Do you want to become the next online star and earn $1million just by being online? Is it your dream to stream yourself playing video games, and make people laugh like PewDiePie; or make money off being an online beauty queen like Jeffree Star?
Look no further. In this article, we’d like to share with you the secrets to becoming an online sensation. But you might be wondering – why YouTube? Why focus on a platform that specialises in long-form videos, especially when there’s a huge boom in short-form videos in the recent years?
Why YouTube?
Yes, it is undeniable that short-form videos have become very prominent in the last few years, but recent studies have shown that YouTube is still the most highly watched platform in the world right now, with over 2.3 billion users worldwide. But what makes long-form videos so effective? Well, that’s because the extra time allows YouTubers to communicate with their audience about various topics and various interests. As a testament to this, long-form livestream gaming videos on YouTube have become increasingly popular in the past few years, with over 10.4 million hours of content produced in Q4 of 2020 alone. Some of these live streams are at least 30 minutes in duration, but viewers enjoy them because of the amount of interaction they get to do with the YouTuber. As you can see, long-form videos are still popular, and they are definitely here to stay.
Who are the most successful celebrities right now?
Now that you’ve seen how popular YouTube is, let’s find out how much you can actually earn on the platform. Here’s 2021’s top 10 YouTubers and their salaries (we’ve included their specialisations too!):
How does the YouTube Money Model work?
However, getting to this point is tough work, as how YouTube pays largely depends on a variety of factors. As an aspiring new content producer, you start off by first monetizing your YouTube Channel with Google Adsense. But the reality is, you are unlikely to earn any money at the start. YouTube first requires you to reach a balance of USD$100 or more from views before you can begin to get paid. This is done through the YouTube Partner Program, which allows you to get paid from ads. Here are the requirements to be accepted into the program:
- You must have at least 1,000 subscribers
- You must reach a total of 4,000 public watch hours in the past 12 months
- You must have an AdSense account
From there you can start earning money in two ways – either through views or clicks on ads that appear on your page or videos. According to Business Insider, YouTube can make from about USD$3,400 to $40,000 on videos that have reached 1 million views. Based on this, it definitely does seem quite lucrative to be an online influencer. But to get there, you definitely need to get as many views as possible on your videos and create a following. We’ll teach you how to do that in the next few steps.
Be unique – find your niche.
The first step is to find your niche – what makes YOU interesting? Do you perhaps have a special talent that nobody knows about? Or are you in a rock band that writes killer original songs?
In an effort to share their music with the world, American cover band Boyce Avenue started posting filming and posting music videos on YouTube. Some of their very first videos included acoustic covers of Justin Timberlake’s ‘Lovestoned’ and Rihanna’s ‘Umbrella’. To date, the band has over 5 billion views and 14 million subscribers, making them one of the most successful music acts on YouTube. So if you think you’ve got a phenomenal voice, or a special talent, why not showcase it to the online community?
Maybe you’re particularly good at a video game? Well, the 2016 Pokémon World Champion (yes, that’s a thing) Wolfe Glicke has a YouTube channel where he posts videos of commentated battles in the Pokémon video games. The channel also features a series of ‘Let’s Plays’ involving videos of Wolfe playing various video games. Today, Wolfe’s channel, WolfeyVGC has garnered a total of 365,000 subscribers.
As you can see from these examples, niche-based content usually generates more views and it also encourages more engagement with your audience. So find your niche, build on it, and reap your rewards from there!
Post/Stream regularly, and ride the waves!
Yes, the idea might sound half-baked, but consistency really is the key to success. Here are three reasons why you should post/stream as regularly as you can:
- Posting regularly helps your content stay on the top-of-mind to viewers. To that extent, it’s not surprising that the most successful YouTubers are the ones that engage their audience regularly.
- Secondly, this allows you to understand YouTube better and also learn about its algorithm. This is important for the growth of your channel.
- Practice, practice, practice. The more videos you film the better you get at camera work, or speaking to a virtual audience. So keep at it!
Maybe you noticed that the newest movie trailer from Marvel just got released – then it’s definitely a great idea to post something related, like a video of your reaction to the trailer. Being part of a trend makes your posts more visible, and it helps to tap on new audiences that you may not have the reach to yet. This may also help to generate more clicks on ads that are shown in your videos or channel, which will ultimately mean more earnings.
Get the right gear
Having the right filming gear essentially wins you half the battle at creating a following, as multiple studies have proven that good video and audio quality actually changes the way an audience perceives your content. Here’s a few types of equipment that you definitely should consider having if you’re going to make videos/livestream.
Cameras – For a simple and affordable home filming set up, webcams definitely come to mind. Most models have built-in microphones, which are perfect for live chats, streaming, or basic recording. A majority of the webcams in the market now boast 720p, and 1080 video resolutions, which are more than enough for a simple video. Of course, if you’d like to make more high quality videos, you can definitely explore using a DSLR.
Microphones – Audio quality is important, especially if you’re looking to create music-related content, or you just want to be heard well when streaming live. There are many types of microphones in the market, and the number of choices can get quite overwhelming at times; so as a start, we recommend getting a good USB-powered microphone. These are simple to use, and you can easily configure them to work with various software on your computer. They usually come with a small stand too, so you don’t have to fret over getting a microphone stand.
Lighting equipment – If you want to be seen well in your video, then you can definitely consider getting some basic lighting equipment. If you’re doing all your filming in your room, then all you need are a couple of key lights to make yourself look great on camera. Here’s a simple visual guide that shows how you can position your lighting equipment to get the best quality possible:
Some commercial alternatives that you could also consider are portable ring lights and LED light strips.
Not entirely sure where you can get all of these equipment from? Fear not, you’ll be able to find a nice variety of equipment available at our E-store for very competitive prices. With microphones and webcams from Razer, Logitech, and even capture cards from AVerMedia, we’re confident that you can get your filming setup done in no time at all.
Make sure you have the right internet speeds
Finally, it is imperative that you make sure you have the right internet speeds for your content. YouTube recommends for content producers to have an upload speed of at least 25Mbps. If your upload speed is 25Mbps, then you will likely be able to upload a 30-minute video in 10 minutes.
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