📅 Monday, 01-09-25
Hey Reader
Today's email is full of insights - enjoy!
Content == collection
Below is a screenshot from my YouTube Studio:
My latest video ranks 10/10
That's not a good thing!
It means it ranks the lowest among my last ten uploads.
It might look discouraging, but it’s actually expected when you start a brand‑new collection.
A “collection” is a curated series of videos that work together as a whole.
Each one tackling a different angle of the same theme or goal.
Instead of treating each upload as a one‑off, you build a library where every video contributes to a larger narrative or learning journey.
This way, viewers can follow along and get cumulative value, and YouTube has a clearer signal about who to show your content to.
So when starting a new collection, YouTube hasn’t figured out who to serve these videos to yet.
That’s why I’m being careful to not let the single video's performance affect me emotionally.
This new video marks the start of the collection on:
"How to become a Full‑Time Solo Creator"
So attach your motivation to the collection, not to the single video.
My Collections so far
It is better for everyone if your collections reflect what you are going through in real life.
This is the best advice I received from another creator.
In this case it's from Andrew Paul, whom I've followed since he was at less than 10k subs, and purchased all his mini-courses and resources.
Depending on when you have started to follow me, you'll have experienced at least one of the following 3 collections on my channel:
1. Start of my art journey
This is where I started reconnecting with my passion for drawing.
I documented my journey tackling my biggest problems:
- Learning to draw from imagination,
- Developing the habit and finding a routine
- Breaking the mental barrier of Digital Art (which I now love)
If you experienced this collection then you might be familiar with one of these videos:
2. Finding my Art Style
Then came the most dreaded problem for all beginner artists: Style.
It's an innate desire to feel you have your own identity as an artist.
Sadly the topic of Art Style suffers from a lot of "woo-woo"
There isn't a structured approach I could find so I made my own.
It took me 6 months to go through - and it might not be perfect - but it worked and that's what matters to me.
If you experienced this collection then this playlist should be familiar:
3. Becoming a Productive Artist
All this time I had never talked about one of my biggest struggles:
Doing all this with a full-time job
But over time I had developed good habits, and had become a student of the craft of productivity.
Turns out that productivity is mostly about understanding the psychology of motivation.
And I realised I had a lot to share on the topic!
So if you came in at this stage, then you've probably seen a video from this playlist:
What’s next
So what's next?
As many of you know I've launched my first ever digital product last month.
This marked the beginning of my path to full‑time SOLO Creator.
The solo creator journey unfolds in three broad areas:
- Audience building
Finding clarity on what to make (your niche) and honing how you make it (learning to make quality videos). Over the next few videos on the channel will cover why YouTube, how to begin, content ideas, gear, production processes, mindsets and frameworks.
- Monetisation
While we’re covering the audience basics, you’ll start seeing videos on monetisation appear, but almost exclusively around digital products. Digital products are versatile and a great fit for all creatives; they solve tiny, specific problems, when done well they're genuinely useful and its the best way to start.
- Scale
This comes later, its mainly about systems. I don't expect to be learning about this till end of 2026.
My "mid-term" dream goal is to help 100 people make their first $100 from a single digital product.
Because you're first $100 online are just 🤯
They break all your limiting beliefs and make you realise that it's possible.
I find it a beautiful calling to have, and it's also very realistic at this stage of my journey, with what I know now.
So I’m developing a step‑by‑step plan to make that happen.
But it's early days still so nothing to share here yet.
Except that, I've started to keep a list of cool / valuable digital products I come across in the wild, and I could use your help with that.
If you’ve read this far, I really value your time and opinion ☺️
I’d love to hear from you:
What’s your favourite digital product you’ve ever bought?
If you haven’t bought one, does this journey excite you?
Hit reply and let me know!
🫶
See you next Monday,
Massa
⸻
P.s.
I just walked passed a house that had its own personal cloud :)
