Have you always dreamed of becoming a vlogger? But, don’t know where to start or what equipment is needed. 

Here’s your chance! I carried out research on this simple question and my findings were pretty much what I had anticipated; 87% of the people I surveyed answered ‘Yes’. 

So I took it as my duty to let those people know that you don’t need a chance to become a vlogger, you need a creative mind.

Becoming a vlogger is no rocket science, and certainly anybody can start their own Vlogging channel with a bunch of equipment and an idea in mind. 

However, to be a successful, popular and in-demand vlogger, there are some tips that I’ll give you which are going to pave that path for you.

Without any further ado, let’s start with the basics!

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What is a Vlog?

A vlog is a type of blog that focuses on video content rather than written text. Vloggers often film themselves talking to the camera about their day-to-day lives, thoughts, and opinions, but they can also produce more structured videos on specific topics. 

Many vloggers also use their channels to post vlogs about their creative hobbies, such as cooking or music. While vlogging requires some investment in equipment and editing software, it can be a fun and engaging way to connect with an audience. 

For many people, watching a vlog feels like getting to know a friend, which is one of the reasons why this format has become so popular in recent years.

Vlogging Vs Blogging

There are a lot of misconceptions about vlogging and blogging. People often think that they are the same thing, but there are actually quite a few differences between the two. 

Vlogging is typically much more personal than blogging. Vloggers will often show their faces on camera and share their thoughts and feelings with their viewers. 

Bloggers, on the other hand, tend to write about their topics from a more objective standpoint.

Another difference between vlogging and blogging is the format. Vlogs are typically much shorter than blogs, and they are also usually less formal. 

This is because vloggers are often just talking to their viewers, rather than writing an article. 

Blogs, on the other hand, are usually more formal and longer because they are more like articles.

Difference Between Vlogging and Blogging

Equipment Needs:

You would require two completely different sets of equipment for each. 

While blogging would demand only a decent computer with a stable internet connection, Vlogging would require you to invest in more fancy equipment.

But of course, that varies person to person; some vloggers begin by using their phones to record, edit and upload videos but some are truly committed and positive about their success in this field, so they carry out researches and buy the best camera, tripod, lighting, microphone etc.

Editing software are also sold to vloggers who wish to make their videos more engaging and fun to watch for the viewers; whereas some vloggers use the free ones.

I’d suggest you to do proper research before making your purchase because the market is quite saturated and an informed decision is the best decision.

The Demand:

It is a known fact that people enjoy visual learning and entertainment more than they enjoy reading. 

Ask yourself, would you rather watch a 2 hours’ movie or read for straight 2 hours to get rid of the boredom?

According to my survey, 77% people chose watching a movie, which only proves my point further when I say that Vlogging is successful because it’s visual.

That certainly doesn’t mean that blogging has failed. In fact, blogging has seen a 12% increase since 2015. 

Though I would say blogs aren’t that popular because it feels like work to read in your free time too and it take a great amount of time.

Time:

What I have noticed after transitioning from a blogger to a vlogger is that, Vlogging is more time taking. 

I used to believe writing takes up a lot of time and that Vlogging is a piece of cake, but my assumptions were proven wrong when I actually started recording vlogs.

Why? Because to make your vlogs rank high, you need to get the viewers’ attention and to do that, you need to make your videos as interesting as possible. 

For starters, using editing tools for your videos help a lot, and it takes a good chunk out of your day!

The Potential of Vlogging and Why You Should Do It:

Vlogging is on its way to become the next big thing. You see so many new vloggers boarding this ship and its only because of the positive future prospects. 

The Vlogging industry is flourishing and will keep doing so until the demand of this kind of entertainment dies.

But, do you really think demand for vlogs can die? 

For entertainment, maybe. But vlogs do much more than just entertaining us and that’s why it seems unlikely that this industry will go into a slump any time soon.

If you ever ask yourself, ‘should I start Vlogging too?’, and are conflicted by the pros and cons, consider these reasons. They should be enough for you to make the right decision;

It’s Profitable:

It earns quite well without having the need for heavy investments.

It’s Customizable:

You get to show the world your personality.

Helps in Networking:

You can collaborate with people and find like-minded people within the community.

Business Advertisement:

Becoming sponsor for businesses can be a big break. You can get endorsement opportunities and earn quite well along with connecting target consumers to the products they want.

What Qualification Do I Need for Vlogging?

One of the good things about Vlogging is that you don’t need any qualifications per se, to get into this career path. All you need are skills. So you need to ask yourself, do I have the skillset required to achieve my objective?

The skills that are vital to develop are and not limited to:

  1. Photography
  2. Videography or filmmaking
  3. Creativity
  4. Storytelling
  5. Current affairs knowledge
  6. Video editing
  7. Script writing
  8. Communication
  9. Other content specific skills e.g. makeup skills

It is not necessary to have all of the above skills, but try to develop at least 4-5 of them to make your vlogs better in comparison to others. Make them unique!

How Do Beginners Start Vlogging?

 Vlogs has reached a next level of popularity today and the fact that so many people are becoming vloggers imply how easy it is to start Vlogging.

In order to become a vlogger, firstly, one should have an idea of what it is that he wants to make videos about. 

You should ask yourself, ‘why do I want to share this with the world?’ and then accordingly select your target market.

Let me give you some tips about how beginners can capture the market in the Vlogging industry by following just a few basic tips.

Tips for beginners to be a successful vlogger:

Decide the Content You Want to Include:

Make notes of your skills and decide which ones you want to use when starting off and what do you want the subject of your vlog to be. 

Remember to make it something that you’re good at and identify the gap in the market and use that gap to your advantage.

Identify Your Target Audience:

There are over 2.6 billion YouTube users, all with different preferences. Do research and decide who you want to watch your videos and why.

Choose Your Equipment:

When starting a vlog, equipment matters a lot. I am not saying that having high-end, expensive equipment is important but having the right equipment is.

You can start off with your phone camera, if the camera has an acceptable resolution, and you can use a ring light to enhance the quality of the video with a small budget. I reviewed best equipment for vlogging so make sure to check it out.

Choose Your Accessories:

Along with the camera, it is vital to have some extra accessories to have a smooth Vlogging experience. You can get a gimbal for stabilization, which is a very important factor in your video.

If your video is blurry or shaky, your audience won’t find it up to the standard. 

Make sure to keep extra memory cards and a charger or power bank if you’re using a phone. Keep extra batteries in case of a camera.

Find Aesthetic Backgrounds and Consider Your Filming Technique:

Background matter a lot in catching your target audience’s eye. You wouldn’t wanna go with a messy or cluttered background as it would seem unpleasant, but a pop of color and patterns or maybe a nature-based background would appeal to your audiences, so choose your background according to your target audience.

Secondly, you will pave your way through this by selecting the way you record your videos. 

Choosing various angles, adding creative animations, including interesting anecdotes or anything else that you think might interest your viewers would definitely help you get a head start in the beginning of your Vlogging career.

Be Confident:

Show your audience that you believe in yourself and have a bold and strong personality and appearance.

People like to follow individuals with leadership traits and they will find your content more interesting if they feel like they could learn from you.

Don’t Unnecessarily Prolong Your Video:

Keep it short, to the point. No need to waste your viewers’ time and your own as well. 

Gauge the length of the video and try to keep it within that limit so that viewers don’t get bored or tired.

Proven Tips to Become Professional Vloggers:

There are 6 tips that have proven immensely successful in turning mediocre vloggers to professional vloggers in very little time and I am going to share them with you.

1. Research!

Researching before diving into a task is an important factor to get a level of perfection in your work and it is as important in Vlogging as in any scientific research.

Carrying out surveys and finding out what are the gaps in market and how you can fulfil them is one of the ways to become a professional vlogger.

2. Create a Channel and Market It

Show your presence on social media! You must know now how important marketing is, whether it’s a product or a service, to get the word out to people, you will need to use different media.

You can collaborate with fellow vloggers, you can accept endorsements from brands and sponsor brands and that’s how you can increase your outreach, turning you into a professional vlogger in no time.

3. Keep the Videos Coming!

Once you establish an audience on your channel, don’t let the traffic die down. 

Keep your audience engaged by posting videos regularly and keep your videos unique from one another.

4. Talk to your followers!

Be interactive, try to stay active in the comments section and answer your followers’ questions. When they know they’re being heard and seen, they will automatically develop a liking for you.

5. Choose your niche wisely

While choosing your niche, consider your strengths and your skillset and see how you can enhance them further and use them in making your videos more likable and professional.

6. Optimize your videos

This means getting your videos to appear in as many searches as possible. This increases your chance of being seen and hence, your audience increasing.

How to Make Money From Your Vlogs?

As entertaining as Vlogging is, what makes it more attractive to choose as a career is that it gives you a chance to monetize your talent through different channels.

Now, I have sorted the sources of income from Vlogging into two categories; The popular ones and the rarely used ones. Have a look;

Popular Ways to Monetize Your Vlogs

  1. Sponsorship posts and videos or paid content: These could be promotions of a brand, or marketing of a certain service, endorsements of various products and brands. Your vlog would feature the concerned product or brand in your video urging your followers to endorse that product or brand.

  2. YouTube advertisements: you can use YouTube’s Partner Program to monetize your channel; you will have to hit 4000 watch hours along with a 1000 subscribers within the last year and then your videos can feature ads, as an income source.

  3. Merchandise: Many popular YouTubers have launched their merchandise and their viewers and fans buy them which makes it a source of income for those vloggers. Some examples would be; MrBeast, Ali A, Odd ones out etc.

Rarely Used Methods of Monetizing Your Vlogs

  1. Vlogger kits: Vloggers often bundle up the software and tools they use for their videos and sell them online at a markup. A bundle could include end-frames, buttons, Openers etc.

  2. Video Look Up Tables: LUTs are sets of numbers through which your software determines different color sets and adds them to your videos as filters, giving them a different, colorful and fresh look. These are not that common but vloggers use these LUTs to their advantage and earn a fortune selling these to other small-scale vloggers or your followers.

Most Popular Vlog Niches:

Vlogging has become increasingly popular in recent years, as platforms like YouTube make it easy for anyone to share their thoughts and experiences with a wide audience.

While there are an endless number of potential vlog topics, some niches are more popular than others. Here are three of the most popular vlog niches:

Daily Vlogs

These are the most popular vlogs among all ages of people. They are basically video diaries where you show your viewers everything you do in your day. It could be a bucket list, a family game night etc.

Travel Vlogs:

I would rank these as second most popular; traveling is a dream for many.

But not everyone gets to fulfil it, so instead of going to their favorite places themselves, they share their experience with the vloggers that take their viewers on the whole tour, showing and explaining everything in their videos.

A lot of vloggers are stepping into this niche and are getting immense love and popularity.

Informative Vlogs:

This niche covers a vast area; information on certain topics, how-to videos, tutorials, current affairs, skincare routines and the list goes on.

This niche ranks on 3rd because people are always searching for information online and what’s better than getting that information by an expert, with just one click?

Is Vlogging Considered a Career?

I doubt it’s even a question anymore but I still decided to answer it.

Yes. Vlogging is considered a proper virtual career. Call it a job or a business, you earn through Vlogging, sometimes more than enough to fulfil your necessities and sometimes even luxuries, and therefore I would definitely say making vlogs is not only a career, it’s a lucrative career.

Your income depends upon you and yourself only; more interesting your content, more engagements, more revenue. 

Stats show that almost 75% of the youngsters (ages 6-17) opted for becoming vloggers in future.

There are a number of successful vloggers who are earning millions and they’ve made their fortune through YouTube only; a few examples would be:

Best Social Media For Vlogging:

Obviously you will need some media to reach your audience and there are a lot of platforms out there dedicated to this. But only a few are worth using, YouTube being at the top of my list!

1. YouTube:

Most popular and almost used by every vlogger out there!

2. Facebook:

Most vloggers also have presence on Facebook and they share their vlogs there too to reach maximum people, especially those who don’t use YouTube that frequently; that’s probably because people tend to open Facebook more per day as it features a variety of content unlike YouTube that only contains videos and shorts.

3. Instagram:

It is important for vloggers to have a social media presence, especially where most interaction is possible and hence they post either links or clips to their vlogs on their Instagram handles and interact with their followers there through polls, stories, questions etc.

4. TikTok:

This platform has become quite popular recently and has become the source of most viral videos and trends.

The kind of vlogs uploaded on TikTok are a bit different than our traditional idea of vlogs. They’re short videos, but branch out into various niches, comedy skits, dance videos, quick cooking videos etc.

5. Twitch:

Twitch is a live streaming platform quite popular among gamers. Though it’s not confined to that anymore because now, more and more vloggers are also using twitch for their purposes.

Twitch’s main focus is on live videos, but you do have the option to save and upload your videos to your accounts, though that’s not the point of the platform.

Summary

Becoming a vlogger is pretty easy and it does not ask for much efforts, but you have to keep in mind the few tips and tricks that I mentioned above to achieve the best in no time. Here’s a summary of what we learnt;

  • What is a vlog and what is required to become a vlogger?
  • Tips and tricks to start Vlogging
  • How to make Vlogging a lucrative career for yourself
  • Platforms and niches that are the most popular

My detailed guide would definitely take you places; so don’t wait up, kick start your Vlogging career now!

 

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Brett J.

I'm an enthusiastic American solo traveler. Since childhood, I had a great interest and passion for filmmaking; that's why I chose media sciences as a career and started Vlogging as a full-time profession.

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