Everyone is uploading video these days. The cost of camera equipment and the availability of high bandwidth connections makes it easy and cheap to create quality videos for posting online. Even webcams now have significantly better video quality than just a few years ago. So with all these videos being uploaded, how are some uploaders standing out from the crowd? Better yet, how are some of those people earning six figure incomes from uploading their videos?
This post, Thousands Of YouTube Channels Now Making 6-Figures On Advertising Revenue Alone, has some interesting statistics regarding the fact that there is an increasing number of people joining this $100,000+ a year group.
1. Theme – While some channels may appear to be just random videos, deep down they have a central theme. It may specifically be to focus on random humor, but know that there is still a central them. Having a theme for your channel videos gives you a focal point for the videos you create. Take Boyce Avenue for instance. Their theme is acoustic song performances. Ray William Johnson has several million subscribers and his videos focus on random humor. His theme though is more evident in how he maintains a consistent video presentation approach.
2. Set a schedule – Starting out, you may wish to spread your uploads out a bit while getting your feet wet. Even if you choose to only upload a new video every two weeks at first, make sure you stick to that schedule. Mark your calendar. Say when the video is going to be uploaded and mark any dates where you need to have work completed on parts of it. If you can, try to set aside a few minutes a day to work on everything. Even when you’re not shooting videos, you need to be thinking of new video ideas or working on editing your new video to get it ready to upload. At the least do something to help promote your channel each day.
3. Don’t get discouraged – This isn’t going to be one of those “overnight success” stories. The people making $100,000/yr doing this worked for a while to get to that point. You’re going to have to do the same. Also, don’t feed the trolls. Regardless of how many people like your videos, you’re going to have dislikes and negative comments. Don’t take it personal and fight back. You’ll only fan the flames and make yourself look bad.
4. Enjoy what you do – Becoming successful on Youtube is going to take a lot of work and patience. If you don’t enjoy what you’re doing for the videos, it will show and your efforts will suffer. Make sure you’re doing something you are passionate about for the videos.
5. Socialize – No I don’t mean call each and every person who views your videos. Social media sites are now some of the best advertising avenues available. Hit up Facebook and Twitter to announce whenever you post a new video. Head over to Digg and post about the video. If your videos are about a specific topic, go to forums about that topic and post links to your videos. Send friendly emails to blogs about the same topic and see if they will write a post about the video.
Overall, be creative in every aspect of your videos. After all, you’re being creative in the music your write and perform. Think of unusual ways to approach a topic or promote a video. In the end, your perseverance will pay off the most.