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For camera-friendly people, building a career as a YouTuber may sound like a dream job. After all, isn’t this profession exciting and rewarding? All you have to do is make videos on your favourite topics and make money out of them, right? Well, the truth is that things aren’t as straightforward as they seem. Becoming a successful vlogger is no easy feat, and as with any other profession, it requires hard work. You need to make different investments, follow several processes, and the list doesn’t end here.
It’s not enough to be comfortable around the camera to succeed in vlogging – you also need top editing skills, a good camera, and of course, out-of-the-box topics. Everyone has equal opportunities on YouTube, but you must be consistent and build a game plan to succeed. And, of course, you must learn how to handle criticism, as you’ll deal with it often once you become a YouTuber. It’s a long journey, but if you want to pursue a creative career path, your efforts will pay off. Here is the ultimate checklist of the steps you must take to become a Youtuber.
Do your research
The first thing you should do is research everything about what being a YouTuber involves. People mainly use the platform for watching videos, and you’ll soon find that there are many things you may not know about YouTube. And if you want to create content on the platform, you should do it like a pro. This involves learning to write excellent descriptions for your videos and making your channel as visually appealing as possible.
Another essential thing is to learn about copyright claims. This is important as you don’t want to deal with content restrictions. Luckily, there is a way to avoid this; namely, you can use original audio content or royalty-free music. For instance, with Melody Loops Music, you can create any type of music, whether house or classical and use it legally. That way, you won’t have to worry about any copyright issues.
Choose your niche
To become a vlogger, you must choose a niche. Consider what industries you want to focus on in your YouTube content. Your mind can quickly go all over the place if you try to cover several topics, so it’s best to pick some related niches based on your expertise or personal interests. For example, you can become a fitness YouTuber and create content related to healthy eating and workouts.
Doing this will help you stay organised and start strong. As a result, you’ll be able to remain consistent and build a relevant audience. As you produce content in those niches, you’ll get views from those who are genuinely interested in the type of content you post.
Establish your goal
Think about what you want to achieve by starting a YouTube channel. Perhaps you want to create informative videos that help people. Or maybe you want to create tutorials or entertain people by sharing different stories. Before starting a channel, it’s essential to establish your primary goal, as this will give you a direction for your content. Plus, doing this will help you start consistently, as you won’t focus on covering everything and anything.
You may want to start your YouTube career for money, and while this goal is acceptable, creating content that brings value to your audience is still essential. Otherwise, you won’t succeed in attracting an audience and building a community; hence, monetizing your channel won’t be possible.
Choose adequate equipment
The quality of the content you create depends on the equipment you use. Therefore, getting clear on the essentials you need to create YouTube content is essential. It’s unnecessary to invest in costly equipment right away, as you can do this later. To start, you need a computer with a proper speed that meets your needs. And, of course, you must invest in video editing software. There’s no need to spend a lot of money on it; you just have to ensure it has all the primary features that allow you to do your job.
As a vlogger, you also need a good camera. While your smartphone camera could work, you should invest in a microphone, as the audio quality impacts the video quality.
Develop a consistent schedule
You need to develop a schedule if you want to remain consistent. This will assure your subscribers that you’ll post new content on the scheduled dates. Plus, it helps you stay on track by giving you a proper timeline.
Thus, develop a publishing schedule that works best for you before starting your channel. Uploading content daily may be tempting, but it can quickly get overwhelming. You can start with a weekly schedule and increase your output later when you get acquainted with the schedule.
Create your channel
Once you have the basics in place, it’s time to create your YouTube channel. When doing this, make sure to pick a unique and catchy name. If you prefer, you can use your own name. In the ‘About’ section, include a relevant description of your channel. As you do this, break up long blocks of text into short paragraphs for readability. And, of course, don’t forget about keywords! They will help you attract viewers faster.
As a vlogger, you want to make a good first impression on your audience. Therefore, you should maintain a welcoming aesthetic for your YouTube channel. Don’t underestimate artwork; it plays a crucial role in determining your channel’s success. It doesn’t have to be anything fancy – just recognizable. It’s best to make it simple and unique and use a consistent typography and colour scheme.
Start uploading videos
If you’ve made it here, congratulations! You are now ready to begin your journey as a YouTuber! Pick an idea from the list you’ve previously created, and make a catchy video, then upload it on your channel.
Keep in mind that your first video won’t be perfect, regardless of how much time and effort you put into it. This is completely normal at first, so don’t be too hard on yourself if things don’t go as smoothly as planned. The point is to learn from people’s feedback and do better on your next video. YouTube Analytics can help you gain insight into how your video retained the audience. Remember to enjoy the creative process instead of focusing too much on getting a lot of views immediately. Success will come too, if you are consistent and do your best, but you shouldn’t rush anything – after all, it’s the journey that matters!
Ashley Rosa is a freelance writer and blogger. As writing is her passion that why she loves to write articles related to the latest trends in technology and sometimes on health-tech as well. She is crazy about chocolates. You can find her at twitter: @ashrosa2.