7 Things I Learned from Beauty Vlogging on YouTube

In December 2016, I was lured into the glitz and glamour of this "millennial thing" called beauty vlogging. Who wouldn't be? Famous beauty vloggers are perceived to be beautiful and flawless, stylish and glamorous, influential and popular, artistic and talented. To top these flattering qualities, they also receive beauty products from reputable brands, get invited as a-listers to fun events and parties, and earn a living by just making videos of themselves doing their makeup, right at the comfort of their homes. Who wouldn't want those? I, for sure, wanted those and so, I tried to be a beauty vlogger. I called myself "Mukap Girl."

I thought it would be easy. All I have to do is upload videos about makeup, right? But boy was I so wrong. Here are seven lessons I learned from beauty vlogging on YouTube for over a year.

1. Starting up a beauty vlog is expensive! 

You'll have to invest in a lot of things, like a good camera, some filming equipment, a decent studio or a makeshift one, a video editing software, the makeup products you'll use for your videos, the products you'll give away to gain followers/subscribers, and a whole lot more.

If you don't have these tools available, at least you have to learn to be resourceful. You may use your phone camera, decorate a blank wall that could serve as your background, find a free video editing app on your mobile device, etc. If you want to be a beauty vlogger, you have to make use of whatever is available. Diskartehan mo na lang, friend!

2. You don't get to earn from your videos right away. 

Nope! Contrary to popular belief, earning money from beauty vlogging is not a walk in the park. Ang dami palang requirements ni YouTube, besh! During my first year, I only had to acquire 10,000 lifetime views in order for my videos to earn money from ads. But in mid 2017, YouTube changed that rule and made it even harder for startup vloggers to qualify for their Partnership Program. The new eligibility requirement is to have at least 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 hours of views in the last 12 months. Mas ma-giraffe to, besh! This eligibility requirement leads me to my third realization.

3. Earning 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 viewing hours is hard work.

In my second month as a beauty vlogger, I stopped going around YouTube asking other content creators to subscribe to me and in return, I'll subscribe back. This practice is also called "sub-for-sub" or "sub-to-sub." I realized that it was the wrong way to grow my beauty channel. Instead, I patiently and painstakingly grew my channel organically and as a result, it took me more or less one year to gain 1,000 subscribers.

When I say "organically," that means that I earned my subscribers through their free will. They subscribed to my channel not because I asked and negotiated with them, but because they liked the content I produced. Thus, I also had to work hard on producing quality videos. These videos have to be interesting, informative, timely and relevant, well thought of, and in high-quality.

Once you've uploaded valuable content and earned organic subscribers, you'll have guaranteed views. Whereas if you only ask other creators to "sub-for-sub," you will not generate viewing hours because these creators are only after your subscription to their channel and are probably not interested in your content.

4. You have to school yourself with a lot of technical stuff.

Apart from learning YouTube terms like "sub-to-sub" and "organic subscribers," I also had to school myself about the other aspects of growing my channel. Maintaining a beauty vlog is not only about being adept in makeup. You also have to be techy. For one, I had to study the interface of YouTube--its features and options that I could utilize to make the most out of my channel. I also had to learn about branding and marketing my channel the right way. I had to put up other platforms (Instagram and Facebook) where I could promote my videos. I also had to learn about proper lighting for videos, video editing, color grading, transitions, thumbnail making, copy right infringement, and a lot more! Being a beauty vlogger really entails a wide set of skills, hindi lang ito puro pagpapaganda, beshie.

5. The Internet may get cruel at times.

Maintaining a beauty channel does not end at uploading quality videos. It also entails dealing with bashers, haters, and people who have a lot of time in their hands to spread negativity. I learned the hard way that beauty vlogging is really not about the glitz and the glamour at all times. Once in a while, a harsh comment would ruin my day. Tao lang ako kaya sometimes, bashers really get the best of me. Syempre naman, I knew that I spent a lot of time and effort creating my content, only to be crushed by a stranger. But then eventually, I learned how to just shrug off these negative vibes. If they can troll me, I could definitely troll back at them. Daanin na lang natin sa patawa.

6. There are still genuine and caring people online.

While there are online dementors who suck the positivity out of you, there a still angels who can become your friends. These friends will give you constructive criticisms, will cheer you on when you're discouraged, will support your every uploaded video, and will help you improve yourself. Find these kinds of people and cherish them!

7. Beauty vlogging is not for me.

While I can proudly say that I have somehow managed to earn a decent number of subscribers and viewing hours in YouTube, I have come to a conclusion that beauty vlogging is not for me. It's not for everyone, actually. It was fun being a beauty vlogger for some time, but I realized that the expenses (money, time, and effort) outweighed the revenues and it was no longer working for me. From there, I began to lose interest and inspiration. Minsan talaga may swertehan factor lang din ang mga bagay-bagay. Maybe my luck and passion wasn't in beauty vlogging and that's just fine. You just have to know when to draw the line.

For me, beauty vlogging for a year was a memorable experience. I don't regret it because it taught me a lot and I gained a lot from it--learnings, skills, and most importantly, friends.

Are you here because you're planning to start up your YouTube channel? Best of luck, my friend! Kaya mo yan. Just remember: Kapag may tiyaga, may nilaga! Xoxo.

   
TOUGH TIMES NEVER LAST
TOUGH PEOPLE DO
★ HAPPIDEZZ