Believe it or not, a lot of people have decided to toss their cable bill out of the window. With streaming services such as Netflix, Hulu and even YouTube, many people have decided to make a full switch, instead of paying hundreds of dollars for cable every month. YouTube especially has become a form of TV for a lot of people, opting to watch a vlog from their favorite YouTuber rather than the latest episode of Grey’s Anatomy. With millions of YouTube channels worldwide, you’re bound to find one you like. College YouTubers are growing as well. Now, it’s more common than ever to be seen holding a camera filming yourself around your college campus. But how do they do it? How do they manage a successful YouTube account all while getting their degree?
Keep reading to find out their secret and how you could become the next big college YouTuber.
MissErin Yvette
College: Liberty University
Age: 22
Q: I know you recently graduated from Florida State, but when you were in school, how did you balance school work and creating and uploading content for your channel?
A: “I did graduate from FSU in May of 2018 (Go Noles!). Now that I am in my Master’s program at Liberty University, I am so glad that I instilled a consistent schedule during my undergraduate years. Balancing school full time by itself is demanding. So with creating content, it’s important to allow yourself to still be productive within a creative space. It can get overbearing sometimes which is why I would say my planner is my best friend. I dedicate one day out of the week for scheduling and this day changes each semester to allow me to focus on school. I also give myself wiggle room to breathe. Being a creator is difficult because you’re your own boss. You have to decide when you need a day off or a mental break. But I would definitely say that creating a schedule and giving myself wiggle room has kept me afloat over the years.”
Q: When you first started your channel, did you think you would be where you are today?
A: “I started my channel in 2013 as a sophomore in high school. I was also being represented by John Casablancas modeling agency during this time so I used YouTube as a practice tool. I would also record my monologues and tell comedic story times. I never really tried to gain an audience. Truthfully, as an introverted teenager this was my first step into becoming more outgoing. I was that girl that practiced in the mirror to prepare for social settings. I never told my friends or family about my channel back then but yet I still had about 400 subscribers and it kept growing. Years later, I picked it back up in 2016 and have been a full time Youtuber since the summer of 2017. Friends that I grew up with are shocked at this new socialite person but they are so supportive. I would have never thought to receive such amazing support from my peers and family. I wouldn’t consider myself a major influencer but I knew I always wanted to inspire people. That was the main goal of my channel was to place a smile on someone’s face or to inspire someone to go after their dreams like I do.”
Q: Do you consider YouTube your full-time job? If so, how do you make money from YouTube itself?
A: “I am a full time Youtuber, I honestly haven’t had a job since 2017. I had been working at Florida State University’s Law School for almost three years and I decided to quit and go after my goals. It was very risky. Around this time, I changed my major from political science to editing, writing and media. I was literally changing the course of my life. I set out to embark on this journey full-time back in the summer of 2017. I will say that it is the best decision I have made for my brand and personal growth.”
Q: Is YouTube something you want to pursue as a career?
A: “With YouTube, you do not have one set form of payment. You don’t receive revenue on a consistent basis. So how much you make and when you get paid is literally dependent on you. There are some months where I’ve made over $5,000 in total revenue and others where I’ve made $200. Going full time required me to reach out to legal advisors, hire brand management, re-coordinate my marketing to attract higher brands, etc. It required me to take every inch of my brand more seriously because I had a lot more to lose. YouTube pays for my graduate program, living expenses, etc. With being a full time Youtuber, we don’t get health insurance and filing taxes is a dreadful task. Since being full-time I’ve reached over 1.6 million channel views and gained about 30,000 organic followers on all of my platforms. I am planning to release an e-book at the end of this year to give out the tips and tricks that took me years to learn about this business.”
Q: If someone wanted to start their own YouTube channel, what is some advice that you could give them?
A: “The best advice I’ve gotten from major influencers is to utilize YouTube to sell your dreams. That could be DIY projects, products, services, etc. I do not intend to do YouTube forever. However, my main intent is to use YouTube to make my dreams come true. I’ve always wanted to be an author and own a business and this year I’m achieving both of those goals at the age of 22. I released my eyelash extension collection, The Lash Bank, in honor of my grandfather, Walter “Money” Cooper, Sr. who always supported my wildest dreams. YouTube is the platform to gain your audience and make that personal connection. I believe the influence should surpass the platform. Eventually, I’d love to travel the globe and actively change people’s lives.
I would tell them to start today. You don’t need a fancy camera or lighting. You don’t need a mic or one million followers. There’s an individual on the other side of the world waiting for your content. Don’t be embarrassed or think you’re not special enough to be an influencer. I would suggest to focus on creating the content you love and would want to see yourself. What things attract you to a video? Take note of the thumbnail, title, music; everything plays a part. More importantly I would say enjoy the journey. Your first video won’t be anything like your 50th. Your first few videos will be terrible. But everyone’s had to experience that phase. Don’t compare your first video to someone’s 100th. Your journey isn’t the same as anyone else’s.”
Elizabeth Dampier
College: University of Mississippi
Age: 20
Q: I know you recently wrote a book all about how to start a YouTube channel and interact with brands, so how do you balance school work and creating and uploading content for your channel with everything else you have going on?
A: “I try to view YouTube as a job and my passion. I know that I have to create content and put it out because it’s my job, but I also love what I do so either way I would find time to do my passion. It’s all about planning and timing.
Q: When you first started your channel, did you think you would be where you are today?
A: “No, I didn’t. I honestly never thought that I’d be receiving packages and working with brands that I loved. I never thought I would be traveling with brands or any of that. I was very skeptical and self-doubting of myself.”
Q: Do you consider YouTube your full-time job? If so, how do you make money from YouTube itself?
A: “Yes I do consider it a full-time job & I make money through Google Ads and brand sponsorships.”
Q: Is YouTube something you want to pursue as a career?
A: “Yes I want to continue to pursue YouTube as my full-time career.”
Q: If someone wanted to start their own YouTube channel, what is some advice that you could give them?
A: “I would tell them to make sure that they are willing to struggle before the fame and success comes. If you want to do it, then make sure that you are actually passionate about it. Stay consistent and everything will come.”
Elliot Choy
College: Vanderbilt University
Age: 20
Q: What made you want to start a YouTube channel?
A: “I actually go to Vanderbilt University; I’m a rising junior and when I was in high school, I always looked up videos about Vanderbilt just to learn more about the school before I actually got there. You know, I was in high school and I was excited, but I couldn’t find anything other than videos that were three or four years old and not really relevant to school life. I started making videos because I thought there was a need there. Specifically, I wanted to make a “Day-in-the-Life” video because there was no “day-in-the-life” video for Vanderbilt. My intention was never really to launch a YouTube channel, but I did want to make a video to fulfill that need that I felt was absent in the YouTube community, so it was more about making that video rather than starting a channel.”
Q: When you started uploading videos, did you think your channel would be where it is today, or was the process intentional?
A: “I feel like I always knew my channel would grow, just because I have been involved with social media for a long time. In high school, I grew Instagram accounts to over 20,000 and I’ve always been involved with social media growth and I have a good understanding of it. But I never knew that it would grow to this scale and I never knew that it would grow so quickly. So when I made my first video, I didn’t expect it to grow so quickly. I thought it would do well because I thought there was a need for it, but I didn’t expect it to get blasted across YouTube. That video did extremely well and because of that, I rode that wave and made more videos and now we are here. It’s definitely a blessing and definitely a bit of a surprise, but I have some experience in that area so I thought I would be able to do it, I just didn’t think it would happen that fast.”
Q: How do you balance everything while running a YouTube channel?
A: “It’s a lot of work, especially when you first start YouTube and people have this expectation of you, you don’t really get to take a break, which sucks, but that’s the trade-off of all of the great things that come with having a channel. But it really comes down to time management and really prioritizing yourself. I don’t make a video unless I am really passionate about an idea and I make sure not to force putting out content so that I actually enjoy the process and I can do it for a long time. I’ve been really good about that, but time-management is everything. You know, when I need to make a video, I make a video, I make use of all of my free time, I devote any extra time I have towards my YouTube and everything else I need to do with my life, I get that done as well.”
Q: I’m sure you know that thousands of people are able to run a successful YouTube channel and make a pretty sizable income from it. Is your channel something you see yourself pursuing as a career or just something fun to do while you’re in college?
A: “That’s an interesting question. I don’t think I’ll be a “YouTuber,” I don’t even like calling myself a “YouTuber.” Before I’m a YouTuber, I am many other things, so I don’t think I would pursue a career path where I’m just making videos. That being said, I don’t think I will only do it in college. I do get a lot of fun out of it but it’s helped me professionally in a serious way. I definitely think I’ll be doing it after college. I’m taking it very seriously because I know all of the great things that can come out of it. But again, I don’t think I’ll be just doing YouTube at any point in my life.”
Q: If another college student wanted to start a YouTube channel, what advice would you give them?
A: “I would say if you’re in college and you want to start a YouTube channel, it’s literally the best opportunity ever. Why? Because there are millions of students every single year who are looking to apply to these colleges and wanting to see content about these colleges. This is exactly the situation I was in when I was in high school. I was looking for these videos but I couldn’t find them. And yes, there are more “college YouTubers” now, but that doesn’t mean it’s too saturated. Everyone has their own unique perspective. Again, college is a great time to start because you can really capitalize on the fact that there are millions of students looking for these videos. You do need to be careful about getting trapped, meaning I don’t want to be known as a “college YouTuber” in the college niche forever. Yes, I’m in college now, but once I’m out of college I won’t be making college videos anymore because they won’t be relevant to me. I’m always going to try to make content that is relevant to me and is a reflection of me as a person. In terms of advice, make content that is actually valuable. The perspective you get out of watching a “day-in-the-life” video is extremely valuable because these high school students really want to know what it’s like to be in college.”
