7 Tips To Help You Become The Next YouTube Star

It’s true – YouTube celebs are a “thing” and if you think you belong in front of a YouTube audience, you could be right!

But just like theater, music and pop culture celebs, not all who do it rise to the top. It’s as tough in YouTube as it is in Hollywood. So how are you going to be get to that “celeb” level? The casual nature of YouTube celebs belies the strategy, passion, commitment and yes, a little luck it takes to standout on one of the biggest internet platforms today.

Here are seven hints I give to personalities who want to use YouTube as their launching point.

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Forget the Money, For Now
Figure out what you REALLY want to do here. What you’re REALLY passionate about. If you’re saying “I’m passionate about power cords, but there’s no money in that,” you’re totally going about it the wrong way. There’s a niche for every passion. Granted the audience isn’t necessarily huge for power cord aficionados, but if that’s your true passion, why not be the king or queen of power cords? Who knows where it might take you? You might redefine an entire industry with your opinionated perspectives or hilarious rants.  Focus on being you and honing your voice and really diving into the topics you want to dive into. But please, please, please, have some fun with it.

Be You, Own You
What are your little quirks that make your friends laugh? What do people always tell you they remember about their first meeting with you? That’s you. That’s you’re “on,” most memorable,  you. That’s who you want to be in front of the camera. Those are your most natural brand signatures.

 

Be You, Extreme
Let’s face it, you aren’t always “on,” and that’s OK. But when you’re in front of the camera, turn that persona to 10. The most powerful personal brands take their personalities to the most extreme. Look at the Kardashians, they don’t even leave the house, not once, without looking fabulous. That’s their personal brand and everything they do publicly supports that personal brand. I’m sure there are plenty of days on the couch without make up on, hair done up, but never while the camera may be on them. So be you, but be extreme and consistent in that signature, at least while the cameras are on you.

You Don’t Need Fancy
When you’re starting out, don’t tell yourself you can’t do anything until you have a Hollywood produced introduction. Don’t tell yourself your videos need to be edited to look like a Fast & Furious flick. Just get out there and start recording. Perfectionism is the roadblock to progress. Just DO IT. You’re biggest goal at this point is to let your personality shine, let You Be You, distractions from your personality are just that, a distraction.

An Editorial Calendar: Your Best Friend
Do yourself a favor, do some planning. Spending just a couple of hours a week planning your content week and month will give you enough structure to get out there and do it. If you don’t give yourself that structure, most people won’t record because they don’t know what they want to say. There is some content that you can record months in advance and when you have that content and the time to do it, do it.  So plan ahead, give yourself a road map, but…

Leave Room for Inspiration
Because you’re you, because you’re fun, there are going to be times where you just HAVE to plop yourself in front of the camera and share your thoughts. Those moments of brilliant inspiration are awesome – go with it, let it run. And hit “publish” as soon as you can. These impromptu moments are often some of the most fun.

Take Some Acting and Improv Classes
Being in front of a camera isn’t necessarily a natural thing even for the biggest personalities. Taking improv and acting classes will allow you to extend yourself more naturally in front of the camera.