Keep going
Even if you feel it's not worth it ...
Gary Bloomer | SHAKING THE TREE # 298
We look at subscriber counts like high-score boards, assuming that if you haven’t hit five or six digits, you’re just shouting into a digital void. But if you’re sitting there with 47, 150, or 299 subscribers, I’m here to tell you: this is actually your greatest competitive advantage.
The “sub-300” phase isn’t a waiting room; it’s a laboratory. Here is why you need to keep pushing the record button.
1. The Freedom to Fail (Loudly and Often)
When you have 100,000 subscribers, you have a brand to protect. You have expectations to meet and a “format” you’re locked into. But at 200 subscribers? You are invisible enough to be experimental.
This is the time to find your voice. Try the weird editing style. Change your niche three times in a month. Talk about the obscure thing no one else is covering. You have the luxury of making “bad” content while you learn how to make “great” content, without the weight of a massive audience judging your evolution.
2. High-Octane Engagement
At 300 subscribers, you don’t have “fans”—you have a community. You can actually reply to every single comment. You can learn the names of your regulars.
The Reality: A creator with 200 subscribers who has a 50% engagement rate is infinitely more powerful than a creator with 100,000 subscribers and a 0.1% engagement rate.
That intimacy builds a foundation of “True Fans” that larger creators often lose as they scale. Use this time to build the culture of your channel.
3. Skill Acquisition is the Real ROI
The biggest mistake new creators make is measuring success by the sub count instead of the skill count. By the time you hit your first 300 subscribers, you have likely learned:
Basic graphic design (thumbnails)
Copywriting (titles and scripts)
Video editing and pacing
Data analysis (studying your retention)
Those 300 subscribers are the proof of your apprenticeship.
The “S-Curve” of Growth
Most creators quit right before the “snap.” Growth in content creation isn’t linear ($1+1=2$); it’s exponential. You spend a long time in the “trough of sorrow” where effort exceeds results, but that is where the muscle is built.
0–100 subs: Learning the tools.
100–300 subs: Finding the rhythm.
300+ subs: Refining the value proposition.
Final Thought
If you stop now, you’re leaving before the compound interest kicks in. Every video you make is a “lottery ticket” that stays in the draw forever. You aren’t “failing” to grow; you are currently “under construction.”
Don’t look at the 300. Look at the one person who commented that your video helped them. Then go make another one for them.
And another.
And so on.
Small steps.
As always, thanks for reading.
—Gary
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P.S. If you found this useful, share it with another creator who needs an ego check (in a nice way). Want more unfiltered takes on content creation? Join my newsletter. No fluff, just the stuff that works.
Next time on Shaking the Tree: Last week, I was told I’m crazy
ABOUT THE AUTHOR: Originally from the U.K., Gary Bloomer is a writer, branding advocate, marketing specialist, and an award-winning graphic designer.
His design work has been included in Creative Review (one of the UK’s largest design magazines). Since 2009, he has answered over 5,000 marketing and business questions in the Know-How Exchange of MarketingProfs.com, placing him among the top 3% of contributors. He lives in Wilmington, Delaware, USA.