By starting a YouTube channel, you create opportunities for interesting things to happen.
There’s a lot to be gained from starting a YouTube channel, but it might not be obvious to you, so let me share what I’ve experienced.
Let’s get into it.
Showcasing Your Skills
YouTube is a great way to showcase your skills. If I had to do it all over again, I’d start a YouTube channel at Uni and talk about what I was studying.
I used to assume that my degree was all the proof an employer needed.
I was wildly mistaken.
Employers like people who have proved their expertise for the simple reason that it’s expensive to hire someone who doesn’t know what they’re doing.
This is why job openings usually require 3-5 years of work experience.
It’s the classical problem: You can’t get a job because you don’t have work experience. And you can’t get work experience because you don’t have a job.
Creating a YouTube channel where you talk about the stuff you want to work with demonstrates your expertise for future employers.
If, for example, you’re a carpenter, a fashion designer, or an engineer, record yourself building the thing. Talk about methods and materials you use, common problems, and solutions.
You also allow your future employer to get to know you outside of the job interview, where your personality might not shine the brightest.
This is hugely important. They’re signing up to be around you all day, after all. Remember that people would rather work with a lovable fool than a competent jerk
But it’s not just for students.
The same goes if you want to position yourself as a thought leader or expert within your profession.
It might be that your family and people within your organization are aware that you have expertise within your field, but what about the rest of the world?
How will people know you’re an expert if you don’t show it? No matter how much you know about a topic, people won’t know if you don’t share it.
Share what you know, and people will look to you for advice.
Skill Development
Over the last couple of years of making videos, I’ve picked up a ton of skills.
On a surface level, this might seem trivial, but in fact, I think it’s the most valuable outcome of this whole endeavor. Because once I’ve acquired these skills, I have them for life. And they can benefit me in all sorts of ways – even future ones I haven’t yet imagined.
(I am a big believer in lifelong learning. 😁)
Here are some of the things I’ve learned or improved upon while building my channel:
- Organizing my thoughts and ideas (perhaps the most valuable of all of these skills)
- Presentation and communication skills
- How to capture people’s interest (marketing and sales)
- Copywriting (titles, hooks, intros), script writing, storytelling
- Community management
- Organization and project management
- Time allocation and productivity
- Managing setbacks and uncertainty
- Developing confidence and a tough skin
- Research and data analysis
- Video production (equipment, videography, lighting, video, and audio editing)
- Graphic design for thumbnails
Connections
I started my YouTube channel (partly) to talk about my hobby. People cleverer than me say that when you talk about your interests, ideas, and expertise, you attract like-minded people.
Turns out that’s true.
Here’s how it worked for me:
I started uploading videos about my hobby.
YouTube showed them to people.
Some people liked them.
Some people subscribed to watch more.
Some people frequently commented on my videos, so I started recognizing them.
Other YouTubers started getting in touch over email. Some asked for advice.
A viewer wanted to donate to the channel as a way of thanking me for a video that helped him. So I started a Patreon. Then more people joined.
Eventually, I started an online community on Discord (which was mostly set up by a friendly viewer who just wanted it to exist), where I now have a large group of hobby friends to hang out with. Which is great!
Now, I did this for my hobby and enjoyment, but you could just as well do the same thing to create a business network or start a sports club if that’s what floats your goat. 🐐
Business opportunities
After starting a YouTube channel, I’ve been met with a lot of unexpected business opportunities.
I heard companies would start reaching out to you when you reach approximately 10,000 subs.
The morning after I hit 10,000 subs, I received an email from one of the largest 3D printer companies in the world asking if I’d be interested in doing a sponsored video.
I suspect there’s an automated service out there that tracks when channels hit certain milestones for this exact purpose. If not, there’s your next business venture. Good luck! 🙂
Since then, businesses have continuously approached me about sponsorships.
Sure, most are just looking to trade a product for a video, which mostly isn’t worth the time and effort (depending on the product, of course). But some companies will pay a respectable amount for your time and reach.
Besides sponsorships, I’ve gotten work as a content creator (writing articles and creating videos) off the back of my YouTube channel. And conversely, people have offered to work for me.
Some viewers have even offered to buy the projects I built in my videos.
A lot of solopreneurs and small business owners use YouTube as a marketing platform because it gives them a way to demonstrate their expertise, products, and services. Not only are they saving money on ads – they can actually make money while generating leads for their businesses.
The other way around works too. It’s fairly common to see YouTubers starting businesses using the attention they get from making YouTube videos to sell products or services to their audience.