Rose, my good friend and photographer and I were having dinner the other night and were speaking about how we get a lot of questions about how to be successful as a content creator specifically for YouTube. We are actually going to make an entire joint YouTube video about this topic so make sure you are subscribed to my YouTube Channel as well as Rose’s YouTube Channel so you don’t miss it. This year has been quite a challenging year for us all but when it came to my business, I found that the solitude of being in lockdown really helped to ground me so I could sort out what I needed to do to take my content creation to the next level. So I’m sharing 3 secrets to success as a YouTuber in todays blog post. Please also keep in mind I’ve written at least 20 posts all about blogging, making money blogging, and tools I use that you can read for free here. I have also written an in depth blog post specifically about what to expect when starting a YouTube Channel that you should read here. 2020 was all about adding to my portfolio when it came to streams of income. YouTube is now my 3rd most profitable platform with Brand Campaigns and Affiliate Sales Commissions coming in at 1st and 2nd place. I wanted to get to a place where if I never got another brand campaign via the Influencing aspect of this job, I could still make a decent living. I’m happy to say I’ve accomplished that this year and here are my 3 secrets for success as a YouTuber.
START WHERE YOU ARE AT
Don’t wait for everything to be perfect to start. That’s the mistake a lot of new YouTubers make. They want to have the perfect equipment, the perfect set-up, the lights, the intro and it’s all just a little too much and can be extremely overwhelming. Start where you are at. If you don’t have fancy equipment, then use your iPhone. You’d be surprised how many seasoned YouTubers with hundreds of thousands of followers just use their phone. Hell, some of them even edit their videos on their phone. You will learn along the way and your subscribers like to see that growth. It’s going to take you time and plenty of recording to get comfortable in front of the camera. Just flow with it, leave in the mistakes. Trust me, for people to feel connected to you, you need to be a human as possible. All you really need is a smart phone and an easy editing tool like the free InShot App or iMovie and you’re good to start. The sooner you start the sooner you can start building an audience of ride or die subscribers.
POST VLOGS TO CONNECT & POST SIT DOWN VIDEOS TO ATTRACT
If you’re looking to grow and grow quickly then posting sit down videos/reviews/how to’s/hauls are where it’s at. Hopping on the bandwagon of things that are trending or being the first to review something is an easy way to get new eyes on your videos. Yes, YouTube is pretty strategic about this. Make videos based on what people are searching in your niche. I however don’t do this. It took me 1 year to go from 2K-40K subscribers and I could have grown quicker but I honestly post whatever I want. I don’t search to see what people are searching for because I’m more interested in people being interested in what I’d want to see. Thus, I started my channel mostly doing vlogs and showing places I shop and thrifted and generally showing my travels. It’s harder to grow starting out with vlogs because no one really knows you. But I find that the most loyal subscribers are way more into my vlogs, my life and me than they are my fashion hauls and such. And in the long run those are the subscribers you really want to attract. The ones that will follow you across all platforms and support everything you do because they are emotionally invested in your success. I’d say a good mixture of informative videos and videos or vlogs showcasing your personally are a must for YouTube success.
PICK A SCHEDULE & STICK TO IT
Y’all hate to see it but consistency is the name of the game when it comes to YouTube. You gotta have your subscribers waiting on your videos the way they’d wait for a new verzus battle on Instagram to start. The more consistent you are the more people will tune in on the days you post. This will also help you with gaining more subscribers because they will feel they can trust that you will post when you say you will and that you won’t just disappear. A lot of people watch YouTube the same way they watch TV and your content will become part of their daily routine. Wouldn’t you be pissed if your favorite show decided they just ain’t gonna air the day you expect? The same can be said for YouTube. It’s also pretty common for YouTubers to just disappear when life happens and that can be disappointing to their subscribers. But again start where you are at and have realistic expectations especially if you’re doing this on the side. If you can only post 1 video a month make it a good one. If you can only post 10 minute videos then make it the best 10 minutes someone would want to see. It’s about the quality not the quantity with YouTube. Slow and steady with consistent uploads wins the race.
LONG FORM VIDEOS MAKE MORE MONEY
Now it doesn’t take much to get your channel monetized so you can run ads on your videos to make money from YouTube. You need 1000 subscribers and 4000 watched hours to set up Adsense on your channel. Honestly, this is the easy part. If you are consistent, I’d say you could probably do this in less than 3 months. Even with few videos. Just make those first few videos highly searchable and highly informative. The hardest part about this is getting the subscribers. The watched hours is the easiest. Especially if you have longer form videos which I’d categorize as 15 minutes or more. Once you can monetize, the longer the videos, the more ads you can introduce in your videos and thus the more money you can make. As a rule of thumb I put an ad at the beginning of a video and every 10 minutes within a video and at the end. This is pretty much standard when it comes to network television and it works well for me. In November 2020 I made $4.5K from Adsense alone. I posted 11 videos, most with an average time of 30 minutes and most contained at least 3 ads.
TUNE OUT THE NOISE
A funny thing happens when you live your authentic life in the public eye or on a platform like YouTube. People will come from the ends of the earth to tell you how you should be doing things, how you should be living, speaking, dressing, looking, moving and everything in between. People will swear up and down that this thing that worked for them will work for you. No matter how old you are, people will give you their unsolicited advice and opinions and sometimes just down right nastiness. Don’t take any of it to heart. I REPEAT, DON’T LET IT STOP YOU. Because trust me at some point it’s going to become all too much and you’re gonna want to quit. DON’T. PUSH THROUGH. I was at that point last year when all I wanted to do was not read another comment about how horrible my skin is or teeth are or hair is. Girl, the amount of shit I’ve read about myself is unfathomable. But while they still watching…I’m making money in my sleep and that’s all I gotta say about that. Tune out the noise of the world but expect there to be noise and if you aren’t set up for intense criticism most of which will be destructive, perhaps YouTube isn’t the lane for you. But I honestly believe the benefits outweigh the negatives and the negative people. Don’t forget you can block people on YouTube and that button is essential. I use it well and often with no regrets.
