How Starting a YouTube Channel Helped Me?
Vlogging, the practice of sharing video content, is a new-age word that most of us are now familiar with. It is, in fact, so ingrained into the Millennial zeitgeist that documenting our lives through short clips and videos has become an integral part of our culture, as well as the blogging world.
If you’re a visual person like me and find that images and videos have a more significant impact on people, vlogging is what you should try. For me, starting a YouTube channel was one of the best decisions I’ve ever made. But then I went ahead and made one better. I became a travel vlogger.
How is Vlogging Different?
In its most effective form, travel vlogging is slightly different from merely posting generic or informative travel-related videos. A dedicated travel vlogger documents every aspect of his or her whereabouts, daily, in the most authentic and raw manner possible.
In addition to making content, vlogging further requires talking to your target audience, engaging with them, and sharing your individual thoughts and adventures. In the end, that is what makes you unique, and what eventually attracts people towards your original content.
However, exposing yourself to millions of viewers can be a daunting task, especially for a person trying to start a YouTube channel and become a travel vlogger. Fear not, though, because if you stick with it, approach it with an appetite for success, while continuing to better yourself along the way, travel vlogging can be extremely rewarding.
Trust me, I know.
The Obligatory Flashback
A year ago, if you asked me to stand in front of 35 “known” faces and conduct a presentation, you’d find me sprinting out the door faster than you can blink.
Public speaking was more terrorizing than my recurring dream of being naked in a crowded mall. Even the thought of a presentation would make my hands numb and my palms sweaty. It would get my heart racing, and my mouth would soon end up dry. If I somehow managed to give a half-baked presentation, a dense fog of anxiety would loom over my head for hours after I was done.
Back to the Present
Now, things are a lot different. Since that stressful time, I have successfully launched my YouTube channel, started a blog, and created a website, with no tech background or knowledge. Not only that, but I also have a respectable fan following across various social media platforms.
If anyone had told me earlier that I’d achieve all of this within a year, I would have rolled my eyes, said “Yeah, right!” and would have moved on.
So, what changed?
Well, five things to be precise. If you want to learn how to start a YouTube channel, practicing these five golden mantras can be the key, for they proved to be a significant turning point in my life.
Shout ENOUGH!
Frustration is a powerful emotion. It can stop you from achieving your highest potential. Most people, when they feel frustrated, experience sadness, anger, and a lingering feeling of helplessness.
That’s why I suggest you must first recognize your frustration. Acknowledge it before it pushes you over the edge. I once heard someone say, “You never know how strong you are until being strong is the only desire you have.” That is precisely what I did when frustration was getting the better of me. After comfortably rolling around in self-pity and depression, I decided it was time to say “ENOUGH”!
Hearing myself say it out loud, wanting to change my ways, and break through the shackles of my mundane life, I was able to act upon my dreams. This was when I finally gained control of my destiny and took the first step towards vlogging.
Follow Your Gut Instinct
Always a traveler at heart, it wasn’t until 2013 that I actively started exploring the world. During the following years, I planned trips with my partner, friends, and sometimes with strangers. Soon, I was their go-to person, brimming with travel advice, guidance, and insider tips. But while I went about traveling and planning, I felt that something was still missing.
If only I had paid close attention to this pattern and followed my gut, I’d be writing this blog post back in 2016! Nevertheless, in 2019, I finally hopped on a plane with my friend and traveled to Yerevan, Armenia. It was here, with no prior experience or professional equipment, that I filmed my very first vlog.
Introspection is Key
Everyone I know is aware that I need no excuse to jump on a plane and venture out into the world. After filming my first vlog, I was hooked. I relished it so much that I wanted to pursue vlogging long term and with all seriousness. I do know that YouTube is already swamped with top-notch travel vloggers. But that doesn’t mean there isn’t space for newcomers. On the contrary, the more, the merrier.
At first, I started binge-watching top travel vloggers, such as Casey Neistat, Kara & Nate, Flying The Nest, Vagabrothers, and The Endless Adventurers. Soon enough, once self-assured, I set out on a trip to Romania to film my next vlog.
But before I took this trip, I sat down and introspected on why I was starting on this fascinating, yet tedious journey, by answering the following questions;
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What is my motivation?
It was crystal clear to me, by then, that I was a traveler, not a tourist. Most travelers, at some point, are tourists. But you evolve over time and realize that a certain level of flexibility and unpredictability in your trips is what you truly crave. Furthermore, I wanted to share my experiences, tips, and blunders, the good and the ugly, and this was the best way to do that.
Who do I want to inspire?
By starting a vlog on YouTube, I wanted to inspire fellow travelers, specifically those interested in exploring unconventional destinations. By showcasing offbeat locations in real-time, I wished to encourage any and all adventurers to step out and discover places like never before.
Who would benefit from my videos?
The internet is packed with all kinds of information about different places in the world. But how does one extract the exact itinerary they want? It’s like searching for a fading travel stamp in a passport filled with page after page of visas and more airport stamps that all look alike.
Keeping this in mind, my aim was to create content for YouTube that would cover every possible feature of a destination. My vlogs and my channel would be a one-stop-shop, where my audience could come, watch, absorb, and admire the beauty of these amazing spots in an instant, saving time, effort, and confusion.
Before you start a travel vlog on YouTube, it is important to answer the above questions. By doing so, you can avoid creating videos that serve no purpose, and instead, focus on what’s necessary, based on your target audience.
Learn New Skills
Starting a YouTube Channel is simple. You log in, create a profile, and it’s all set. Moreover, it’s free, so you need not worry about financial constraints.
The challenge is in taking the next step. Before you study how to become a travel vlogger, you must mentally prepare yourself for all the behind-the-scenes work that goes into it. I may have been a professional photographer, but camera work and post-production of videos were a distinctive skill set, that I did not possess.
At this point, I decided to channel my negative feelings, and my fear of failure, into being more productive. I searched for tutorials, spent hours studying camera tricks, and soon enough, editing videos for YouTube, to present my content in a visually stimulating way, became one of my favorite pastimes.
Remember, whenever you see positive results emerge from a new set of skills you’ve taught yourself, it brings about a tsunami of confidence. And that’s exactly how I felt.
Build a Community
Building a community on YouTube is entirely different from becoming an influencer on any other social media platform. To be successful on YouTube, you must begin with a strategy, and then remain consistent while putting in hard work, and often, long hours. It’s not just a hobby, and by taking it easy, you can lose out on your audience rather quickly.
Realizing the importance of building a community was the final turning point in my vlogging journey. As terrified as I was about interacting with strangers, I didn’t want to lose sight of my purpose. My ultimate goal was to share the very best of my travels and inspire individuals across the planet with my stories and content. I knew that if I hesitated, I would never accomplish what I had set out to do.
Building an online community requires persistence, some basic social skills, and a lot of give-and-take. But, very much like the process of starting a YouTube channel, it is highly rewarding once you get the hang of it.
Take Your Time
Thankfully, when I decided to start travel vlogging, time was on my side. I was in no hurry and took 6 months after I had filmed my first vlog to start a YouTube Channel, using this time to further refine my skills. Once I did it, I could feel a new driving force run through my body.
Spread Your Social Media Wings
Soon, I began spreading the word about my vlog. I reached out to other YouTubers, interacted with them, engaged with their work, and also let them know about my travels. Instagram and Facebook further helped me gain momentum, as I was able to capture a completely different audience.
Engage!
Once I set up my social media accounts, I joined several engagement groups on Instagram. This gave me the confidence to share my work with fellow bloggers and vloggers. Positively interacting with other content creators was an eye-opening experience. It allowed me to learn new techniques while steadily increasing my follower base.
Give Back
While networking on social media, I was pleasantly surprised to receive tons of helpful feedback and appreciation, which then encouraged me to give back by starting my own YouTube vlogging support group on Facebook. It was a step towards sharing my experiences as a vlogger, where I could confidently help fellow YouTubers grow and improve.
As I started to actively help others who wanted to start vlogging, I realized several passionate bloggers were facing the same issues and challenges that I did previously. By working with them and guiding them through, I felt a sense of satisfaction about being an integral member of this growing community.
It was also during this time that I come across wonderful people from the blogging world. Individuals who not only respected my help and became great friends, but to this day, remain an essential part of my success story.
Lessons Learnt
Dealing with self-doubt, low self-esteem, and decreasing morale can be troubling to the mind and cripple your creative spirit. It was at such a stage in my life that vlogging gave me the courage to release my inner being and achieve my dreams.
Starting a YouTube channel helped by motivating me to push through restricting boundaries. It assisted me in knocking fear out of the way, to the extent that I find myself in a much better mental and physical place than ever before.
Becoming a vlogger on YouTube changed me in more ways than one, and now, I urge everyone I meet to give it at least one try. After all, what is it that you have got to lose?
Found the above read interesting? check out Shifting The Paradigms Of An Adventurer, Pokhara.
