Advice on Youtube Investing

B

BornAndRaised

Active Member
I'm a new Youtuber and I'm looking for advice on how much I should invest at first (in cameras, microphones, editing programs, etc). I record gaming content on my laptop and Xbox One. I also record myself when talking about sporting updates (San Diego Chargers and Padres). I commentate over my gaming content and currently just use my laptop, which is not the best quality.

I only have 3 subscribers but I am very committed and have been posting videos almost daily for about a week and a half. I have purchased a cheaper microphone to record my commentary with and was debating whether or not to invest in a more expensive/higher quality one. Also, a new HD camera would probably help, but is it too soon for these things? I don't want to spend $500+ to impress the few people that subscribe to me and watch my videos. Should I wait until I get a decent sized audience?

At what point would you suggest upgrading all my equipment?

Thanks for your advice.

/channel/UCcxJTCPdhf2b6zIszCG6ZuQ
 
Overall, I think that you should wait. You're a fairly new channel and should wait a little bit before spending money into YouTube right away. You might find that you don't like doing it and regret the money that you've spent thus far. But, my advice for when you do decide to buy some stuff for a gaming channel:

1. Good quality mic (you got this)
2. Facecam (laptop cam is fine)
3. Editing software

That's all you're really going to need for now. Eventually you will want a good editing computer and the "good stuff", but you don't need it right now. Also, learn to use whatever editing software you choose really well. IMO editing can make a "regular" gaming video into something much better! :D
 
First impressions are huge. If your video / audio quality is not up to snuff no one is going to want to watch your videos from the get go. So that initial "investment" is a necessary one to gain returning viewers.

That investment is one you are going to loose your a** on (at least initially). I am personally in the hole for over 2.5k at this point. But I like what I do, it's a great hobby. And the computer I edit on is also my gaming rig so that was a win win situation.

So my opinion is; If you have the dough, go ahead and buy a nice dedicated 1080p HD camera. It'll do fine for the years to come. 4k is a gimmick at this point. Some internet connections can't even stream it without a hiccup, and a lot of hardware is not up to the task of even watching it.
 
If you truly can't afford it, then don't buy the stuff. As for making money on your investment, I would not count on it. It's going to be a long while before you make anything back. If you do buy something, try to find something that might have multiple uses. For a camera, I bought a GoPro camera. It's pretty versatile and I get more use out of time from non-YouTube stuff than from actual YouTube videos.

I think you're better off working on content and delivery. I think people will be forgiving of the picture quality as long as you're entertaining. Audio on the other hand needs to be good.

Not an easy question. There are going to be a lot of different philosophies on how to approach this and this is no truly wrong answer.
 
Advice on YouTube investing? I hate to be that guy but my advice would be not to consider it investing since that would mean you would expect a return on your investment. If you can afford some of the items you wan't, go for it. If it is outside of your current budget I would probably hold off on any large purchases that you might regret later.
 
I was kinda in the same boat as you but I've decided to go ahead and invest a little bit. Still trying to not go overboard but I'll do it little by little!
 
Right now since you're still new first impressions are a major! You may not necessarily need an amazing camera, but find other ways to impress your viewers. This could be by creating interesting thumbnails or being entertaining in your comments on camera. Personally each time I reach a new milestone that is when I invest in one new purchase.
 
Thanks for all the replies! I'm gonna take all of your advice into consideration. I think I will stick with what I have now, at least until my channel starts to grow on it's own. iPhone cameras seem to take good enough videos for now, and I have a recording microphone on the way, so I am good to go on that. I currently have Microsoft Expression Encoder 4 and Windows Movie Maker to edit. Not the best by any means but it gets the job done, for now.

I appreciate all the kind words and the fact that you all put time and effort into your replies. You all earned a new subscriber. :)
 
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