How to get over your fear of starting a YouTube channel & be confident on camera
Over the years I’ve spent making Youtube videos, I’ve met so many friends and acquaintances that tell me “I think it would be so fun to start a YouTube channel, I just don’t think I could do it.”
Can you relate? Have you ever found yourself saying that?
You have no idea how discouraging I find that response.
I want you to start a YouTube channel, heck, I want everyone who’s ever thought to themselves that they might like to start one, to start one. I honestly believe that everyone has something they can gain from it - it might not be a large audience or fame or fortune, but it could certainly be improving in their skills, finding a like minded community, or gaining confidence.
So why do so many people who have an interest in this platform have hesitations about starting it? I asked my Instagram audience if they had ever thought about starting a YouTube channel and over 80% said they had. Then, I asked them why they hadn’t started yet.
In this blog post, I want to tackle the top 5 fears potential creators have when they are considering starting a YouTube channel, and I’m going to tell you exactly how you can move past them and start creating those videos you’ve thought about making for so long.
1. I don’t have anything to say
So you have the desire to start a YouTube channel, but you have no idea what you would talk about? In my personal experience on YouTube, I have had the opposite problem. Now, I know that might sound like some weird form of bragging, but trust me, if you’re starting YouTube with this as your number one problem, you are in a far better position than me.
Story time: I started YouTube as an awkward 12 year old who watched the vlogbrothers, and many other nerdy creators long lost to the ages. I started making videos because I wanted to be a part of the community that I had found so much value in. And I wanted to talk about everything.
When I started making videos, having a “niche” on YouTube was not even a concept in anyone’s mind yet, so it didn’t matter. But as the years went by, and growing an audience became something I was interested in and I knew a niche would help in that area, I could never settle on one. I bounded around from books to history to vlogs to beauty to makeup and back to books. I have so many passions and interests, and since my YouTube channel is so tied to myself and my personality, I could never settle on only one topic.
Finally, when I decided that if I wanted to make this YouTube thing work, I'd have to force myself to pick a niche I could focus on for a long time (this was also after seeing a YouTube friend of mine’s audience grow exponentially after she pivoted from a variety channel to strictly talking about design). This is still an ongoing process for me but I know now that I am building a specific audience who has certain needs and values that I can cater to. It's given me purpose and direction that I didn’t have before.
Now let’s bring it back to you. So you don’t feel like you have anything to say. Trust me, this is a much easier starting point than having way too much to say. It will certainly help with having a cohesive brand.
I know you have something to say. You’ve lived a life, experienced this world in a particular way. You have skills, ideas, and opinions, that can in some way be valuable to someone else.
On YouTube there are really three pillars of content: entertainment, education, and encouragement. First decide in which of these ways you want to serve people. I really do believe that success on YouTube does come down to serving people or in other words providing value to people. These are the three main ways to do that.
If you want to teach something, think about what you know. Maybe you’re a stellar home cook and can share your favourite slow cooker recipes, maybe you’re a macrame artist who’s friends are always asking for lessons, maybe you’re a great writer (and can see all the mistakes in this blog post) and can provide tutorials for aspiring writers or students. I know you might think you don’t know anything worth teaching, but trust me, you’ve made it this far in life, you certainly do.
If you want to entertain, think about how you want to entertain. Having a specific audience in mind (i.e 20-something-women who are struggling to get established in their careers, or young moms with rowdy sons, or university students, the list goes on). Once you know exactly who you are speaking to, the connection with your viewer will be made that much faster. The viewer feels it when you talking specifically to her. She knows you’ve singled her out and she feels seen. Talk directly to her.
If you want to encourage, again, think about who you are encouraging. Cody Wanner is a creator who comes to mind for this one. He’s all about “encouraging the doer” Who can you inspire, motivate, or encourage? How?
Maybe one of the things I mentioned spoke to you, maybe it didn’t. If you’re serious about wanting to start a Youtube channel I encourage you to think intentionally about this and once you find something that you connect with, try to brainstorm 50 ideas for videos. If you can do this, you know you can stick to a topic for basically a year of weekly videos. If you can post consistently in a niche for 50 weeks straight, I guarantee you will start to gain an audience.
2. I don’t have a camera / the right gear
This is one of the most common reasons (or if I’m being harsh/honest, excuses) potential creators have for not starting their channels. When I started my YouTube channel, I used a pink Kodak brand point and shoot that I saved up babysitting money for and purchased to take with me on my first overnight school trip.
It shot in 4:3. For the uninitiated to aspect ratios, that means I was shooting almost square footage, like the kind that used to play on old tube TVs.
When I started you did need a camera.
But you know what’s been invented since then? This little thing called a smart phone.
I can almost guarantee if you’re reading this then that little computer inside your pocket (or more likely the screen you’re reading this on) has a camera 10x the quality of the camera I started with. Not only that, but it comes with the capability to download software for editing that video, and a connection to the internet so you can upload that video. The barrier to entry is lower now than it ever has been.
I know it can feel overwhelming and intimidating to start shooting on your phone when you see YouTubers out there creating 4K videos with their Red cinema cameras, but trust me, people are not watching for that. That is a cherry on top of already interesting or useful content. If the past 12 months on Youtube has taught us anything it's that teenagers with just a sense of humour and an iPhone can become huge with just a few poorly edited videos.
It’s all about content and personality. And I know you have something interesting to say (see point 1) and you have an interesting personality, I just know you do. You wouldn’t be reading this if you didn’t, if you were boring, you’d be scrolling through some basic Wiki How article on filming a YouTube video right now.
So seriously, I am not going to spend much time on this point because I all I need to say to you is this:
Start filming on your phone. Sit in front of a window on a cloudy day to get beautiful natural lighting. Film horizontal for goodness’ sake. Speak clearly and be close to your phone so the audio is the best quality it can be.
And there you have it. You have a YouTube set up and it's all packed into one little phone.
3. I don’t like seeing myself on camera
Almost anyone who starts making videos of themselves talking to the camera will relate to this point at some time or another. If I’m honest with you. I can’t, because I was (and maybe still am?) a shockingly confident little kid who loved to pose in front of the mirror and pretend she had her own cooking show while baking cookies in her mom’s kitchen.
I lived for the performance. I was dramatic to the point of annoyance. I openly called myself awesome to anyone who would listen.
When I saw myself on camera, all I felt was “this is where I’m supposed to be.”
But don’t worry, most people do not feel this way because most people are sane.
If you scroll back to any YouTuber’s early videos you will very quickly get a sense that they once felt exactly the same way you did. Camera shy, awkward, not sure what to say to this lens that was staring deep into their soul.
My advice for you is this, and its not easy, its not a quick fix, but it is what works:
Practise.
The only way you can get used to, and start actually liking seeing yourself on camera, is by doing it a lot.
And I mean a lot. Like remember those 50 videos we talked about before? I would estimate that when you hit 25 you’re going to start feeling like its natural. But it could take longer.
If you want to speed up the process, here’s what I suggest:
Start sending more SnapChat videos to your friends. Instead of typing out the latest gossip over a photo of your face looking, let’s face it, a little crazed, instead record a clip of you talking about it.
Create some Instagram Story videos where you talk! You don’t have to feel intimidated about this one because statistically only about 10% of people will watch it with the audio turned on.
And lastly, just literally talk to yourself in the mirror. I know it sounds crazy but this is literally the technique that I used to become more confident posing in pictures.
I used to be kind of awkward in photos (though I can’t say that I never enjoyed having my photo taken - remember that crazy little kid? yeah..) but after lots of America’s Next Top Model, I starting trying out those poses in front of the mirror (remember that one where you put your hands on your hips, and lean way forward like a fallen over rag doll? - very artsy and surprising flattering!)
And then, after practising in the mirror, I kind of started a fashion blog that I ran throughout high school and into my early years in university. I got my boyfriend (now husband, holla!) to take photos of my outfits multiple times a week. Through this practise and exposure, I became confident posing for photos (and now my friends know me as the person who switches poses every time the shutter clicks to optimize the pose options I have).
All this is to say, you’re going to feel awkward on camera at first. This is very normal, don’t worry. With practise and exposure, you will become a “natural."
4. I don’t have enough time for editing
Ah yes, the classic “not enough time excuse” We never have enough time for that thing that’s important for us to do, but deep down we’re actually a little scared or unwilling to do.
Like for example, I don’t have enough time to call the dentist, but I’ve watched the entire season of Derry Girls in on Netflix in the past 72 hours.
Come on, don’t act like you can’t relate.
But seriously, I do understand that YouTube is a time commitment, and definitely more so than many other social platforms. The base requirement for YouTube is to produce and edit and upload a video. This can take multiple hours while the average Instagram photo may only take minutes to create. So, I get it.
Let me tell you about my life in university.
There’s only been one time in my life where I’ve posted consistently and frequently to YouTube for an extended period of time (until my current streak). It was in my third year of university, January to April of 2017. For those four months, I posted videos 5 times a week. I think I missed a day once.
During that time, I was taking 6 courses (one more than a full course load), I was a residence don (meaning I couldn’t leave the residence building three nights a week and most weekends), I was beginning to build the early foundations of my freelance business, and applying to the Adobe Creative Residency and the Small YouTuber panel at VidCon (neither of which I got, if you’re keeping track).
This was probably one of my busiest terms, but it was also the time that I made the most videos. It seems contradictory doesn’t it?
But actually, the busyness showed me the value of time, and also taught me that if I wanted to do what I love, then I need to make time for it.
During that term I would either stay up until 1:00 or get up at 6:00 (some times both) in order to edit and upload my videos on time.
Now, I know everyone has a different capacity for busyness. And mental health always come first, so I would never push anyone to take on more than they can physically or emotionally handle.
But what I will do is encourage you to consider how you really currently spend your time. We all like to think that we’re busy, but almost all of us could fit in another hobby if we really wanted it.
If getting in your hour of Netflix a night in a non-negotiable then fine, where else can you find it? Almost all of us are guilty of spending hours scrolling on Instagram. (Check your screen time usage - if its more than an hour, know that it takes me about an hour to edit one of my YouTube videos).
Time is the most important resource we have - it will always be limited. I just want you to make sure that you’re using it in a way that makes you happy and satisfied creatively.
If you need any more convincing, know that in life we’re pretty much always just getting busier, and the sooner you start, the easier growth on YouTube will be (it gets harder everyday).
5. I'm afraid of what people will say
The final, and probably most universal fear that we have when starting a YouTube channel (or likely really any new creative project) is “what will people say?”
This one cuts far into our most deep seated fears in life about love and acceptance. Of course we want people to like us - it's a basic trait of evolutionary human survival, historically for humans being accepted by the group was a matter of life and death (dramatic, I know).
But here’s the great thing about starting a YouTube channel: it is not a matter of life and death.
The people who love and support you in life already are not going to stop just because you started making videos for the internet (and if they do, then they weren’t worth your time to begin with if they’re willing to push you curb-side for doing something that you love). As for the others - people not close to you, those Facebook friends still lingering from high school, the Aunt who thinks everything on the internet is fake, random professional acquaintances, why does their opinion of you even matter?
I know it's easier said than done, but seriously, just stop caring what they think.
They are not paying your bills, or making your art, and they are certainly not going to make your dreams come true for you. And the real truth is, these peripheral people in your life, they barely even notice what you’re up to. They (as we all are) are too absorbed in the minutia of their own daily lives to care whether or not you start a YouTube channel. I know it might sound harsh, but honestly, they probably don’t care.
So then why the hell would you spend a second caring what they think of you?
Really, its just not worth it.
Here’s the real tea: when you start your YouTube channel (I’ve already decided in my head you’re going to do it) 90% of the people you know in real life will not even notice that you’ve done this, let alone have time to think negative thoughts about it. The other 10% will more than likely be supportive and want to see you succeed.
The 90% will eventually come around and start to notice once you’re famous and they’re wishing they had started following your journey sooner.
So really, please do not let this be the reason that you don’t start your YouTube channel.
What over people think of you should not define how you get to pursue your creative passions and live your life. Like I said, time is our most valuable and scarce resource in this life, so don’t spend yours being controlled by the vague notion of “what other people will think.”
If you’re still reading this, I’m just going to come out and say it, you need to start your YouTube channel now.
Seriously. The fact that you haven’t clicked away and are still giving my ramblings the time of day means something. If you were waiting for a sign, this is it.
Clearly, this YouTube thing means something to you if you’re willing to read a long ass article telling you how to start. I really want for you to chase this dream and make it happen, and I tell you that coming from a place where YouTube has already allowed me to live my passions in ways I never thought possible (and I’m still just on the upward climb, girl).
If you’re serious about this, I would love to hear from you. Legit, DM me on Instagram and send me a link to your new YouTube channel and I will watch your first video. I know how much I’ve gained from making videos all these years and that’s why I’m so passionate about sharing it with others.
While you’re on this journey of creation, I thought it would be useful for you to have the checklist that I use for producing every single one of my YouTube videos.
So I made it into a cute little pdf that you can reference when you’re starting out with your first videos. If you want to download it, you can fill out the form linked above. Full disclosure, downloading it will also add you to my email list where I send my weekly Creator Letter, a letter filled with motivation, inspiration, small YouTuber recommendations and more.