Life as a Youtuber: Starting Out

Hi! My name is Sandra. I started on Youtube February 15, 2019 creating makeup videos. At that time, I was going through some difficulties. I had experienced severe depression and anxiety but I was lucky enough to be supported by my mom and boyfriend (at the time) so I quit my job, which I figured was the trigger for my depression. I enjoyed time off with my son (we had planned to enter him in kindergarten that September), so I basically had the entire summer off to just relax, unwind and start feeling better. I really needed that time for myself to heal.

Once my son started going to school, I felt like I needed something for myself. I had just started to watch youtube and came across Amanda RachLee and Emily Jean on Youtube, and I liked the idea of bullet journaling, and I actually had time to try it out. At the time, my first priority was not really to make money. I knew that I didn't want to be stuck in a job, working for someone else and being miserable. I had done that for 16 years and that was more than enough.

I started my first “bullet journal” (if you could call it that) in August 2018 and I think that was part of my healing system. I was finally doing something just for me, and it helped with my personal healing. I did a lot of journaling to try and “find” myself again. I don’t know exactly why or how I came up with the idea of starting a youtube channel. Thinking about it though made me really excited and happy, and I hadn’t had that feeling in a very long time.

I started making makeup videos, because I felt like that was something I was good at and I felt comfortable sharing online. I always had a passion for makeup and art my entire life, and I felt it would be a good fit. I also wanted to bullet journal online, but I felt like there were already so many ducks in the pond and I didn't know how I would measure up. We always are harder on ourselves than anyone else, and truly, we are our own worst enemy.

I dipped my toe in the pond in February 2019, when I posted my very first bullet journal spread to Instagram. Even then, I think that was one of the first times I posted on Instagram. (It seems crazy to me, because after only two and a half years, I feel like I’ve been online forever). My first bullet journaling spread went live on Youtube March 2019 when I did my Super Mario Theme. I’ll tell you right now, looking back, those videos were not the greatest. I had started filming with the tools I had - a desk lamp and an iPhone 7. (That’s what I tell anyone who wants to start on YouTube; don’t buy anything until you figure out whether you want to continue. You may not even like making videos or editing).

I think when I started, I was expecting to get tons of comments and maybe even dislikes. Honestly, nobody cared. That sounds harsh, but there was just little old me in the huge universe that is Youtube and no one even knew I existed. I think some of my family subscribed to my channel, but most of them never watched my videos consistently.

However, that excitement that I felt about the whole thing continued. It lasted for at least a year, which is what got me through the initial hump of wanting to quit. Quite honestly, at the beginning, when you’re learning how to edit and do all the things, it’s not easy. Things in life that are usually worth the effort are never easy. When I first starting editing, I wanted to throw my computer against the wall. (Of course, I would never - I am lucky enough to have had a computer before starting my business. I own a MacBook Pro, and besides for my iPad, it’s one of the best purchases I ever made). I probably walked away 100 times in frustration before I started to get the hang of the editing process. I am still learning some tricks today. (One of the best things to do is search “How to Edit” on Youtube and see what comes up.) Of course, there are many different programs you could use, but I started with iMovie on my Mac. It’s free, and I’m a big advocate with using as many free tools as you can when you first start.

I think another misconception I had with getting on Youtube, is I thought I would be insta-famous. Remember how I said it seemed no one cared? It’s basically because no one knew I existed. So, right from the beginning, I started using Instagram to “Market” myself. Every time I would create a makeup tutorial, I would post the finished look to Instagram, and tell my followers when to expect the video, and what products I used. I did the same with bullet journaling. The problem is, I was fairly new to Instagram too and did not have a huge following. I think I started with eight people. But, everyone has to start somewhere, and when you first begin, you literally begin with zero followers and zero Subscribers. I tried to have a positive mindset and every single new person who followed me was a win. Another marketing technique I used (and still use) is simply to ask people to subscribe and tell them to like your video and click the bell notification button. I do that right in the video, usually at the end. (Assuming people were to watch an entire video from beginning to end - most people don’t; they will be more likely to remember things at the very beginning and at the end).

Another way I tried to market myself (and this was more pre-Covid) was with business cards. I use Vistaprint now, but when I started I made my own business cards. I literally drew my own graphic and hand lettered my name and just made copies on cardstock. I added all my Social Media accounts as well as my e-mail, and whenever I went out, I would hand out as many as I could. My husband and I use to go to karaoke every week, and it was the perfect time to do my makeup and hand out cards. I would always get comments on my makeup and I used that to open up the conversation to market myself. We also used to go to local breweries all the time, and it was the perfect opportunity to tell people about my Youtube Channel. I feel like it’s important to market yourself to your local community first, because you have location in common. There’s a sense of comradeship since you are from the same city, province or country. It’s always best to start small and then branch out after.

I started Youtube more for fun, than anything. The easiest content you can come up with is something that you already love to do. That way, you are passionate about it and people will be more likely to watch you, and your channel will grow quickly. You will remember that I said making money was not the priority at the time. BUT, when you start YouTube, even though it doesn’t feel like it, you have technically started a business. We usually associate money with a business, but if you stick with Youtube long enough, it will make you money once you get monetized. If you didn’t already know, there is a minimum subscriber count and watch time to qualify for monetization. (Monetization means you can apply to have ads run on your channel, and every time someone watches 30 seconds of that ad, you will make money). How much money you make depends on a number of factors which we will not be discussing today.

Once I had 500 subscribers, I started panicking a bit because I hadn't thought about the money or business side of Youtube. I decided to create an account strictly for my business endeavours. (You can get an actual business account, but there are usually fees associated with them, so I decided to just get a basic checking account). You can always switch once you start actually making money. I also needed some kind of record keeping system. I use Wave, which is a free software, but Quickbooks is a really good one too.

One of the most important things you can do for your channel is to stay organized and plan ahead. It’s hard when you're struggling to come up with content at the last minute, and there’s a feeling of relief to know that you have a schedule in place and you know what to expect next. If you give yourself time to plan for each video, I feel like your overall quality in content will improve and this helps your channel grow too.

I hope you guys enjoyed this piece, and if you are starting on Youtube, the best of luck. We’ll talk to you again soon!

💜 SAN