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 Lily, and here is the finished result. Enjoy!
Lily Rakow’s channel has over 39,000 subscribers and 4.6 million views! One of her most popular videos has over 400,000 views. In today’s blog post, she talks about how she started her channel, how to find opportunities with brands, amazing advice on how to deal with hate, and much much more!
"Ultimately when it comes to nasty comments, I just try to remember “hurt people hurt people”, meaning that when someone is hurting, they will do everything they can to hurt you too and bring you down to their level."
What inspired you to create your channel? When did you start?
Since I was little I always loved making videos. My sisters and I would make “movies”
using our little Canon Powershot cameras and edit on Windows Movie Maker. We were obsessed with creators like Bethany Mota, Meredith Foster, and MyLifeAsEva, who actually
inspired us to make a shared sister YouTube channel. Those embarrassing videos are STILL up because we forgot the password (brownie points to anyone who can find it)!!! We stopped making videos almost as quickly as we started, but I wish we stuck with it throughout middle and high school.
That being said, the summer before my senior year of high school, I started making videos again, but on my own channel. It was actually really spontaneous. In late August of 2017,
my mom, my younger sister Lexie, and I were doing some back to school shopping and I said “I wish I was a YouTuber so I could go home and film a haul of all this cute stuff”, and Lexie goes, “you don’t have to be a YouTuber to film a video and post it”. So I did.
Do you think your family or the background/where you grew up influenced your content? In a positive or negative way? Can you talk about how your parents or sisters affected your YouTube channel?
I was raised on the East Coast of Maryland, and in my town, no one ever does anything
social media related. When I started posting YouTube videos, it was strange to other people in my area. I think it negatively impacted my excitement for vlogging because my peers thought it was strange. My town is literally the furthest you can get (location wise and attitude-wise) from LA, and people were always vocal against those who went against the crowd. On the flip side, it almost encouraged me to keep posting. I wanted to show people that their negativity couldn’t stop me.
That being said, my family has always been so supportive of my channel. They truly are my number one fans, and they never let me forget that. They are the ones who encouraged me to start in the first place, and I’m so grateful that they did. My sisters are truly my best friends, and they always add some flair to the vlogs when they are around.
Top 3 tips you would give to small YouTubers trying to start a successful YouTube
channel?
Okay, these are the THREE things that I wish someone had told me when I was just
starting out.
Make trendy and searchable videos. I know you might have a long list of really exciting and new ideas, but start out by posting a FEW “trendy” videos (morning routines, clothing hauls, back to school content, etc). You need to build up that audience with videos they are searching for, then they will start watching your daily vlogs and unique videos.
Your first few videos are going to be terrible. But that is okay. Talking to a camera is so awkward, editing is tricky, and the YouTube algorithm is hard to understand. But if you don’t post your first video, there will never be a second, third, etc. You just have to START!
Do it because you love it. When you post that first video, you are literally posting for an audience of zero. You have no incentive to post it other than pure joy for you. So if you genuinely love making videos, people will take note of that. If you are just posting with the intent to get famous quickly and move out to LA with the pros and make millions, you might be disappointed. There is so much work that goes on behind the scenes that people don’t see in the final product, so you have to love the required work.
What motivates you to continue making videos?
My subscribers. I absolutely love talking to everyone in the comments and in my DMs. I
am forever grateful for the platform I have and it’s all because of them. Thank you for
everything.
How do you find opportunities with brands? Also, this doesn’t necessarily have to be
about brands but, what is one of the best opportunities you’ve had because of your
channel?
By the time I reached around 8,000 subscribers in 2018, I started to get shady emails
from brands I’ve never heard of. I got scammed a couple of times by brands (PRO TIP: if you
have to pay anything for a “brand deal”, it’s a scam. They should be paying you!!) and it became exhausting to negotiate when I didn’t know my worth.
In early 2019, I signed with Table Rock Management and I am so grateful for the
opportunities I have been given because of the amazing team at TRM. I think my favorite of all time was Lululemon. I cried when I got that email. If you are a creator interested in doing more branded content, I would highly suggest getting in contact with a management team or doing extensive research on how much you should be charging for brand deals. Your work has so much value!
How long does it take you to edit one of your videos?
On the low end a few hours, on the high end 2-3 days. I try really hard to edit as I go (if I
am doing a week in my life vlog, for example, I would edit Monday’s footage on Monday night, Tuesday’s footage on Tuesday, etc). That style is a game-changer.
How do you juggle school and life with your YouTube channel? Have any time
management tips?
My genre of YouTube is interesting because school and life ARE my content. I’ve gotten
into a flow of filming whatever is happening, then putting the camera away to enjoy the moment. I’ve also noticed that I stay sane by taking my weekends to relax. If I vlog on the weekend, I just film for fun, and I don’t edit anything (unless I feel up for it!!). When you work for yourself, it can be so hard to balance everything, but be sure to set boundaries for yourself. Working, schooling, and life can co-exist if you plan accordingly. And remember that your mental and physical health comes before all of that!
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?
We love a spicy hate comment. Just kidding. People can be CRUEL, especially behind a
computer screen. I’ve noticed that especially within the last six months, people have become
more hateful (and more creative with their insults) than ever before. A lot of it stems from peoplejust being bored in their houses, but that is no excuse to call someone names or point out a flaw (that they are already aware of!!!!!!!!!!)
My best advice is to just delete the comment and block the person. Now I know a lot of people will be like “oh no that is censoring your audience/how could you do that/etc…..” but here’s the thing: there is a HUGE difference between constructive criticism and a true, hatefully rooted, mean comment. But most people don’t know the difference because nowadays it seems like anything goes. If you have some constructive advice or a way to make the person’s content better, by all means, leave the comment. Feedback is how people grow. But, if you are about to comment something that you wouldn’t say in front of your grandmother or to your best friend, don’t comment it. (For example: Don’t tell me that I have acne. I already know that. It’s not your place. You are now blocked and deleted.)
Ultimately when it comes to nasty comments, I just try to remember “hurt people hurt
people”, meaning that when someone is hurting, they will do everything they can to hurt you too and bring you down to their level. You have no benefit to leaving it there, just to come back to the comments section later and feel like crap again. That just sucks. You don’t need that in your life, so just delete the darn comment!
Thanks for reading! A huge thanks to Lily for taking the time to answer all the questions. Here are the links to all her socials:
Instagram: @lilyrakow https://www.instagram.com/lilyrakow/
YouTube: Lily Rakow https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCWcl4e24IqpoJascwlxoTMw
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