Don’t Start a YouTube Channel

Whatever you do, don’t start a YouTube Channel!

Creating a YouTube channel, making videos, and getting anyone beside your mother to watch them is WAY HARDER than you think. Plus you’ll work for months (maybe years) before you ever make a dime from your efforts. It’s just not worth it.

Please quit now before you waste any more of your time.

Now, if you are still reading, you might actually have enough interest and desire to make this whole YouTube thing work. So, keep reading.

Get Started

First, just get started! Your first videos are going to be awful. Make a channel and publish anyway. Always try to make the best video you can, but don’t let the desire for perfection keep you from starting.

Experiment and Learn

Next, experiment like crazy. Look at the videos you love to watch and try to emulate the parts that excite you. The goal isn’t to make a copycat channel, but rather to use this process to teach yourself how to create better videos. Take the intro from a travel video and try to recreate it as a cooking show intro. There are lots of channels out there teaching how to create cool effects and editing techniques. Try to recreate the effects in your next video. Learn the tools and the process and then blend what you learn into your own style.

Brace for the Hate

You will get hate. Brace yourself. Even if you create the most amazing and original work, some folks will hate on you anyway. The comment section can be a nasty place – some genres are worse than others. But the hate will come. Sometimes the comment is a valid critique of your video. In those cases it hurts, but there is something to learn and you need to learn to accept the feedback. Other times it’s just a nasty personal attack. YouTube has a delete button and a ban button. Don’t be afraid to delete a comment or ban a user – you don’t have to put up with abuse. Just be careful not to ban people just because you disagree with them.

Be Open to Change

Open yourself to change. One thing that is likely to happen is that you will discover there are some types of videos you just don’t enjoy creating. They might even be your most popular videos. But, you have to be willing to let go. You will never be able to sustain a channel if you don’t enjoy making the videos for it. Other times you might enjoy the process but not enjoy engaging with the audience that shows up. YouTube success is highly dependent on audience engagement. So, you are looking for that magical combination of a genre you enjoy, a creative process you enjoy, and an audience you enjoy.

Find a Community

Find a community. Becoming a YouTube creator can be overwhelming at times. It’s great to have some like-minded friends to talk to and learn from. Find an online group where you can learn from and help other folks trying to create channels of their own. Try to find people in your local area to meet up with. You might be able to collaborate with each other or share gear.

Go Make it Happen

If you’ve read this far, I wish you the best of luck with your channel. I hope you enjoy the process and find an audience for your videos. There is much to learn on the journey and, even if you don’t find huge financial success, there is still a lot of satisfaction in creating videos you love and sharing them with others