The YouTube channel was finally starting to grow. Each week, the number of subscribers rose, as did the amount of increase. Nothing spectacular, but the growth was steady.

When the milestone of reach 2,500 subscribers was reached, a new trend started to develop with the video watches. Previously, the videos about pop culture, in particular Star Wars and Marvel Movies, had been the highest watched. This was in contrast to trends from several years ago when the supplement reviews were king. New subscribers were starting to watch the reviews again, with several reaching more views than the channel had subs. What was going on?

Around the 3,000 sub level, a contact came in from a marketing research firm. They wanted to chat about a test venture that would no doubt grow my channel. Surely this is spam and it was ignored. A few days later, a more convincing message was sent and contact was made. They had conducted an honesty survey using several channels and mine rated the highest. A six week experiment was in order to see how much potential there was in a channel that had various topics and was not trying to directly sell anything. This sounded great!

The first two weeks of the experiment was about getting the videos in order and tagging them properly. Several old videos had to go. They were too divisive or too old. Away they went. Others need to be updated for proper tagging. A few thumbnail tweaks here and there as well. Nice and proper. Good, what next?

A consistent schedule was created. Videos would go out three times a week. Sunday afternoons were good for a pop culture video. It could be a single topic or a summary. The experiment would derive which worked better. Tuesday morning at 9 was good for a supplement review or other fitness related video. Friday morning was primetime for a beer review. People were getting ready for the weekend on Friday and a good beer suggestion helped them prepare. There, now stick to this schedule, until it needs to be updated.

Now for the thumbnails. They are too boring. Each should be unique and yet have a familiarity. Each should convey enough insight to be interesting. A format was chosen for each video type. A formula was discovered. Care was taken in their creation. They looked sharp, but not too professional.

The videos themselves needed something that was missing: an air of caring, not one of a hobby. YouTube, after all, was a place of business and the videos need to reflect that. Don’t just throw together a video in minutes. Take some time to prepare and plan them. A consistent introduction was needed for each type. A proper and consistent expectation needed to be created in the mind of the viewer. They should be able to tell what type of video they were watching by the introduction alone. No more sloppy t-shirts, even in the gym. Look like you care. Look like you want to help them. Well, because, you want to do so. The viewer must get that message subconsciously in the first ten seconds. If not, they would be lost. Too often, and they would not return.

Over time, the videos took on the new ideas. By the fourth week, the channel growth was up to 200 new subscribers a week. This was not some drop in the bucket as had been when the Brie Larson/Captain Marvel video exploded. Views hit 1,000 for every video. Then 5,000. This was real growth and people showed their appreciation. The number of likes grew. Comments were left that reflected their desires. They communicated with one another. The first steps to a real YouTube community were being created. Finally! This is Awesome!

The channel was not the only thing to be growing. The marketing research firm was able to collect useful data from subscribers and viewers (surveys, advertisement reactions, social media sharing). This information could be sold or used to help their clients better their marketing efforts. They called and wanted a face to face. They had a new proposal.

It was with a bit of hesitance that a meeting was arranged in Upstate New York. Would the rights to the channel have to be sold or signed away? Would the income continue to grow?

No, on both accounts. Margaret wanted a more direct partnership: full-time consultant. The channel stays in the same hands, but direction and feedback would come from the firm to help it grow. Viewers would also be encouraged to take part in surveys and such to help gauge the value. The largest market was the fitness supplements industry, but it wasn’t the only one. Videos needed to be more often. There were brands interested in offering views discounts on new orders. A few apparel companies wanted to have their wears on display in workout videos. The best, though, was the request for not only interviews with the spokespeople for brands, but workout videos and appearances on their channels. LapeTV was becoming a bigger thing and it needed to grow, quickly.

A new video schedule was created. Sunday afternoons would now be “Conversations with Brainmuffin,” a new interview series like no other. All too often, the same questions are asked repeatedly and the personalities become quite tired of answering them. A new idea was to be tried, let them create their own list of questions, at least in part. What have they never been asked? Is there a question they would like to revise an answer for? New lines of thought? Why does no one ask these questions? A casual conversation was the goal, instead of some firing line style Q&A. Great!

Views about pop culture moved to three days a week: Monday, Wednesday, and Saturday. Supplement reviews and taste tests, workout videos, and videos on correct exercise execution came out on Tuesday and Thursday. Beer reviews were still limited to Friday, but beer making would be added from time to time. Interviews with brewers would also be added to “Conversations with Brainmuffin,” but only once a month. Beer just isn’t paying the bills.

The return trip was overwhelming. The firm rented most of a floor in the Carew Tower in downtown Cincinnati as a place for conducting interviews and making the tasting videos. A kitchen area was created to allow for fitness cooking and beer making. An area of the floor was reinforced and a proper gym was created. Starting with local talent and fitness pros (personal trainers, rehabilitation specialists, sports coaches), workout and training routine videos were created. Often, the same people not only wanted to be on “Conversations with Brainmuffin,” but they also wanted to do supplement taste tests. Brands eventually allowed their local spokes person to bring new flavors and products by. The YouTube channel grew and so did the BitChute echo.

Helping with everything locally was Margaret’s trusty assistant, Elizabeth. Keeping everyone on schedule, in particular Brainmuffin himself, was a full-time job. After a month, Margaret knew she had to give up Elizabeth and let her run the operation. A new partnership was crafted: the making of a YouTube channel like none other.

Then, the first development happened. Arnold reached out for an interview in Columbus during the Classic.