How To Start Vlogging On YouTube? All You Need To Know About

Written By Ryan Mills

how to start vlogging

The craze of vlogging is spreading like a forest fire, and everyone wants to become a vlogger. And why not? There are a vast number of audiences who are willing to see the lives of different people and hence giving vlogging hype.

And, we even agree that something is appealing about someone else’s life that we are inclined to watch the vlogs of different people.

Because of such intense hype, celebrities and people from a range of specters have started their vlogs unfolding their personal lives and have made vlogging a more popular aspect of social media.

Vlogging has become quite popular in the past few years, and many people and content creators are wishing to start vlogging channels on YouTube.

Even newcomers, who are joining this field of digital content creation, are preferring vlogging over other forms of digital content. But how to start vlogging on YouTube? Anyone can do vlogging, but some steps are needed to be followed.

The first step is to choose the perfect platform for your vlogs. We recommend you opt for YouTube, which will allow you to learn and improve during your journey of vlogging.

Moreover, we can guess by your presence here that you are among those who are awe-struck by the ever-growing fan base of vloggers and want to be part of the vlogging community. We are here to help you out and give you a jump start towards vlogging!

What Is Vlogging?

According to the experienced people, we have found out that before going into a new area or field, you have to have proper knowledge about that field, about what is done there, and about what is required by you to do to excel there.

So, we thought of giving you an overview of vlogging before you have a kick start of your vlogging career. 

What is vlogging?  First of all, the name vlog was generated from the ‘video blog’ or from ‘video log,’ which was shortened to vlog.

In short, it is considered as a form of a blog, but the medium through which it is presented to the audience is video.

Well, you can even embed images and text within it as well, but, is mostly in video format.

Lastly, in vlogging, the person captures his or her daily life inside a camera so that he can share his life experience with his or her viewers.

youtube vlogging thumbnail

History Of Vlogging!

You will be amazed to know that vlogging got its fame in 2004. Despite the early popularity and traction of vlogging, vlogs mostly were restricted to individual sites of creators, and they were distributed widely through emails.

But with the advancements in technology, vlogs had a massive jump towards YouTube, and the trend of vlogging got a boost.

Let us provide some facts to prove this!

In 2016, there were approximately 700 million digital video viewers all over the world, and it had such a drastic raise that in 2019 there were 2.6 billion viewers.

Moreover, if you want to talk about the time spent on viewing these blogs, it has also risen sharply by 120 %.

These facts mentioned above plainly depict the gain in the importance of Vlogging today and beyond. Casey Neistat is the universal boss of vlogging on YouTube these days.

Why You Should Start Vlogging?

Vlogging is a method for you to beef up your engagement, interaction, and gain attention on social media.

You can even represent your business, your daily life, or you can just be a part of this growing community if you opted for vlogging.

You can even earn money if you are good at this job. It also provides you in-hand experience about how to promote yourself and your products online.

One more thing we would like to mention here for you is that there is no right or wrong way to do vlogging.

It is an art, and art does not have a way to do it. You can experiment with a lot of things and then choose the style you like the most, or you can even create your unique style. 

However, before you jump into vlogging excitedly, you should learn the basics and plan out your vlogging venture!

Don’t worry; we are always here to help you out with the best cameras needed for vlogging and other stuff.

canon g7x mark ii

How to Start Vlogging?

Every day when we open up YouTube, we always find someone new on this platform. The reason for this is simple.

YouTube marketing is on the rise, and many people are trying to gain full advantage of this opportunity by creating channels on YouTube.

One other thing which has been noticed is that most content creators now prefer vlogging over other forms of content.

And, as you are reading this, we can make a quick guess that you also have a burning desire to start a vlogging channel. You don’t need to worry; we are here to help you out with this mission!

Creating Your Channel

The first thing which you would have to choose is the platform where you want to showcase your vlogging skills.

We would help you set up a channel on YouTube because it is the most growing and trending platform freely available for anyone to make use of. Here we dive into the procedures of creating a YouTube channel.

Create a Google account

Creating a Google account will allow you to set up your channel successfully on YouTube and start with your vlogging.

So the first requirement is to have a google account. If you don’t have one, you can create a Google account within 10 minutes.

Then head over to YouTube.com and click on the option of ‘Create a YouTube channel’ which is located at the top right corner of the website.

Brainstorm Your Brain

The next thing is to think about a perfect name for your channel, which describes your work. Mostly, famous YouTubers use their names for vlogging channels, for example, Casey Neistat.’ 

If you don’t want to use your name, then just let your thoughts wander, and eventually, your brain will click on the magical name.

You can even change the privacy settings of your channel if you want to restrict the audience from some areas.

Create Your YouTube Icon and Channel Art

youtube logo

You have created your channel, but now you have to focus on customizing your channels so that it looks helpful to your online audience.

Go and click on the top right corner to select “Your Channel,” which will lead to your official channel page. There you can customize your icon and channel with different templates.

Pro tip: Your icon should represent you and your work. Icon and channel description and style are the foremost thing that attracts people to your channel and you get more viewers. You can even create a logo for yourself as well to serve as your icon.

Channel art can also be created by going to Customize Channel” and creating an eye-catching channel art so that your channel looks unique.

Your channel has been set up, and now you just have to upload your videos and start your journey of vlogging.

If you are passionate about vlogging, you won’t take much time to become an internet sensation.

Just keep focused and run towards your dream and work hard to achieve your fame and goals using vlogging!

Things Kept in Mind to Start Your a Successful Vlogging Career?

Vlogging isn’t just a skill; it is art. Everybody wishes to start a vlog, but getting into this field requires skills, patience, time, and effort.

By giving this to vlogging, you will quickly see yourself rising on the list of successful vloggers. 

Moreover, attaining such an achievement requires a person to be aware of the fundamentals of vlogging.

In short, basics are paramount for success, whether in vlogging or any other field. This article will help you with your basics and will give you the skills needed to become a successful vlogger.

Build Confidence

It is the first and foremost thing whichever newcomer at vlogging should have. Most people even boast about themselves a lot that they are filled to the brim with confidence and can speak easily, but in reality, speaking in front of a real person and a camera is a different thing.

But you don’t need to worry if you find it difficult. It usually happens with beginners, and eventually, it will improve, and you will become comfortable in front of the camera.

Think Of Some Good Content

If you are among those who think that vlogging is just recording your day-to-day activities, then you are wrong. Vlogging is more than this.

It requires careful planning, scripting content, and immense effort and dedication. You will have to select the portions of your day that you want to record and show your audience.

Furthermore, you always have to present the content in such a manner that your audience loves it.

In short, planning opens up your path to success. Moreover, you would be amazed to know that vlogging has different niches, including travel vlogs!

You can even create a specific channel for that to target particular travel vlog loving audiences.

cameras for youtube vlogging

Inspire and Collaborate

As a vlogger, you must frequently watch and appreciate the work of your fellow vloggers and learn and get inspired by them.

Observe them closely and try to get new ideas from watching their ideas and upgrade your vlogs. A sprinkle of inspiration can aid in long-term success.

Apart from that, you can even collaborate with different vloggers on the platform. This will enable you to get more experience, and you will be able to learn the skill of dealing with clients professionally.

Moreover, apart from getting a lot of exposure, collaboration can help you reach and connect with a new audience, and it can drastically increase your subscribers and viewers, which will benefit you in achieving your future goals.   

If we put all this in a nutshell, you will find out that dedication and perseverance is the real ingredient to help you start your successful vlog.

Moreover, you might have noticed we didn’t talk about the camera or anything else.

The reason for this is that vlogs can be started and done with just mobile skills and purchasing proper quality gear is the later stage of your journey.

Having the right equipment will put you a step ahead, but being true to your passion will make you successful. We hope this article answered your question thoroughly.

What Platforms Are There To Start Vlogging other than YouTube?

One of the most well-known platforms of which everybody is aware is YouTube. Many of the vloggers have started from YouTube but do you know there are numerous other online platforms to showcase your skills.

We will mention them as well so that sometimes, you can use them to experience a lot more in the field of vlogging.

Facebook

Among the diverse range of social media, you can start vlogging on Facebook by posting videos there and even getting live through Facebook Live.

Most people don’t consider Facebook as a vlogging platform, but believe me; it is a great source to get exposure and build your confidence. In our opinion, you should start your vlogging career from here.

Instagram

This is another platform similar to Facebook, but a lot more popular than Facebook. Vloggers from YouTube are now using this along with Snapchat to get more interaction and engagement with their audience. 

Twitch IRL

It was a platform that was initially used for live streaming games, but now the trend is rapidly changing, and people are using it for vlogging as well.

The main feature of this platform is that a broad audience is dedicated to living video format, which allows a vlogger to interact with people.

Daily Motion

This platform is similar to YouTube, and you can have the same experience from this platform as from YouTube. It provides you with the same features

The great thing about this is that it has excellent monetization options and less genre competition.

d.tube

This is a platform primarily for tech vloggers and for those who are enthusiastic about being ahead of others when it comes to digital transformation. This platform harnesses blockchain and shares decentralized technology.

So these are some alternatives that you can look for when getting into vlogging and have the fire to excel inside you. We hope you have a look at these mentioned alternatives.

Find Inspiration From Others?

Before starting vlogging, you should watch some vlogs online on YouTube and try to get inspiration from the trending vloggers there.

Pick a couple of your favorite vloggers and consider them as your subject. Study them and study how they are and what content they are producing.

Learn and pick good things from their vlogging style but keep a thing in mind, don’t try to copy them. You should take inspiration from them and imply their methods in your way. 

You could ask yourself the following questions and study your vloggers and learn from them:

  • How do different vloggers make their content interesting and eye-catching?
  • How often do they post their vlogs?
  • How long or what time duration are their vlogs?
  • What are the topics they usually make vlogs about?
  • How do they edit their vlogs?
  • How do they film their vlogs and what extra and interesting do they add?
  • What type of comments and criticism do they get/
  • How do they make their vlogs engaging?
  • How do they interact with their viewers?
  • How do they start and end vlogs?
  • What external help or things do they feature in their vlogs?
  • Do they script their vlogs?

This research will not only help you to explore your style and requirements but will also make you aware of the pros and cons of vlogging.

These analyses will provide you with essential insights that will make your vlogs entertaining to watch, and you will gain more audience.

In the end, after carrying out your research, you will be able to form your unique style, which will stand you out among millions of YouTubers and vloggers.

Find Your Channel's Niche Or Purpose

This is the next step of your journey of starting vlogging. You have to try and find what you would like to present to your viewers.

What will be your vlogs about, and will those gain audience attraction? The following are some questions that you can ask yourself to find your niche.

They are

  • What are you going to do and record in your vlogs?
  • What and how will you say things in vlogs?
  • Will the vlogs be on personal day-to-day activities or your travels?
  • Will it be you only who will be coming in front of the camera most of the time, or will you also include friends and family?
  • What is your target audience?

Vlogging is a diverse field so you have to ask yourself patiently about what you are ready to talk about. You can dig into your interests to find the right niche.

If you can’t find a specific niche, just try out a couple of ideas and see which suits you the most.

Again, you don’t need to stress out; vlogging is flexible and open to a myriad of ideas and outcomes so you can try it out unless you find the right one for you!

Decide About The Equipment!

This is one of the questions that every beginner asks from every vlogger, what equipment do I need to start my channel?  

Although a piece of right quality equipment and camera may improve the quality of the vlog, however, at the start, you can use your simple mobile to record videos if you can afford fancy equipment.

You can use simple editing software and a microphone to record your vlog, and later as you progress on your journey, you can update your pieces of equipment by purchasing and investing in cameras and other specialized things to grow your audience.

For the time being, you can use your mobile. These days mobiles have a high-quality camera and can edit videos on your mobile itself.

Moreover, you can even use your laptop to edit your videos and make them more professional.

canon-m50

How to Upload Videos On YouTube?

Uploading on YouTube is easy peasy. You just click the upload button on the top right corner and choose the video file which you are willing to upload on your YouTube channel.

Add the title to your video, give a short description of your video, and add tags to reach more audiences.

Moreover, if you want to upload from mobile, you can upload through the official YouTube video application from your mobile phone.

If you are a casual vlogger who vlogs and edits through mobile, uploading from mobile will save your time as you can do uploading without transferring videos to your desktop or laptop.

upload-video-to-youtube

How to Create Content for Vlogging?

This is the most challenging and exciting part of your vlogging journey, and it will be with you for your whole career. This includes brainstorming ideas and filming things.

Come up with some fantastic ideas and plan out the entire filming process. Have a general concept and ideas in your mind about how your vlog might look after completion.

Try practicing in front of the camera so that it seems natural to the viewers when you are talking with them through the camera. If this is done, then move to the next step.

Filming a Vlog for YouTube

If you have a perfect idea, the right attitude, and equipment, then just record and shoot your vlog. Just keep the following tips in mind. They will help you a lot.

Always stay calm and don’t get nervous. Try also not to over plan it. Vlogs show your natural side, so try to be natural.

Speak as you planned it earlier, and if the first take doesn’t go well, go for a second one. Always remember, you can re-record it and edit it as well and cut parts as well.

Try to have good lighting. This will attract more viewers. Along with this, you should try to have excellent audio quality so that your audience can enjoy your vlog and get entertained. Speak clearly!

Try to interact with your viewers and connect with them. Try to engage them by asking them about their opinions in comments and don’t forget to respond to those comments.

One more unique thing which you can do is create a unique sign or gesture which represents you.

You can even have your unique line like Casey Neistat uses “Why I'm here man?”. Think and bring uniqueness to your content.

Furthermore, always be a step higher than others by making your vlog enjoyable. You can do this by being yourself and creating original and unique content. The more original your content is, the more audience you will attract.

drew-binsky-blogger

Editing Your Vlog!

This is where you clear the clutter and select only the essential clips which you want to add to your vlogs and make them attractive by adding video effects and combining various video clips.

You can add your personal touch to your vlog by adding a specific intro and ending to your videos.

Moreover, it is the place where you will be deciding the duration of your videos as well.

Another thing that you will have to take care of is smooth transactions and flow between different video clips.

In shorts, editing will be an additional skill for you to learn to climb the vlogging ladders.

After editing the video properly, export the video and convert it into the format for YouTube and upload it. Boom! Your first vlog is up. Hurray!!!

Promotion and Reaching Out To Audience!

Uploading videos and vlogs on YouTube isn’t the only thing that you would be doing religiously, but you would also be trying to promote yourself and your brand.

This step will bring you closer to your competitors and might even aid in winning against them in terms of views and subscribers on YouTube. The better you promote, the enormous fan following you would have.

To promote your vlogs, you can use social media, as we have mentioned above. It is an essential step so that people are aware of another content creator and are attracted and inclined towards watching your videos.

Such promotion techniques will help build a permanent audience for your vlogs.

To increase your presence, you can even have collaborated with other vloggers, which will promote your channel and vlogs more, and you will reach a far massive number of audiences.

Here are a few more tips to help you out in this mission

  • Be transparent with your audience and develop trust with them.
  • Create a schedule of your uploading so that you can be frequent, and your audience is ready for your vlogs.
  • Use Search Engine Optimization (SEO) to reach more people on YouTube. It includes using paramount keywords and using them effectively.
  • Post on frequently.
  • It is good to keep your video lengths short to attract more people.
  • Ask viewers to leave a comment, like, and subscribe to your channel.
  • Reply to those comments and interact with your viewers through live sessions.

YouTube Partnership Program!

Once you have grown your audience and have a good number of audiences, you can apply for the YouTube partnership program which will allow you to make some money on your vlogs. Requirements for that program are:

Have more than 4,000 plus watch hours in the last 12 months on your channel. That's the minimum requirement to join the YouTube partner program, and it's not difficult at all if you have interesting content.

Have more than 1000 subscribers to your channel.

You can use affiliate marketing along with your vlogging to earn some extra bucks.

Furthermore, if you want to step up your game, you can start vlogging and including sponsored shots.

Companies can reach you, or you can reach out to other companies to sponsor them.

Lastly, you can even create and sell your products!! Bingo, there are several ways to earn money, so just get relaxed and enjoy this journey.

Why YouTube?

YouTube is an excellent platform for people to showcase their content making skills, especially when it comes to vlogging.

So, if anyone who is wishing to start a vlog should look forward to using this tremendous digital powerhouse, it allows you to remain creative by giving you the freedom to choose whatever niche and content you want to present to your audience.

Moreover, fulfilling some YouTube requirements, you can even monetize your content, and it can become your source of money. Now let us dig deep into the steps of vlogging!

Tips To Improve!

  • Always make videos on those topics, which are your passion, and you enjoy talking about them. This will make your vlogs look natural.
  • Try to learn the art of video editing and apply it in the most effective ways. This can be a make-or-break situation for your vlogging career.
  • Always try to imbed the latest trends in your vlogs because that is where you will get your new audience.
  • Focus on improving your storytelling style and continuously work on it. The reason for doing that is that it can take your vlogging career to unreachable heights.
  • Always prefer quality over quantity. This may sound cliché, but it is the thing that works.

Also, keep on learning from experience and other vloggers by communicating with them and asking them their suggestions.

Collaboration with other vloggers in your area will be a bonus. Moreover, if your vlog is relatable, you will automatically gain more views and you will be top of your game.

Understand Your Niche and Audience

Generally, we don’t advise you to jump into choosing up your niche early in this venture so that you can explore your interests.

However, you should be aware that vlogging also has a myriad of niches that a person can select and pursue further including everyday vlogs and travel vlogs.

Moreover, you will need to always tailor-made your vlogs in such a manner that you can attract the audience towards your channel and impress them so that they can stay.

How to Start Vlog With Phone Vs. Camera!

If you are a beginner and can’t afford a camera, you can always start vlog with a mobile and can substitute a mobile with a camera. Or you can use both, but it can affect your vlog resolution and quality.

In the end, you can start your vlog with any of those two things and reach your dreams. We hope this article was helpful and answered your question. Now you can start your vlogging venture without any fear. Best of luck!

Nobody can deny that vlogs have been trending for the past few years and are the content of the moment.

Being part of this vlogging sensation, everybody has once thought of starting his or her blog.

Some might even be thinking that the vlogging market is already flooded, and it is too late to get into this type of content creation.

This content was created by CameraLists.com. If you see this on another site, it has been stolen.

But it is never too late to start anything new. Anybody can still get into vlogging and earn the success that others are achieving and enjoying.

Furthermore, most people also tend to have debates upon selecting the right equipment to film vlogs.

They frequently ask people whether using a mobile will be enough to start a vlog, or one should purchase a camera.

The answer to this is crystal clear. You can choose anything which you can afford.

Mobile and cameras are just a medium of recording (although the quality of content might differ a bit with different equipment), and real content lies in your creative mind.

However, we will compare both vlogs with a phone and vlogs with a camera so you can understand the difference.

Vlogging with a Phone

  • Vlogging with smartphones is more comfortable than compared to cameras because mobiles are compact. They can easily be carried anywhere, and you can record anything at any time with just a click. Instead, if you were using a camera, you would have set up the camera and would even have to carry the camera stands in some cases. You would also have to charge it a night before. With mobile, you can capture anything at any time because it is always in your pocket.
  • Phones are cheap, and they can be perfect alternatives to cameras. Those who just have begun vlogging and can’t afford a camera should always go for mobiles.
  • You can even directly edit things in a mobile, which is not the case when you are using a camera.

Vlogging with a Camera

  • The camera allows you to take more professional shots as it has a lot more settings compared to mobiles. You can change the settings according to your requirement and click a perfect chance.
  • You will be able to have a higher resolution video and vlog, which admittedly is a perk that helps you get more audience. It also captures things better than mobile, which is moving.
  • Cameras can even shoot better in low lights; hence you don’t have to worry whether it is night or day when you are vlogging.

Conclusion

We hope that these vlogging step by step guides and tips will bring you a step closer to your dream of starting your vlogging channel.

You can start and create your vlogs on any platform but never compromise the quality of your vlogs over quantity.

There is a huge competition out there, but if you have planned it out rightly, nobody can ever stop you.

Get started with vlogging, and best of luck! Keep in mind our tips and find your passion and beautifully wrap it in your content and present it to the people in the shape of vlogs.

We can conclude that everything has its pros and cons, and it solely depends on the user and its requirements. However, if you have determination towards something, then nothing is impossible in this world.

If you need more advice on camera gear, then I will suggest you check out our list of best cameras for vlogging with flip screen. If you have a budget issue, then I recommend reading our best digital camera under $100 guide. You can further check the best waterproof camera under $100 and what cameras famous YouTubers use to get an idea about vlogging gear.

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