How to Keep Your YouTube Channel Active When You’re Away

With just a few steps, you can prepare your YouTube channel for any time away you might be thinking of taking. Vacation or stay-cation, you don't have to take your channel with you.


Think of your Schedule
How often do you upload? It's a good idea to maintain a consistent schedule both so that your subscribers know when to expect a new video and to keep you constantly making new things. Life happens though, and sometimes taking a break (planned or unplanned) is necessary. I took a few weeks off when my computer was in the shop last year and my poor YouTube channel was not prepared. Some sad webcam vlogs followed. That’s why you should think ahead and stockpile videos, so when you’re on vacation, your YouTube channel doesn’t have to be!


Stockpile Videos
All this means is when you have a free day, instead of filming one video, film two (or 10!) Take advantage of an easy vlog setup, change your outfit each time (optional but oh so sneaky), and make sure your video topics are evergreen so it won’t matter when they go live. If you don’t want to film too many at once, at least try and stay one video ahead of schedule so you have that cushion.


Scheduling
If you know you’re going to be away from your computer the day of the upload, on your much deserved vacation, YouTube will allow you to schedule your video in advance so you don’t even have to log in. You may not see 'Schedule' as an option right away if your channel is new. To obtain this feature you must first verify your channel. To check and see if you’re verified just login, go to 'Creator Studio', then 'Channel', then 'Status and Features'. If under your channel name it says 'Partner Verified' then you’re okay, if not then you can verify your channel here. Consider scheduling some social media posts about your video as well, wherever your subscribers hang out.


Comments
When your new video goes live you’ll hopefully get a few comments. Now if you’re off swimming in the Caribbean or hiking up Mount Fuji then replying to those lovely comments might have to wait. If you’re, however, sipping a cappuccino in a Parisian café you might have a second to check in. If so, the YouTube Studio phone app is great for this. Don’t get too obsessed with checking the views or likes, you’re supposed to be on a stress free vacation, remember?


Email
This may not apply to everyone but if you list your email address on your YouTube channel 'About' page, then you might hear from your subscribers every so often. If that’s the case (as it is with me) I like to turn on a Vacation Responder so people know I’m not just ignoring their emails. I also turn on Inbox Pause so if I’m on my computer I’m not tempted to do any work. It’s free and great if you have Gmail.

Take a Break
Lastly, as Angelica Schuyler sings in the musical Hamilton, take a break. The importance of keeping your YouTube channel active is of course up to you. Typically it's more important if it's your business but less important if it's your hobby. Please let me know if you have any questions by emailing me or signing up for my newsletter.

Safe Travels!

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Why Bloggers Should be on YouTube

YouTube is amazing, it's transforming the way we view entertainment and the way we connect with other people online. If you're already convinced of it's awesomeness, scroll down to my first reason bloggers should be on YouTube. If not, listen to these reasons it's the best:

• YouTube is the second largest search engine (after Google), it processes more than 3 billion searches a month.
• YouTube reaches more US adults 18-34 than any cable network.
• It gets over 1 billion unique monthly visitors.
• Nearly a half of all internet users are on YouTube.
• In 2005 it was founded by 3 former PayPal employees and in 2006 it was bought by Google for $1.65 billion. 

Convinced yet? If you're building your business online, increasing your brand awareness, or you just want more people to know who you are, you should be on YouTube.

Reach

The blogging and vlogging worlds do not always collide. I understand that not everyone out there watches videos online, but that also means not everyone out there reads blogs either. There are potential customers and fans out there that simply don't care about blogs. It's not the kind of online experience they want to have so they don't seek them out. If you have a presence on YouTube you get to reach both demographics.

Authority

How do you sign your blog posts? With your name? Do you have a photo of yourself in your about page? Well think about how much more personal a video is. You're appearing on video, as yourself, teaching people what you know. That kind of vulnerability builds trust. It also builds authority. If you make how to videos, explinations, anwser questions on YouTube within your niche, you'll start to become known for that.

Collaborate & Connect

If you're uploading video on YouTube you've got to be watching them as well. Make connections with other YouTubers, you'll find out some are bloggers as well. If you meet someone that's in your niche then you can work together to cross collaborate and make videos together. Make two videos, upload them both on the same day, and tell the viewers to check out the other. That way you share audiences and expand your viewership. (And not to mention, collaborating on YouTube is so fun!) Not in the same town? I've done many remote collaborations on YouTube, you just need to get creative. 

Ad Revenue

Whether you're signed to a network or not, you can make money from YouTube ads and YouTube Red. Once you're signed up for Google Adsense you'll have the ability to monetize your videos. Remember though, only post videos you have the rights to, and that includes music!

Inspiration

If you're still apprehensive about starting your YouTube channel, take some time to watch YouTube first. Find vloggers and creators you like, subscribe to them, comment on all their new videos, get inspired by what they make. Basically, get obsessed with YouTube. You'll start getting ideas for your blog before you know it. Trust me, you don't have to be a tween to enjoy YouTube, there is a wide variety of content so you're bound to find "your people." And if by some chance your niche is yet to be represented, even better, be the first one!

YouTube fact sources: 

http://www.youtube.com/yt/about/

http://www.mushroomnetworks.com/infographics/youtube---the-2nd-largest-search-engine-infographic

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How I Make My Videos - Pre, Production, + Post

Welcome to the new blog! 
As you can see from the image above, it's not going to be some dry boring business blog. We're gonna have fun here! I want to help you understand YouTube whether you're a small business, a blogger, or just someone new to the platform. How better to start things off than with a video? Here’s how I make my vlogs; pre-production, production, and post-production. It’s a tag video from #YouTubeGirls and #FemTube (more on them below!) 

I realize I completely stopped short of the actual upload process. 

The thing is, you're gonna need to practice making videos before you even start your channel.  Watch a few of your favorites, people whom you admire, and copy their style. You don't ever have to upload the first few videos you make, in fact, that practice can help you develop your own style and get comfortable in front of the camera. 

#FemTube
FemTube is a community of women on YouTube that has mostly existed as a Twitter chat and Facebook group for the past year. They just launched a website and started creating playlists of inspiring female YouTubers. FemTube "focuses on empowerment and community for creators who are often underrepresented within YouTube and media as a whole." It's a safe space for lady YouTubers and I'm proud to be a part of the community.

#YouTubeGirls
YouTubeGirls is a tag video. (a video prompting others to create a similar video) It's for the first major playlist of FemTube, and though I missed the cutoff date for that playlist, they are still encouraging people to participate. The idea of YouTubeGirls is to share how you make your videos and to help inspire and give ideas to other creators.

So not only are these women supporting each other but they are also giving away their video making secrets for the benefit of others.

That's what I hope to do here on this blog.
I want to tell you how it's done and help you with any problems you have starting you channel. If that sounds like something of value to you, make sure to sign up to receive free email letters from me about YouTube.  The first 5 people to sign up in August get a free channel review from me! No channel yet? Tell me what you're struggling with! I'll help you get it set up.

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