YouTube is a great place for creators of color to express themselves and display their creativity for the world to see. It’s relatively easy to get into and has nearly limitless reach. We’ve already given you a list of some of the YouTubers doing it for The Culture so it’s only fair we give you a quick checklist to help you join their ranks.

 

1. CONCEPT/IDEA

It all starts with a great idea. If you’re doing commentary, comedy, or reviews you gotta figure out what your thing is and how you can make your thing unique. A good rule of thumb is to try and create the kind of content you want to see.

 

2. A NAME

You’ve got your great idea now all you need is a great name to catch everyone’s attention. The name will represent you and be the building block of your brand so choose wisely and make sure its unique enough to stand alone in search engines.

 

3. CAMERA

A good HD camcorder would be best but an iPhone 8 or X will do the trick just fine. And don’t forget a stabilizer and/or tripod.

 

4. BE YOURSELF

Showcase that winning personality, that humor, that expertise, whatever it is that makes you uniquely you.

 

5. ALSO DON’T BE YOURSELF

Oh and make sure you amp those things that make you uniquely you up to 11. People want to be entertained after all.

 

6. PATIENCE

Don’t expect your first video to get a million hits and your channel to get 100,000 subscribers in 24 hrs. Don’t sweat the early numbers, it’s a grind.

 

7. GRIND

Seriously it’s a grind. Work hard, put out consistent content, network and interact with your subscribers and commenters. GRIND.

 

8. HAVE FUN

It’s work but it should be enjoyable work. If you’re enjoying what you’re doing your content will be better and if you’re not, the camera will pick that up as well so make sure you’re having fun creating your content.

 

9. A BUDGET

There’s an old saying “you gotta spend money to make money” so don’t be afraid to invest in yourself. Even a modest marketing budget to promote your channel on YouTube, GoogleAdWords and other social media outlets will help you reach more people and add to your view count.

 

There you have it, now go out there and make some dope content that changes the game so we can feature you here on Creators For The Culture!

 

Written by @TalentedMrFord

Follow him on Instagram and Twitter