you in the next upload!