YouTube is the second most used website and social platform in the world. People watch over a billion hours of video content on YouTube every day. The creator economy is booming. If you’ve been wanting to start a vlog, there’s no better time than the present.
If you’re ready to learn how to vlog, this post will show you how. If you’re not quite ready to take the leap, hopefully this detailed guide will help you get there.
Let’s get started.
10 YouTube ideas when you’re starting your channel
- Video introduction
Create a video to tell anyone who crosses your channel who you are.
- Channel Introduction
Let your audience know what your channel is about. Show them what kind of content they can expect and maybe even ask for recommendations.
- X things you don’t know about me
Share some fun facts about yourself. You can find questions to answer online or brainstorm questions relevant to your niche. Make your subscribers feel like you’re a close friend, not some wannabe internet celebrity.
- Travel and experience vlogging
Especially now that people spend more time at home, travel and experience vlogs are a success. If you’re doing something fun, get out your camera and share the experience with your audience. This can even be something small (like going to Trader Joe’s). Hey, who knows what your audience will love the most?
- Product Reviews
Product reviews are a great way to get yourself on the map. If there’s a product your audience is thinking about buying, they’re probably looking for reviews on YouTube. Creating a review is a great way to tap into existing interest and get discovered by members of your target audience.
- Tutorials and How-To Videos
Tutorials and how-to videos are another way to reach new viewers. Post tutorials relevant to your niche to reach people who will be interested in the content you have to offer.
- Routine Videos
Routine Videos they are very popular. You can post your morning and evening routine, your skincare routine, a get ready video with me, an outfit of the day, etc. The options here are endless. It’s all about finding the routines that your target audience will find most interesting.
- Reaction Videos
React to viral TikToks, trends, popular movements, or even just The video of another YouTuber. You can even recreate someone’s video after reacting. For example, you can react to a cooking video and then try the recipe yourself.
- Mukbangs
Order some delicious food, get out your camera and record yourself eating and chatting about whatever your audience finds interesting.
- Storytime
Tell stories from your life, or retell stories from books or movies you’ve read (giving credit, of course).
Creating a Memorable Vlog Intro and Ending
Creating a Memorable Vlog Intro and Ending is one way to connect with your audience. Make it unique to your channel, something that really shines your personality. An easy way to save time with video creation is to start with a customizable template.
Also, here are some templates we’ve been liking lately in the Vimeo Create library. Guess what? There’s probably already a template for your niche that you can use as a starting point.
Beauty Channel Intro
Beauty Channel Ending
Vlog Intro
Gamer Vlog Conclusion
Generic Call to Subscribe
9 Always Relevant Best Practices for Starting a Vlog
YouTube is a crowded platform, but the world is a crowded place. There is an audience out there, waiting to hear your voice. All you have to do is find it. These best practices will help you learn how to start vlogging and how to find that audience.
1. Discover Your Target Audience
The key to growing an audience is to understand your audience. Identifying the wants and needs of your target audience inspires your channel’s content, and sticking to content your audience will enjoy is a necessary step for growth.
Start publishing content, injecting your videos with your authentic personality. As your audience grows, keep a close eye on analytics and listen to what viewers are asking in the comments. As you create more content, you’ll develop a deeper understanding of your audience and what content promotes growth.
2. Theme Video Content
Once you understand your audience and the type of content you intend to create, it’s time to theme video content. To make the process easier, define a few content groups to choose from. Each content group should be an overarching topic that you can draw ideas from. Alternate content topics to keep your channel interesting.
For a beauty channel, content topics might look like this:
- Makeup Tutorials
- Favorites and Fails
- Makeup hauls
- Makeup challenges
3. Keep Video Quality High
YouTube is a crowded space. Recent research shows that when surveying young children about what they want to be when they grow up, “YouTuber” was the most popular response: 3 times more popular than “Astronaut .” The space is only going to get more crowded. Oh how times have changed.
While authenticity is the best way to stand out, keeping the quality of your videos high is also very important. It shows your viewers that you mean business and prevents people from clicking because they are upset by the quality of the video or sound.
Thankfully, smartphones have stellar video quality these days, especially if you make friends with a natural light source. You can put your phone on a tripod and even add an external microphone to improve the sound.
If you really want that crisp quality, investing in film equipment isn’t a bad idea. A professional lighting setup means you can film in good lighting anytime you want, and using a vlogging camera with an external microphone will help you create amazing quality videos in your home setup or on the go.
4. Always have a call to subscribe
Don’t be afraid to ask your viewers to subscribe and click that notification bell. Try to include this at the beginning and end of your videos. Some people don’t know about these features, and others who would benefit just don’t think to use them.
At the end of the day, these features are useful to your audience. They help your viewers to keep up with your content and easily access your videos. The more people subscribe and click the notification bell, the more video views you will get. This will help you grow your audience and monetize your content.
5. Broadcast snippets and trailers from your blog to other social channels
If you have an existing audience elsewhere, use your other social media channels to advertise your YouTube content. The goal here is to convert your followers into YouTube subscribers. However, not everyone will follow you on YouTube just because you ask them to. You have to show them what they are missing by posting clips and screenshots of your YouTube videos.
6. Go niche, don’t try to please everyone!
Vloggers are meant to have an opinion. Your audience watches your content because they want to hear what you say. Talk directly to them, without worrying about what others will think. There are people out there who will resonate with what you have to say, and there are plenty of people who won’t. Create content for the people who do. That is your audience.
The most successful vlogs on YouTube have either stayed in their niche or have evolved their niche to meet the needs of their audience. Take LauraDIY for example. She started out as a DIY vlogger, but her content moved into lifestyle as she (and her audience) grew with different interests.
Choosing a niche helps your audience grow. find it. That could be vlogging, beauty, lifestyle, DIY, mukbangs, storytimes, etc. Your audience should be able to instantly recognize your niche from your channel branding and content. When people find your channel and recognize your niche, they know what they’re getting into. That means you’ll attract fewer negative comments.
7. Post on a consistent schedule
Success on YouTube requires dedication and consistency. Chances are you won’t explode overnight, and you definitely won’t find success if you give up. Create a manageable posting schedule and stick to it. The more content you publish, the more chances you have to grow. However, you need to post good quality content for it to work. Figure out how many times a week you can produce high-quality content, choose your posting days, and stick to that schedule.
This will help keep you accountable while allowing your audience to build anticipation for your next upload.
8. Edit first
Some creators love to edit, others don’t. Regardless of how you feel about the editing process, it’s a time-consuming necessity. If you wait until the day before or the day of posting to edit your video, you may feel rushed. The whole point of starting a vlog is to love what you do. The constant cycle of editing and posting videos one at a time can be a fast track to burnout.
Editing ahead of time is a great way to avoid this. Editing your videos before your posting time relieves some of the stress and makes the editing process more enjoyable. This strategy helps you create a bank of ready-to-publish videos that you can use to stay ahead of your schedule at all times.
You can also hire a freelance video editor to take the work off your shoulders.Of course, this is a monetary investment and takes some of your creative control away, but it can be a great solution for creators who don’t like to edit and have money to spare.
9. Don’t Forget Labels, Cards, and End Screens
Labels, cards, and end screens are additional steps you can take to get the most out of your video content. If you have maxed out your quality, this is the next step to get more video views. Tags are keywords that tell YouTube and your viewers what your video is about. They give your video a boost with the algorithm, associating your video with similar videos so it can be recommended in the right column. Tags have a 500 character limit. Use as much of this as possible, but this will only work if the tags you use are relevant to your video.
Cards are the little boxes that appear in the right hand corner of the YouTube video player. They come in several types:
- Channel Cards – link to another channel (could be someone you mentioned or collaborated with).
- Poll Cards – collect feedback of your audience through a survey. You can include one question and five options. Viewers will see the poll results on the card after voting.
- Video or Playlist Cards: Promote relevant videos or playlists at a certain timecode.
- Link Cards – Link to a website (must be in YouTube Partner Program).
End screens are a visual version of cards that appear at the end of your video and must be at least 25 seconds long. They promote other videos that their viewers may find interesting and may also prompt users to subscribe to their channel or follow their social media accounts. You can create a custom end screen using a tool like Canva, leaving room for recommended videos to appear.
The Essentials: Vlogging Cameras, Lighting, and Gear
Want to learn how to vlog but don’t know what gear you need to get started? Here are our top recommendations:
Vlogging Camera
The best compact vlogging camera on the market is the Sony ZV-1. While it lacks a viewfinder, it shoots 4k video and has amazing autofocus.
If you need a viewfinder, try the Fujifilm X-S10. This mirrorless camera also records 4k video, has a viewfinder, and is easy to hold. The only drawback is that it is not weather resistant.
If you’re on a tight budget, go for the Nikon D3500. It’s an entry-level DSLR camera that’s easy to hold and shoots in 1080P.
Microphone
You can get the Rode Video Micro Compact microphone for around $60. It can be used with a camera or smartphone, making it a great option across the board. It gives you great sound quality without adding too much bulk or weight to your camera.
Lighting
For a stationary setup, you can try this shooting kit from LimoStudio. It is a three-point lighting system with umbrella and softbox lights. For a little more, you can get the Lume Cube Wireless Light. It’s a mighty 18-inch ring light with a 6.5-foot stand. It can also be used wirelessly for 90 minutes. For a portable option, opt for the Joby Beamo Ring Light 12”. It’s an affordable option that can be used with a phone or camera.
Windscreen
For even clearer audio, try the Movo WS10n Universal Furry Outdoor Lavalier Microphone Windscreen Muff. It’s very affordable (only $15) and will keep the wind from interfering with the sound quality you’ve worked so hard for.
How to Vlog Better (Using Just Your Phone or Laptop)
Thankfully, video quality on smartphones is pretty solid these days. If you have a newer smartphone, the video quality on your phone will probably be better than on your laptop. Try them both and see which one you like best. Alternatively, you can add an external webcam to your laptop.
To improve sound quality, it’s probably best to use an external microphone as well. These can stick to your clothing, phone, or laptop, or you can opt for a tabletop version.
If you haven’t invested in a lighting setup, try shooting in front of a window with natural light.
Using your phone to vlog on the go can result in shaky images. You can avoid this by using a tripod or stabilizer.
Once you’ve got quality as good as you can handle, it’s all about the content. Show your authentic self, share your personality, and create content your audience will love.
Vlogging FAQ
Tie Everything Up
And with that, you have everything you need to start your vlogging! You don’t have to invest in fancy equipment right away. Start small and remember: the most effective way to grow your audience is to consistently post niche content and be authentic. People love to watch vlogs because they engage with the creators. Be someone your audience can relate to.
Make your first YouTube video in minutes.
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