Thinking of Starting a YouTube Channel? (GUEST BLOG)

Actress / Creator STEPHANIE JACKSON has been gaining a lot of attention for her comedy web series, DOES THIS BABY MAKE ME LOOK FAT? 

Currently in its second season on YouTube, Stephanie was recently showcased in BACKSTAGE.COM revealing how she went from inspiration to execution of the acclaimed series. Coming soon, Stephanie will be joining the popular website SHEKNOWS.COM in their ‘Experts Among Us’ section.

Since many of you are also creating your own work, I asked Stephanie to share some of her best tips for navigating YouTube.

 

 

GUEST BLOG by STEPHANIE JACKSON:

 

By now you’ve heard that YouTubers are catching Hollywood’s attention in a big way. And you might be thinking this could be a great place for you to showcase your talents as well. So now what?

More than year ago I was in the same position – and completely overwhelmed! Creating a show would be challenging enough, but I had to figure out how to “YouTube” too?! I get it. Which is why I’m happy to share with you the top YouTube resources and advice I got this past year that helped me cross the create divide between having an idea for a YouTube show to now having a YouTube show.

 

Top 5 Tips for Getting Started on YouTube:

 

1. RESOURCES:

Fortunately there are a lot of great resources out there for “How To YouTube.” They cover everything from how to create great content, how to market it and all the technical stuff too. Just start with the info you need to learn immediately and go from there. Resources: The YouTube Creator Playbook (a.k.a the “YouTube Bible”- free online), The 10 YouTube Commandments by Matt Gielen (free on Kindle), Creator Up! www.creatorup.com (“how to” online videos for a fee) and YouTube Space LA (Go there! Take a class! Attend a Happy Hour! – this is a fantastic space where you will be able to learn and get connected with the YouTube Community.)

 

2. CREATING GREAT CONTENT:

Be authentic. Figure out who you are and stick with it! YouTube shows are different than TV shows because they talk directly to their niche audiences instead of to the masses. That’s why YouTubers are so popular – they have an open dialogue with their audience so they can give them exactly what they want. And don’t worry about how many people watch your show – worry about if they love it! If they love it the news will spread. Be sure to make content that’s up to your standards. If you don’t love it or have fun making it the show won’t last. And consistency is key! Subscribers expect you to show up with a video when you say you will, otherwise they have plenty of other channels to visit instead. Also, make sure you create a show that you can sustain in the long term. By nature it will take up most of your time – make it as easy as you can production wise (or have people help you!) And build your community – not just views or subscribers. YouTube is a very community-based platform. Make friends with your subscribers and they will spread the word about your awesome show for you. Finally, just start it! You get better at doing everything just by doing it.

 

3. THE GOOGLE ALGORITHM:

You have to feed the beast! With YouTube it’s all about the algorithm. Google rewards you when you have great audience retention rates on your videos and channel and it punishes you if you don’t post videos consistently (i.e. if you post once a week and then don’t post a video for a month, the algorithm might only notify about 10% of your subscribers when you upload again – even though they subscribed to you and want to hear from you!) It can feel like a lot of pressure, however you have to do what works for you. You can’t be a slave to an algorithm that is constantly changing. Here just a few resources to help you decipher and boost your back end stats: Tubular, vidIQ, Video Traffic Academy and Native Analytics.

 

4. YOUTUBE NEWS:

You might have noticed there’s been a lot of news about YouTubers in the traditional Hollywood trades lately. Lionsgate just acquired the rights to “The Smosh Movie,” Grace Helbig is getting her own show on E! and Nickelodeon has placed a 13 episode order for The Fine Bros.’ “ReactToThat.” It’s a good time to be a YouTuber. Stay up on all the latest YouTube news and what’s trending by reading or watching some of their industry outlets: TubeFilter and Video Ink.

 

5. THE FUTURE OF YOUTUBE:

If you’ve read this far you’ve probably guessed it: YouTube’s future is bright! There’s no denying that its influence over how we consume content is only getting stronger by the day. And as Jeffrey Katzenberg said at VidCon this past summer, YouTube is still only in its infancy. All the major brands, networks and studios are trying to find their way in. It’s where the party is for now (and the money!) So why not join in and use it as an amazing platform to share your creativity and talents!

 

I hope this helps give you a taste of what resources are out there and how you can use them as you start your own YouTube Channel. Final words of advice: JUST START IT! No project starts out “perfect” and you will figure it out as you go. That goes for the technical side as well as your content. Oh, and learn how to edit – you can outsource some of it but not all of it (nor will you want to!)

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Stephanie Jackson’s acclaimed web series comedy DOES THIS BABY MAKE ME LOOK FAT? airs all-new Season 2 episodes and bonus segments every Tuesday on YouTube: www.youtube.com/user/msstephjacksontv

For additional information about Stephanie Jackson visit: www.Stephanie-Jackson.com