I’m trying to do this on the first Sunday of each month as a recap of the previous month. So, if you enjoy reading these, you’ll know when to look for them!
March Recap – ups and downs of YouTube
After a February that was the best in the history of “Travel with a Wiseguy”, reality came crashing down in March haha. Views and subscribers in March were about a third of the previous month, which at first would seem bad, but actually is quite solid when put into a bigger perspective.
YouTube channels go in phases of growth and mine grew a lot in the past three months. In December, January, and February the channel basically doubled in subscribers and more than doubled in views. That’s not something that is sustainable forever and the March results are somewhat predictable. I’ve also read that this time of the year is less popular on YouTube as a whole compared to the summer and winter months.
I put out two videos about Linn County, and even though they weren't as popular as the previous ones I did about Greenwood County, I still received lots of nice messages from people who live there. So many of them thanked me for putting a spotlight on their small communities. For most of these small towns, it's the only presence on YouTube they may ever have. I'm proud to be the middle man to connect them with so many others who are learning about them for the first time.
In the month of March, there were still over 160,000 views and over 700 new subscribers, to bring the totals to 2.3 million and 13,100, respectively.
What will April bring? Stay tuned.
Recent travels
April is the busiest time of my year with coaching track at Wichita State. So, traveling for YouTube is pretty tough. However, at the beginning March, I was able to get out to western Kansas for a couple days and have released 2 of the 4 videos I filmed (Kansas’ Rocks! and Plains, KS). That was a fun few days – I always love exploring around that part of the state!
This past week I was in Austin, Texas, with our team for the Texas Relays. I wasn’t able to do any YouTube work, but it’s always fun to hang out in Austin. That city is growing like crazy! I went to In-n-Out Burger and Buc'ees while in Texas!
Other than that, I’ve been in Wichita trying to help people run fast :)
Trying to keep up the pace
Starting last summer my goal was to publish two videos per week. So far I’ve been able to do that, but the next two months will test me. I’ve filmed enough videos to get me through the month of April, but May could be difficult. Once I get to the end of May, my schedule opens up a bit and I’m able to get out to explore more frequently.
I definitely want to achieve this goal, so I might be getting creative to reach the finish line at the end of May. Would you be interested in a Q&A type video? I’ve never wanted this channel to be about me, but I’ve had a few people request this and I’d try to make it interesting (might even bring in my mentor Curt Rierson for some of his wisdom too).
Are there any other non-travel videos you would like to see?
For my 100th video, I did a highlight recap of the first 99. That was fun to look back. I could do the same for #200 and highlight videos 100-200 as it will be approaching in late May.
Having this goal has been a great way for me to continue thinking about new ways to make videos. It’s a very healthy way to force me to continue to be creative. Hopefully you have enjoyed it too!
April video releases (for the diehards)
I always like to reward anyone who is interested enough to have continued reading this far :)
Here’s what I have coming up on the channel (subject to change of course – it always does) …
Sun, Apr 2 – small town, USA – Plains, KS (released today)
Thu,
Apr 6 – Texas Ghost Towns #4 – Grapetown, Oatmeal, Nameless
Sun,
Apr 9 – The Dalton Gang Hideout – Meade, KS
Thu,
Apr 13 – Arkansas Ghost Towns #3 – Monte Ne
Sun,
Apr 16 – Greeley County – Least Populated County in Kansas
Thu,
Apr 20 – NE Oklahoma Ghost Towns on or near Route 66
Sun,
Apr 23 – The Largest Salt Flat in the World – Uyuni, Bolivia (filmed in 2019)
Thu,
Apr 27 – Bolivian Train Graveyard (filmed in 2019)
Sun,
Apr 30 – TBA
I’ve also started releasing YouTube Shorts on Tuesdays. Early returns are hit and miss, but I’ve only done two so far. I’ll report back next month to analyze how that’s going.
I may or may not work on those two videos from Bolivia. They would be interesting, but a departure from what I usually do. And this list will change up quickly if I’m able to get out and about in the next few weeks. I have an open weekend on April 22-23 so I’m hoping to do some filming then.
Thanks again for all the support! Until next time, safe travels!
