A viewer asked a great question: how can fans help me, Jerry Banfield, not burn out and quit again? After 14 years as a full-time YouTuber I deleted all my channels last year from burnout — and I know that's heartbreaking as a viewer when someone you watch just disappears. So here's my honest answer.
Just watching is plenty
Truly, just watching is enough. The watch time, the likes, the thoughtful comments, and showing up to live streams all genuinely help. You don't have to do anything more. I burned out before partly because of how I was living the rest of my life, and partly because I got wrapped up in critics and haters instead of focusing on the love and support — and I wasn't even reading the comments consistently, because I kept getting my feelings hurt. Now I read them, block haters fast, and lean into the support.
Calls and connection
If you do want to support more, a Zoom call is the best way — not because of the money, but because it lets me actually get to know you, see your face, remember your name, and know who I'm creating for. That's a luxury, though; if money's tight, please don't. The thing that really keeps my creativity alive is knowing individual people. And running six channels on different topics — gaming, two crypto channels, YouTube coaching, life — keeps me from the boredom that burned me out when I was "just the course guy" or "just the crypto guy." I love seeing the same people show up across different topics.
Tell me to take a day off
Here's where you can really help: if you see me getting burned out, tell me kindly to take a day off. I struggle with this — in my first three weeks back I've taken zero days off, doing YouTube 11 hours a day. Last time, a viewer noticed I was burning out before I deleted everything, though that was tangled up with my marriage ending. I've now tried other paths (an in-person show, nine months trying to build a business off YouTube) and realized YouTube is where I belong — it's the only thing I put back up, no Twitch, no TikTok, no Facebook — so I don't see myself quitting again. Your love and the time you spend watching truly is enough, and it's my job to stay open to receive it. You can find more on my life playlist here.