PERSONAL ESSAY | YOUTUBE
Lessons I Learned From Creating A YouTube Channel For My Blog
Even When It Scared The Shit Out Of Me
How it started.
In March 2022, around the same time I published my first blog post on Blogger, I created the official YouTube channel of my blog.
It was terrifying because I didn’t know Jack about making videos, nor did I want to show my face on camera excitedly screaming, “Hello guys, welcome to my YouTube channel. Please like and subscribe to keep receiving more videos like this.”
No offense to the amazing gurus who nail that line and put so much work into creating aesthetically jaw-dropping videos.
You guys rock.
And I subscribe. Eventually.
Why I wanted to create a channel.
For me, having a channel represented a new way of repurposing my blog content and sharing my message in another format, to a wider audience, aside from my blog.
Plus, I wanted it to be on YouTube.
Not only that, I wanted it to act as a new traffic source and digital storage of my written words, the same as I’m doing with repurposing my blog content on Medium.
I visualized having a blog where my content was accessible not only through written content but through video and audio versions depending on my reader’s preferences.
So I put on my big girl pants and grabbed my confidence out of the closet, ready to make a fool out of myself deliberately.
The type of video I choose to create.
Since I didn’t have any experience with making videos, I knew it’d be an absolute disaster to make any version of a video where I’m recording myself.
God knew I’d melt on the spot and gave me the sixth sense not to try it first.
How was I supposed to record myself saying anything to anyone when I haven’t even tried goofing around/dancing on TikTok?
Or making streaks on Snapchat?
So, I chose faceless content videos for my channel for a start. I assure you; it wasn’t the easiest to produce either.
I created videos using excerpts and bullet point extracts of my written long-form content from my blog, and it was a success.
Like the one below.
I was so damn proud of myself.
Lessons I learned from creating a channel, even when I was terrified.
It took a lot for me to dust my confidence out of my closet and find the courage to make my first video.
I felt fear sip from every pore of my mind when I uploaded my first video, but it didn’t stop me from publishing it.
A few things I learned from this experience are:
— There’s more than one way to tackle fear if we look hard enough.
— My incapability doesn’t mean incompetency. I can always start small, learn, and grow to do anything I want.
— I don’t have to do what everyone else is doing, especially if I’m not comfortable with it.
— I can do anything if I put my mind to it.
— The first step toward a goal is often the most excruciatingly painful step. The next steps after the first becomes not-so-scary.
— Fear will always give us an excuse to not try if we let it.
— I don’t need validation to pursue a goal. I only need a reason to try.
What I achieved by creating faceless content videos?
Creating faceless content videos for my channel helped me achieve one part of my goal of repurposing my content.
It gave my audience content variation and also improved my blog’s SEO by having embedded video content and an external link on my blog.
However, it’ll take a while to monetize my channel.
Other plans I have for my channel.
At the moment, my plans for my channel revolve around just creating videos as best as I can.
But, I have intentions to make some changes in time, take a bolder approach with my channel, and give it my best.
Final thoughts —
Writing this article was my way of introducing my channel here and the reasons behind creating one while sharing lessons I’ve learned from it.
Also, you can subscribe to my channel to support my blog.
I’d appreciate it so much.
Cheers!
