About a year ago I decided to send out a survey asking you all what you thought of PsychoTraveller and what needed some improvement. I received a grand total of 64 responses over the course of a few days. This time, I received almost 400 in 24 hours and that’s not even considering how many I would have gotten if I announced it in a video.
The point in me doing this survey is to get some real honest feedback. The YouTube comment section isn’t always the greatest place to get a good scope of what’s going on. Don’t get me wrong, the trolls are strong as they thrive and will be quick enough to point out flaws in your videos but I needed some serious feedback.
Just before we left Auckland I decided to upload a lot more often. I didn’t want a vlog just to be showing you this, that and the other. I wanted them to have a point. A purpose. Whether that be a run down of tips/spending at the end or a Q&A. I really want every video to count and to give you value.
Even though it’s important that I do what I love, my main goal is to deliver content that you want to see. Otherwise, what’s the point?
My main goal for PsychoTraveller is to create a hub of travellers and an abundance of information, inspiration and fun! But I am only one person. One person who wants to do a hell of a lot! However, there are only so many hours in a day and I only have so much energy.
I have big plans for where things are going but I always have to pull myself back and remind myself to go one step at a time (even though I just want to do it all and do it right now)!
Overall the feedback was overwhelmingly positive! Seriously, my heart was all warm and cosy with the love that was being sent my way!
The saying; “If it ain’t broke, don’t fix it” comes to mind so this isn’t going to be a massive overhaul! There is no need as most of you are happy with the content which in turn makes for a very happy Aly. But, there was always be improvements however small they may be.
So after reading through all the comments and answers I have decided to make a few changes which I am hoping to implement over the coming weeks!
More mini reviews!
I started to develop my “Travelled & Tested” segment to create even more information and appeal to a wider audience. My vision is to have a well packed webpage where people can see where I stayed, what I thought and how much I spent on things like Accommodation, food and drink.
To write a full blown review of every single place I stay or eat would be ridiculous… I’d have no time to do anything else! But it’s something I really want to implement! So instead of thousands of words, I want to do smaller pieces – Mini-reviews if you will. 80% of you all agreed that it is something you would like to see and I may keep it exclusive to psychotraveller.com
More sit-down/advice videos
A lot of you seem to be missing my old fashioned advice videos and I am missing them too! This is something I want to bring back in maybe on a weekly basis. Most people come to my channel for advice and I still have a lot to give!
As we are approaching the end of our time in New Zealand expect to see a handful of NZ related advice videos to round up what I have learnt into some handy vlogs for you!
Now that I am moving so much, it’s so much easier to vlog. Finding a quiet space can be a tad challenging in busy hostels, but no more excuses. I’ll look harder and start to bring back more formal videos packed full of information!
How much I am spending!
This is something you all want and I want to give you! It’s super helpful for me but right now, I really need to find a way to track my spending better than keeping a million crumpled receipts! I know there is an app most travel bloggers use on IOS but I’ll be looking out for one on android. I can’t promise to divulge every single cent but I can do my best!
There are a couple of ways I can go about this. Either do a massive “sum up” video and break down costs either per place, weekly or monthly. Or (Which I think would be more helpful maybe) show on screen how much things cost as we go? So if we go food shopping I can show the total of the shop etc.
Let me know how you would like me to break down my costs because it’s going to be a big priority on the channel!
“Behind the scenes” need to be cut?
When I asked what you liked LEAST about my vlogs, an overwhelming majority said “What I am working on behind the scenes”. I try not to include it too much and I am very aware that only a small percentage of you would actually be interested in the business side to my life.
When I think of it from my point of view, I would love to find a similar channel where I can relate to all the little things. The long work hours, editing, finance etc. But that is my mistake. As a content creator, it’s not about my point of view when it comes to deciding on content. It’s yours! Again, of course I need to enjoy the content I put out, but business 101: It’s all about your audience.
I think if I were to include my work, book writing etc, it would be in a completely seperate video. That way if that was something you was interested in, then you can watch it and if not, skip it!
When I arrive in Thailand there will be a lot of book writing and I have had loads of requests for behind the scenes vlog on that which I am happy to do, but I will make sure I separate it from my usual videos.
A monthly Q&A
I didn’t realise how much you guys enjoyed my Q&A’s! Thank God I sent out a survey, eh? The only problem I have ever had with these types of videos is how generic they are. Lots of information can get lost in my channel this way, which is not a good thing!
Therefore, I propose a monthly Q&A but it’s focused on a certain topic! For example; Backpacking around New Zealand, Thailand, safety or transportation options etc.
Something I also found out was that most of you don’t know I hold a monthly live Q&A on my Facebook page. It wasn’t too much of a surprise as I don’t announce it very often however I am still deciding whether to keep both. They normally go down a storm but I’d hate to be repetitive and do that and a monthly video.
Adding subtitles to all my videos
This is a huge one for me. As a travel channel I have a VERY global audience and I want to make my videos as accessible as possible no matter what language you speak. This is where you come in! Whether you speak English, Dutch, Spanish or Japanese; you can help me by contributing subtitles!
This is something I will go into more detail in a few weeks but by adding subtitles even in English helps a lot of people out. Sometimes I speak too fast (a common comment I get) so when English isn’t your first language having English subtitles can make a huge difference!
So if you would like to contribute subtitles to any of my videos there is a little “how-to” guide here. I would be eternally grateful!
So what do you really think? Feel free to take the quick survey here or let me know in the comments!
