- Joined
- Jun 28, 2016
- Messages
- 137
- Reaction score
- 40
- Channel Type
- Vlogger
I wanted to make this post, to give back to some of the newer vloggers on here as I have found this forum quite useful in learning about Youtube. I've been travel vlogging for 10 months now, and my channel has been performing very well in the last 2-3. I’ve tripled in views + subs. I think something “clicked” and I want to discuss it with my friends here. This piece of advice, in my opinion is more valuable than SEO, click bait thumbnail photos, and drone shots combined. If you are doing this in your videos, I think sooner or later your viewers/subscriber base will pop (of course polishing up your SEO/thumbnails and shots will certainly boost the process).. But what is that missing link?
It all comes back to something a friend told me some time ago after watching one of my first 10 or so videos.. “Where’s the Jon I know? The funny one.. The character. “ And I didn’t truly digest the meaning of that critique until the other day, although I subliminally adjusted to it. What is the one thing all big time vloggers have in common? They’re authentic and relatable.. Watch Casey Neistat, watch Fun For Louis, watch any of the bigger people in this group. I think if I met any of them in person, they would be exactly the same way off-camera as on-camera. They’re authentic. They’re quirky. They’re true to themselves. You know what to expect in their videos. They have a style, a “voice”. When I ditched my broadcasting persona and just started being myself, that’s when my views and more importantly subscriber numbers started getting boosted.
I’ve watched so many travel vlogging channels. I see the same things over and over again (not all of course). Vloggers more concerned with edits/drones and cool image.. But when they’re on camera, they’re holding back and afraid to show their viewers their true selves. They’re generic. It’s the same vlog made, by the same Youtuber, about the same place. On the flip side, some people try true hard and get a little to “polished” which I think works far better on television then on Youtube, a medium where people want raw and authentic (although we could debate this). I was quite guilty of the latter in probably the first 25-30% of my vlogs. So what did I change.. I started including more random things in my videos, things I found amusing.. Mistakes I made. Bloopers. I talked to the camera as a friend, not a big audience member. Isn’t that what a subscriber is, just a friend you don’t know yet? If they like you enough to subscribe, you could probably be friends in real life. I made the camera my eyes and showed what I found interesting. I’m also not afraid to show my goofy, quirky, clumsy, dorky side. I’m obsessed with trying to find ways to save money and to avoid tourist traps. That’s who I am and what I like to show in videos.
So let me ask you this question.. If your best friends watched your last vlog.. Would they see you or somebody else? I hope this doesn’t seem to much of a rant, just some thoughts that recently came together. It may or may not apply to you, but this is the biggest piece of advice I would give a new travel vlogger. Because remember, they will come to your video for information about a place, but they will stay because of you. Be as authentic and true to yourself as you can. Your audience can tell. Hope this helps at least one of you!
It all comes back to something a friend told me some time ago after watching one of my first 10 or so videos.. “Where’s the Jon I know? The funny one.. The character. “ And I didn’t truly digest the meaning of that critique until the other day, although I subliminally adjusted to it. What is the one thing all big time vloggers have in common? They’re authentic and relatable.. Watch Casey Neistat, watch Fun For Louis, watch any of the bigger people in this group. I think if I met any of them in person, they would be exactly the same way off-camera as on-camera. They’re authentic. They’re quirky. They’re true to themselves. You know what to expect in their videos. They have a style, a “voice”. When I ditched my broadcasting persona and just started being myself, that’s when my views and more importantly subscriber numbers started getting boosted.
I’ve watched so many travel vlogging channels. I see the same things over and over again (not all of course). Vloggers more concerned with edits/drones and cool image.. But when they’re on camera, they’re holding back and afraid to show their viewers their true selves. They’re generic. It’s the same vlog made, by the same Youtuber, about the same place. On the flip side, some people try true hard and get a little to “polished” which I think works far better on television then on Youtube, a medium where people want raw and authentic (although we could debate this). I was quite guilty of the latter in probably the first 25-30% of my vlogs. So what did I change.. I started including more random things in my videos, things I found amusing.. Mistakes I made. Bloopers. I talked to the camera as a friend, not a big audience member. Isn’t that what a subscriber is, just a friend you don’t know yet? If they like you enough to subscribe, you could probably be friends in real life. I made the camera my eyes and showed what I found interesting. I’m also not afraid to show my goofy, quirky, clumsy, dorky side. I’m obsessed with trying to find ways to save money and to avoid tourist traps. That’s who I am and what I like to show in videos.
So let me ask you this question.. If your best friends watched your last vlog.. Would they see you or somebody else? I hope this doesn’t seem to much of a rant, just some thoughts that recently came together. It may or may not apply to you, but this is the biggest piece of advice I would give a new travel vlogger. Because remember, they will come to your video for information about a place, but they will stay because of you. Be as authentic and true to yourself as you can. Your audience can tell. Hope this helps at least one of you!
