Getting Started on YouTube
🎥 From One Beginner to Another: Starting on YouTube
Short on time? Here’s the TLDR:
Lesson #1: Don’t focus on niching down to start.
Make content that’s fun and engaging to you. Feeling trapped in a niche you ignorantly committed to is worse than having scattered content.Lesson #2: Reflect. Reflect. Reflect.
Watch what you create. Find one area to improve with each video—and actually improve it.Lesson #3: Metrics don’t matter (yet).
Starting out, your sample size is tiny. Don’t let views or likes guide your content. Focus on growth.Lesson #4: The skills will come.
Practice reveals what you need to learn. You don’t need all the answers now—just start.
Resources:
🎬 Best free video editing software: DaVinci Resolve
🖼️ Best free platform to create thumbnails: Canva
📱 Best starter gear: Use your smartphone. Prop it up. Record. Done.
Getting Started is Scary—and Fun
I started making YouTube videos a long, long time ago: fish tanks, rockets, swim meets. Whatever version of myself I wanted to share, I hit upload.
Then I disappeared.
I've made dozens of videos since—none of which the world has ever seen. Just recently, I spent months filming myself daily to get comfortable on camera again. And yesterday, I posted for the first time in two years… to my account with 304 subscribers.
I’m far from perfect, but I love helping people—and I hope something in this post makes your journey a little smoother.
Why Bother?
Creating content is more than a hobby. It’s an evergreen skill. Whether it leads to a career or just boosts your confidence, it will help you grow. You’ll learn storytelling, video editing, communication, self-awareness… even if you never go viral.
But don’t put pressure on yourself to “succeed” right away. In fact—
Lesson #1: Give Yourself Creative Freedom
The niche advice? Eh. Let it go—at least at the start.
I stopped posting to my reviews channel because I felt stuck. Like committing to a niche was me signing away my creative soul. I didn’t want to be “that guy” forever. I’d make videos and never post them. Not because they weren’t ready—but because I was scared of locking myself in.
Yes, the algorithm might prefer consistency. But your creativity won’t. The better question: Would you watch your videos?
Lesson #2: Be Your Own Worst (Productive) Critic
I have high standards—and hate putting out incomplete work. But I also know this: you learn the most when you reflect.
Watch your videos. Don’t cringe—analyze. Pick one thing to improve in the next video. Not ten. Just one. Do this over and over, and you’ll get better faster than you think.
Lesson #3: Ignore the Metrics (for Now)
Views, likes, retention... all helpful. But if you're just starting out, they can crush your motivation.
Your early content is a sandbox. A lab. A place to experiment. Focus on creation—not performance.
Lesson #4: Practice > Perfection
You don’t need to be great at every piece of the process today. Content creation demands a lot of skills:
Filming
Editing
Writing descriptions
Designing thumbnails
Uploading and optimizing
It sounds like a lot—because it is. So don’t focus on all of it at once. Focus on the next thing in front of you.
Tools You Already Have
Think you need a camera? You probably don’t.
Your phone shoots in 4K. Prop it against a lamp and start talking. Don’t have editing software? Try DaVinci Resolve. It’s free and powerful. Need a thumbnail? Canva has templates that take minutes to customize.
Final Thoughts
Don’t get bogged down by gear, metrics, or what people might think. Focus on getting your reps in. Keep improving. Keep creating.
You don’t need to be ready. You just need to start.
