I can’t believe it’s already been a year since I started using YouTube for my business. It’s been such a whirlwind of learning, creating, and connecting with all of you. I wanted to take a moment to express my sincerest gratitude for your support – your views, likes, comments, and shares have fueled my passion for this journey.
Here are a few stats, if you’re curious 👀. On July 5th, 2023, my first video went live, after procrastinating for months since creating my channel on February 2, 2023. Today, I’m excited to share my experience, the highs, and the lows, with all of you. As of writing this, I have 45,489 views and 863 subscribers, which is mind-blowing to me. Excluding YouTube shorts, I’ve recorded 56 videos with 50 of those actually published.
My top 3 videos are:
3 Canva Text Effects for Beginners
5 Canva Tips & Hacks You Should Know!
How to Add a Button to The Header Navigation
In This Blog Post:
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Starting a YouTube Channel for My Business
Starting a YouTube channel was a leap of faith for me. I started my YouTube channel primarily as a marketing attempt to give my business more exposure. I felt that if I could create a space where people could get to know, like, and trust me, my business would reap the benefits. My intention was, and still is, to use YouTube to grow my business, not to be a YouTuber.
The channel also fuels my passion for teaching. I’ve always loved sharing knowledge, and YouTube provides the perfect platform to do so.
Additionally, starting the channel helped me overcome my own challenge of putting myself out there. Initially, I began by creating short videos on Instagram. If you ever get to watch my first few Shorts, you’ll cringe, believe me! But that’s the beauty of putting yourself out there. Doing something you are afraid of and pushing past it.
I can now watch those videos and see how far I’ve come, and it made transitioning to YouTube slightly more comfortable. I feel more seen and valued on YouTube than any other platform.
My Journey and Growth on YouTube
The journey hasn’t been easy, but it’s been incredibly rewarding. The biggest reward is seeing the progress I’ve made. Looking back at my first videos, I can appreciate my growth and improvement. It’s a reminder of how much I’ve learned and how far I’ve come. Despite the fear of not being good enough and the pressure to be perfect, I’ve managed to push through and stay consistent, only missing two weeks of posting in the entire year!!!
Every week I manage the fear of being on camera, although as time passes it gets easier and easier. Let’s be honest, those first few videos were…well, a learning experience! In fact, there are 2 videos I recorded that will never see the light of day, yep they are really bad. I rambled so…so much. But with each video, I continue to gain confidence. I still feel like I haven’t found my video style.
My Challenges on YouTube
- Time Management: Balancing time as a mom, wife, and business owner while creating weekly YouTube content has been challenging. My husband helps me edit videos, which is the main reason I’ve been able to maintain a weekly schedule. I am so slow at editing videos…so slow! Thank you to the best husband ever!
- Self-Doubt: Overcoming negative comments and self-doubt has been a significant hurdle. I remember a hurtful comment, a very long time ago, about my accent that left a lasting impact. However, seeing my own progression and the encouragement from others has helped me tremendously.
- Organization: Despite having processes for my web design business, I struggled with organizing thoughts and video ideas as well as scripting for YouTube. This has been a learning curve, but I’m getting better with each week.
- Fear of Failure: The fear of failing on a public platform like YouTube is daunting. But I embraced the mindset that failures are learning opportunities (all credit goes to my therapist and mindset coach on this one). The advice I’ve heard from various YouTubers that the first 50 to 100 videos will be just practice has been great advice and has allowed me to not take my 1st 100 videos so seriously.
Rewards and Encouragement from YouTube
The most rewarding part of this journey has been the comments from the viewers. It’s always nice to see comments like “This channel is so underrated…” and “I’ve seen all your videos and I learn lots of things from you!” These messages make all the time spent researching, scripting, recording, editing, and creating thumbnails worth it. Because YouTube videos are evergreen, unlike Instagram posts that die after a few days, the effort I put into making videos is so much more rewarding.
Tools and Equipment I Use for YouTube
Here’s a list of some of the tools and equipment I use for creating my videos:
- Camera: My iPhone 13
- Camera Desk Mount
- Camera Lens Filter
- Microphone: Lavalier Mic and Rode Mic
- Desktop Mic Stand
- Lighting: LCD Light Panel
- Elgato XL Green Screen
- Editing Software: Davinci Resolve
Future Plans for the YouTube Channel
Now that I’ve completed my goal of one year of weekly videos, I’m excited about the future. I’ll continue creating videos because I love teaching and sharing my knowledge. With that said, I’m considering adjusting my video posting schedule to every other week.
I plan to develop my blog as a complement to my videos. Whether it’s mastering Shopify or accessing the full potential of Canva, I want my blog to become a treasure of resources to help you build and grow your ecommerce business.
Conclusion
Thank you for being here and supporting me throughout this journey. Your comments and feedback are incredibly valuable. While the “thank you” messages are motivating, constructive feedback pushes me to be better, so keep them coming.
I hope this post encourages those of you who are thinking about starting a YouTube channel for your business to do so. Don’t be afraid to put yourself out there. The journey is challenging but rewarding.
Thank you for following along on my first year on YouTube. If you are not following me over on YouTube please consider Subscribing Here
If have any questions or comments, feel free to leave them below. Let’s continue to learn and grow together!
