Considering Starting a YouTube Channel?
Intro
With online content creation becoming easier every year, it is the perfect time to start a YouTube channel. But how does one begin this journey. Today, we are joined by two other YouTubers, Yasme Agyeman-Boateng (Taste and Bloom) & Esi Doe-Sallah (Winging It With Esi), to discuss our YouTube journeys and to give you tips on starting your own YouTube channel.
Guest Bio
Yasme Agyeman-Boateng is the creative mind behind the Taste and Bloom YouTube channel. She focuses on cooking and food for young children. Esi Doe-Sallah is the creative mind behind the Winging It With Esi YouTube channel. She uses her channel to talk about being a mom in Ghana.
Q: How Long Have We Been on YouTube?
Dr. Gee – I started in October 2021.
Yasme – I started in July 2020.
Esi – I started in June of 2020.
Q: Why did you start being on YouTube?
E – At the time, I was looking at it as another stream of income. I had a friend who had a YouTube channel, so I connected with her and asked for advice. I wasn’t entirely sure what to create at the beginning, but I was excited about being a new mom and sharing my experience. In the end, monetization dropped down to my number two reason, and my number one reason became to share my journey with others.
G – For me, I got to a point where I wanted to do more with my life. I wasn’t finding Ghanaians who were sharing with other Ghanaians. All of our successful people kept their success to themselves. So, I wanted to create a platform where we could share our successes with each other.
Y – My second son started eating solid food around that time, and I was part of a mother’s group that talked about stuff like that. It was that group that encouraged me to put my content on YouTube.
Q: Did you have any fears when you started?
G – I know I did. When you are a professor, you are already teaching, but putting myself out there online was out of my comfort zone
E – Once I decided I wanted to do it, I immediately started making content so I could not second-guess myself or overthink it. We as mothers don’t know everything either, so just talking about my experience was enough to get me started. I was a little hesitant to switch from a private social media account to a public account, since I didn’t know everyone who wanted to follow me, but that was really my only fear.
Y – I am not usually someone who cares what those around me think, but putting myself out there was also uncomfortable for me. The online comments and critiques, even of minor things like what I was wearing, were difficult to deal with at first. But I don’t think I am in that fearful space anymore.
Q: How do you deal with comments?
Y – I remember I once got a comment that basically asked, “Why would I not just go to YouTube and find this answer in two minutes?” Those kinds of comments usually mean well, but it takes some getting used to that criticism. It is helpful to read through them, though, and get their feedback.
E – I have gotten comments that say that I am laughing too much and not taking things seriously. Comments like that sometimes try to push you to making content that other people would enjoy, not the content that you enjoy making. If the person is just being insulting, I just delete them. But like Yasme was saying, I have gotten a lot of helpful feedback from my comments as well.
Q: Do you have other people look at your videos before you post them?
Y – To be honest, I prefer my husband to look at my videos on my channel. He has no idea how I put them together. Even with the sit-down videos I do, I never let him see them before they are public
E – I would say 70% of the time, I record, edit, and upload my content all at once. Most of the time, the feedback I ask my husband for is more personal stuff. “Is it ok to show this or not?” and stuff like that. I don’t want him to review the whole video beforehand.
Q: What is your video making process?
E – When I was getting started, I watched some other YouTubers to learn how to make video and edit them on my own. I have some material that I use for a background, so I set that up before recording. My husband is very technical, so he was encouraging me to get all the tech stuff and advising me on that end (ring light, microphone, etc.). I sometimes have to publish things before he is satisfied, though. I would rather get content out then make sure the lighting is perfect. I edit on a laptop, then upload to YouTube. The thumbnail is honestly more work than the video, with all the work that a good thumbnail requires.
Y – I film on my phone. Since I’ve started, I have never used anything but my phone. Even for editing, I use my phone. When I started, I didn’t have a ring light, a tripod, a microphone, or anything. I just used my Samsung phone to do everything.
Q: How long did it take to monetize your content?
E – The two requirements for monetization are to have 1K subscribers and 4K watch hours. I got the subscribers in around a year, and the watch hours a few months after that. It was nearly a year after that before I made $100. It is easy to be discouraged if you focus too much on the analytics and the money. Focus on making content you enjoy.
Y – To be honest, I don’t remember when I got the subscribers, but I think it was also around a year. I am still not monetized because of the watch hours. I don’t want to be the person that is making content for the money, but because I enjoy it.
Myths about YouTube
Y – People who are first getting into YouTube are overwhelmed with all the equipment that is supposedly required. It does not require much gear to make simple videos. Also, you don’t know everything about video production to get started. Just start and learn as you go.
E – People who make YouTube videos are just people, too. It is easy to see other creators as celebrities, especially the big channels, but they are all just people. The only difference between you and them is that they have pushed themselves to make content.
G – In connection to what you two said, we all have something to share. You may feel like you are not the best person to talk about your topic of choice, but that should not stop you from sharing. And everybody’s YouTube journey is different, so don’t compare yourself to other content creators too much.
Final Advice
E – Don’t rush the journey of success. Even some of the big YouTubers struggled for a long time before they became big. Most people starting new channels don’t want to go through that growing phase. You need to set your expectations and take your time to grow in a healthy way.
Y – You have to have the passion if you want to start this journey. When the views are low, and they will be at the beginning, you need that passion to push yourself forward. Once you have that passion, you will enjoy the video making process, even if nobody else is watching your content. Just press record, and see what happens!
