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Jul 12, 20208 min read

How Chaunna Diaz Grew Her YouTube Channel - The Creator Confidential

Hello! Right now you’re reading “The Creator Confidential”, a blog where famous and successful YouTubers share their stories and tips they have for growing a YouTube channel. Over the past week, I had the pleasure of interviewing Chaunna, and here is the finished result. Enjoy!


Chaunna Diaz has over 45,000 subscribers and 2.9 million views on her YouTube channel! Many people discovered her channel through a video she made while in quarantine, “100 things to do while you’re self isolating”. This video now has over 860,000 views! However, Chaunna’s path to YouTube success definitely hasn’t been easy. She wasn’t introduced to the Internet until she was 13 years old. Then, when she started her channel, it was growing slowly. She struggled with anxiety and depression at a very young age, but used her YouTube channel to cope with it as she got older. Because of her motivation, Chaunna was able to pull through to become the successful YouTuber she is today! In this blog post, she shares her YouTube tips, how to deal with hate, and much more!

"I used to think "Subscribe" on YouTube meant you had to pay to watch the person like a magazine subscription! (Embarrassing, I know). I was pretty late getting into social media but I'm glad I started."

What inspired you to create your channel?

I always had a deep passion for recording videos since I was a kid. I used to always be that friend that took pictures and videos of everyone else, but was always behind the camera. I've always been obsessed with filming equipment and movies, but it was more of just a hobby at first. After watching A LOT of Bethany Mota, Casey Neistat, David Dobrik & Liza Koshy I decided I wanted to put some of my creativity out there!


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?

I wasn't really introduced to YouTube and the internet world until I was about 13 years old. My parents were very old school when I was growing up so we didn't have internet at the house until I was in the 8th grade, so I was really behind on all the "trends" and getting into influencers. I used to think "Subscribe" on YouTube meant you had to pay to watch the person like a magazine subscription! (Embarrassing, I know). I was pretty late getting into social media but I'm glad I started. My family, especially my mom and older sister, always taught me to be myself and as a kid I always wanted to stand out. I wore the weirdest outfits to school because I strived so much to be different. I think my family has played a huge impact on how I carry myself and how I maintain authenticity. My parents always made sure my sister and I were ourselves and never pretended to be anyone else.

How long does it take to edit one of your videos?

Usually 2-3 days. I edit for about 2 hours before I need a break from the screen. I find vlogs take less time to edit rather than planned sit-down or structured videos. I would say it takes me 2-3 days on and off throughout the day.


Top 3 tips you would give to small YouTubers trying to start a successful YouTube channel?

  1. Just Start!! I know so many people that are going to say "it's too late now, I should have started years ago!" But guess what, in 5 years people are going to be saying "I should have started 5 years ago!" I heard something like this from The Skinny Confidential Podcasts, which can relate to a business or any career as well. You miss 100% of the shots you don't take, so the best thing you can do to start is set up your phone or camera and just GO!

  2. Stay Authentic! I know everyoneeeee says this but it's so true. If you go watch my first few videos (which I recommend you don’t cause they're so cringey), I tried to be some girly beauty/lifestyle/fashion YouTuber which is NOT me at all. As I started to get more comfortable in front of the camera I started to act more like myself, and that's when people started to enjoy my videos more.

  3. Be Consistent! I believe I am living PROOF that good things come to people that work hard and wait. Some people blow up on social media, and that is amazing for them! I am proud of anyone who works hard and chases their dreams. However, the reality is not everyone can blow up overnight or else we would all be "famous". I uploaded on YouTube for 2 years without being monetized. It took me 2 years to get 1000 subscribers and about 100 uploads. I didn't make a single penny but because I loved it so much and only focused on doing what I love, it didn't bother me. Yes, sometimes I would get down on myself while watching other Youtubers blow up and grow their channel exponentially, while I was struggling for years to reach only 1000 subs. However, I never gave up. And I owe a HUGE chunk of that to my boyfriend Evan. Every time I showed even an ounce of giving up he always motivated me to keep going and keep uploading, and one day it will all be worth it. Love you babe.

Chaunna's Instagram Post

In some of your videos you mentioned that you were an introvert. Does sharing your life with the world on YouTube bother you (do you get anxious at what people are going to think)? Also, do you think YouTube has changed you?

Yes, I have been an introvert my whole life, my mother can attest to that for sure. When my friends and family heard that I did YouTube for the first time, they were genuinely shocked because I am a really shy, quiet and closed-off person. I may seem very outgoing and upbeat in my videos- which I am when I am with the right people. It's something about just me and my camera that make me feel comfortable and that I am not being judged. I can be myself 100% and not feel anxious, compared to high school where I was closed off and anxious 95% of the time.

I have suffered from anxiety and depression since I was 13 and to have been diagnosed at such a young age and way before mental health was talked about in social media, I had to learn a lot about mental health almost all alone. It is still something I struggle with to this day. YouTube is kind of a coping mechanism for me because I can release my creative thoughts and humor just in front of a camera and share my personality with the world without having to be literally right in front of them. It's extremely hard for me to make new friends, and that is something I am kinda struggling with right now, being in university. I am working on it though! Sometimes I get a little awkward and anxious when people I don't really know bring up my channel for the first time, but it passes when I remind myself how proud I am of my channel. So yes, YouTube has changed me in a positive way!


Do you remember your reaction when you saw how many views your "What to do in quarantine" video got? You really started growing in terms of subscriber count after that video! Did that come as a surprise?

I was completely mind blown- I lowkey still am. It was the fastest growing video I ever uploaded during my whole 3 years on YouTube, and it skyrocketed my channel. I was in shock for the longest time and I hit 10,000 subscribers a week or so after uploading that video. When I filmed that video you can see in a clip I had almost 3000 subscribers and now I'm at almost 50,000 a few months later! So yes, I was VERY surprised.

Prior to the video that blew up (mentioned above), your channel was growing slowly. How did you stay motivated and keep filming videos for your channel?

As I touched upon earlier a bit, it was my boyfriend who kept me very motivated. It's such a blessing to have such a supportive person in my life. My best friends and family were very supportive as well, but it was hard to tell them when I was feeling down about my YouTube dreams. I also would remind myself that as long as I am happy and enjoying making videos, then why stop? If I built myself this platform with hundreds of videos, one of them has to be "the one" that's going to get noticed (which was my “100 things to do in quarantine” video). I told myself that if I create this huge bank of videos, then when people stumble across my channel they will have a boat load of videos to binge!

How do you find new opportunities with brands? Do you reach out to them or do they just email you? What is one of the best opportunities you've gotten from your YouTube channel?

At the beginning I would reach out to brands, and got rejected a lot haha. However, more recently starting this year, brands have been coming to me (through email) and then I decide if I want to work with them. However, the best opportunity I got from YouTube wouldn't be the brand deals, it is definitely meeting my subscribers through comments, DMs and Instagram lives. It's crazy to think about how there are so many people in this world, and some of them are fans of me?! It blows my mind. The greatest opportunity YouTube has given me is perspective and a chance to talk to some really cool people and hopefully inspire them!

Finally, what is your experience with hate (in school or online) and do you have any advice on how to deal with it?

People loooove to hate on things they can't control. I had people in elementary school and high school that absolutely hated me. I also receive comments and DMs calling me annoying, ugly, stupid etc. quite often. When you receive hate it's important to remember that people hate what they cant control, so honestly f*ck them lol. I have built a very low tolerance over the years for fake friends, fake people and any form of negativity. If there is something or someone I don't like - I simply cut them out of my life. I do not hate back on anyone, because fire with fire just makes more fire. I wish everyone the best and that they find happiness and love in their heart, so they can stop projecting their anger and issues on other people. Life is too short to hate or react to hate! Life is only long enough for love & happiness!


Thanks for reading! A huge thanks to Chaunna for taking the time to answer all the questions. Here are the links to all her socials:

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