How To Become A YouTube Influencer

YouTube Influencer. Always remember that you have to start somewhere. Create a YouTube account, get a channel going, start making quality content, and cross-advertise on other social media. YouTube influencers show how creating your own work can really make a difference in your career. With consistency, hard work, and talent you may just be the next YouTube influencer, and who knows where that might take you.

YouTube Influencer. So you have a talent you are passionate about pursuing and are looking to increase your visibility by putting your skills in front of a larger audience.

The cheapest and easiest way to do this may very well be from the comfort of your own home. With your computer, internet, and some simple equipment (hello, smartphone), you could be on your way to being the next big YouTube influencer.

What exactly is a YouTube Influencer?

A YouTube influencer is a content creator who has established a large following on the video platform.

You may have heard this term thrown around on social media or in conversations with friends, but aren’t quite sure what it really means.

Put simply, a YouTube influencer is someone who builds a substantial following on the video platform of YouTube, sets trends, and provides information for others looking to purchase a specific product or service, for example.

Some of the most popular YouTube influencers are performing artists, visual artists (including makeup artists), and athletes. Creating videos on YouTube allows them to share their skills and make them easily accessible.

“You love to perform and you love to <fill in your interest here>. Do both at the same time by turning the camera on and including the audience in your project.”

Related: How To Start A YouTube Channel On a Budget

What should my first steps be? YouTube Influencer

Create a YouTube account, build your profile, and come up with an idea that represents you and does not try to appeal to everyone.

First, and foremost, you need to create a YouTube account, which, in addition to uploading videos, will allow you to add photographs, leave comments, and explore other accounts.

To get started on your content once you have your account and are logged in, you’ll need to create a new channel. You may also be asked to verify your account.

Be sure to make your name memorable and consistent with your brand. You need it to be quickly searchable, so nothing too complex or repetitious with other popular users.

In terms of branding your channel, think carefully of what skill you are showcasing and what vibe you want to give off. “This is an opportunity to be creative and show your personality.”

“A lot of novice content creators create random videos that they think everyone will like. What usually happens is because they’re trying desperately to appeal to everyone, they end up appealing to no one.

Think hard about who you’re creating content for. Are they TV actors, ‘Game of Thrones’ fans, Harry Potter fans, or horror film lovers? Be specific.”

Related: How to Become a YouTube Millionaire + Top 25 YouTube Millionaires

The content should be reflective of your skillset and brand. “Come up with a theme for each show, or for a whole series, and keep producing content,” .

Some of the most popular types of YouTube videos encompass genres including funny animals, video game walkthroughs, product reviews, how-to guides, gossip videos, comedy or sketch routines, pranks, parodies, educational videos, at-home-shopping or unboxing videos (often done with expensive gadgets or toys), shopping sprees and hauls, and vlogs.

You’ll notice that certain genres lend themselves well to successful YouTube influencers, while others are more for sharing a specific moment someone thinks that a larger audience might be touched by, such as a cute video of their pet or a soldier being reunited with their family.

How often should I be creating videos? YouTube Influencer

More videos are better on YouTube because followers love content, but it is always quality over quantity with what you create.

Ideally, to truly build a fanbase, you should be adding a video with quality content every day.

If this is not possible, as some types of videos take much more production time than others—and paying your rent is, you know, a thing—don’t add content just for the sake of content.

Quality over quantity is important. Find a routine that you can stick to and advertise to your audience (i.e. a new video every Friday, two posts a week, etc.)

Related: How to Create A Viral Video

Who are successful YouTubers I can model my approach after? YouTube Influencer

A good way to create a plan for your own YouTube success is to take a look at the path of those who have come before you and see what worked for them. Some successful YouTubers include:

Read full article here: The Top 10 Richest YouTubers That Inspire The Most

You’ll notice that a lot of these YouTubers are described as having overlapping pursuits (ie. actor, writer, and producer, or, singer, songwriter, and producer), illustrating the different types of skills that YouTuber influencers bring to the table, and how one type of creative pursuit can help to broaden the scope of another.

How can I promote my channel? YouTube Influencer

Pinpoint your audience, create promo materials, build a compelling profile, and make yourself extra-searchable to allow people (and the people you want) to find and subscribe to your YouTube channel.

1. Narrow your audience. YouTube Influencer

Decide on your specific audience and then create content for them, instead of trying to please everyone at once.

2. Create a trailer for your channel.

Make a trailer that will automatically play for those who are not subscribed to your channel, with a call to action to have them subscribe.

3. Build an interesting profile.

Make sure the “about” section on your channel is interesting. This is where you can really make yourself stand out and sell your product to try to gain subscribers.

4. Choose searchable titles.

Think about what people actually type while searching for something and keep your keywords contained to the first 45 characters, as that is all that is seen when searching.

5. Create better thumbnails.

A lot of people are visually stimulated and a boring thumbnail will not help to catch anyone’s attention.

Try changing your thumbnails to be more interesting and eye-catching for increased traffic and subscribers. Think about what might make someone click. Also, keep in mind the old adage “less is more.”

6. Add a watermark. YouTube Influencer

You can add a branding a watermark to your videos to have people become subscribers to your channel in one click.

7. Use YouTube’s free analytics.

YouTube’s analytics will help you learn how to improve your videos by letting you know what your audience likes.

You can then tailor future videos to your audience’s preferences to get them to watch more videos for longer.

8. Produce consistent content. YouTube Influencer

Build a schedule that works for you and then be diligent with sticking to it. Subscribers will then be more reliable when they know when to expect something.

9. Create playlists.

Playlists show up in YouTube searches the same way videos do. If you have a certain order that is important to your videos (i.e for a web series, etc.) this ensures that your audience watches it in the correct order while also “advertising” for your other content.

10. Just ask.

Don’t assume just because someone enjoyed your video they will automatically subscribe or even know how to do so. With this in mind, be sure to invite them to subscribe at the end of your video.

Also, while YouTube is one specific type of social media, don’t forget the power of other social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and Pinterest to promote your YouTube channel by driving traffic and subscribers to your page.

What questions should I be asking myself throughout the process?

Establish your goals, find a way to track if you are achieving them, and be prepared to change what you are doing if you find you have not fulfilled your vision of YouTube influence.

There are a few things you should ask yourself along your journey to becoming a YouTube influencer:

What are my short-term goals?
What are my long-term goals?
Am I achieving them?
If not, what can I change to improve my chances?
What works well and what needs improvement?
Is my content professional and of high-quality?

This list of questions will help you to stay-on-track and provide a consistent way to evaluate how far you’ve come and where you are looking to go in terms of number of subscribers, money earned, and how your channel is helping you with your career outside of YouTube. (If that is a goal of yours).

Will I still be taken seriously as an actor? YouTube Influencer

YouTube success does not mean you exclude yourself from a traditional acting career if you find that success in the right way.

If you are looking to promote your acting career on YouTube, it all comes down to branding and professionalism.

YouTube is a great platform for promoting your demo reel, individual clips from projects, or entire web series online, and is accessible to a vast number of people worldwide.

If you want to develop your acting career, YouTube shouldn’t be your only platform for work, but creating quality content and sharing it over YouTube won’t stop you from being taken seriously as an actor either, as long as you are a consummate professional about the level of material you put out there. Think of YouTube as just one of the many tools in your toolbox to help your career.

What are the perks of being successful on YouTube? YouTube Influencer

YouTube is a great way to be discovered if you are starting out or need more opportunities to put your performance work out there. You can add it to your resume and it is a way for casting directors to see what you can do.

YouTube has launched quite a few people’s careers. “The more popular your videos become, the more industry exposure you are likely to garner.

If you have a web page to promote yourself as a performer, you can drive traffic to that page from your videos.

Alternately, casting directors or other show business insiders will gain greater insight into who you are by going to your YouTube channel after looking at your web page.

Driving traffic from one page to the other should be one of your goals to increase your visibility and promote your talents.”

Those whose careers have been catapulted by YouTube not only make a pretty penny on advertisers for their YouTube channels, but also have procured work outside of YouTube as a result, on wider-reaching platforms like Netflix, cable and network TV series, and mainstream films.

If you decide to use your winning personality to review products (and you garner a worthy following), there are hundreds of companies out there willing to send you free or sample products to promote on your channel.

As with any platform, your voice will be magnified. You’ll be able to shine a light on causes or issues you believe in, highlight and connect with people you admire, plus, you’ll prove you’re watchable and sellable as an on-camera performer.

What are the cons of being successful on YouTube?

Any success online comes with negative feedback, and that is true on YouTube, believe in what you are building and ignore the noise.

As with any type of social media, there are some issues of which to be aware.

One is, of course, internet trolls. The reality is that no matter how good a product you put online, not everyone will like it. This in and of itself is not really the big issue, as we all know different people have different tastes.

However, the downside of the internet is that anonymity creates a fearlessness that people do not have speaking to your face, allowing for the possibility of nasty remarks being left in the comments section for your videos. As the saying goes, “Haters gonna hate.”

The other downside of making your content free and easily accessible on the web is that there are people out there who might take your intellectual property and try to pass it off as their own—but that is a reality all content creators live with.

Overall, YouTube success requires dedication and consistency. Time management is by no means a con, but being aware of how much time you have and how much time you need to make this endeavor worth your while is absolutely something to consider before choosing this as your main way to connect with your audience.

How do I know I’ve become successful? YouTube Influencer

Success on YouTube is defined differently for everyone, determine your goals and what achieving them looks like and you will know if you have reached the success you were striving for.

The idea of success, no matter what platform or field, all has to do with perspective and goal-setting. Like with anything, think of becoming a YouTube influencer in terms of short-term and long-term goals.

These goals are, of course, different for different people, and should be based on the type of YouTube content you produce.

If you have a monetary goal with your YouTube work. You are looking to build up a channel to attract advertisers and bring in income.

This could mean making a little extra cash on the side. Or being able to pay your rent, or perhaps even getting enough money from a web series to be able to produce it on a larger scale.

Increased exposure can perhaps get you opportunities in your chosen path outside of YouTube. It did for many of the successful YouTubers listed earlier.

How can I take my YouTube “influence” to the next level?

YouTube influencers have taken their success offline, and you can too—here are a few ways to do that.

Once you have mastered the art of being a YouTube influencer you may want to use the audience you’ve built to show you’re able to move your talent off of YouTube and on to a larger platform.

For example, if you are a singer and can get a record label interested, if you are actor and can get noticed by a casting director, or if you are a makeup artist and can book a job for the particular techniques you promote on YouTube, those are all examples of transcending the platform from whence you came.

While some people can make a decent chunk of change off of advertising from YouTube, taking that influence and applying it to your career goals means that YouTube can be a vehicle, rather than a focus.

Always remember that you have to start somewhere. Create a YouTube account, get a channel going, start making quality content, and cross-advertise on other social media.

YouTube influencers show how creating your own work can really make a difference in your career. With consistency, hard work, and talent you may just be the next YouTube influencer, and who knows where that might take you.

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