Why should you start a Vlog?
People are naturally curious and want to see what other people are doing with their lives. This is why reality shows are so successful. What do normal people do? What are your hopes and dreams? How is your day going?
It doesn’t matter that someone doesn’t know you. You have a message to share with the world, and a vlog is a perfect way to do it. Sure, you can create a traditional blog, post about your life, and share your experiences. But people prefer videos. In a survey conducted by HubSpot some time ago, they found that 72% of respondents would rather watch videos than read a blog post to learn how to do something or to find out more about a product or service.
YouTube is a huge resource and search engine. There are a billion users who consume videos for hours every day. This gives you a fantastic opportunity.
A vlog is a great way to create a real connection with your viewers. It’s different from creating a single video. If you are providing (and should be) high quality video, people are eagerly awaiting the next one that you upload.
There are many vlogging success stories out there. These are ordinary people who have drastically changed their lives through vlogging. They have all types of advertising contracts and different sources of income.
In this article we offer you the 6 ways to start a successful vlog.
DEFINE YOUR GOAL
The most successful vlogs are always planned. The owner of the vlog has thought about what he wants to achieve with his vlog and has come up with a plan of action. You have to do the same.
The starting point is defining the goal of your vlog. It’s something that you can easily do in no time. Get started right away and set your vlog goal in a matter of hours. Don’t spend too much time doing it. Some people will spend weeks planning something and then it never happens.
What are you going to communicate with your vlog? You need to vlog about something that you are excited about. Remember, you want to benefit from your vlog. So you need to think about how you want to do this. First, write a list of all the things that interest you.
Go to YouTube and see what other people are vlogging. This should give you even more inspiration. Don’t worry, there are plenty of other players in the same niche. Competition is a good thing. It shows that there is an audience out there.
Your personality is very different from the other people vlogging in your niche. This will make you stand out.
DO YOUR RESEARCH
Well, you’ve chosen an idea for your vlog. Now is the time to see the size of the market and the type of audience your vlog will attract. This is a very important exercise.
Checking to see if there are other vlogs in your niche is a good first step, but it is not enough. The first thing you need to do is do some keyword research. You need to figure out what terms are used to find videos in your niche and how often they search for them (search volume). You can do this for ools such Ubersuggest, Semrush, Ahrefs and Tube Buddy which is specifically for YouTube SEO.
As an example we will use “makeup”.There are hundreds of thousands of searches on Google for this term every month. The Google Keyword Planner also included many other important related terms, such as E.g. eye makeup, makeup kit, makeup kit, makeup brands, cheap makeup, face makeup, face makeup and many more keyword suggestions.
If you want to have a successful vlog, you need to focus on your target audience. This starts with knowing who your target audience is. What are their interests? What problems they face? What is the gender and age demographics like? Where are they from? When you know the answers to all of these questions, you can optimize your videos to meet all of your target audience’s needs.
Find out what questions your target market is asking. Your vlog needs to answer the questions your target market has. If you are able to do this, your vlog will be successful.
It’s really simple: give people what they want and they will come back to learn more and tell the world about it.
GET THE EQUIPMENT
Nobody will expect you to create Hollywood-style videos, but they do expect quality. Well, you could get away with recording your vlog videos on your smartphone. The cameras and microphones on today’s smartphones are pretty good, but if you are and should be serious about your vlogging, then there are better tools out there.
Your viewers expect your video to be clear and sharp. HD video quality is easy to create these days with inexpensive cameras. You don’t need the latest Sony professional camera that costs thousands of dollars.
If you want to shoot a lot of footage outdoors, the GoPro Hero is a good solution. This is real quality for a good price. Investing in a good camera will get you more into your vlog, which is good.
Next comes the audio. A video with poor audio quality will never be recorded well. Some users create educational videos on their laptops and then use the laptop’s internal microphone. These are generally of very poor quality so don’t do this. Get a good quality microphone for clear audio. The most famous ones are Rode, Blue Yeti and Lavalier.
What about the software? Well, you need a video editing suite no matter what type of videos you create. Let’s start with video editing. It is very unlikely that you will capture a perfect video the first time. Hence, you need to cut things out and add some enhancements to make your videos look really professional.
You can do this for free using Windows Movie Maker for Windows computers or iMovie for Mac computers. Both video editing programs have everything you need to create really professional videos. There are other video editing suites that cost a lot of money, but you don’t need these to get started.
Shotcut is great option as it is good for beginners and it is free. It works on Windows and Mac computers.
Video quality is everything, so don’t be afraid to spend a few dollars on your vlog. It will definitely pay you back in the long run. Poor-quality videos just don’t work and you don’t get a lot of channel subscribers which is the opposite of what you want.
If you decide to record videos on your smartphone, a great addition is investing in tripod with a light ring that is really affordable. The video editing software that I suggest using on a phone is INSHOT.
SET UP YOUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL
Okay, the first thing I have to say here is that there is no better platform for your vlog than YouTube. At the time of this writing, it is the second most visited website in the world, behind only Google and just ahead of Facebook. YouTube receives around 4 billion views!
The first step in creating your YouTube channel is to give your vlog a name. This will be your brand. Some people use their own name, which is fine. But if you do not want that you then have to get creative and come up with an unforgettable name. Then you need to check that no one has a channel by that name.
With the name of your channel decided you had to create it. You’ll need a Google account to set up a YouTube account if you don’t already have one. Sign in to your YouTube account and create your channel (there are plenty of videos on YouTube that show you how to do this). To be taken seriously, you need a good channel design. Head on to Canva and start. Everyone can do it, you don’t have to be a graphic designer.
If your YouTube channel has been set up for more than 30 days and you have some videos uploaded and more than 100 subscribers, request a custom channel URL. This is very important for your marketing.
MAKE VIDEOS
This is important. It’s not about quantity, it’s about quality. If people like your video (which is what you want), they expect you to regularly upload new videos. It is best to create a video script and storyboard. This will take a little effort, but it’s really worth it. You don’t have to write every word that you will say in your video script. Just add suggestions and “inputs” so you can discuss every aspect of the video, just make an outline with the main points.
When creating a tutorial, plan the footage you need, something live or do you need to record your computer screen to show how to do something. Either way, you need a plan. When you’ve finished your video and script plan, create a storyboard. A good start forces viewers to keep looking. A grand finale will make them want more from your videos.
When recording, make sure you are passionate and excited. If you’re not passionate about your videos, then how can you expect your viewers to be excited to see them? Don’t resort to monotonous delivery, people don’t want that. If you need to improve your skills head on to Skillshare and start learning.
Use a good call to action in the end or middle of video. Tell your viewers that you would like to hear their comments on the video as your goal is to give them what they want. Whenever you receive comments, always reply as soon as possible.
So how often should you create new videos for your vlog? Well, that’s entirely up to you, but we recommend uploading new videos at least every 2 weeks. If you leave too much time between video postings, people will forget about your vlog and go elsewhere.
OPTIMIZE
Many properly optimized YouTube videos are displayed on the first page of Google for related search terms. That’s incredible! There are no guarantees here, but at least you want your videos to show up in YouTube search results when people search there (which many do).
Make a list of around 5-10 good keywords per video.
The most important part of YouTube video optimization is your video title. Create an attractive title that users will want to click. Also include your main keyword in the title. Tube Buddy is the best tool out there for YOUTUBE optimization.
Then write a description for your video. For example, if you’re adding an external link to your website, add that first so it appears in the top half of the page. Your description should describe what your video is about. So think about the benefits here.
Of course, add some of your keywords too. The final step is to tag your video. Don’t be crazy about it. Add around 5-8 tags to your keyword list, including your main keyword. At the time of writing, the labels are limited to 400 characters.
One last thing here is your video thumbnail. This doesn’t really affect your optimization, but a good thumbnail will always get clicks. Some people design specific thumbnail images for each video. Whatever you do, your thumbnails will really stand out.
CONCLUSION
You should start a vlog if you are comfortable sharing your story, daily life or behind the work scenes, if you want to build a brand this is a great way to connect and let people get to know what you or your business are about.
You need to be fully committed to your vlog if you want it to be successful. Consistency is very important. You must always create high quality videos and be consistent with the upload of your video and the promotion of your vlog.
It will take time to reach a large number of subscribers but if you stick with it it will come. Having a high number of subscribers opens doors for you to sponsorships and other ways to make money.
Good luck with your vlog and your rise to fame on YouTube!