The perfection trap

In March 2024, I started a programming tutorial channel on YouTube. I spent five or six days on one video.

I was too afraid to show my face, so I just did screen recordings. I tried to make everything good—sound, editing, everything I could manage as a beginner.

But the video wasn't good. It was the best I could do, which meant it was average at best. And I got 120 views.

I made three videos total. Same pattern every time—five or six days per video, trying to make everything perfect, getting barely any views.

I couldn't keep going. There was no feedback, no response. Just me putting incredible energy into something that clearly wasn't connecting with people. After that third video, I quit.

That's when I realized something I wish I'd known earlier: spending days on each video doesn't work when nobody knows you.

The algorithm doesn't care how many days you spent if you can't hook people. And as a beginner, you can't hook people yet—not because you're not trying, but because you're still learning.

I learned that people need to see you multiple times before they remember you. Two average videos every month and they forget you between posts. Ten average videos in the same time? Now they're starting to recognize you, your voice, your style.

Quality matters. But only after people know you exist. That's what I should have understood earlier—volume first, then quality.