So, you wanna start a YouTube Channel do ya LOL? Let me just tell you it's not as easy & glamours as you may think it is. I feel like most people think you just have to upload a video or two and bomb your instantly YouTube star. You’ll get sponsors your gonna make money off google adds everything is glitter & cupcakes. Ya, not so much people LOL. Not to say that I thought that, but I honestly didn’t know how much work really goes into a YouTube channel when I first started mine. I know there would be some editing a picture here and there for the thumbnail, l but I never imagined it would pretty much be like having a full-time job. There is a lot of late-night and early mornings. I’m a very strong believer in “you get out what you put in” and one of my favorites “nothing worthwhile comes easy”. These are saying I try to live by. They ring so true when it comes to YouTube. If you're putting up quality content on your channel it takes time, work, effort, and a lot of dedication. If you're not putting up quality then you won't gain a following and if you're not gaining a following than what’s the point of doing it in the first place? Trust me the simplest short videos can take you over an hour to edit it completely. While a longer video can take anywhere from two to three hours. This by no means is a get rich or famous quick kind of thing. There have been some YouTubers that have had relatively instant success. However, for most of us, it’s a struggle. Trust me when I tell you, you won't last long in the YouTube world if you honestly don’t love it if you don’t have a passion for it. If you're starting a YouTube to make money, well excuse me while I giggle. For most of us, it’s a long process to really build your channel as well as getting a strong loyal following. Which in return will lead to some revenue.
Now let me give a full disclaimer. Let me be completely honest and transparent, as I don’t want to mislead anyone who maybe reading this. I’m still a very small channel in the grand scheme of things. I’m still under one thousand subscribers myself. I am not claiming to be some big-time YouTuber and or guru. However, I can share with y’all my tips & tricks of how I got my first 250 loyal subscribers.
Find Your niche
If you're going to start a YouTube channel you need to first figure out what the heck, it's going to be about. What’s your theme? What’s your overall goal of the channel? Do you want to talk about Fashion & Beauty? Do you want to focus on cooking & recipes? I myself much like this blog My YouTube channel's main goal is to take you along on my journey as a housewife. To help out with tricks & tips, all things housewife related. Focus on a subject matter you know a great deal about. Something that will keep you the content creator enthused about. If you're not hyped about your channel you defiantly won't find an audience.
Engage with your audience
So, whether or not you’ve started your channel yet. You must understand the power and importance of engaging with your subscribers. I ALWAYS like a reply to my subbies or honestly anyone who leaves a comment. I think this is critical especially think this is important when you’re a smaller YouTuber. Take it as an opportunity to get to know and build a relationship with your subbies. Answer any questions they may have. Also, let’s be honest there is really no good reason why you can’t answer back your subbies if you're still under a thousand subscribers. I personally follow channels that have will over 5k and they take the time to like & answer back their subbies. In my opinion that is the very least, you can do. Being a subscriber, I myself would the content creator, the YouTuber replies back to me or answers a question it makes me feel like they care I support them and that I’m valued as a viewer.
Consistency
I have loved channels and then the YouTuber falls off the face of the earth never to be seen again. Me being the type of person that doesn't like a lot of clutter on my timeline will unsubscribe. In my opinion, this is dangerous. It’s almost certain that you will lose your audience's attention. I’ve seen some YouTubers leave there a channel for weeks or months and come back to explain what happen but if more than half of your subbies are gone what's the point. Your pretty much starting all over again from scratch. Think about it would you be a fan of a TV show that came on sporadically? If you never knew when or if it was ever coming back on? No right? Think of your channel the same way. With being consistent you're letting your subscribers know that can trust that the content the obviously like will be posted. I personal will post on the same days and at the same time.
Learn YouTube
Like I said earlier “you get out what you put in”. Taking the time to create great content, to film it, to edit it, and advertise it. That’s a given right? I feel it’s extremely important to understand what you can and can't do on YouTube. The rules of YouTube. I didn’t know anything about the “strikes policy” before I looked up the rules. This was even after I started my channel guys. I had no idea about the polices on copyrighted music. How you could get in trouble not only with YouTube but the artist as well as their record company. There are important things you need to know and more importantly understand in order not to get your channel in trouble or banned.
Be supportive /Engagement Groups
Finally, you need to be supportive. Find and seek out other content creators within your niche of choice. Become their subbies on YouTube and leave comments and like their videos. You would be surprised how many will follow suit and do the same for you without even asking. This is especially true when someone is starting out on YouTube. Speaking from experience. When someone would subscribe to my channel, I would always click on their name to see if they had a channel. If they did, I would always look at a few of their videos and majority of the time I would subscribe right back and match their level of support. You can also do this on social media platforms. On Instagram, you can use the hashtag search and search for things like “new YouTuber”, “Mom YouTuber”, “beauty YouTubers” etc. Befriend them try to build a relationship. Like some of their pictures and leave comments. Again, more often than not they will return the favor.
Engagement/support groups are another great way to be supportive. I personally joined about four to five Facebook engagement groups when I first started my YouTube Channel. Some were for African Americans & women on color while others were for other women within my niche. To be completely honest I would not have gotten my first 250 subbies without these groups. I have found that women of color being that we a grossly underrepresented on YouTube, tend to be very supportive of one another. Also, when you meet, interact, and market yourself with people within your own niche it helps you grow. I have also learned a lot from the women in these groups. For the most part, everyone is relatively new so when anyone in the group learns something they will usually share. People post questions & everyone chimes in to give their opinion & personal experience on the matter. That a learning opportunity for you. Learn from other's mistakes. In these groups, you’ll view each other's content not only on YouTube but most of the time on the majority of their social media platforms. It’s truly an opportunity to learn & grow with one another. I have honestly made some very get relationships, friendships with some ladies I have met via facebook engagement/ support groups.
Enter Riana a beautiful lit wife & stay at home mom of an adorable baby girl. Riana & I are in a few of the same African American Facebook groups. I would always see her videos being posted and decided to check them out. Now the first few I saw were about mommy related issues, which is pretty much what her channel is about. I didn’t think I would be that interested as I’m not a mommy yet but I was pleasantly surprised. I honestly loved her sense of humor & personality. I subscribed after watching a few more videos. Now I never would have found her channel without those facebook groups we both belonged to guys. Anywho I started leaving her comments under her videos that I had viewed she returned the favor & we started to build a little friendly relationship. Riana then introduced me to Chadeia. Chadeia is another beautiful wife & mommy to a precious baby girl. After the introduction from Riana I checked out Chadiea’s channel & found that I enjoyed her contact as well. I loved her energy & positivity so I subscribed. Again none of this would have happened without, let's say it together y'all, the facebook engagement groups. A few weeks ago Riana started her an Engagement group on facebook called “Melanin Moms & Wives of YouTube’, she asked Chadeia & I to help moderate the group. I was all too happy to actively be apart of the group as well as help out. I love the meaning behind the group & what we were going to represent. It’s a group for women who identify as African American moms and or wives with lifestyle channels. Has April written all over it LOL. We are growing more & more with each day and all the ladies within our group are very kind & supportive of one another. We are building a great little community.
So, there you have it y’all. Five helpful tips & tricks to help you get your first 250 subscribers. I know that most of the blogs about this subject matter can be a little repetitive. Hopefully, I was able to give you a new tip. Below I have linked my YouTube about this every same subject as well as the Riana & Chadeia channel. I have also like our FaceBook engagement group Melanin Moms & Wives of YouTube, be sure to check it out. Until next time guys!