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. Today’s post is something special and the first of a series called “YouTube from the Perspective of a Small Channel”. In this series, small YouTube channels share their successes and struggles, how they got their first subscribers, why they started, and more! If you want to be featured, you can send me an email (thecreatorconfidential@gmail.com) or DM me on Instagram (@thecreatorconfidential). Over the past week, I had the pleasure of interviewing Grace, and here is the finished result. Enjoy!
Introduce yourself!
Hey everyone. My name is Grace and I am a 16 year old YouTube and Instagram content creator from London, UK. First of all, thank you so much to The Creator Confidential for asking me to do this interview! I absolutely love this concept and what you do.
I joined the world of content creating in January of 2018, when I launched my very first blog! Ever since then, my content has changed drastically; the main difference being my switch from the blogosphere to YouTube. The content I make currently evolves around fashion, productivity and my life! My channel is filled with hauls, productive vlogs and days in my life, as well as the odd challenge, trend and lifestyle input. I started creating YouTube content because it is really what I wanted to do when I first became a content creator, but I didn’t have the courage, so instead I made a blog, as it was easier to hide behind. At the time when I started, the majority of my internet friends were YouTube creators, so I felt like it was the next thing for me, and it just felt like the right time, especially with all the support from them.
My current fave youtubers to watch are Anastastia Kingsnorth, Dixie Damelio (especially her new talk show) and family vlogging channels such as Dad V Girls.
How did you, personally, become more integrated with and interact more with the YouTube community/fellow YouTubers?
When I first started out on my YouTube journey, I made sure I was in lots of support groups on Instagram. However, I made sure to heavily engage with other’s links and content so as to show I was serious about being part of the community and invested in supporting other creators too.
There is a fine line between organic and inorganic growth on YouTube. In my eyes, small YouTuber support videos, sub for sub and DMing people asking them to subscribe are inauthentic methods of growth. I would instead suggest genuinely engaging in the community and focus on bettering your content so that it is the highest quality it could be.
If anyone is looking to grow and is interested in growing authentically on Instagram / YouTube, my internet best friend Lauren and I run an instagram page called @thecreatorcorner. It is a hub of content creators where we share creators and glimpses of the content they create. People are free to follow and engage with whichever creators they like. It is completely authentic, rather than a transaction. I also just want to mention that Lauren and I don’t get anything out of it; it is an account set up to purely provide creators with exposure to different audiences, especially as content creating is now such a saturated industry.
Do you have any apps that greatly helped your filming/editing process/overall YouTube experience?
YES! Over the year and a bit I have been on YouTube, I have learnt so much about different apps and how they can be used to generate effects I desire. Since the beginning, I have used an app called Phonto to add the text to my thumbnails. There are so many different fonts available, but you are also able to download your own fonts. There are a huge range of tools that really allow you to achieve whichever look you desire. A second app I use for my thumbnails is PicsArt. I especially love their blur effect, which I use for the background of all my thumbnails to give them a more professional look.
I recently discovered a free website called Thematic, which is great for getting music for your YouTube videos. It isn’t copyright free, but all you have to do to be able to use any of the music is copy and paste a credit line into your video description, which Thematic provides for you. It is very easy to use and there is a vast range of music available, so you will definitely find something on there.
Have you been monetized yet? If so, can you describe the process you had to go through?
I have been monetised on YouTube and I have in fact done a full video on my experience where I went into depth on the whole process from beginning to end. It’s quite a long process to explain in writing, so I will leave the link below if you are interested.
What would you say is the best opportunity you’ve had because of your YouTube channel?
Starting my YouTube channel has allowed me to do so much! I have worked with so many incredible brands, whose products I truly love and am so grateful to have been able to promote to my audience. I have loved every single collaboration I have done to this day, although I am particularly proud of working with Demalogica, Estrid and Seventeen London.
Have you encountered any types of hate at school/online because of your channel? If so, how do you deal with this?
Unfortunately, I definitely have had a small amount of hate, both online and in person. I get the odd comment on my YouTube channel that is hurtful and rude, but my way of dealing with the negativity is to delete it from the comment section and at the same time delete it from my mind.
Over the past couple of months as my YouTube channel has grown, people from school have begun to find out about my YouTube channel. The majority of people have been so lovely about it, which is such a relief. There is the odd person / groups of people that always bring it up and have something to say, which sucks! It’s not hate so much, just teasing and immaturity on their part. I just have to be the bigger person and act as though I don’t care so they move on.
What are your hopes for the future of your channel? What will it look like 2-10 years from now?
I can’t wait to see where my channel takes me. My main goal is to keep uploading and grow my audience, although I feel as though that is very generic. Currently, I am concentrating on finding my style and improving my editing, which I am having lots of fun with. I can’t wait to continue on this journey. Furthermore, going further into the future, it would be incredible to work with some big name brands and start creating a stronger flow of income from content creating.
Finally, why should people subscribe to your channel?
My YouTube channel is unique because I am myself. I let my personality shine through my content and don’t put on a show for the camera. Even after over a year on YouTube, I am still working on being even more real and myself, but I am very close to achieving this. I just create the content I want to create and enjoy making in the hope others will enjoy it and find it entertaining too.
Thanks for reading! A huge thanks to Grace for taking the time to answer all the questions. Here are the links to all her socials:
Instagram: @graceariya https://www.instagram.com/graceariya/
YouTube: Grace Ariya https://www.youtube.com/c/graceariya/
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