Steve Dotto (@DottoTech) publishes a variety of videos on YouTube, mainly on the subject of personal productivity and software. Following a career in broadcasting, he’s strategically moved into self-publishing and has since built a business with video, coaching, & speaking under his brand DottoTech.
Listen Now
Get The Episode
- Download The Busy Creator Podcast, Episode 39 (MP3, 58:13, 28.0 MB)
- Download The Busy Creator Podcast, Episode 39 (OGG, 58:13, 51.4 MB)
Subscribe to Get New Episodes
Subscribe to The Busy Creator Podcast on Apple Podcasts, on Google Podcasts, on Stitcher, on iHeart
Below are some examples of videos that Steve produces:
Show Notes & Links
- Steve calls himself a YouTube Content Creator. His channel is DottoTech
“YouTube is not a broadcast network, it's a social network.”
—Steve Dotto
- Steve had the business acumen to create a profitable show from his time in television
- Personal Branding, by whatever name, has to do with authenticity
- The MasterCaster, part of Steve’s business that focuses on content creation for video & podcasts
“It's not a broadcast; it's a conversation.”
—Steve Dotto
- TV/Radio networks, as well as Facebook, tend to hold your audience hostage
- iTunes doesn’t tell podcasters much about their audiences
- Google forces YouTube commenters to use their Google+ identities; controversial but beneficial in the long run
- YouTube is the second-largest search engine in the world, the de facto place to search for “how-to”
- Stephen Colbert’s final episode, viewed online rather than on TV
- Some claim “Facebook video is going to be more viable than YouTube within 6 mos.“
- Search Engine Optimization (SEO)
“Search results on YouTube are based on merit, not Voodoo.”
—Steve Dotto
- 40% of Steve’s viewers aren’t subscribers, but instead find him through search terms
- YouTube > Facebook for community engagement and overall social interaction
- Prescott says Facebook is a “bizarro Hong Kong marketplace” of distraction
- Mashable
- Google+ hasn’t quite taken shape as a social network. But perhaps it’s not supposed to be a social network.
- Martin Shervington‘s Google+ for Business
- A Song of Ice and Fire (The Game of Thrones series) by George RR Martin on Amazon and on Audible
- The Harry Potter series by JK Rowling on Amazon and on Audible
- Stephen Fry
- Ed Norton
“Present the type of content you would like to receive.”
—Steve Dotto
“People will not watch good video with bad audio.”
—Steve Dotto
- Gary Vaynerchuk, high energy
- Mari Smith, warm and fuzzy
- The WayBack Machine
- Tom Merritt, of Daily Tech News Show, earns massive income from Patreon
- Chris Prillo
- The Miracle Morning by Hal Elrod on Amazon and on Audible
Tools
- Evernote
- Dropbox
- Google+
- Full Contact
- Reportive
- Patreon
- Screenflow
- Electro Voice RE-20
- AWeber
- Mailchimp
- InfusionSoft
- KickStarter
Techniques
- Get your crew to laugh; it’s a good indicator for your audience
- Create a personality that is a slightly amplified version of yourself, not a fictional character
- Ensure no one is holding your audience “hostage”; keep in touch with them on our terms
- Tweet or Text Message your audience prior to a live broadcast/webinar
- “Shine a light on your content” aka actively promote your own stuff; no one will find it naturally
- Use [paid] Facebook ads to promote a webinar or other paid event
- Use your community — perhaps a forum or Facebook group — to answer tough questions
- Poke around with software and look for “a story” to share in a video
- Push hard for a new video (within the first four hours); take advantage of YouTube’s algorithm which “honors momentum”
- Honor Your Content, Steve’s term for abiding by best practices in promotion
- Create a Photoshop template which you can quickly update
- Build your mailing list! Change your CRM system if you outgrow the first one.
- Before you post your Patreon effort, get friends and family to chip in.
- Offer your Patrons access to your digital products as a bonus
Habits
- Listen to podcasts/audiobooks while walking the dog
- Research an SEO-friendly title
- Edit video to include calls-to-action, annotate thoroughly
- Learn to predict problems with sound & lighting, so you can solve them early
- Steal colors from other content creators (keep them in Evernote)
- Wake up early, do community engagement first; reply to comments
- Avoid email first thing in the morning
- Read and respond to every comment on YouTube (even if it’s only a Thumbs-up/Plus)
- Drink Smoothies
Try Audible.com Free for 30-Days
Visit BusyCreatorBook.com for your free trial
Join the Discussion
Add your experiences in the Comments section below.
Enjoyed this article?
More insight and resources delivered in our newsletter. Sign up below to receive site updates.
