How to Become a YouTube Influencer | 8 Effective Steps to Kickstart!

Holaa friends!!!

This is your much lovedd friend, Sasha.

For those who don’t know me yet, I’m, 17 years young, a social media influencer. I had started my journey like you, rummaging through the internet, searching for ways to grow my channel, earn from it and gain popularity.
Today, after lots of ~hard~ smart work, consistency, and interaction, I’ve reached a point where I can call myself an influencer.
Though there’s still much to do for me, meanwhile, in the process, I make sure to help my pals understand the tit-bits of the creators’ community and kickstart their journey into becoming an influencer.

Nowadays there’s lots of traction around YouTube. This is due to the growing popularity of long-form video content. People prefer long videos to 30-60 second reels most of the time. This is because a 60-second reel cannot incorporate everything. It either becomes too factual or uninformative; one cannot have a balance of fun and fact. 

Given YouTube’s popularity, people are finding ways to become successful YouTubers. 

But while researching ways, many get on the incorrect ways. 

And this is what restrains them from success. 

It is more vital to know and go with the right ways to grow yourself as a youtube influencer and your youtube channel than you think. 

Getting stuck on the wrong way has tons of disadvantages that fuel your downfall. 

For you to avoid making these mistakes and to help you grow, I’ll be sharing snippets of my story that helped me become a youtube influencer. 

I remember my friends and me sitting at my house watching Comicstaan on my TV. 

Nikhil and I have always been interested in stand-ups. Sana, Lee, Vicky, not so much.

I started by watching everyone’s stand-up videos on youtube. Youtube was my go-to destination for make-up guides, stand-ups, and keeping track of things happening in and around the entertainment industry. 

I follow all content creators across all social media channels and force my friends to do so too. 

Growing up, I knew, I wanted to do something in the entertainment industry. I loved watching films and reviewing them, make-up, stand-up, and other such content related to the content and entertainment industry. 

But I also knew that there’s a lot of competition in the content creation industry. 

I long wanted to start a page of mine where I would post videos and other stuff but never really got the motivation as I could not think of anything to get started with. 

But, this day, while watching a great set from Biswa Rath, the feeling of doing something about the dream I kept crafting struck me hard. 

I love Biswa’s sense of humor and the way he delivers in every set.

And I also loved how Chloe Edav reviews movies  

I wanted to do something similar to these guys. 

So, that very day, after finishing watching Biswa’s set, I marched up to Sana, my bestest friend among my other best friends, and told her I’m starting a youtube channel. 

Her hand coming down in slo-mo holding a half-eaten apple with eyes wide open and a bigg question mark on her face was her first reaction. My eyes followed her movements as I hoped to get confirmation from her. 

And after a few minutes of self-actualization, Sana finally responded with an “Oh, Okay”

😒

I took that as an affirmation anyways and told the entire clan about my plan. 

Lee was overly excited about my plan, as he is always and for everything. 

Others were happy and excited as they are always.

After publicizing my master plan, the only thing left was for me to decide what to do and how to do it. 

Because what to do is a more personal question and wholly depends on my interest and I had absolutely no idea of what I would do. 

So, I took my laptop, opened Google, and searched “How to Become a Youtube Influencer?”

1,00,000+ results, I started crying then and there😭

Why can’t one get proper results in one place?

I had a hard time getting through all the jargon. 

But I’ll make sure you don’t have to go through this hell.

After surfing the internet for days and doing my own research, I finally found the courage to Create my YouTube Account. I had a hard time thinking of a good name. 

Many keep a fancy name for their account but one also needs to make sure that the name is easy to remember and speak so that the audience can easily grasp and remember it.

I named my youtube channel “Shantertainment.” Perks? It had the sound of my name and my motive too!

The first thing I had to decide on was “What I Wanted to do on YouTube.”

And I was lucky I already knew it. 

Defining your identity is of utmost importance on the platform. 

Like, if you don’t know what you’re going to do on the platform, then what is the whole point?

So, start with knowing what you want to do. 

I was aware of my goal on YouTube. 

I knew what I wanted to achieve through my channel. 

It was simple, KEEP PEOPLE ENTERTAINED. 

I went forth with the digital content creator theme.

Before publishing my first videos I had to first sit and brainstorm ideas and create a content calendar to make sure everything goes smoothly once I get started with the business. 

And for this, I obviously took the help of my gang. 

Nikhil and Vicky sat with confused faces. 

Lee and Sana, being over-excited as always were voicing every idea coming to their minds. 

At a point, I got confused. 

After listening to my group’s ideas, or should I say only Lee and Sana’s ideas, I did a bit of research on the internet too. 

Surfed through already established and in-the-process of becoming youtube influencer channels. Got a bit of idea about the industry and what I can incorporate into my channel. 

After deciding on the ideas, which took a considerable amount of time given my indecisive ability, I moved on to creating a content calendar. 

Having a schedule ready helps you plan all your events effortlessly and keeps you organized. 

Five boxes checked on the list (hush emoji)

Now I had to decide on the equipment I’d use. If you’re making professional videos, you need the right equipment. You have to care about the quality of your videos, the flow, editing, and all other stuff. 

When I first researched what all equipment I’ll be needing for my channel, I was bowled over. 

Looking at the exorbitant prices of all tools I immediately went bankrupt in my thoughts. 

A feeling of worry engulfed me.  

How would I run a channel without the right equipment?

I took a break and resumed my research after a few hours.

This time I took the help of youtube to excel youtube. 

I watched a few youtube videos related to the equipment required. And they were a lifesaver!

I found out that you don’t need all equipment to get started. You can commence with a few but the right ones. And that not all are expensive. 

To start with, I got minimal equipment. 

A camera with focus shift features and high resolution which works great in night light, and a few video editing software. You need to make sure you get good editing software and good lights. 

A PC or a laptop, which most of us have these days. 

And just in case I drop my camera in a pool, I also got a tripod so that I cant continue shooting without any disturbance. 

You can get the basic stuff first, there’s no need to invest in expensive gadgets at the start. 

Then as and when required, you can replace or buy new equipment according to your need. 

Now that I had the equipment, and the topic for my first video ready, I began with the setup. 

My first YouTube video was a basic introduction of me, where I live, what I do, the people I’m around, and stuff like this. 

So, for this, I started from my house, introducing myself, my family, showing (off) my house, then my school, my friends, and all the other things I usually do and places I go to. 

I shot this video in chunks and then later edited it. 

Being a newbie, it almost took me half a day, that too, all thanks to my friends who helped me throughout. 

Now that my video was ready to be published, 

Before publishing my youtube video, I made sure I used the right hashtags and wrote an SEO-friendly description to get more reach. 

And I FINALLY published my FIRST video on YouTube! Kudos to me!😁

🎉🎉🎉

Now next step was to optimize the youtube channel. 

I already had filled mine about section which was fully optimized. 

I first quickly filled in the about section of my channel. 

I made sure I’m creative and SEO-friendly on this part and explain my work neatly. 

Then I, along with Lee decided on an aesthetic theme for my youtube channel that viewers find welcoming. Next up was the profile picture. 

I chose an icon as a picture that demonstrated me and my channel. 

You can take the help of a graphic designer to work on the icon and theme or can do it yourself with editing tools. 

You may also want to add a button to your channel or other videos from your channel at the end of your videos to redirect people to your channel and subscribe to it. 

While creating your channel, or optimizing it, you don’t necessarily have to be fancy. You can choose simple designs and minimal colors; anything that suits you and your niche. 

When my channel was set I made sure to reply to all comments I got on the video. 

I also promoted it on my other social media channels. 

I also asked for feedback from everyone about the video. 

Engaging with the audience is the most prominent part of any digital creator.

 It helps you get more subscribers, positive comments (not always tho), and promotions too. 

Engaging with the audience keeps you connected to them and makes them feel special too.

After posting a few videos, it was time to evaluate my youtube channel. 

Evaluation is simply analyzing how well your channel is doing. 

YouTube’s analytics will show you the number of likes, comments, and reach your video is getting. 

Through this, you can determine what kind of videos work well for your channel.

For this, you will need to post different kinds of videos. 

The difference can be based on the duration of the video, the flow of content in the video, the graphics, theme, and sound you use, and other such technical stuff. 

You can experiment and decide on which fits the best.

I wanted to partner with brands through my channel. 

It is another way of growing your channel and making it popular. 

So, I had to audit the social standing of my youtube channel. Understand how many loyal viewers you have. Brands these days do not always want big and established influencers, they are looking for micro-influencers with a loyal viewer base. 

I proved my level of influence to brands while pitching them through the engagement rate, conversation rate, demographic data, and other relevant analytics of my channel.

So, if you wish to work with brands, then make sure you record and track these statics.

Now that I had audited my social standing, I needed to identify the brands I wanted to work with.  

By the way, brand collaborations are not the only way to earn money from YouTube. There are several other ways which I’ll tell you guys in the next story 😉

I found brands that align with my niche, goals, and values. 

And then sorted the list with the ones I wanted to work the most with. 

It was pretty simple for me.

After making lists and sorting them, it was time to approach the brands and create partnerships. 

Convince them why they should collaborate with you. 

You can either do it by directly reaching out to brands or indirectly attracting them by giving shoutouts or linking their products in your videos.

If you are struggling to get bigger brands to collaborate with you, you may first go for smaller brands and then switch to bigger ones eventually. 

I did not immediately get collaboration offers, it takes time. But the wait was worth it!

Lee and Sana use all the goodies I get 😒 But I make sure the products are safe till I’m done with shooting the video. 

These were the steps I followed to create, optimize and popularize my youtube channel. 

I have explained these to you in as simple language as possible.

Much love from me and my clan!💖