How to self-release a comedy special (or any video really) on YouTube
Secrets of NYC comedians who have published successful specials on YouTube.
Getting a special on a streamer used to be the goal. And while that’s still a great path (i.e. the money’s nice, you get legitimacy, the recommendation engine pushes you to new people, etc.), it can also limit how many people actually see your special (not to mention industry gatekeepers need to decide you’re worth it).
With YouTube, you can cut out the middleman and make something that (potentially) gets seen by millions around the world. That’s a great way to sell tickets, pick up subscribers, and “build a relationship” with your fans in an ongoing way. (Sorry, all this stuff makes you sound like some marketing/branding douchefluencer but alas, our job is now to please the algorithm gods so…)
I asked a bunch of comedians who have self-released specials successfully on YouTube for advice before the launch of Substance, my new special that just went live on YouTube.
Here’s some of the advice they gave me:
Your face should be big and clear on the thumbnails. It’s got to grab people. The most important thing, outside of the special itself, is the thumbnail and the title.
Make sharing as easy as possible for other folks. Send a flyer/poster/image with all the info on it they can post in their stories with a link attached to it. “Check out my friend’s comedy special…” The more you do the work for them, the more likely they are to share.
On Instagram, there’s a great solution to this: Create your post/reel and then forward it (along with relevant intro/link/whatever) to others – IG lets you “send separately” to each person so it’s not a group message which is a bit ick.
Put a reel of the trailer out a day or two before launch. You can do earlier (good way to increase subscribers) but you also risk people forgetting about it that way. No one has an attention span/remembers anything anymore.
IG Reels, YouTube shorts, and TikTok vids are great for discovery. At end of clips you post, have still frame/poster with all the info so people know where to find the full thing.
For YouTube, don’t be afraid to try different thumbnails/titles to see what works best. Welcome to the world of A/B testing.
Overcut stuff for social. Long pauses and even laughs that go on a long time. People will bail at anything that wastes time.
Don’t start anything with a black frame since sharing often means the first frame is what people see. Start with your face and a clear title, even if it’s just a split second/one frame you include up top.
Make the release an event. Push the premiere on YouTube. Try to get as many people in the premiere chat room as possible. The more people watching the day it launches, the better. Be in the chat room and be active in there and try to have as many other people in there as you can. (Heard this more than once. Someone else put it this way: Try to get people to watch the premiere like it's airing live on TV. The more views right away the better in the long run.) Also, people can pay you during the chat via “stars.”
Only use 3 hashtags in the description or else it throws the algorithm off. You can use other hashtags as terms within your description (e.g. weed, alcohol, comedian gets drunk, etc.).
Keep promoting after launch. Every time you post a clip, include something like “This is a joke from my full special XYZ that’s free on YouTube. That’s about how when my….[insert hashtags].” Every post is a chance to be discovered by search engines, but you need to include keywords to be in the mix.
Put a lot of info in the YouTube description. That works as keywords for searches too. So put your bio in the description with words that people might search for, like Comedy Cellar, Dave Attell, etc.
Put the words “full special” in the thumbnail. People are looking for full specials and that’s how they know it’s not just a clip.
Make a trailer that shows you’re funny and hooks people.
When in doubt, look at how Comedy Central does it. They probably pay some agency to figure out best practices on all this.
Go outside of standard comedy channels. Like, for Substance, I should be reaching out to drug/alcohol world and circulate the trailer to those people. If you have a bunch of jokes about MMA, reach out to that world, etc.
Here are some great specials from NYC comedians who have self-released specials on YouTube. I’d put this collection up against whatever has come out on Netflix, HBO, etc. recently:
And fine, here’s a link to mine again. You win!
Raves for it so far:
“A fantastic experiment in chemistry and comedy.” • “Thought-provoking, inspiring, and so damn good.” • “Fucking fantastic special.” • “A beautiful experience.” • “Absolutely delightful.” • “A chemistry experiment gone right.” • “Profound, courageous, insane, and, most of all, funny.” • “10/10 would recommend.” • “Great idea/execution.” • “A truly unique, funny stand-up special.” • “What a cool experiment.” • “Amazing!” • “Great special.” • “The perfect special; super existential too.” • “Fucking amazing!”
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