What do you think generates views? Interest (motovlogging related)

Baldbiker

L Plate Member
Mar 7, 2021
274
359
63
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I ride a
Africa Twin DCT
IF we compile a list, of things that are motovlog related, that generate the most views, we can easily see why most of our videos are not getting any attention. With that said, sadly, most things I think of tends to be something I either don't want to do in my videos, 0r it's something I'd like to do but don't have much ability with. Such as attractiveness on camera. But ... it is what it is. I'm going to stick with what I like to do regardless. Feel free to add to this list!

Things that I think generate the most views in a motovlog:

-Expressive energetic personality, good speaking voice
-Humor
-crashes
-Interaction with people
-reviews
-repairs/fixup/how-to
-Exotic locations
-Attractiveness on camera
-Crazy driving/speeding
-Stunts, high skill technical riding
 

scooterwuf

L Plate Member
Jan 6, 2017
1,269
1,319
113
Philadelphia/South Jersey
I ride a
Kymco Downtown 300i
A good title or subject that hits a deep demographic seems to be the real key. I’ve yet to hit on any of those, but I’ve seen a number of motovloggers and vloggers that only have double digit number of subs but one or two videos with over a thousand views.

- Wolf
 

Drakhen99

The Forrest Gump of Motovloggers
Aug 31, 2020
1,821
1,878
113
road-reality.com
I ride a
2019 Harley Street Glide Special, 2005 Kawasaki Vulcan 800 Classic (bobber), 1979 Kawasaki KZ650SR
Bike comparisons. I did a short 4m video comparing my Street Glide to my prior bike, a Kawasaki Vaquero. To date it has around 14k views, by far the most on my channel.

Energy, speaking ability, audio quality, and good editing seem to help, after you've got a topic people want to watch.

-John
 

BikeFather

Wannabie Member
Apr 11, 2021
136
220
43
I ride a
Harley Davidson Sport Glide
As much as we want people to watch our content, we need to remind ourselves why people are on youtube in the first place.
  • either to be entertained... OR
  • search for something.. huge emphasis on Search.. that's why searchable content is doing really well: how tos, reviews, comparisons, test rides, etc..
And on top of that, people are busy.. they don't have time to watch someone talking for like 10 minutes until they get to the point.. So we need to cut off all the fluff and get straight to the point.

Not just busy.. but they have so much choice these days.. so many other things to watch out there, netflix, other youtube videos, etc.. So we need to make sure our content is worth their while.

I guess the bigger question is.. who are you doing this for? Are you doing this for yourself without having any expectations in growing? In which case it doesn't matter whether we're getting views or not, right?

OR are we creating content for our audience and we want to grow, want more subscribers, etc..? In this case we need to get out of the comfort zone and sometimes do things we don't like but could result in a better video which can bring more views, more subscribers, etc...
 

Dewey316

Dewey|Rides
Oct 1, 2020
343
561
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42
I ride a
BWM F800gs / DR650 / Honda CM450E
I really wish I knew. Haha. I think there is a lot of self promotion involved in starting out. Organic growth from just YT is very slow, especially for a small niche like ours.

I think searchable vids is the key, but I am bad about that, I just go out to make what I enjoy and ride what I would be doing anyway, and just filming it. I'll grow to whatever I grow to, I do this for fun and to share my rides, not trying to be any more than that.

The channels I have seen grow fairly large quickly, always do product reviews, and gear related stuff. Lots of "5 things I take camping" type videos or "XXX gloves, ride review" type things. And of course bike reviews on bikes that are in the media a lot and popular.

Funny enough, I tend to stop watching those types, when their vids become just those videos, but I am not the normal viewer.
 

Baldbiker

L Plate Member
Mar 7, 2021
274
359
63
57
I ride a
Africa Twin DCT
When you put up something that everyone can relate to, everyone has a similar experience that they also want to share, you are going to get far more reaction than simply putting up something that only matters or relates to YOU.
For example, I put up a very short video, on a separate personal channel of me lifting my bike. It was only about 4 minutes long. It racked up 500 views in 2 days which is amazing for me. I didn't put it on my biking channel because I had that content already in a longer 10 min video that had other stuff as well. The longer video with other stuff, but still contained the lifting of the bike only got about 45 views over a 2 week period. That says a lot right there.

I should add to the list that a good thumbnail I think is very important. That's what gets most people to click if they see it on the sideline or in their suggestions. IF I was a cute girl in a bikini, or even just put up a thumbnail of such, my videos would get skyrocketing view counts, however, I would also be heavily scolded in the comment section and dislikes for not delivering what they came there for. It still would prove that thumbnails are important though.

My offroading video seems to be drawing more attention than normal. Probably because it's either something every biker wants to do, or already does, or maybe they are just curious about how it would be. Again, it relates to the viewer and not the video producer.

The similarity to the music industry keeps becoming clearer. Write and perform a song that everyone relates to and you'll probably have a hit. Play a song about how you lost your last girlfriend and you'll clear the pub in minutes.
 
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Drakhen99

The Forrest Gump of Motovloggers
Aug 31, 2020
1,821
1,878
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I ride a
2019 Harley Street Glide Special, 2005 Kawasaki Vulcan 800 Classic (bobber), 1979 Kawasaki KZ650SR
I have been told I should wear a bikini while I ride in order to garner views & subs, but I am pretty sure it'll just do the opposite.

Almost nobody wants to see a middle-aged fat guy riding a Harley in a bikini... I mean, it's bad enough I'm riding a HARLEY :D

-John
 
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BikeFather

Wannabie Member
Apr 11, 2021
136
220
43
I ride a
Harley Davidson Sport Glide
I have been told I should wear a bikini while I ride in order to garner views & subs, but I am pretty sure it'll just do the opposite.

Almost nobody wants to see a middle-aged fat guy riding a Harley in a bikini... I mean, it's bad enough I'm riding a HARLEY :D

-John
You can always try. What's the worst that can happen? You might become an internet sensation overnight! :D
 
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Baldbiker

L Plate Member
Mar 7, 2021
274
359
63
57
I ride a
Africa Twin DCT
I have been told I should wear a bikini while I ride in order to garner views & subs, but I am pretty sure it'll just do the opposite.

Almost nobody wants to see a middle-aged fat guy riding a Harley in a bikini... I mean, it's bad enough I'm riding a HARLEY :D

-John
Actually I would bet my next pay that it would go viral. You may get arrested though.
 
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Drakhen99

The Forrest Gump of Motovloggers
Aug 31, 2020
1,821
1,878
113
road-reality.com
I ride a
2019 Harley Street Glide Special, 2005 Kawasaki Vulcan 800 Classic (bobber), 1979 Kawasaki KZ650SR
That's pretty much what I'd look like! Where's the barf emoji? :eek:

-John
 

chris 2WJ

Wannabie Member
May 29, 2021
40
46
18
Dublin, Ireland
www.instagram.com
I ride a
Ducati Hyperstrada
In addition to the multiple reasons already given, these are things that I appreciate which I'm trying to make a conscious effort on to incorporate into my videos
- Have a story or narrative structure
- Anything a little different to whats already out there or some sort of differentiating twist

Not exactly things which are easy to package in the clickbait/attention economy
 

Moto Mengy

Motovlogger from PA, USA
Mar 23, 2020
1,115
1,709
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I ride a
2018 Honda Goldwing Tour DCT
In my meager amateur experience, bike reviews seem to get the most views on my channel. This is likely due to people searching for information on bikes of course, so making vids on popular searchable topics sounds like it would be a good idea.

However, plenty of other motovlogging channels get lots of views simply because they are personable, entertaining, attractive, or some combination of all three.

Good thumbnails and titles do seem to help as well. I'd like to go back and re-do many of my older thumbnails and titles. I don't know if it will even do anything for older videos but I'd still like to do it just to spruce my older vids up for my own amusement. :cool:
 
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Drakhen99

The Forrest Gump of Motovloggers
Aug 31, 2020
1,821
1,878
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road-reality.com
I ride a
2019 Harley Street Glide Special, 2005 Kawasaki Vulcan 800 Classic (bobber), 1979 Kawasaki KZ650SR
It works, let me tell you! I've gone back and replaced thumbnails, tweaked tags & titles, and saw almost instantaneous results - some of those changes have netted thousands of views on videos that were languishing.

I have a list of title/tag/thumbnails to re-do to see if I can't make the content more enticing to viewers.

-John
 

BikeFather

Wannabie Member
Apr 11, 2021
136
220
43
I ride a
Harley Davidson Sport Glide
Yes, bike reviews tend to do well, as that's what people usually search when they want to buy a bike, however, there are plenty of other ideas around the bike:
  • initial bike review / first impressions
  • few things you like about the bike
  • other things you don't like about the bike
  • 6 months owners review
  • reviewing other bikes if you can test ride something else
So these are more or less related to review the bike as a whole, either yours or others. But then you move into other topics more related to the mods you've added or in my case I'm planning to add, and I definitely know there is a demand for these because I've done some keyword research. Things like
  • exhaust comparison
  • exhaust sound.
  • lots of people have asked me what windscreen do I use and if it helps. Guess what my next video will be about?
  • One of the things I didn't like about the bike was the seat, so I'm planning to create another video on how I fixed that.
  • planning to install some bar end mirrors - so I'll have a video on this as well.
  • Pretty much every single mod/accessory you've added, I'm sure there is someone out there who's looking for some sort of information on it.
So these will be the main things which are very keyword focused, bringing lots of view, or at least thats the plan. Once the views are in.. That's your opportunity to guide people to some of your other videos which might not be that keyword focused, things like motovlogs, and just random topics you might want to talk about while riding your bike.

Regardless of whether someone has subscribed or not. Can't tell you how many times I haven't subscribed to a channel, but because I've watched a video or two, now I'm seeing some of their other videos either or home or suggested.

And on top of that, you can add some entertainment videos (if you have any) like compilation of close calls, stupid drivers.. OR maybe you live somewhere with some nice twisties /scenery like Schaaf, , or perhaps your commuting to work like RoyalJordanian in a busy town and you're doing a bit of filtering... so these can be videos where you don't even have to talk.


And moving away from topics, YES thumbnails and titles are very important to get more views. 50% of my views are actually from Home, 22% from Suggested, and another 20% from Search.

What else can you do to get even more views? Use end screens, cards, pinned comments, even a video's description to link to another highly relevant video. Doing this will also signal Youtube and help you appear in Suggested.

Engagement generates more views. If people are engaged with your content, they comment and all that, which signals Youtube that your video is good, so that will bring more views. So plan your content in a way that you get the viewers involved, ask a question, ask for their opinion, etc...
 
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Skyd

Wannabie Member
May 2, 2021
120
166
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42
New Hampshire
I ride a
2020 RPS Hawk 250
A good title or subject that hits a deep demographic seems to be the real key. I’ve yet to hit on any of those, but I’ve seen a number of motovloggers and vloggers that only have double digit number of subs but one or two videos with over a thousand views.

- Wolf

I've just hit 26 whopping subscribers and I did a First Ride Review of my Hawk a few weeks back and it's about to go over 1000 views....maybe by end of week. My next closest video is around 250 and is twice as old.

So reviews are certain to garner views because it's searchable content. But I struggle with how to get people to view just motovlogging content. Even if I do something like riding to a destination and giving some info/history etc that might interest people, how do they find it? Some of this is rhetorical in nature because I know how they find it to some extent.

But for sure if you get people to your video and it has good engagement then I would think youtube would push your content more.

I'm still not awake yet, need more coffee....hopefully that made some semblance of sense
 
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HippoDrone

Admin
Jan 2, 2017
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I ride a
1984 Honda CB100-N
2012 Moto Guzzi V7
2017 Suzuki GSX-R750
2020 Beta 390RR
2022 Aprilia Tuareg 660
@Alex2wheel have amended your post for you :)

@Skyd People don't tend to search for motovlogs, interaction with other people's content will likely get them to check out yours. Getting active with other motovloggers and doing collaborations can double your exposure, but getting views from reviews and installs etc will get you an audience, but they will not want to watch each review or install, but they might still want to know more about you, so treat reviews etc as a hook to catch new audiences, and then use your motovlogs to reel them in so they get to like your personality.
 

Drakhen99

The Forrest Gump of Motovloggers
Aug 31, 2020
1,821
1,878
113
road-reality.com
I ride a
2019 Harley Street Glide Special, 2005 Kawasaki Vulcan 800 Classic (bobber), 1979 Kawasaki KZ650SR
But what if you have no personality??? What then, O Great Admin???

:D

-John
 
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