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How To Be A Youtuber

Discussion in 'YouTube Discussions' started by Darkovika, Sep 11, 2015.

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Darkovika ★ Level 6: Elite

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Stelgim said: ↑

This is a well written and informative post. I dont think I've seen someone put this much effort into telling people what can help their channel.

I for once do check my favorite YouTubers, see how they edit and how their thumbnails look like. Although this can be hard to not get too obsessed into watching them and forget about your own channel..

I will definitely tag this post, so that I can come back to it if I need info!
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Thank you very much! I think a LOT about this kind of thing, the why's and how's. As youtube progresses though, it's changing for us. We the new creators are following much different rules than the larger youtubers, something they don't fully realize. I've noticed that youtubers like to say "I worked hard and that's how you'll get here", but the analytics are there- people getting to where they are. The game has changed, and there isn't enough data, really, to help us follow the game.

Idk, it's a very complicated loop that can get SO depressing. My analytics depress me more often than they boost my confidence lawl

#21 Darkovika, Feb 18, 2016
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iamStilbon ★ Level 6: Elite

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Wow great advice. I nice to see others in the community offering to help others out. Thanks

#22 iamStilbon, Mar 11, 2016
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Darkovika ★ Level 6: Elite

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iamStilbon said: ↑

Wow great advice. I nice to see others in the community offering to help others out. Thanks
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You got it ^_^ I think one of the hardest things about youtube is how easy it is to forget your accomplishments. In the face of doing something amazing, you suddenly realize you're still a long way off... And it's hard to remember the sheer excitement you had just moments before. Youtube can be very daunting. It's almost entirely about having faith in yourself... And your skills/talents. So I likereminidng people hey, it's not easy, but the journey IS worth it... And you can succeed X3

#23 Darkovika, Mar 14, 2016
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Enzor ★ Level 5: Hero

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Thanks for the information

#24 Enzor, May 4, 2016
BabyHead Gaming ★ Level 5: Hero

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Why am I only just seeing this now ( Shame on me ) good solid information

#25 BabyHead Gaming, May 16, 2016
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I would sticky this as I don't think anyone have given better information and it would be easier for people to find aswell.
I agree with the remove personal information but if 'fans' are determined enough they will find you. It's one of the reason why I don't do facecam and never will. So when I'm outside I won't have people going up to me going OMG! can I haz a selfie*whips out phone* as I'm just going to the shop or somewhere.
That's why most Youtubers like Markiplier have had to move because fans found out where he lived. Which I find incredible disrespectful as they're invading personal space at that point. If I met him in the street(will probably never happen) I wouldn't run up to him like a giddy school girl. I'd be like oh cool Markiplier(in my head) and may even go up and say Hi like a normal human being if he wasn't busy.
I also agree with the mac's to they're horrible from a Game Artist stand point to. Constantly crashing on us and start to slow WAY down when we ask it to simply render a model.

#26 Shadejolt, Jun 24, 2016
George NoX ★ Level 4: Gamer

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this is some usefull, and enligtning stuff, makes me think some changes are in order on my own channel, full blown let's plays obviously don't work for small channel anymore so your suggestion to do small clips, montages and such has me intrigued. Thing is, i mostly play RPG games, which most of the time you cant make a short clip of, other than maybe ocassional boss fight. Boss mechanics and how too's perhaps? Something to think about for sure

#27 George NoX, Jul 10, 2016
Fluxxiee ★ Level 5: Hero

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Very useful information in this thread. Keep up the good work! xD

#28 Fluxxiee, Aug 3, 2016
CaretakerGamer ★ Level 6: Elite

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You make some very great tips and points about being a youtuber! I'm in the middle of making an update video soon since my channel has been kind of dead for a few months. I'm setting up schedules and I just did a bulk edit of a bunch of videos already so I don't have to worry constantly if I have time to edit this week.

#29 CaretakerGamer, Aug 16, 2016
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Darkovika ★ Level 6: Elite

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CaretakerGamer said: ↑

You make some very great tips and points about being a youtuber! I'm in the middle of making an update video soon since my channel has been kind of dead for a few months. I'm setting up schedules and I just did a bulk edit of a bunch of videos already so I don't have to worry constantly if I have time to edit this week.
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Perfect! Setting up a schedule and recording in bulk can be really good for you. It gives you days in the week to either continue editing/recording videos ahead of schedule, or just to relax. Sometimes I find I get too relaxed and start flagging, and those are times I'll purposely catch up and start recording like two days before so I get active again. I find that I do best when I have lots of work to do... And that's DEFINITELY true right now lawl

#30 Darkovika, Aug 16, 2016
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Darkovika said: ↑

Perfect! Setting up a schedule and recording in bulk can be really good for you. It gives you days in the week to either continue editing/recording videos ahead of schedule, or just to relax. Sometimes I find I get too relaxed and start flagging, and those are times I'll purposely catch up and start recording like two days before so I get active again. I find that I do best when I have lots of work to do... And that's DEFINITELY true right now lawl
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When I take too long to make a new video, I tend to go into gaming ADD and just play different games for days when I should be either editing a new video or keep with the current one that I should be sticking with, especially if I am planning on doing a review. Let's Plays help with filling the gap between reviews and other types of videos that I do, but I notice that my Let's Plays usually have the lowest view counts.

#31 CaretakerGamer, Aug 17, 2016
Darkovika ★ Level 6: Elite

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CaretakerGamer said: ↑

When I take too long to make a new video, I tend to go into gaming ADD and just play different games for days when I should be either editing a new video or keep with the current one that I should be sticking with, especially if I am planning on doing a review. Let's Plays help with filling the gap between reviews and other types of videos that I do, but I notice that my Let's Plays usually have the lowest view counts.
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Agreed. I tend to do the same. Undertale has been my exception, but for the most part, when I do one-offs or edited montages, those tend to do WAY above and beyond the rest of my let's plays or my gameplay videos. It's a huge bummer, but also understandable- youtube is saturated with gameplay videos. I'm not the only one playing those games TT^TT

#32 Darkovika, Aug 17, 2016
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Very helpful advice! I was never really a fan of how fans/haters try to find out EVERYTHING about you.

#33 GreenMohawk, Aug 24, 2016
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TheUltimateVertex ★ Level 6: Elite

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I really like how you explained the amount of work it takes to be a successful YouTuber. It is most definitely not an easy job. As a ,15 year old Youtube is a hobby right now but would love for it to be a job. I've been in the Youtube community and have been growing slowy, Until like you said you have to go after your audience, by making relevant but searchable video. It will take time and effort just keep doing it!

#34 TheUltimateVertex, Sep 13, 2016
Zypra ★ Level 5: Hero

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Darkovika said: ↑

Hey guys! Let me start this off by saying that all of this post will be from my own studying of channels, my own findings, and my own guesses. Feel free to disagree with anything I post- and if you're concerned that I'm not pro enough to be posting advice like this, well... Who really is?

---First things First---
You need to understand what comes with being a youtuber. This is the "I remind you how scary the world is" post. People on the internet are WEIRD. People on the inernet are bullies, they are mean, and many of them are people who hate to see others succeed. The internet adds a mask of anonymity that allows people the unfortunate ability of cruelty without having to stare their victim in the eyes. They can eject all of their daily pains and sufferings onto another unsuspecting person and five minutes later, forget all about it.

THIS DOES NOT MEAN that you should ignore criticism. If someone comes on your channel saying "omg yu so stoopid wow yu sound dumb", yeah, that's a troll. But a troll can be intelligent too. "Wow. Are you seriously trying to be a youtuber? It's impossible for someone like you to succeed. Your channel is barely above average, you sound like everyone else, and your carbon-copy videos hold nothing of interest."

Treat comments like that last one with respect. Remember, you are a YOUTUBER. You can no longer lash out at people. Diplomacy needs to be your middle name. If someone starts screaming nothing but hate at you, that doesn't mean you do it back. I CANNOT TELL YOU how many subscribers I have earned because someone started woman-shaming me and I kept my cool and responded back politely and even with concern for them. People want to think you are above human, because you are now in the spotlight.

Back to scary things.

Absolutely remove all personal information about yourself EVERYWHERE. It does not matter if your facebook is private- delete your location, your schools, your phone number. As you get bigger, people will be hunting MERCILESSLY for that stuff, and you will get threats and hate mail, sometimes for no reason other than the fact that you are succeeding and someone else isn't. It is impossible to completely remove yourself from the internet, as people can trace your IP to a city- I have had this happen to me- but you need to understand that that IS an evil. It probably will happen. You must ASSUME that it will happen, so you can be prepared. Ask yourself: Is it worth it?

---How to get more views---

This is a normal question I'll nip right now.

You will not get 1,000,000 subscribers in a year. You will not get them in two years. Hell, you won't get them in FIVE years.

Youtube is a JOB. Once you decide to take this on, it will not be easy, especially if you want to do it full-time. Pick up an editing software. These days, full-plays are on the out, so unless you really want your channel to grow slowly (like mine), try to avoid Full-Plays. That means your videos should be montages, fun-tages, short videos of the best moments of your recording sessions. It's why Call of Duty videos do so well- it's just no-scope clips under 5 minutes of laughter or really pointed, comedic editing. Editing is not really optional anymore. If you need examples, look at Pewdiepie's channel, and I am LITERALLY not kidding. There is a reason he is the most subscribed youtube gamer. His editing skills are on par, and his thumbnails are perfect, no matter how vile.

THUMBNAILS. You NEED thumbnails. I do half and half because I sometimes do not have the time to make thumbanils, but when I do, I use GIMP 2 to edit them together. Keep them obvious, and make them yours. If you have a channel logo or symbol, put it in the thumbnail. If your title is a zinger (funny and short), put it in the Thumbnail BIG. HUGE. It needs to be able to be read from literally the size of your thumb.

Get recording equipment. Do not record from your laptop's built in mic for any longer than you need to. Save up your allowance, ask for a headset for christmas. If you have a mechanical keyboard, keep your mic away from it. If you are using a mic that is not a headset, put earphones in, or your mic will pick up the echo from your computer. TRUST me, first thing I learned almost 7 years ago. It sounds GHASTLY. You should also save up for a high end WINDOWS PC DESKTOP. Not a laptop. ABSOLUTELY not a Mac. If you are a console gamer, get an Elgato HD60 or something similar to record to a pc. NEVER EVER EVER EVER a Mac, those things are overpriced and always have worst graphic cards than a PC. You can use a Mac for editing, and that's it. Never for gaming. Where possible, custom build your PC. It is cheaper and gives you a computer that will last you 10+ years, depending.

---Your Audience---

Never ever think you are better than your viewers. You start thinking that, you're screwed. They will know it, they will feel it.

Talk to them, engage with them, welcome every single commenter who is new personally. Give them a "Hello! Welcome to the channel!" comment. Make them FEEL important, like they're apart of something bigger. This is quite honestly my favorite part about being a youtuber. The more you let them know how important they are to you- and it NEEDS to be true, from your heart, you need to appreciate them, even the jerks- the more they will respond to it. How you act is how your community will act.

Take MangaMinx(TheRpgMinx). She is very blunt, uses LOADS of swear words I'm not going to repeat here, and is openly Aetheistic and antagonistic toward attackers. Her community is EXACTLY THE SAME. Whether or not they are all Aetheist, they want Minx to be proud of them, and so they emmulate her in every single way. If someone calls Minx names or insults her, you can be certain half the community will be saying things like "F**k off c**t." Minx says it, so it MUST be okay.

Oddly, Minx's almost bullying bluntness has earned her the everlasting loyalty of her community, but I wouldn't try it. Just remember: How YOU act, is how THEY will act. Treat them the way you want them to treat you, literally, that is STILL true.

Jacksepticeye has worked really hard to keep his community from devolving into the hell-fest that is Pewdiepie's community, and to be honest, it has worked. He works SO hard to comment to as many people as he can, as kindly and as fairly as possible. As such, when new people ask well-known questions that most of Jack's viewers already know, his community does not lash out. They help the newcomers feel welcome, they respond kindly and intelligently (for the majority), and those who don't are usually told that that isn't the right way.

Keep these things in mind.

---Analytics---

Not much longer, I promise.

Keep an eye on your views, and your audience retention. What videos are they watching the most of? What series is actually their favorite? What do they like most through views and actions? Don't just ask them, look at the data, and upload accordingly. You might find that people like your nintendo 64 games more than your minecraft videos. That might mean you need to focus on whatever it is you are doing in your nintendo 64 series'.

---Be Active On Other Channels---

DO NOT ADVERTISE YOURSELF. It is absolutely d*ckish, it is not cool, and no one appreciates it. End of story. You'll get three subs and 400 people calling you names. NOT WORTH IT.

BUT. You can comment. Be active in the communities of other youtubers. Make yourself known. Eventually, people will think "I wonder what this person watches?", click your channel, and find out you do videos. I was originally Darkovika, but I changed my channel name to Darkovika Gaming a year ago, so it implied that I did videos. You might want to do the same.

You can mention you have a channel. But ALWAYS give attention, respect, and acknowledge the hard work that the youtuber you are currently commenting on did. They worked really hard for the community they have, and you have no right to come in, ignore that effort, and just expect people to immediately love you.

---Stay Current---

If you are an RPG gaming channel, that does not mean you have to play minecraft. Look at what channels similar to yours that are successful are playing. If you want that audience, emmulate them. There is NO such thing as absolute individuality, and anyone calling you a copy-cat does not understand the world. NOTHING in this world is 100% original- it was based off of something else, and that off of something before it, all the way to the beginning of man.

Keep to your channel's style. If you're like me and you do several different kinds of videos, adopt a schedule. Every monday, I upload Horror games. Every wednesday is a surprise, anything that doesn't fall into another category. Every Friday, I upload Fantasy/Story-driven games. And Saturdays, hopefully, will be livestream days.

I am constantly looking at the videos that Pewdiepie and Markiplier are uploading, as well as Jacksepticeye, because my goal is to be like them. You should do the same. Don't copy people like SuprMaryFace unless you want to do cosplay tutorials and makeup tutorials. TOTALLY LEGIT VIDEOS, but only if that's your ultimate goal. I tend to avoid doing music videos because it's not the way I want my channel to go, even though I have seen what a HUGE BOOST those videos get me. People love them, but then that's all they want, because that's all they came for. Your other videos WILL SUFFER, and you will be forced to do videos you originally didn't even want to do.
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Hey Darkovika!

Thank you for sharing, this is a great post, very informative and detailed.

Personally I think the analytics are very important, so you know what you're doing right and perhaps what videos you need to revisit and restructure.

Thank you for your insight, look forward to seeing you around the forum!

Regards,
Zypra

#35 Zypra, Oct 4, 2016
Darkovika ★ Level 6: Elite

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Zypra said: ↑

Hey Darkovika!

Thank you for sharing, this is a great post, very informative and detailed.

Personally I think the analytics are very important, so you know what you're doing right and perhaps what videos you need to revisit and restructure.

Thank you for your insight, look forward to seeing you around the forum!

Regards,
Zypra
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Absolutely! I completely agree. Analytics are huge- you can see where viewers drop off in your videos, and through that data figure out what you'redoing wrong. ^_^

#36 Darkovika, Oct 10, 2016
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Darkovika said: ↑

Absolutely! I completely agree. Analytics are huge- you can see where viewers drop off in your videos, and through that data figure out what you'redoing wrong. ^_^
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A wonderful site to go to as well would be Socialblade. Socialblade will allow you to see overall earnings in a very organized manner, as well as see an estimate on how your channel will build. It's pretty accurate.

#37 ArmadeusK, Oct 10, 2016
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Darkovika said: ↑

Absolutely! I completely agree. Analytics are huge- you can see where viewers drop off in your videos, and through that data figure out what you'redoing wrong. ^_^
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Yeah agreed, as well as which annotations closes and clicks, you can find subs from videos and all sorts, analytics are a must to a new YouTuber I feel as you don't tend to get feedback in the comments! ^_^

#38 Zypra, Oct 10, 2016
ryancs ★ Level 8: Legend

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Hey Darkovika!
It's Ryan here. thank's for those tips.
Please do consider joining the mgn discord server, I'd be glad to have a live chat with you

Best Regards,
Ryan Smith

The MGN Sheriff (No One messes wid meh XD)

#39 ryancs, Oct 11, 2016
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Satruim ★ Level 4: Gamer

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thank you for this guide

#40 Satruim, Oct 16, 2016

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