With the advent of YouTube, now more than ever it’s possible for anyone to gain a following on the internet with their own videos. Vlogging, which is the conjunction of video-blogging, is one of the most popular types of content put out.
If you watch some of these people on YouTube who have become big, you might wonder how exactly they got to where they are. What exactly does vlogging entail? Is it something that would be possible for you to do?
Many vloggers nowadays practice a lot of similar techniques in order for them to gain their following. While it may be unrealistic to seek to obtain millions of followers, especially with the saturation of videos already being put up on YouTube every day, it’s entirely possible to gain a substantial following with some work.
What Is Vlogging?
You can think of vlogging as exactly what the name implies; a video version of a blog. A lot of vlogging consists of showing viewers what you do during your day, such as the places you go, people you see, even what food you eat.
You might think people who vlog must have to have a super interesting or lavish life for people to want to watch. In reality, though, people vlog about a multitude of different activities that they may enjoy or be an expert in. There are so many different types of vloggers that there’s no limit to what can be done.
For example, if you’re into hiking or camping, there are lots of people who make videos about their hikes and where they go. Or, if fashion is your thing, there’s tons of vloggers who take their camera shopping, thrifting, and putting outfits together. Basically, if you have an interest or hobby, you can vlog about it.
Becoming a Successful Vlogger
If you think you have something you could vlog about, the next step is actually putting it into action. Getting started is easy enough, as long as you have a device you can record with, a computer, and internet connection.
The more difficult part is understanding how to build your channel so your videos actually get watched.
Make Videos Consistently
If you want to have a lot of loyal viewers and gain subscribers, it’s important to make a habit of uploading videos as often as possible. The more content there is for people to watch, the more likely they are to keep watching with each upload.
To make sure you keep having videos to put out, it’s a good idea to have ideas of what to tape beforehand, and a backlog of videos you can post in the future if possible.
Include Your Viewers
Another way to get increased view counts on videos is to try to interact with the people viewing your videos. When you make videos, ask people to comment with their opinions or ask them questions, and reply to these. This will help to engage your viewers, possibly producing more in the long-term.
Use Social Media To Your Advantage
Most vloggers also use platforms such as Instagram or Twitter to interact with their viewers and increase their following. It’s also a super easy way to get the word out about your channel. Following and commenting on others’ profiles is a good way to start getting people to notice yours, which in turn could lead to them watching your video.
Make sure your channel is linked to your profiles on social media and vice versa, so that it’s easy for people to find them.
Personalize Your Channel
Another thing you can do that will help attract new viewers and subscribers is to make your channel unique and express yourself through it. Adding a profile picture, banner, and making playlists of your videos all helps.
It also helps a lot to have a consistent style of editing, as well as a short intro and outro that will help people remember you. Make sure you don’t overdo these things, though, as it may take away from the actual content of your video.
Is Vlogging Right For You?
If you’re trying to decide whether or not it’s worth it to start venturing into the vlogging world, you may want to look at your motivations as well as your current lifestyle. While it’s relatively easy to start a vlogging channel, if you want to see it become successful, it will likely take a lot of time and effort.
If you are working and commit a lot of time to a job, you might find it difficult to juggle both your channel and your job. Depending on how much reach you want your channel to get, vlogging can really become like a full-time job in itself. Especially because you’re likely going to be doing all the video taking, planning, and editing yourself.
On the flip side, if you just want to vlog more for fun or just to see where it goes, you can certainly be much more lax about running your channel. Nowadays you just can’t expect videos to get lots of views out of nowhere, for most people it takes a good deal of work. This is because so many people are trying to do the same thing, and there are so many channels out there now that it’s hard to stand out unless you put a substantial amount of extra work in.
Don’t be discouraged, though. If you are providing original and unique content, and genuinely enjoy making vlog videos about a certain topic, the authenticity should shine through and that in itself can go extremely far in getting you a solid following.
