Is a YouTube Career for You?

Careers in YouTube are becoming more and more enticing with ultra-successful YouTubers earning upwards of 7 figures. Many have even opted for a full-time career making videos while pushing off college altogether. But is cashing in on a YouTube career the right choice for you?

What is a YouTube Career?

The YouTube platform started in 2005, allowing anyone to post their own videos and content. The platform has exploded since then with about 30 million daily visitors watching approximately 5 billion videos every day!

Considering there are over 50 million users putting content on YouTube, there are plenty of monetization opportunities that come with it. So it’s no surprise that a growing number of users are deciding to make a full-time or part-time career from it.

Photo by Christian Wiediger on Unsplash

Steps to Starting a YouTube Career

When starting your career as a YouTuber there are certain steps to help make sure you are successful at it.

1. Be Clear What Your Success Is

What are you looking to accomplish with your channel? Do you want to teach on a certain topic, do you want to chronicle your life, teach about the latest beauty products? What will success look like for you when you do that?

2. SEO is Your Friend

When it comes to presenting your content, it’s important to make sure it’s fresh and unique. By doing this you are taking care of some of the Search Engine Optimisation (SEO) work. The most valuable aspect of this work is in the metadata (the information and description section just below the video). For it to work best, all your keywords need to be in all the right places. For example: allow embedding on your videos so that your audience can easily share them with their friends. SEO can really help you get your message out to the widest possible audience.

3. The Competitors

There are some great benefits for taking note of what your competitors are doing in their videos. You can use it as a base line to figure what elements you like and would be excited to do in your own videos, and in what ways you’d want to be different and stand out from the crowd. Bring your own unique talents and quirks to the table to help you get noticed in the crowd.

4. Content is Key

Content is ultimately the whole point of YouTube. Make sure the content you are creating can add value to people’s lives.

5. Network

Get to know as many relevant people as possible, both online and in person. This will be great to help you interview or be interviewed by others, as both can drive a lot of traffic to your channel. Many successful YouTubers say brand promotion and collaborations are key to monetizing their YouTube channel, so don’t be scared to send out a few messages to people that would be relevant to pair up with.

6. Be Comfortable with Social Media

While it would be great to just post a video and walk away, you need to promote your content once it’s up. Get familiar with other social media platforms like Facebook and Instagram to help you promote your work. Think of your ideal audience member — who are they? How old are they? What do they like to do? Where do they hang out online? Then work on getting seen by them on multiple platforms, always linking back to your YouTube channel.

7. Pay to be Featured

In some cases, it can be a good idea to submit your videos you are confident people will like to YouTube’s “featured videos” section. It costs money, but the upside is that it’ll be seen by a lot of people in a short span of time. Once the video gets traction through this feature, organic traffic will follow.

8. Brand Yourself

Branding is king! Whether you are aware of it or not, we all have our own brands. Some are stronger than others. You need a solid brand identity that is recognizable and consistent through all your videos. The key is that it’s relevant to your niche. Your logo and your banner should be posted on all your social media profiles, to make sure your online presence is connected and recognizable.

9. Maintenance Takes Work

There is no end date or finish line with this career. Don’t think you can just set up your channel, upload a few videos, and let the money roll in. It’s always going to need some tweaking, re-working, and modifying to have long-term success. You get to set your goals as you move forward. As you go, continue to research keywords and build your content around them.

10. Patience, Patience, and More Patience

The secret to those that make it big on YouTube vs those that don’t is simple: Patience. At every step of this process, you should always remember that success won’t come to you overnight. You need to build it up over time. Many of the most successful YouTubers were posting videos for years before they started to become profitable.

For long-term success, focus on creating an arsenal of videos where you highlight your personality and people have the chance to really get to know you and understand exactly what you’re all about. Over time you’ll attract more people to your channel and they will become your loyal followers.

Photo by Gianandrea Villa on Unsplash

Things to Remember When You Start

If you decide that a career in YouTube is up your alley, then there are a few key things you need to remember when you’re getting started.

1. Audio is key

Your video can look great, but if people can’t hear you crisp and clear, no one will watch for very long. Invest in a solid microphone to ensure the best sound.

2. Consistency will pay off

Consistency with anything will help you become successful — and having a successful YouTube career is no different. If you set a certain day and time each week to upload a new video, your audience will be trained to check out your channel for that new content each week. Being sporadic with posting will be confusing and people may give up following you.

3. Give yourself time to find your style

Figuring out what you love to share and what will resonate with viewers takes time and practice. Don’t get frustrated if your first video doesn’t get much traction. It will take you some time to get comfortable and figure out your own style.

4. Just start

If there is one thing successful we can recommend, it’s that you just start! No time like the present to experiment with the kinds of videos you’d like to create.

Understand YouTube Money Making

There are several ways you can bring in money with your YouTube channel. One is having ads play on your videos. But the process to monetize your videos is not overnight. It takes time for you to reach at least 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 hours of your content being viewed. At that point, your account is under review. Once approved, you can add advertisements to your videos and receive payment for views and clicks.

Influencers can make from $150-200 per month. Some ultra-successful YouTubers make huge bucks. For example, Aja Dang has reported that she has brought in up to $30,000 a month, while other months she makes $0.

You Can Bring Value to People

Not everyone has access to the information and resources they need in person. There are 500 million educational videos on YouTube, many helping people perfect their resume, acquire new interview skills, or teach you how to get into certain industries for work. You can inspire and teach people all over the world with your videos.

A New Conversation: College vs a YouTube Career

Colleges around the United States are paying attention to Millennials’ and Gen Zs’ desire for careers in YouTube, and the number of universities offering video production and advertising has gone up. Some even offer pop-up classes with YouTube influencers. This is a great incentive for people who want a career on YouTube and want to attend college at the same time. Degrees from University of the People have all the flexibility to allow you to pursue your YouTube career, and are tuition-free and 100% online.

Conclusion

Whether you decide to go to college to prepare for a YouTube career or not, the best advice is to take action today. You never know where the path might lead you.