Five Common Fears When Starting A YouTube Channel…

Okay, so I still sound a teeny bit like a vintage steamroller – hence the lack of video this week – but that doesn’t mean I can’t blog about YouTube, right ladies? 😉

Actually I’ve been meaning to have a chatter about this topic for quite a few weeks now & today seems like the perfect opportunity to get started… so as most of you know, a few months ago I took a leap of faith in setting up my YouTube channel. Of course for some lively little beings out there this may seem a ridiculously easy thing to do but if you’re anything like me (a natural born worrier with more insecurities than you know what to do with) it ain’t an easy task at all. Nope, not one bit. However after biting the bullet, you lovely lot (along with my own friends & family) have been nothing but darn right supportive – in fact you’ve made it virtually pain free. Yet now the ball is rolling, I’m always amazed at how many others admit how much they would LOVE to set up their own channel but are just too frightened to take the plunge. Totally understandable, it’s a scary thing for many of us to embark upon but it would seem the same five excuses are brought up once too often… I reckon it’s time we tackled them together 😉

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Show me a human being who claims they’re not in the slightest bit concerned about being judged by others & I’ll show you a fibber. We all get the sweats about what others think or assume but more than likely it’ll be ourselves conjuring up the negative assumptions whilst others are just pretty darn impressed that you have the swingers to get out there and make a go of it. Do you honestly think the likes of Zoe Suggs & other huuuuge You-Tubers didn’t (or don’t) have the same hang-ups or anxieties? If we all let our minds run riot about worrying what others would think we’d probably never leave the house… c’mon, YOLO people!

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I’m pretty sure none of us were pre-programmed when we entered the world with the knowledge of how to create a ten minute video and upload it onto the internet – so calm down, you’re in very sympathetic company 😉 I for one am huuuuugely terrified of technology but thankfully there’s a whole tonne of easy peasy tutorials that talk you right through the fundamentals regardless of what device you’ll be using – pc, Mac, tablet etc. It’s all there right at your finger tips & it couldn’t be more simple. If you struggle with reading a tutorial then look one up on YouTube itself, you’ll find a whole community of super helpful folk out there who dedicate their entire channels to helping the likes of you & me get started!

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Wow, hold up! Are you launching a Television network or starting your own YouTube channel? Sure your favourite video stars may have their bedrooms kitted out with ring lamps, tripods & expensive DSLR’s gallore but how do you think they started? Just look up some of their first clips & you’ll more than likely see a very different set up to the one they have now. You don’t need to empty the contents of your bank account by any means – natural lighting, a camera phone & a computer is your 3 basic ingredients to get started. If you’d like to invest down the line (once you’re in the swing of things) then by all means go for it, but for now just get yourself out there. Practice makes perfect & you’re wasting precious time!

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Negativity in your self-belief is a massive confidence killer. However lets look at this from a different angle for a moment… if you’re expecting the rest of the world to love you for being utterly perfect then stop and think about the HUGE expectation YOU are putting on YOUR shoulders – no one else. Yes, we all have things we really dislike about ourselves whether it be shape, size, skin, voice – the list goes on. But you know what the awesome thing is? What you consider flaws makes the rest of us want to know you even more! Being able to relate to someone who’s not perfect is much more fun than sitting listening to someone who thinks they are. Take these gorgeous bunch of awesome YouTubers as an example:

Meet Em, from the channel My Pale Skin. This gal is adored by thousands for her ability to help encourage so many others who suffer from acne problems. Don’t get me wrong she’s had her fair share of negativity but knowing that she’s inspiring & helping so many others is undoubtedly what’s keeping Em creating the amazing videos she loves sharing with all of her *almost* 200’000 followers.

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This is Lizzie Velasaquez, she’s one of those people who just literally fill up a room (or computer screen) with her infectious personality. Even with battling her incredibly rare & physically affective illness she just oozes positivity, motivation, encouragement & fun. Most of all she’s adored by over 350K loyal subscribers worldwide – me being one of them!

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Finally this is Bunny. Yes *thee* one and only Grav3yard Girl. Although Bunny doesn’t battle acne issues like Em or have a rare illness like Lizzie; Bunny still shares one common attribute – she’s embraced for being herself. Her ability to chatter away in front of a camera with (more than often) a make-up free face, sipping on iced Tea & making the rest of us chortle at her shenanigans is just utterly addictive. People adore her because she’s relatable, not because she’s perfect.

Are we seeing a pattern here peeps? Being imperfect is the new perfect gals 😉

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There’s that pesky word again ‘perfect’ it should be held accountable for causing 90% of the self-belief issues we battle. Starting off on YouTube (like anything new) is a learning curve, we’re all on it, we’re all here to get better at it *fingers firmly crossed* but without actually DOING it we’ll never give ourselves the chance to practice getting better. Always remember YOU control whatever YOU put out there. Just because you’ve rambled for 10 minutes at your iPhone doesn’t mean you have to upload it. If it isn’t right, delete & start again – just don’t get too obsessed with it being ‘perfect’… most of us much prefer to watch someone we can relate to rather than someone who we can’t!

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There you have it, my suggestions on tackling five of the most common excuses to keeping  you from starting your very own own YouTube channel. You’ve nothing to lose, just a heap of subscribers to gain. So dust off those insecurities and get filming.

Do you have a YouTube channel you’d like us to check out & subscribe to? If so, do feel free to leave the link in the comments below so we can take a quick peek 🙂 Otherwise do say a quick hello if you’ve stopped by for a read!

Don’t forget you can also check out my channel by clicking on this handy-dandy little link below:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCwM3ZfCiQuq-65OGMKYuZ6Q

Cheerio chums…