Hello! Right now you’re reading “The Creator Confidential”, a blog where famous YouTubers share their stories and tips they have for growing a YouTube channel. Over the past week, I had the pleasure of interviewing Brooke, and here is the finished result. Enjoy!
Brooke Didas has a YouTube channel with over 61,000 subscribers and 4.4 million views. She first started filming videos in middle school on another channel, but she stopped after people at school found out about it. Then, in senior year of highschool, she started her channel back up again, motivated by her passion for creating videos and determination to live life to the fullest. In this post, she shares her top 3 tips for smaller YouTubers, her inspiring mindset when it comes to hate, and how she balances YouTube and school.
"I had this realization that I haven't been living my life for myself. I was living for other people, I was constantly concerned about what people thought about me. If I died tomorrow I wouldn't have been happy with the life I was leading, I was so caught up in being what I thought people wanted me to be."
What inspired you to create your channel? When did you start?
I had created my first YouTube video back in 8th grade, I had been making videos for years before that though. I would carry around my iPad on family vacations and fake vlog in about 6th and 7th grade. I started making videos in 8th grade because I became obsessed with YouTubers like MacBarbie07. Bethany Mota was my idol. Anyways, I kept my channel a secret and once people at school found out about it, I deleted all my videos. I only had about 1,000 subscribers at that time. I ended up going through high school always hoping that I would have the courage to make videos. I planned on graduating and then starting up my channel again. I started my channel back up again in June of my senior year right before I graduated with the mindset of "I'm doing it for the memories". It was something I was so passionate about and I didn't even care that I didn't have an audience anymore.
There was a terrible car accident a few towns over from me involving two girls I went to elementary school with. It was a day before their last day (like me) of high school and just weeks away from graduation. One of the girls died at the scene of the crash and it really shook me up. I had this realization that I haven't been living my life for myself. I was living for other people, I was constantly concerned about what people thought about me. If I died tomorrow I wouldn't have been happy with the life I was leading, I was so caught up in being what I thought people wanted me to be. So that week, I started up my YouTube channel again and haven't stopped since.
Do you think your family or background/where you grew up influenced your content? Can you talk about how your parents or sister affected your YouTube channel?
My parents have always been extremely supportive and I know that I'm very lucky. My Dad and Mom had supported me back in my days during middle school making videos on vacation and by myself in my room. My Dad is an entrepreneur, so he has helped guide me through the business side of things as my channel began growing as well. And I guess I haven't ever thought about it but my sister was always supportive as well, even from the start. As much as we bicker and typical sister jabs, she never has made fun of me or been negative towards my YouTube channel. I think she even likes it now because she is always interested in popping in my videos! Basically growing up my entire family and extended family have been really supportive of any dreams or ambitions any of us have had. I'm very grateful for that and hope I'm able to do something similar for my audience, inspiring them to pursue their passions.
How long does it typically take you to edit your videos?
It varies from 3 hours to days of editing on and off. It's very specific based on the type of video, so vlogs, true crime videos, hauls are all different because they all have such different aspects.
Top 3 tips you would give to small YouTubers trying to start a successful YouTube channel?
Consistency. I'm not the best with this. I post at least once a week, but I don't have a specific day. I know that especially as a new YouTuber, the algorithm favors channels and videos when they're posted on a specific day(s) each week. The more content you are producing, the better chance your channel has at growing. Simple tip but definitely a difficult one that takes time and dedication.
Don't stress over the numbers. When I find my channel growing, it's during the times I don't pay too much attention to my views or subscriber count. But when I stress over it and fixate on the growth or lack of it, then I find there is none. The truth is that the following will grow with time, stick true to yourself and you will attract the right people. I personally would rather have a smaller following that feels super connected to me than a larger following that feels disconnected. Remember earlier when I was saying I had a channel in middle school with about 1,000 subscribers? When I started it back up after 4 years, I understood most of my subscribers were ghost followers. So I created a mindset that I would repeat to myself when I saw my subscriber number go down when I started posting again. It was that I wanted my subscriber number to go down. Because I wanted that genuine audience who liked the videos I was making, which changed from a 13 year old with makeup and beauty to an 18 year old making vlogs. So I would say, focus on cultivating a genuine audience rather than only caring about the numbers increasing.
Make content you're interested in. It's fun to follow video trends but you have to stay true to yourself and your content. If it's something you're interested in, 100% do it. Sometimes when you're starting out those are the types of videos that may get you noticed. But always stick to your roots and make content you're passionate about, don't be too concerned over views and subscriber counts because you want to attract a genuine audience who loves the content that you love making.
How do you find opportunities with brands?
I am with Table Rock Management right now and they handle all the sponsorships and other opportunities for me. Before then, I just had my email in my description box of each video and companies would reach out when they wanted to work with me.
What's your favorite video on your channel?
Wow! That's so hard, I really love them all because it feels like I'm watching home videos. I love any videos that are with my family or friends, reliving the memories are amazing.
How do you balance college with YouTube? Do you have any time management tips?
Time management and discipline. I want to make a video on this soon because it definitely is not easy! YouTube takes a lot of time because there's so much behind the scenes that goes on. Making sure I have time for filming/editing along with the business side of things AND college is a struggle sometimes. My google calendar is my best friend and I'm constantly planning and organizing. That helps for sure.
Finally, what is your experience with hate (in real life and in comments) and do you have any advice on how to deal with it?
I try to disregard the hate I get in real life and in the comments. What people say is a reflection of themselves and their own journey that they're on, so I try not to take anything personally. There's a really great quote in the book "The Four Agreements" by Don Miguel Ruiz, "Don't take anything personally, nothing others do is because of you. What others say and do is a projection of their own reality. Their own dream." That's something I've repeated to myself since I read that book when I was 16 and it's helped a lot. I highly recommend that book!
Thanks for reading! A huge thanks to Brooke for taking the time to answer all the questions. Here are the links to all her socials:
Instagram: @brookedidas https://www.instagram.com/brookedidas/?hl=en
Pinterest: Brooke Didas https://www.pinterest.com/brookeedidas/
YouTube: Brooke Didas https://www.youtube.com/user/beautywithbrooke3
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