Original video in Chinese.
Key Takeaway
- In 2024, the author, as an AI blogger, achieved success in his side project by getting the process running smoothly, clarifying his own positioning, and validating his judgments.
- Getting the process running smoothly means integrating the side project into life and making it sustainable, rather than simply pursuing video production or business processes.
- The author’s positioning is to “explain the Why and How of AI clearly,” choosing high-threshold Why content to attract viewers who are willing to think.
- The author insists on not chasing traffic and not chasing viewers, starting from his own desire to share, and aiming to screen rather than educate, building a small circle for communication.
- He emphasizes that video production has a high barrier, that AI cannot replace the core of content creation, that success requires a huge cost, and that he chooses to earn “slow money.”
- The author’s business model targets the small minority of 1%, believes in the “a thousand true fans” theory, and plans to make new attempts in 2025.
Full Content
Over the past year, I made 70 videos, built a community of 700 people, and earned 200,000 yuan. As a side project, achieving that in the first year is, in my personal view, quite successful. Actually, how many followers I gained and how much money I made are secondary. What I value most are these three points:
First, I got the whole process running smoothly.
I work as a wage earner in a first-tier city, and after work I have a family to take care of. I taught myself AI with absolutely no technical background. I used my spare time to make medium-length videos and kept up a rhythm of updating at least one episode a week. In addition, I started a community from scratch and steadily shared content and answered everyone’s questions every day.
For a middle-aged office worker to do all of that alone, while making sure it remains sustainable and doesn’t affect life or burn me out, is no small challenge.
So when I say I got the process running smoothly, I’m not talking about the video production process or the business process, but the entire process of integrating this side project into life.
Second, I clarified my own positioning.
In every episode, I emphasize: I’m one of the few bloggers in China who can explain the Why and How of AI clearly. I’m really not boasting.
There are extremely, extremely many What-type contents on the market. The general formula is to point a phone at a computer screen and film directly: Guys, I found another AI miracle tool! Or, OpenAI has dropped another big move, and this time it’s really insane, really disruptive! If you look, 90% of it is this kind of content, all talking about What, meaning what happened. This is pure traffic-chasing content. It has little to do with AI itself; it’s just that AI has traffic right now, so they talk about AI.
Then there is How content, meaning tutorials that teach you specifically how to do something. That direction is also fiercely competitive, and in the end it becomes a pure contest of stamina. And what users remember is only you, as a tool person.
So I chose to talk about Why. It has the highest barrier, it’s the scarcest in the market, and it can attract viewers who are willing to think. That’s what I want.
Third, I validated my own judgments.
From the very beginning, I made two judgments, which can also be seen as requirements I set for myself.
One, absolutely do not chase traffic. For individual creators, the result of chasing traffic is definitely failure: you end up physically and mentally exhausted, and you lose all your passion. Besides, what would I want so much traffic for? To take sponsored deals from clients? Then why wouldn’t I just stay in the workplace and keep climbing? It’s all equally disgusting anyway. Conversely, it’s better to put my energy into making content with unique value, and the traffic will come chasing after you.
Two, absolutely do not chase viewers. Everything I make starts from what I want to share, not from what viewers want to watch. I’m purely satisfying my own desire to share. If I’m not interested in a topic, then no matter how many people want to watch it, no matter how many clients are chasing me to invest money, I cannot do it. Because sustainability is the most important thing. And the key to sustainability is that passion, that spark.
What I just talked about was the starting point. As for the destination of these contents, or rather the purpose, it is not education, but screening. Although my videos do play an educational role, that is not my original intention. What I want is to screen out the audience who find that content valuable and are willing to connect further with me, and then return to the small circle for communication.
Let me emphasize again: I do not do education, I only do screening. On the matter of AI, I don’t think education has much meaning. Many people are destined to fall behind, destined to be eliminated. That’s no one’s fault; that is the way of heaven—cyclical, ever-renewing, endlessly thriving.
Hello everyone, welcome to my channel. Humbly speaking, I am one of the few bloggers in China who can explain the Why and How of AI clearly. What I offer is more valuable than tutorials. Remember to hit follow. If you want to connect with me, come to the newtype community. Already 700 friends have paid to join!
Back to today’s topic: an AI blogger’s year-end review.
Right now, many people have side-project anxiety and are all thinking about how to find a way out through videos and through AI. But I have to pour some cold water on that first:
If you didn’t already have some accumulation in this area, then you absolutely need to lower your expectations. Don’t believe the nonsense that making videos has a low barrier or that using AI to help write scripts makes it easy to start a channel.
The barrier to making videos is very high, and now it’s already all professional players. The reason I can produce content so efficiently is that I previously spent two years as a Bilibili gaming-category UP creator. At first I reposted videos, and later I started making original content and appearing on camera myself.
Lighting, recording, editing, color grading, and so on—all of that took me at least hundreds of hours to learn, and I spent even more time practicing. Just speaking in front of the camera takes dozens of episodes of training. If you don’t believe it, you can try propping up your phone and giving it a shot.
As for using AI to write scripts and such, let me put it this way: if you don’t understand content, what makes you think you can guide AI in creating it? If you do understand content, then why would you even look up to what AI writes?
For many topics, I discuss them with AI during the ideation stage. But when it comes to script creation, I definitely type it out myself, one word at a time.
I’m not saying all this to scare everyone, but to help everyone build the right expectations and understanding:
There is no shortcut. All apparent shortcuts hide costs you can’t see. Only by thinking things through and accepting the price you need to pay can you possibly keep doing it for the long term.
Take me for example: I’ve already paid the professional cost. What I mentioned earlier about having been a UP creator before is one aspect. Another aspect is that my main job is communications marketing. I’ve worked in this field for more than ten years, and professionally I’m already at the top tier of the industry. So it’s the accumulation from my main job, plus the hands-on accumulation from being a UP creator, layered together, that gives me the level of content I have now.
But even so, over the past year I still paid a huge price—my entire spare time was consumed by my side project. I simply had no time left to play games. All the controllers on the shelf are collecting dust. I also had no time to learn boxing, so I could only train my conditioning at home and do some shadowboxing.
But I accepted it all. Because from the beginning I knew this was the price I needed to pay. I was willing to do it. So there’s no need for self-discipline or grit, and no inner conflict at all—just do what needs to be done. I said in Zhou Baijian’s small group before: not needing self-discipline is the real freedom.
Of course, by the end of the year, I gradually found my old hobbies and interests again. Because sustainability is the most, most important thing. Minimize the negative impact of the side project as much as possible. It’s easy to make explosive fast money, but the cost and aftereffects are very high. I still choose to earn slow money.
So, among the income components of this side project, sponsored deals are dispensable. I’ve worked in this industry for more than ten years, and what I made was client communications marketing fees. I know very well how difficult it is to balance content quality and client demands, and to balance commercial interests and your own conscience—very, very difficult.
Then if I’m not earning clients’ money, am I supposed to earn money from ripping people off? Honestly, I can’t make that money, because I hate stupidity.
A few days ago I happened to come across a video that actually made some sense. The general idea was that many people are capable and have a high level of understanding, so why don’t they make money? Because those people aren’t tolerant enough of idiots, and 99% of the people in this world are idiots.
I thought seriously about it and decided to continue not tolerating idiots. I admit that I’m an elitist. I refuse to compromise downward. So after eliminating things this way, my business model can only target that small minority of 1%.
Actually, 1% is already too many. I really believe in Kevin Kelly’s theory: you only need a thousand true fans. If those thousand true fans each bring you $100 in profit per year, that’s $100,000, enough to live pretty well.
My current community has 700 people, and the annual subscription fee is 198. Starting from January 1, 2025, I’m raising the price to 298. I’m very certain that as long as you are one of that 1%, you will definitely be able to get a high enough return from what I share in the community. More than one person has already told me that just answering one question for them was worth the price of admission.
In addition to what I currently share in the community, I’m also planning some new attempts in 2025. Maybe a course related to ComfyUI or Agent. I haven’t decided yet.
Anyway, after a full year of effort and groundwork in 2024, the road ahead has already been opened up. I can see a lot of possibilities. This feeling of positive feedback is pretty nice. And thank you all for your support. There will be even more fun things in 2025.
OK, that’s it for this episode. If you want to talk AI, come to our newtype community. See you next time!