Last December, Hannah Witton, who created a popular YouTube channel committed to sex education, said 12 years was enough.
Now, he wants to become a “crisis clinic” for suffering creators, and use his experience to help other YouTubers in their next steps.
Witton has created content on sexual health, with one specific to sexuality with disabilities.
She is among the many veteran YouTubers who have left their successful channels in the last year, adding MatPat of The Game Theorists and Tom Scott, who ended his standout “Things You Might Not Know” series.
While they ultimately left the platform for different reasons, a common thread appeared to be burnout and a sense that they’d hit a creative wall.
Witton told Business Insider that having a baby was the biggest factor for her. She’d been on the content hamster wheel for so long, beholden to the ever-changing YouTube algorithm, that she didn’t realize she was running on empty.
But being raised a feminist, she thought becoming a mom wouldn’t change her career at all, she said.
“Then when it actually happens, it’s like, oh, wait, it’s totally normal for this to completely rewire you,” she told BI. “Not just physically and mentally, but actually logistically — your circumstances changing and the impact it has on your time, your energy, your resources, and all of that.”
So last year, Witton deleted her “Doing It” channel and podcast, not knowing what to do next, but sure of one thing: taking a break.
“I like, oh, I don’t want to do this anymore,” he said. It’s a threat I’m willing to accept. “
Witton began creating content in 2013 and has a leading voice in the realm of sex and relationships, with a specific focus on enjoying sexuality while living with a chronic illness.
Witton was diagnosed with ulcerative colitis, a chronic autoimmune disease that affects his digestive system, and has an ostomy pouch, an external pouch that acts as a colon.
A year after retirement, Witton has leaned into her subscription-based Patreon account. She has a second YouTube channel, which she uploads to occasionally when she feels like it, but it’s not a priority in terms of income and career moves.
“Growth is not one of my main goals right now,” Witton said. “I judge the success of videos based on how much I enjoyed watching them, and then the comments section, and whether other people enjoyed it too. “
Witton said his finances took a hit at first, but it worked out in the long run. Struggling to keep up with the content factory, Witton emptied his bank account by hiring freelancers and paying his team.
“I did cut down on a lot of my overheads at the end of last year because, of course, I also removed a big part of my income,” Witton said. “But for the most part, I have been a lot financially healthier this year.”
After retirement, Witton organically started having conversations with other creators about what they wanted to do next. That turned into something of a business itself.
“I originally went in being like, I’m going to be a project manager,” Witton said. “But it’s more that I come in as a consultant or a coach, and then the rest is kind of up to them to execute.”
For example, Witton coached a pregnant creator for a few months before her maternity leave, helping her figure out her priorities and what kind of schedule she could realistically keep.
Witton said helping creators publish their Patreon pages is an important component of the process. He has been on the platform for 10 years and knows how it works and how it works.
“It’s been fun and rewarding to use all that insight, wisdom and delight that I have,” Witton said. “It’s comforting for me to know things too. I didn’t just communicate with a camera, I developed all those skills. “
Although Witton sees the value it can bring to new creators, he finds it more attractive to the works of more established creators.
“I want the creator who’s going through a crisis,” she said. “I want the creator who’s been doing it six years and is like, what am I doing in my life?”
That’s what excites her, she said: helping creators who are burned out, under pressure and long-term determine their next steps.
“A lot of creators are getting to the age where they can have kids or have other responsibilities, or just have a different pace of life,” Witton said. “It’s the life cycle of a creator. “
It’s hard to turn off the creator’s voice in your head by telling you to do more, so Witton wants to heed his own recommendation and not get carried away by the hamster wheel.
He would like to one day have a silver play button for his second channel, but right now his priority is creators in need.
“The clinic is open,” Witton said. You can come see me when you’re going through your existential crisis. “
Jump to