Becoming a full-time YouTuber is a tough thing to handle, especially when your main goal is to become a popular one on top of that. All of us want to go down a career path we enjoy, which is precisely why seeing all of these other people get rich from YouTube can break your heart at times. The good news is that you can join the ranks of popular YouTube channels for yourself! It can seem daunting at first, especially if you want to know how to become a YouTuber as a kid, but age is irrelevant when it comes to the world of YouTube.
If you're wondering “is it too late to be a YouTuber?”, you couldn't be more wrong: There is enough room for everybody on the platform, all you have to do is find the right fit when it comes to your YouTube community. Finding your niche and sticking to it works most of the time, but sometimes you have to go above and beyond if you want to become famous on YouTube.
When you want to learn how to become a YouTuber, you've got to understand more than just starting the channel itself. Knowing why some channels are more successful and famous than others can give you a head start, as you can avoid making the same mistakes that other channels have in the past.
PewDiePie has been creating YouTube videos for the gaming community for as long as we can remember at this point. He's been at it for a while and as a result, he's garnered billions of views and currently had 108M subscribers!
VanossGaming is yet another very popular gaming YouTuber who currently has 25.4 M on his main YouTube channel and focuses on producing Let’s Play and compilation content for all of his viewers.
Markiplier is also going to dabble in original comedy videos and other forms of content, but his main focus has always been video games. His content has allowed him to grow his fan base at a rapid rate, sporting 28.2M subscribers right now.
Ninja (also known as NinjasHyper) has 24.2M subscribers and over a thousand videos on his YouTube channel at the moment, making him one of the top-viewed gaming channels currently found on YouTube.
Although JackSepticEye has the fewest number of subscribers on this list, he's still got well over 18M subscribers who are ready to watch anything he posts. Beginners can still learn a lot from watching his content!
Logan Paul and his brother Jake are almost world-famous at this point, and it only makes sense! Logan Paul is always uploading vlogs about his daily life, and it's allowed him to earn well over 22.7M subscribers as of today!
Roman Atwood has 15.4M subscribers and has been creating weekly blogs that surround him and his family for a very long time. You can almost see his kids grow up if you watch them all!
Casey Neistat had a very good run when it came to the world of vloggers, as he had a massive 2018 and 2019 that showed exponential growth. He's the definition of success on YouTube, and he currently has 12.3M subscribers.
David Dobrik has managed to work his way into other forms of media, like TV and even some movies, but his YouTube channel with 18.7M subscribers is where he began this entire journey.
MoVlogs is a 21-year old blogger who lives in Dubai and focuses on producing vlogs for all 10.3M of his subscribers. Although he's much newer when compared to others, MoVlogs is still dedicated to the craft (as he has uploaded over 1,500 videos already).
James Charles began on YouTube but has since worked his way into much more popular forms of media. If you aren't seeing him on TV, you might just be using his incredibly popular line of make-up products! 25.3M subscribers are more than enough for James.
Yuya is yet another very popular make-up YouTuber who has found success in the right niche. It's easy to earn money and popularity when you do things properly! Yuya has 24.6M subscribers and isn't slowing down anytime soon.
Jeffree Star is a cosmetics creator and make-up artist that began his journey on YouTube. He has since risen through the ranks of the fashion industry! Jeffree Starr is a household name of sorts and his 16.8M subscribers are just confirmation that he's running a successful channel.
NikkieTutorials has plenty of amazing make-up tutorials and reviews to check out, and although she hasn't hit the “1,000 video mark” just yet, she still has 13.8M subscribers waiting to hear her every word!
Join a make-up and DIY family that's going to focus on fun! When you just want to kick back and relax, as opposed to taking things a bit more seriously, SaraBeautyCorner is the perfect fit (with 10.6M subscribers).
FailArmy found a lot of their success by reposting fail videos that they find on the internet, and the best part is they'll never run out of content! They currently have 14.6M subscribers and is one of the most popular Comedy YouTube channels.
College Humor currently has 14M subscribers and was able to accrue that number by producing high-quality comedy content. It isn't just live-action short films and sketches, as they even have cartoons and merchandise to sink your teeth into.
IdubbbzTV is a comedy YouTuber who focuses on lengthy and material-rich content, as opposed to some channels that post lesser quality videos daily. He's accrued 7.89M subscribers over the years, but his content-rich approach is what intrigues us the most.
Much like iDubbbz, MaxMoeFoe is a comedy YouTuber who is based out of Australia. He also has videos where he's opening packs of cards and other things of that nature, but he's still managed to accrue 3.03M subscribers.
You've likely seen Rudy Mancuso on a viral clip or two in the past, and that's why he decided to pursue a YouTube career. It's working out, as Rudy Mancuso has well over 7.48M subscribers to keep entertained.
House of Highlights is a sports channel that covers a plethora of different sports, although they tend to focus on basketball. It's an international sport, so it's almost a given that this is a successful channel (with 2.82M subscribers!).
Dude Perfect is arguably one of the most successful YouTube channels to look at in general, as they've got 54.9M subscribers to keep them going these days. From trick shot videos to compilations of their previous adventures, this is a hard channel to pass up.
Although Nonstop Sports only has 236K subscribers, they've got a dedicated fan base that is loyal and remains committed to checking out new videos. The channel blew up seemingly overnight as well, and it's always nice to see smaller channels grow on YouTube.
With 9.83M subscribers, the Red Bull YouTube channel is going to focus on extreme sports and adrenaline pumping events as a whole. If you like people jumping out of planes, this is a channel you'll love.
With 914K subscribers, Joseph Vincent has single-handedly carved out a name for himself in the YouTube sports community. He creates documentaries about popular athletes and does a better job than most professional television networks.
Becoming famous on YouTube isn't a given, especially in the year 2021. There are a lot of things that can stop you from succeeding, some of which won't even be in your control. YouTube Burnout is something that can happen to anyone, especially if you're trying to keep up with the demands of your subscribers. 2021 is a year that’s going to offer a lot of eyes due to lockdowns and restrictions, but you’ll still have to produce high-quality content and hope for a bit of ‘algorithm luck’.
Luck is something that many big YouTubers don’t talk about, because there are times where your work may seem pointless, until one day you wake up to thousands of new subscribers! Celebrity shout-outs and re-tweets are never a sure thing, but you never know when it could happen for you.
Especially among the most popular niches on YouTube, the competition is incredibly stiff. when it comes to building up a YouTube channel, as nobody is going to take it easy on you for being a novice. The competition will crush you with any chance they get, so it's important to remain diligent and keep your eyes on the prize! Everybody wants to make a career out of their hobbies, and with the popularity of YouTube and new users joining daily, standing out from the competition is going to be tough.
Becoming a YouTuber is going to almost guarantee you a happy and successful life, but that's only if your channel can grow over time. Remember - becoming famous on YouTube isn’t a fast thing to achieve. If you find yourself releasing videos and they're not getting views or likes, you get that “stagnant” feeling. It's a career path that allows you to combine all of your favorite hobbies and bring them to work with you, but there are times where it can spoil the things you used to love most.
Your private life can be jeopardized since becoming a massive YouTube celebrity means you’re open to the public, but that’s going to come with any sort of fame. PewDiePie talks about this quite a bit, as sometimes it can lead to very awkward fan interactions!
You get to make your hours and decide how hard you want to work daily, and some YouTube channels can do the bare minimum and still generate thousands of dollars in revenue monthly. Finding a niche that works best for you is important, or else you're going to be stuck producing content in a niche that you simply don't care for!
PewDiePie is worth over $40,000,000 and Markiplier is said to be worth at least $20,000,000, so the money is clearly there to be made. All of this is going to depend on your channel size, which is why larger channels (like PewDiePie) will always make way more money - realistically, you can compare it to regular jobs and their annual salaries.
Becoming famous on YouTube isn’t exactly a step-by-step process, but we’ve compiled 17 different ways for you to approach things the right way!
Define what success means to you and approach your YouTube goals accordingly: You don't have to have 25M subscribers within the first year to feel like you're getting something done! Whether it’s 1,000 subs, 10,000 views, or even 100 likes on a single video, set your goals as high as possible. Figure out how much time you want to invest, and consider how much money you’re looking to make from your YouTube channel, that will worth your time invested.
The content that you're producing for your YouTube channel needs to be on-topic and entertaining or educational, otherwise, people aren't going to come back for more. If you aren’t able to adapt with the times and get better as you make more videos, people will take notice and eventually unsubscribe and stop watching your videos.
Think about which videos you’re going to publish, as well as when. There are going to be times where “stashing” a video might be your best bet, especially if you’re able to produce a ton of content at once and then release it in portions. If Fortnite is trending because of an event, you can bust out a stashed Fortnite video that you’ve been sitting on!
Video SEO is a very important part of the YouTube journey, and refusing to conduct any sort of SEO research (or optimization) on your videos is only going to negatively impact the channel.
Keywords are certain phrases that potential viewers will be using to find your video. When you can rank your videos highly for a few popular keywords, your YouTube channel is bound to organically grow.
Competitive niches are all over YouTube, and it’s important to take note of just how competitive your niche is going to be - Using a YouTube analytics tool will let you see how hard specific keywords will be to rank with.
Your description has to include the keywords you’re targeting, as well as any links that are related to your content. Whether it’s music, merchandise, or just all-around branding, your video description is where you’ll get the message across.
Consistency is key when you want to run a successful YouTube channel, and that's why we highly suggest only biting off as much as you can chew. If you cannot produce 3 videos a week, don't promise them!
People are sick and tired of watching YouTube content that isn't “straight to the point”. Although longer videos will have more ads in them, odds are people will click away if you're wasting time.
There are always different trends going on that will be popular for a few weeks (or months) at a time, and it never hurts to hop on the bandwagon when you're trying to grow a YouTube channel! Take note of these trends and implement them yourself.
Your subscribers are what keep your channel alive, so make sure that you're interacting with them whenever you can. Whether it's monthly giveaways to subscribers to just replying to comments, you've got to interact with them in one way or another.
Having a legitimate website that you can use to offer news and additional information about your YouTube channel is always a good idea, and you can even use it to sell merchandise by including a Shop area! Every YouTube celebrity has a website of their own. Most full-time YouTubers will have some sort of dedicated website, and some prime examples would be:
The YouTube Analytics tool is there to give you more information about the videos you're posting, as well as where the views and subscribers are coming from. Using your analytics is a lot like using proper gear, as refusing to do so will have you leaving potential profits and viewers on the table.
You cannot approach your YouTube channel like it's just a hobby, as there are people who will outwork you if that's the case. Approaching your YouTube channel like a full-time job is important, as you've got to do everything you can to try and ensure growth.
Creating transcripts of your videos will make it much easier to translate them for other languages, expanding your audience reach even further! It's also ideal for those who are hearing impaired who may want to enjoy your videos with CC (Closed Captions).
Working with your friends and fellow YouTubers will keep things interesting, as well as allow you to get much more creative than usual. Whether it's a comedy sketch, sports video, or even gaming, collaborations are the foundation of our YouTube community.
If the content isn't interesting or educational, why would anybody watch it? If you're just producing content that has a lot of “filler” to try and make as much money as possible, people are bound to take notice.
Marketing is a very important piece of the puzzle when you're running your own YouTube channel, as you want people to know that you're putting out content. Those who have a larger marketing budget aren't always going to be more successful, but the chances are higher in that regard. You can use paid promotion through platforms like:
The YouTube “Cards” feature is one that allows you to promote videos while viewers are watching another. It's ideal for when you want people to check out some of the other content you've created, and if you notice one video is more popular than others, throwing a Card in there is always ideal.
The Marquee Video Cards option is a lot like Cards, except it's a bit more “in your face”. If you have something that you need your subscribers to check out, and for some reason they haven't yet, enabling the Marquee Video option and promoting it that way is bound to improve your channels' traffic (and is a necessity if you want to be YouTube famous).