KayJee
Member
Hello everyone, it's been quite a while since I've been on YT Talk and that's for many reasons but now that I'm back this is something that I've thought about writing for a little bit. This is a guide for all you new YouTubers who cannot wait to start their brand new channel. There are countless guides on how to start on YouTube, talking about what things you'll need, software and hardware. Things to think about like schedules, interacting with your audience, etc, etc. If you're planning on starting you should probably still read these guides as they're extremely helpful and useful, but I want to talk about something that does not seem to be mentioned so often about YouTube. What I referred to in the tittle as the "darker side" or the "shadowed part" of YouTube. This might be long but I think it's very important to think about these things as well IF you're going to take this very seriously. YouTube is no joke anymore - for a long time now. YouTube is a very serious platform that has been the start of many huge, successful networks, companies, personalities, etc. So...here we go.
BEFORE YOU GO ON I have to mention that I do not even have a YouTube channel - and I haven't started yet partly because of the reasons written below but I am planning on perhaps starting one in the future...these are things I feel like I know because of observing other channels and many other guides, etc.
- Alright, the thing is, when people start on YouTube, they start with a plan in mind. They're hoping to do a few daily or weekly videos for months or even years before reaching a huge milestone like 10k, 100k, or 1mil subscribers. Every day they'll think about what video to post next, new ideas for stuff to showcase, etc. However, there are things that many don't foresee but cannot be neglected because they're really important. That is that once you reach that huge amount of subscribers...you get to this point where, you're "locked" for lack of a better word. You're "locked" in the sense that you can no longer change things on your channel with such ease. If you get a new idea for a new format or a brand new series and want to get rid of an old one - people could get really mad because thousands or millions of them are used to something they liked and they don't want you to change it, even if you're bored and want to try something else. It could also be good for you, of course, but this thread will focus on the negatives.When people get mad, you might not only lose subscribers and gain a big amount of dislikes and negative publicity, but also - the comments can get really tough to read. It's no news that YouTube commenters are an absolute mess sometimes. It can get really awful and offensive and if you're someone who loves interacting with the audience and regularly reads comments, there will be those comments that make you want to shut down your PC and just stop all of this.
Basically, once you start reaching those big numbers, you start losing a little bit of your freedom on YouTube because you have a large audience that you have to cater to and not meeting their demands can be very bad for the channel. If you're someone who can handle that - who is aware of this and who can take care of these situations easily, as well as someone who doesn't get easily affect by YouTube comments...this isn't a huge deal.
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- Secondly - let's focus on the financial part. If you're planning on becoming a huge channel that gets income from not only YouTube ads but also sponsors and collabs and things like that - you gotta think of a few things. I have to say that I haven't ever dealt with this so I cannot go in depth but I know a little. You gotta know how to handle and manage all the revenue. The AdSense needs to be taken care of, you gotta reach out to sponsors, preferably ones you like and appreciate either way and you gotta find out a way to effectively advertise them, in a way that also doesn't annoy too many people (because people will always get angry when you're sponsored for some reason...even if the content and the video and the person does not change one bit...). Then there's taxes for any large enough channels. Once again - can't go into detail but know that it's not all as simple as clicking and getting a ton of money from a video. There are things to manage, to be aware of, to be careful for.
So - if you're someone aware of all these things, ready to manage this well and effectively, or perhaps someone who's already worked with this in the past...great, you got this.
- Now finally - the draining. YouTube can be very draining physically and emotionally when you reach a big fan base. Schedules can get really messy or full and in the end you realise how little time you have to do other things because if you miss so much as a single video on a day, people lose it. When people start losing it they lash out and direct their anger towards the YouTuber a lot of the time and if you are not the sort of person that can handle that - this could probably be the biggest issue on YouTube for you - should you ever reach a large number of subs. Apart from regular schedules there are certain events that you might want to cover, or to go to. These can sometimes mess with the regular schedule and/or personal plans but sometimes it's necessary or sometimes it's not, but it's recommended to attend these. Then there's some people that, after a long time cannot deal with the repetitiveness and decide that perhaps it's time to take a long break or even quit YouTube. Now - taking a long break with no content can definitely hurt your channel but quitting, once you've reached a huge fan base, somethings like 1+ million subs can also be really bad. You'd think once there's no more channel people would leave you alone but there's social media. Twitter, Facebook pages, or anything else where you might have had a presence...people could hunt you. They could attack you because they're mad, because they don't even know how to react so they do stupid things...and this can get to you, even after the channel is gone.
There might be - and probably is much more think about when it comes to things like these on YouTube but this is all I have to write about. Bear in mind that this won't necessarily happen!! This isn't meant to scare off possible new YouTubers.
Someone could easily have a great fan base with people that respect and admire the YouTuber, meaning the things written above might not happen. Be that as it may - you need to be aware that these are possibilities, large bumps further down the road...things that many overlook until it hits them...
So, to conclude - if you were or are now aware of all of this but you're still ready, still eager to start or confident that you will do everything right - best of luck to you!
I wish nothing but goodness to you and your channel and your future and everything! 
That is all...
- KayJee
BEFORE YOU GO ON I have to mention that I do not even have a YouTube channel - and I haven't started yet partly because of the reasons written below but I am planning on perhaps starting one in the future...these are things I feel like I know because of observing other channels and many other guides, etc.
- Alright, the thing is, when people start on YouTube, they start with a plan in mind. They're hoping to do a few daily or weekly videos for months or even years before reaching a huge milestone like 10k, 100k, or 1mil subscribers. Every day they'll think about what video to post next, new ideas for stuff to showcase, etc. However, there are things that many don't foresee but cannot be neglected because they're really important. That is that once you reach that huge amount of subscribers...you get to this point where, you're "locked" for lack of a better word. You're "locked" in the sense that you can no longer change things on your channel with such ease. If you get a new idea for a new format or a brand new series and want to get rid of an old one - people could get really mad because thousands or millions of them are used to something they liked and they don't want you to change it, even if you're bored and want to try something else. It could also be good for you, of course, but this thread will focus on the negatives.When people get mad, you might not only lose subscribers and gain a big amount of dislikes and negative publicity, but also - the comments can get really tough to read. It's no news that YouTube commenters are an absolute mess sometimes. It can get really awful and offensive and if you're someone who loves interacting with the audience and regularly reads comments, there will be those comments that make you want to shut down your PC and just stop all of this.
Basically, once you start reaching those big numbers, you start losing a little bit of your freedom on YouTube because you have a large audience that you have to cater to and not meeting their demands can be very bad for the channel. If you're someone who can handle that - who is aware of this and who can take care of these situations easily, as well as someone who doesn't get easily affect by YouTube comments...this isn't a huge deal.
[/SIZE]
- Secondly - let's focus on the financial part. If you're planning on becoming a huge channel that gets income from not only YouTube ads but also sponsors and collabs and things like that - you gotta think of a few things. I have to say that I haven't ever dealt with this so I cannot go in depth but I know a little. You gotta know how to handle and manage all the revenue. The AdSense needs to be taken care of, you gotta reach out to sponsors, preferably ones you like and appreciate either way and you gotta find out a way to effectively advertise them, in a way that also doesn't annoy too many people (because people will always get angry when you're sponsored for some reason...even if the content and the video and the person does not change one bit...). Then there's taxes for any large enough channels. Once again - can't go into detail but know that it's not all as simple as clicking and getting a ton of money from a video. There are things to manage, to be aware of, to be careful for.
So - if you're someone aware of all these things, ready to manage this well and effectively, or perhaps someone who's already worked with this in the past...great, you got this.
- Now finally - the draining. YouTube can be very draining physically and emotionally when you reach a big fan base. Schedules can get really messy or full and in the end you realise how little time you have to do other things because if you miss so much as a single video on a day, people lose it. When people start losing it they lash out and direct their anger towards the YouTuber a lot of the time and if you are not the sort of person that can handle that - this could probably be the biggest issue on YouTube for you - should you ever reach a large number of subs. Apart from regular schedules there are certain events that you might want to cover, or to go to. These can sometimes mess with the regular schedule and/or personal plans but sometimes it's necessary or sometimes it's not, but it's recommended to attend these. Then there's some people that, after a long time cannot deal with the repetitiveness and decide that perhaps it's time to take a long break or even quit YouTube. Now - taking a long break with no content can definitely hurt your channel but quitting, once you've reached a huge fan base, somethings like 1+ million subs can also be really bad. You'd think once there's no more channel people would leave you alone but there's social media. Twitter, Facebook pages, or anything else where you might have had a presence...people could hunt you. They could attack you because they're mad, because they don't even know how to react so they do stupid things...and this can get to you, even after the channel is gone.
There might be - and probably is much more think about when it comes to things like these on YouTube but this is all I have to write about. Bear in mind that this won't necessarily happen!! This isn't meant to scare off possible new YouTubers.
Someone could easily have a great fan base with people that respect and admire the YouTuber, meaning the things written above might not happen. Be that as it may - you need to be aware that these are possibilities, large bumps further down the road...things that many overlook until it hits them...So, to conclude - if you were or are now aware of all of this but you're still ready, still eager to start or confident that you will do everything right - best of luck to you!
I wish nothing but goodness to you and your channel and your future and everything! That is all...- KayJee
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