We caught up with the brilliant and insightful Ellen Chang a few weeks ago and have shared our conversation below.
Ellen, looking forward to hearing all of your stories today. We’d love to hear the backstory behind a risk you’ve taken – whether big or small, walk us through what it was like and how it ultimately turned out.
The biggest risk I’ve taken in my life has been to fully believe in myself as being a capable entrepreneur. Since childhood, I’ve always thrived by following the rules and doing what I was told to do. Something about the structure of meeting expectations and following guidelines is comforting in a way, because all you have to do is move on to the next step over and over again as your life continues its linear path.
After high school, I went to college because “that’s just what you do.” I had no idea what I should major in because the only passion I really had was for music, which is notoriously risky and an unreliable career path. I ended up graduating with a degree in education, only for it to collect dust after just one year of teaching in a classroom.
I held many part-time and hourly pay jobs afterwards, including tutoring, being a lab assistant, pharmacy technician, and warehouse employee. Nothing seemed fulfilling, but I was also at a loss for what other options I had. Though many of these jobs were fun in their own ways, none felt like my life’s purpose.
Fast forward several years as I sit at my desk as a training specialist working for the state. I feel confident in the role of teacher and love to find creative ways to relay information so it sticks, but also so you feel like you’re having fun while learning. Planning for and hosting large in-person training sessions across the state was daunting, but something I always left feeling proud of myself for accomplishing.
Then the pandemic hits. Everything is shut down and everyone begins working from home. I have to adjust my trainings to be consumed 100% in an online setting with no ice breakers, fun games or group discussions. Slowly, I morph from teaching new concepts with elaborate hands-on experiments to facilitating chat boxes and editing repetitive modules and am losing my sense of purpose quickly.
It’s time to think about my future and whether or not my current lifestyle is what I envision the rest of my adult life to look like… The answer is no. I spend all my free time bringing my side hustle of making online guitar tutorials on YouTube for the past decade to life. It’s something that’s always been a passion project, but now it was taking a front seat.
In 2021, I cautiously but confidently quit my job to pursue being a YouTuber full-time. The AdSense fluctuates a lot and I have more time than ever to obsess over every last criticism and mean comment I receive, but it’s definitely worth it.
Each day I get to wake up and do something I’ve loved since I was a girl; I get to play and teach music as my full-time career. My greatest passion in life that brings me the most joy is now something I get paid to share with others. I’ve built a community of talented, hard-working, encouraging and generous learners and given anyone who wants to pursue their own music journey a place to start.
It took a long time and a lot of overcoming self-doubt to make the switch, but I feel incredibly grateful to be fulfilling my calling that’s been waiting for me to find it my entire life.
As always, we appreciate you sharing your insights and we’ve got a few more questions for you, but before we get to all of that can you take a minute to introduce yourself and give our readers some of your back background and context?
My name is Ellen, and I’ve been making guitar tutorials online for the past 15 years. As a self-taught guitarist but passionate music lover, I initially started a YouTube channel to post covers of my favorite songs and share my own original music. But pretty early on, I kept receiving variations of the same comment over and over again: “How did you play that?”, “What are the chords?”, and “Can you teach me?”
I started posting tutorials of how I played the guitar parts of my cover songs, and they quickly gained enough traction that I decided to dedicate my entire channel to it. Now, I have over 600+ videos that cover a variety of topics including in-depth song tutorials, guitar tips and tricks, and general FAQs and advice.
My most successful project thus far has to be my “Guitar Lessons for Beginners” series, which is a 10-episode guitar course for beginners that walks you through everything from tuning your guitar and playing your first chord, to keeping up with strumming challenges and even playing through 30 popular songs by the end! And it’s all for free, right on YouTube.
Beyond getting you started, I also offer hundreds of song tutorials that include a variety of artists and genres from pop to folk to country to rock. In addition, my Patreon page provides easy-to-read printable guides, karaoke-style play-along covers, customizable backing tracks, and guided lesson packets that take you step-by-step through the learning process for each song that I’ve taught.
My detailed and patient style of teaching and kid-friendly colorful aesthetic is what sets my videos apart from the other guitar tutorials available online. For a closer look at what I have to offer, you can visit my website at for3v3rfaithful.com.
How did you build your audience on social media?
Luckily, I started my YouTube channel in 2008 when it was relatively new and the community was much smaller. Through this, I was able to connect with people on a more personal level than what’s considered normal today. Because of this early mover’s advantage and being one of the few female guitar teachers present at the time, my channel grew quickly in the 2010s.
I unfortunately needed to take a break from posting in 2019, which I’ve since realized had a greater negative impact on my channel’s growth than I anticipated. Between the mysterious algorithm and emphasis on watch time and click through rate, it’s been a struggle to keep my YouTube channel and other social media platforms growing at the same pace they once were since the pandemic.
With constant new creators joining the space that overlap with your specific niche, it’s important to remember that you have a unique perspective, voice and point of view that will align with the right people. Though you and your content may not resonate with everyone or attract the absolute largest audience, those that do will support you through thick and thin.
It can be easy to get caught up in numbers and statistics as a way to measure your success or compare yourself with your peers, especially when you feel like you’ve been giving your all to your passion project and tried everything to get yourself or your product in front of everyone’s eyes. Though there may be some truth to the popular advice of sticking with a regular posting schedule or favoring short-form vs. long-form content, etc. I believe the most important advice would be to stay genuine to who you are, what you believe, and how you want to impact the world.
What do you find most rewarding about being a creative?
The most rewarding part of being a full-time YouTuber and content creator is the freedom to make your own choices and set your own goals and milestones. In every job I had before this, the expectation was for you to work as hard as possible, doing exactly what you’re told, to benefit your boss or your company. If you had a suggestion on a way to improve something, it had to be sent up the ladder before it was usually ultimately dismissed.
By being my own boss, I have the opportunity to experiment with any aspect of my workflow and immediately implement any changes that make sense to do. I can talk directly with my patrons and subscribers about what they want to see and start working towards those goals the same day. I’m able to set up my own schedule and work on projects I’m passionate about, with free reign on the creative process and end result.
Of course, if things don’t pan out as planned or projects completely fail, I’ve no one to blame but myself. But I also can take what I’ve learned and adjust what I need to until I find a successful formula. And when those successes lead to small achievements and major milestones alike, I’m able to compliment myself on a job well done.
There’s nothing quite like dreaming up and marketing your own projects, carving a space for yourself in this world and being satisfied with what you’re bringing into it. I’m very grateful to have created a job for myself that’s both rewarding and challenging, and I’m excited to see how far I can take it.
Contact Info:
- Website: https://for3v3rfaithful.com
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/xfor3v3rfaithfulx
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/for3v3rfaithfulmusic
- Twitter: https://x.com/for3v3rfaithful
- Youtube: https://www.youtube.com/@for3v3rfaithful
- Other: TikTok: https://www.tiktok.com/@xfor3v3rfaithfulx
Patreon: https://www.patreon.com/c/for3v3rfaithful
