So, you want to be a Pro Vlogger someday, right? How do you accomplish that? What is the secret sauce? Well… let me tell you…
There is no secret! The mere act of filming yourself and going through the motions is the best learning curve you´ll ever experience.
No matter how many courses, YouTube videos, books, or seminars you attend, by doing you will learn the most, that is the first thing you should realize.
Now, if you were looking for a step by step guide for you to get started with your right foot and start filming as soon as possible, here is a list of 10 ways you can learn vlogging with ease!
Do Niche Research
Your first goal should be doing some good and thorough research.
Figure out what type of vlogger you want to be and then start typing!
Whether you want to do just day to day vlogging about your life and daily grind, or you want to talk about your pet, some particular hobby you want to share more about, your fitness journey, or any sort of topic you are interested or maybe want to learn more about.
Now that you´ve chosen your main source of inspiration let´s do some keyword research about it.
Let´s say you want to do a “how to build stuff with wood” channel, then what you do is you go to Google and YouTube and type your main keyword to see what comes out.
Just start by typing the words that you want to be found for an see what is showing in the search results in both platforms. Why on both platforms? Because sometimes google search results show videos instead of websites if they answered the same question a user had, in a better or more accurate way.
Be aware of that!
Watch some videos and do some deep research about the websites that come out on the results because the firsts to pop out are the ones that answered the best what the user intent was, so analyze them, mimic them, learn from them.
TIP: The more you niche down and be specific about your videos the more possibilities you´ll have on ranking on both platforms for your keyword.
Write a Script!
A really good approach for you to have in every video you make is writing a nice script. It is a good guide for when you are ready to turn on the camera.
Making short paragraphs of lines that you are going to say while talking on camera makes everything easier, then you can edit the pieces and have a whole video ready!
By taking the shots in shorter takes and with the lines that are already written down you can do a little rehearsal every time you are about to film a new paragraph, even move or film from a different position. That way you can keep the audience engaged!
A word of advice, make sure you have always pen and paper nearby so you can write down ideas for upcoming videos.
Maybe you´ll write a general idea for what you want the video to be about, or maybe you write down a simple script, trust me, it is always helpful.
A huge channel that uses this technique is the Alpha M YouTube Channel. Aaron Marino explains how he uses short paragraphs that he writes down in a notebook before anything else happens. Even uses his notebook when going to film and take every shot. Then edits the pieces and has a whole new video.
Inexpensive Equipment
Your smartphone (whether is iPhone or not) can be a perfect fit for you to get started right away. You don´t need fancy equipment to start a Vlogging channel, you just need to have a minimum quality video (most phones nowadays can make that happen) and spark a little creativity with it!
Your phone can film pretty well when it comes to outdoor shots, sun lighting makes everything look better and helps the camera from your phone to have enough light to take great shots. Now, if you are going to film in an indoor setting with lower lights be aware that is going to be tricky for your smartphone to capture the best video it can.
When it comes to smartphones the lighting makes a huge difference because of the fact these devices have a very tiny lens that doesn´t allow much light to enter.
TIP! By setting up some good camera lights or filming nearby a window in plain daylight you should be able to film at a good quality range.
Another thing to keep in mind is the battery, it does not last too long. Taking several shots for a couple hours each and every day will drain your battery life very quickly.
When you are starting your Vlogging journey it won´t be a problem but when you are starting to make it a habit be aware that is going to be a real issue.
Go Out and Get Started!
It is just about filming and editing, right? well…
Once you get used to recording yourself, holding the camera, talking till your ears drop off, and start editing more and more rapidly everything will be easier.
But till then, you have to keep moving forward, you have to start by starting. There´s no other way to really learn this form of art.
You will find your best way to do something by doing it!
Repetition is the key to master the Vlogging world and make impressive videos in the long run. There is a ton of knowledge you can learn by diving into YouTube tutorials, searching the web, about editing, the right lighting, and how to film with absolute precision.
But, let me tell you, nothing replaces practice. Putting the hours is more important than anything else, keep that in mind.
Backdrops and Background
Let´s dive into some great ideas that are commonly used by many YouTubers and that you could alternate from one video to the next:
- Bookshelves: Using a bookshelf that you can decorate and personalize as you want is great to get you started. It is affordable and it could look really nice if done correctly or if you have great taste. You can put some books or any kind of items you can imagine, maybe change things up from one video to the next to try different things. And see what works better for you.
- Backdrops: There are a number of Amazon seller that offer a variety of cheap and affordable backdrops for you to use on your next videos.
- Go Outside: Looking up for good spots in your city or nearby your house is a great idea. Maybe for you, it is a known place but for the rest of the YouTube community is a change of scenario that keeps things interesting. Go out and look for a beautiful and quiet place to shoot your next video.
- Background: Things moving in the background, like people passing by or just a big building that´s behind you, if you are filming outside, should be in a blurred mode when you film with your camera, so you can be the center of the video. Make sure to set your camera for that.
Check out this video that shows off the power that affordable backdrops can have:
Interview People
If you are just at the very beginning of your vlogging career but you want to create engaging videos for your audience a good way to do it without creating much content yourself is by interviewing people.
Consider choosing a trending topic that is already in everybody´s mind so you can ask around on the street with ease and people can give their opinions about it, be creative and enthusiastic in the way you approach people.
The key is to choose the right subject and ask the right question to create engagement.
Funny things can happen when you try this method!
Include Events or Social Gatherings
Sometimes adding some contextual background that sets the mood of the video is a good thing. Go to different social events and try to add variety that way to your videos portfolio.
Ask friends or family to help you out to make something interesting or funny, maybe a simple joke to one of your family members could work really well!
Birthdays, parades, music concerts, costumes parties, new years eve, Christmas, and many others that you could think are really good ideas to help you out on creating the perfect scenario for you to make a beautiful video.
How to Edit Your Videos
When you are starting out and you don´t have an intro and/or outro for your videos, don´t know really how to film, or anything at all about editing and production, that´s ok. I got you covered.
Let´s just start by cutting and trimming the unnecessary parts of your videos and maybe adding some simple graphics.
iPhones and iPads
If you are using an iPhone you can simply edit by going to your photos app and click on Edit. Then move using the slides of the video and cut every piece you want to take out, you can preview the video before and after by clicking the play button. When you´re finished tap done and save as a new clip.
iMovie
It is one of the best free iPhone apps there is. Your video clips can be turned easily into movies with this useful tool. One word of advice is that you should film in landscape mode because it enables you to see longer video clips, editing is easier overall, and the icons feature accompanying text in case you forget which one does what.
Go with Movie Maker
There is a similar version for Windows that you can use very easily too! Trimming and editing videos, in general, is pretty fast and extremely user-friendly. Try it out if you own a Windows system. it is totally free!
Upload and Promote on Social Media
The fasted and easiest way to promote your videos is through social media. Whether is your Facebook, Twitter, or Instagram account it doesn´t really matter, it is always a good idea to try it out and share your latest work to the people of your community.
Not only you´ll get immediate feedback from friends and family for you to get better, but you´ll grow faster too if enough people share your videos!
It is essential that you don´t hide out your work and effort, you have to put yourself out there and do it as often as you can if you want to improve with time.
Market the Right Way
There are several ways to accomplish this. But one of the most effective ways to do it is making your videos as good as possible. The rest will take care of itself.
Obvious right? Well, let me tell you that making quality videos is crucial taking into consideration the number of people that are currently uploading content to the internet. It is key to be very helpful and entertain the user. It is essential to connect with your audience.
Now, being that said. At the very beginning, you just have to focus on filming and learn basic editing and upload as many videos as you can. That way you´ll learn how to make quality videos! there´s no other way.
Take action! That´s your marketing approach for now. Later on, you can develop good practices in marketing strategies. But it shouldn´t be a big concern for now.
Final Thoughts
The most important factor that you have to attend to is your capacity to move forward and take action. Vlogging is not very hard. The hard part is to make very good videos on a day to day basis.
To get to that level you have to commit and stay focused. But mainly, take action. Doesn´t matter if your first 10 or 20 videos are a load of crap. They are your very first! There´s a lot more to come.
Be patient and work hard. Stay humble and keep learning Vlogger. Your time will come!