How To Become A Car Reviewer On Youtube

I set my commencement Youtube video to "public" a bit more 6 months agone. Despite my complete lack of experience with anything video related, I wanted to challenge myself and get out of my condolement zone. Here's everything I've learned six months after starting an automotive Youtube channel from scratch:

If you haven't already checked it out, yous can discover my Canadian Gearhead Youtube channel here. My videos are a mixture of both original content and video versions of blog articles from this site.

Brand sure to check out this 2020 update on how my aqueduct is doing:

The vehicles I own allow me to cater to a few different types of enthusiasts – 4x4s, import cars, and motorcycles. Every bit of now, I brand everything from detailing videos, to POV driving videos, to motovlogs on my Harley. I've tried not to focus on i specific blazon of video for a good reason. More on that later.

The Canadian Gearhead Youtube channel is nothing more a guy with a camera playing with cars, trucks, and bikes. I haven't hired anyone to aid with filming, graphic blueprint, or planning videos. I wanted to learn everything that makes a successful Youtube channel tick and the just mode to practise that was to do it myself. Then what accept I learned from starting an automotive Youtube channel so far? Well, to start with:

1. Information technology's A LOT harder than it looks.

I thought I knew what I was getting into when I decide to get-go the channel. Information technology seemed so unproblematic. Shooting and editing videos was new to me though. Photography stuff? Sure I tin handle that. Video? It turns out, not and then much.

I follow a lot of automotive Youtube channels. As with many new things that I want to endeavour, I spent a lot of time watching and studying how other people are already doing what I want to accomplish. All of these channels make it expect then easy and effortless. After all, the vehicles themselves are the stars of the prove, right? How hard tin it be?

I haven't underestimated something this desperately in quite some time. Information technology's HARD. Unlike photography, there'due south a lot more than to consider when filming a video. Location. Scripting. Performing on camera. Stabilization. Wind racket. Distractions in the background. Editing. Holy smokes.

I'm used to parking a cool car in front of a nice looking backdrop and quietly taking photos of information technology. If anything goes incorrect, I can unremarkably gear up information technology in Photoshop in a few minutes.

Unless you're an extrovert that loves beingness the center of attention, the thought of talking to yourself into a camera in a public place is absolutely terrifying. At least it was for me.

Many people believe that those who are doing Youtube full fourth dimension as a job have it easy. They take money thrown at them constantly just for enjoying their hobbies on camera. I was ane of these people. "Must be squeamish to not have to work for a living!". It turns out, I was very wrong.

After just a few months of experiencing what goes on behind the scenes to build and grow an automotive Youtube channel, I've realized just how much work it is.

Coming upwardly with new and interesting content on a regular footing is a lot more difficult than you might think. Sure, you'll probably have a bunch of ideas in the beginning. Only you'll burn through those within a few weeks.

Youtube viewers are some of the worst critics on the planet. Constantly having something to film without being repetitive is no simple task. Those channels that have been doing this for years? My hat's off to them.

I have a new establish respect for all of the daily vloggers out there. Unless they accept a squad working for them behind the scenes (and some do), I don't know how they practise information technology. To picture an interesting video and have it edited and published all in a solar day is seriously impressive.

Some of these people are even doing this while working a regular 9-5 job, besides as selling habiliment, products, and online courses. We just meet the end result and it seems actually easy. It's not. Don't believe me? Try it yourself.

2. Research is important.

Of form, you tin spend the time to effigy every aspect of edifice a Youtube channel out for yourself. I personally didn't desire to spend years trying (and declining) to detect out what works and what doesn't. Practise you know how the Youtube algorithm works? I sure don't. So I turned to the people that practice know that kind of stuff and absorbed as much of it as I could.

Think Media and Sunny Lenarduzzi are 2 channels that I've learned quite a fleck from. It might seem strange to be watching videos about making videos, but I establish information technology helpful. These people will teach you all kinds of stuff, like keyword inquiry, camera gear, and how to ship traffic to your videos.

Did you know that Youtube is the 2nd biggest search engine in the world? Information technology'due south true. Think near what that means though. People proceed in that location to search for videos on a certain subject area. Information technology's upwards to you to make sure your videos are seen. Search engine optimization (or SEO for short) is only as important for Youtube videos as information technology is for weblog posts and websites. Because of that, I highly recommend that you lot read upwardly on the subject.

Learning from other successful Youtube channels is a great way to striking the ground running with your ain. I've institute that spending the time to analyze what some of my favorite channels accept done helps me to come upward with my own video ideas.

Get to their video page and set the "Sort By" filter to "Date added (oldest)". How long have they been doing this? What kind of videos were they making 5 years ago? At what indicate did their videos starting time getting thousands of views, and what kind of content were they creating at that time?

Next, switch the filter to "Most popular". This is like having a cheat code for a video game. Take a look at their nearly successful, or even viral videos and what they were almost. I don't suggest that you lot go out and completely re-create other people. But putting your own spin on a similar kind of video might merely give your channel a big boost. They've already proven that information technology works.

3. Building a Youtube channel is a marathon, not a sprint.

Growing a successful Youtube aqueduct takes time. You can't just pay a ane fourth dimension fee and wake up the side by side morning to 200,000 subscribers and a loyal fanbase. You take to earn it and that tin brand for some pretty deadening going in the beginning.

Taking the time to build a strong foundation will be worth it in the long run. There are things y'all tin do to speed upwardly the process, like running paid ads on social media and collaborating with bigger channels. Those will both supercharge your growth, no doubt.

Having a single video go viral might give you a lot of short term momentum. But that'll eventually die off, and it won't be enough to sustain your channel on its own. Consistency is king in the world of Youtube. Experts have stated that the Youtube algorithm likes to see channels uploading on a regular schedule. This is one of the reasons why channels with daily uploads are and so successful.

That's non a very realistic goal for most of the states though. It's still important to be consistent even for those of usa that aren't able to dedicate every waking minute to Youtube. That might mean uploading on the same day every calendar week, or twice a calendar week. It might even mean sharing merely 1 video per calendar month. As long every bit that happens every month, it still counts as a regular schedule.

The algorithm likes consistency. It shows that yous're dedicated to this, and won't be giving upward any time presently. If you have 20 video ideas, spreading them out once a week over 5 months will exist more than beneficial than uploading two a day for 10 days, and then getting burnt out and taking a year off.

Recall, if Youtube'south algorithm is happy, it'll keep recommending your videos to other users. Unless you're willing to spend coin on ad, that organic traffic is what's going to abound your channel over the years.

iv. You don't need fancy equipment.

Some channels are producing near-Hollywood quality videos these days. I'm not lament – it makes for some excellent content to scout. Only is it necessary to have a agglomeration of expensive video gear to build a Youtube channel? Absolutely non. We're seeing time and time once again that content quality is far more of import than production quality.

Possibly one of the best examples of this is StreetSpeed717. This channel is simply based on a guy named Mike belongings a GoPro camera. He shows people what it'south like to ain his vehicles and posts daily uploads for the nigh part.

There's no fancy editing, lighting, or expensive cameras. It'south but him holding his GoPro up about his face and so the onboard mic picks upwards his vox as he talks. He has a few cool cars, a friendly personality, and some interesting stories – that's information technology. He likewise has over 850,000 subscribers the last time I checked.

Doug DeMuro is another great instance of a hugely successful, even so depression-upkeep Youtube channel. If yous haven't heard of him, he'south a motorcar reviewer that has built his own niche based on "quirks and features" of everyday driver cars, high-end supercars, and everything in between.

I could be wrong, simply I believe he films most of his videos on an iPhone. He plops it on a tripod and takes viewers around the car to show them every characteristic he finds interesting.

Information technology'due south not uncommon for his videos to reach over a meg views in a affair of days. Doug is one of the few people (or "the blazon of guy!") to have a car channel regularly featured on Youtube's Trending page. That'south a big deal. These are incredibly basic videos that tell interesting stories about interesting cars. It's really that simple.

Now, I'm not maxim information technology'south bad to have beautifully shot and edited videos. There'south no doubt that those are nicer to watch and much more than pleasing to the eye. When comparing a high production quality video nigh a boring discipline to a depression budget video that's entertaining, the latter is going to win every fourth dimension. At least it will on Youtube.

5. "If yous fail to plan, you're planning to fail."

I tin can't recollect who originally said that quote, but I'm going to presume it was someone smarter than me. It really applies to growing a Youtube channel though. At least if you want to maximize your viewers. You have to know what you're going to do before you lot striking the record button. This means doing a few things:

Plan out what videos you want to create in the future

Much like my web log posts on Canadian Gearhead, I keep a running list of video ideas that I think would be worth making. Anything that pops into my caput that might be either helpful or entertaining, I write it down on the listing. That manner, if I wake upwards 1 day feeling similar making a video, I already have a bunch of ideas to cull from.

Plan out what will happen in the video

I underestimated this. The successful Youtube channels make it seem so effortless – they just happen to tell the perfect story or say the right thing without giving it a second thought. Now I've realized that a lot of Youtubers will strategically plan out their video ahead of fourth dimension.

They might write out a script of exactly what they want to say word for word, or at to the lowest degree go on a listing of fundamental points they want to hit. Or maybe they'll know that they're going to split things up into a serial rather than accept one big video. That requires commencement and ending each video while they film it even though they shoot everything at once.

Plan out what keywords to hunt

Keyword research is a large part of getting your videos ranked on Youtube. Since information technology acts equally a search engine, we need to treat it as such. Earlier yous shoot a video, accept a few minutes to find what's already available. Is it a popular topic? Accept people already fabricated videos almost this subject? If so, tin can you make a ameliorate one?

For example, I was virtually to change the oil on my 4runner and thought I'd make a quick video explaining how to exercise it. I searched Youtube for "Toyota 4runner 4.vii V8 oil change" and it turned up a bunch of results. Information technology was clear that people were searching for it regularly.

Simply subsequently watching a couple of the superlative videos, I realized they didn't need my assistance. The videos that were already available told people everything they needed to know. I couldn't make a improve ane, so mine would likely never exist successful.

Gone are the days that you can throw random videos up on your channel and hope people picket them. Nearly five billion videos are watched on Youtube every day. If you lot want people to detect yours, y'all need to stand up out.

Keyword inquiry helps to find things that people haven't already covered that might have slipped through the cracks. A small-scale, new channel is going to accept a very hard time competing for views against a more established ane so you lot've gotta choose your battles strategically.

6. Different is ameliorate than improve.

I learned this ane from Sean at Remember Media and found it pretty eye-opening. Producing different or unique content is meliorate in the long run than remaking the aforementioned videos that take already been done – merely slightly better.

There are certainly times where improving on another video is a expert idea (similar anything nether 10 minutes long – Youtube loves videos in the 10 infinitesimal range). Merely for the virtually role, there are bigger rewards in being artistic and coming upward with new ideas. Those are typically the ones that become viral. And you lot might exist i viral video away from quitting your day task!

Focus on beingness creative rather than beingness better than others.

7. Go your branding right.

I believe in running your Youtube channel like a business. Branding is very of import for a business organization – it'southward what separates you lot from the residuum. It's what makes people retrieve you. I'm really surprised at how many Youtube channels put very little endeavor into building their brand. The ones that do it are very noticeable though. I think it makes a huge difference.

The biggest thing for me is having a uniform appearance across your channel. Use the same colors and make sure your thumbnails have a common look. On that note, make sure to create bodily thumbnail images for your videos. The automatic screen cap from a random spot in your video isn't going to cutting it.

Look at what successful channels are doing, and come up with your own like blueprint. That image along with an interesting title is what will catch the viewer's attention as they scroll down the list of videos to watch.

Recollect of a household name like Coca Cola. I personally haven't had a sip of one, or any other soft drinkable in at least 10 years. Nevertheless as before long equally I see the logo, I automatically know the production. The colors. The logo. The slogan. It all builds an image, and we tin can do the same matter with our Youtube channels.

8. Hiding your face and license plate is a losing battle

You may accept noticed that up until recently, I used to put covers over my license plates in videos. Blurring out any license plates in my photos has become a habit for me because information technology's so quick and like shooting fish in a barrel to do. Video is unlike.

I realize now that trying to eliminate my plates in videos is exhausting. I accept to remember to bring the covers with me. I have to exist conscientious of what vehicle is in the groundwork of every shot. Plus, whatsoever state of affairs where a vehicle is moving heightens the risk of the cover falling off.

License plates can exist blurred out in editing or even in the Youtube Creator Studio, just information technology'due south such a time consuming pain in the neck. I give up.

Fifty-fifty if you stay behind the camera, your face is still probable to appear in the reflections of a car'southward pigment and windows. Deleting this footage might mean losing some otherwise great content. Y'all might as well simply get out it in.

I program to make a ton of detailing videos in the time to come and one of the results of a detailing video is very, very shiny paint. I guess people are only going to have to bargain with my ugly mug.

Unless yous're doing something illegal, hiding your face up and plates doesn't seem worth the effort. I don't plan to interruption whatever laws on my channel and then I'thou going to make it easier on myself going forrard.

9. Testing is important.

There's only one manner to know for sure which videos will do well and which ones will neglect. Put them out at that place to the world and information technology'll tell you lot. Youtube offers you plenty of analytics that go into much more particular than just the number of views and subscribers. You tin see how long people sentinel a video, what folio they watch it on, and how people found it.

I know I mentioned earlier that planning alee of time is important and you can't just throw any video up in hopes that people will spotter it. But during the early stages of your channel, when you lot're trying to find your way, it doesn't hurt to attempt a few things to see what people reply to.

You'll see on my channel that I take a few different types of videos. I don't expect that my aqueduct will be able to succeed at all of these things. But I wanted to see what people liked. Do they sit through long videos and similar listening to me blab on and on nearly something? (spoiler alert – they don't!). Information technology likewise came as no surprise to me that my Harley Davidson isn't as pop equally my Toyotas.

I learned that but considering I don't like a video I made, it doesn't mean other people won't. Instance in betoken, my very first video. It was a short i giving a cursory introduction of my 4runner. It was shaky, had a bunch of wind noise and really wasn't all that interesting.

It turns out, it'southward my nearly popular video to date at over 17,000 views. I was planning on deleting it. I idea my MR2 videos would be much more popular. I thought wrong. This just proves how of import it is to exam things out and let the data guide you.

10. Trolls are inevitable.

I've gotten off fairly easy in this regard and so far. I don't expect that to continue forever. There's no fugitive it. Every bit your audition grows, so does the chance of people non liking you lot. You can't please everyone.

People are much more likely to mutter nigh something than compliment it. In this current era of self-entitlement, that'southward only going to become worse. Information technology seems equally though many people recollect that Youtube creators owe them something because they're making money off their views. That tin can atomic number 82 to some pretty strong opinions.

Some of it might actually be helpful advice and exist worth paying attention to. But a lot of it is based on zippo more than than detest and jealousy.

Some people just won't similar yous. I hate to break it to you, but that's the case in real life too. The departure is that in existent life, people aren't as willing to share their opinion to your face up. It doesn't mean they don't think it in their head or even talk trash about you to others though.

So really, who cares about the trolls? If your videos are getting more thumbs up than thumbs downward, you however have the majority of people on your side. And every bit you grow, there will come a time when those people will exist willing to stand upwardly and fight your battles for you. The trolls are just a drib in the barrel when you take an audience that likes you lot and your content. Focus on your fans.

The futurity of my channel:

So far, the biggest thing I've learned nigh starting an automotive Youtube channel is that I really enjoy it. I might not be very expert at it yet just I similar a challenge. I truly believe that I have interesting content to offer.

In all honesty though, my videos at this point – well, they stink. All of them. I knew going into it that my program was to create some throwaway videos to larn the ropes and find out what works and more than importantly, what doesn't.

I originally started my channel for the sole purpose of sending traffic to this website. All of the online gurus say that the future is heading toward video. And since then many people are surfing on Youtube every day, that'southward a great mode to scoop upwards traffic.

Based on my feel so far, that hasn't really happened. I become a ton of traffic from Google. Youtube, not and then much. Not nonetheless at least. A large part of the reason why is considering I just haven't put enough endeavor into information technology yet.

At the fourth dimension I'm writing this, the Canadian Gearhead Youtube aqueduct has a measly 300 subscribers. Compared to most other channels out there, this is pathetically small. To me, this is a huge win. I'm thinking of the long game.

People subscribe because they like the video they watched and desire to see more than. I created 24 crappy videos with nothing more than a GoPro Hero 4 and for some reason, 300 people want to encounter more. If that'south the case, how many people will be willing to follow along if I start to really accept information technology seriously?

Hopefully, we'll notice out in 2019. Equally a rule, I don't like to invest much time or money into something that won't pay me annihilation in return. In guild for Youtube to monetize a channel (meaning they share a percentage of their ad revenue with you), you demand a minimum of i,000 subscribers and roughly 240,000 watch minutes within a year'south time.

(It's worth noting that Youtube values watch minutes more than than overall views on videos – it shows how engaged your viewers are equally well equally how interesting your content is).

With all of that in mind, my goal is to striking 1,000 subscribers past July of this yr. One time I'1000 able to make money on Youtube, I'll exist able to justify investing in better camera gear, editing software, and a bunch of my time. I have a vision for what my Youtube channel could become. Before all of that happens though, I need it to be able to cover its own expenses.

This is the time where I'll add a not-so-shameless plug: If you don't already, brand certain you subscribe to the Canadian Gearhead channel. It's basically the same affair equally this site just in video format. I'm going to do my all-time to continue coming up with interesting content and if I manage to hit my goal, we'll start to Actually have some fun.

If yous've been contemplating starting your own automotive Youtube channel yourself, my communication is to stop thinking near information technology and merely exercise it. Start with a GoPro or even simply the photographic camera on your phone. Be entertaining. Be likable. Exist helpful. The biggest affair is to stop overthinking it and merely become started.

In that location aren't many other platforms that are 100% free to use that give yous the chance to earn hundreds of thousands of dollars while building your ain brand. None of that can happen though if you sit around coming up with excuses why you tin can't practice it. Hit the record push and see what happens.

I think Joey Lee's (aka stickydiljoe) slogan gives the best communication for future automotive Youtubers: "Passion starting time, the balance volition follow". I'yard going to keep sharing my passion for cars with the world considering it'southward what I love to exercise. Anything that comes from that is a bonus.

Source: https://canadiangearhead.com/starting-an-automotive-youtube-channel/

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