We're pro YouTubers - and this is what you need to know if your kids want to make videos

• If your children want to make videos for YouTube, what gear do they need?
• Are there benchmarks for success to look out for?
• And how to avoid burning out quickly when starting out on the platform?
• All these questions are answered more by YouTubers in this article.

So, your kids have decided they want to make YouTube videos. Which is a thought you wouldn’t have had to consider at the start of the millennium.

The internet has caused so many fundamental shifts to our lives in recent decades and it has opened the door for careers you’d never have thought possible - including being a YouTuber. But making a career online is such a new path that you might be left all at sea when considering what advice to give your children if they want to pursue it.

To help you out and to address concerns around privacy, the kind of gear your kids will need and how to avoid burning out quickly, I spoke to two YouTubers in Rowan Ellis and EuroThug4000 to find out their tips for kids who are looking to start out on YouTube.

What is the most important equipment for starting out on YouTube?

Rowan Ellis: “I would say that if they are treating this like any other hobby, like say sports, that involves needing to have something to record on - both audio and visual. Nowadays you can do that on a phone, depending on the type of genre they are wanting to do then you may want to get more proper equipment - for example if they are wanting to film a recipe, then video might be more important.

“If you are going to upgrade one thing, upgrade your audio. It is less of an investment than a camera but it can give you such a massive difference. Similarly with editing, there are a lot of apps you can use on your laptop/ phones. I know Youtubers who use iMovie - it depends on what kind of thing they are interested in doing.”

EuroThug4000: “I think something that really made a difference to me was improving my recording space. I have acoustic curtains now to form a recording booth, which really help with making my voice recordings a lot better quality, since there would be too much reverb in the room before.

“But before getting curtains, I just used regular blankets over my desk space which still helped! Even if you have a super expensive mic, if the space you’re recording in isn’t good then it doesn’t matter. You can use a low budget mic and make it sound fantastic just by sound treating your space.”

So if your child is looking to get into making videos for YouTube, you will want to focus on having the right equipment for recording audio. We have been trying out the GamingXTrust Yunix microphone recently and it is a great option to consider.

What is one thing to know before starting out on YouTube?

EuroThug4000: “I'm really happy with how I approached things and learned along the way, so I don't have any regrets or things I wish I knew sooner! One thing I did which I think is really helpful though is taking your time and figuring out what exactly you want to do with your Youtube channel and the kind of videos you'd like to make.

“You don't have to have your "niche" ready from the get go, and starting a channel is so exciting because that's when you can experiment the most with different ideas!”

Should they be looking at the analytics on videos when first starting out?

Rowan Ellis:“For young people and parents, think about it in the way you would other old school hobbies. If their kid likes playing football, at a certain age when they are playing with their friends they don’t want to be critiqued, they just want to have fun. But at some point there are kids who want to take it more seriously, you want coaching to improve and I understand that desire for improvement.

“Where I think it gets a bit tricky with analytics is that it is often out of control for the creator. I would say there is a danger there could be a lot of frustration around that kind of feedback, instead of feedback from peers who make similar kinds of content.

“So much about analytics is about reporting things that are out of anyone’s control. It is interesting to see if they are interested in statistics.”

EuroThug4000: “The best way to approach YouTube starting off is to not think about the prospect of success and money. Treat it as a fun thing to get some creative satisfaction for yourself, enjoy making stuff and don’t dwell on the view count etc.

“Most people do not “make it” on YouTube, and a lot of the time it isn’t because they aren’t capable of creating decent videos, it’s because they get demotivated when the first few videos they upload don’t get thousands of views.

“You might not even break 100k subscribers for several years (took me 5/6 I think?), and luck is a huge factor when it comes to success on the platform. You have to be very mentally resilient at times - which applies to dealing with negative comments too! I'm glad I began creating during my adult life and not in my teens or earlier.”

So your child is going to upload videos on YouTube, should parents be worried about their privacy?

Rowan Ellis:“I’m 32 so the idea of doing the internet as a hobby when I was that age wasn’t really a thing, when I think of hobbies I had at that age - you wouldn’t go into a dance competition straight away.

“The thing with YouTube is that it is an available publisher, it is the most public and recognisable. People can post art on Instagram or writing on Wattpad, those are other platforms that allow you to post your work online, but with YouTube there is more of a privacy concern.

“Practising without putting it out is always a good idea. And to think about what is behind wanting to be on YouTube, is it filming, writing, editing.

“It is figuring out what is at the heart of it, and the why of it. If you are someone who is looking to put something out online and you aren’t looking to do anything with it, being aware of the potential downsides is probably something to be aware of, particularly for young people.

“The first thing to do is to go to charities, NGOs, who have advice out there, best practice in terms of keeping anonymous in terms of identity. It is not like a similar interest where you are doing it completely privately, but it is not public in the way like cheerleading because you are doing that within the structure of a club that has accountability.”

What are signs of success on YouTube to watch for?

EuroThug4000: “I think it's always quite exciting when a new video suddenly pops off in views in comparison to your previous ones, but the best thing for me is feeling proud of what I've made.

“An early benchmark of success in my eyes is feeling as though you're getting better with every video, learning more about the process and being happy with what you're doing. The more you improve and continue to create, the more likely that success will follow.”

Rowan Ellis: “YouTube has a threshold you have to reach to get money from ads, there is a very specific specification. If that has been unlocked that is a sign there is something there.

“I would say that there are a lot of spam organisations that might reach out, it is one of those things where you need to vet who they are - going through it with a parent.

“At the point where people are coming to you, that is a sign it is going well. Someone can get a viral video, but if a brand is looking to work with you they will be looking for consistent views.”

What is a surprising part about becoming a YouTuber?

EuroThug4000: “It's always surprising when a video I don't expect to do well suddenly surpasses others that took much longer to make and I had thought would've done better. Always catches me off guard!

“But I think what might be a surprise to other people who aren't familiar with creating on the platform is that YouTubers don't make as much money as you think from Youtube adsense alone, it's only thanks to things like Patreon and sponsorships that I'm able to do this full time for example!”

How to avoid getting burned out when starting out on YouTube?

Rowan Ellis:“You need to measure what you consider as success, it has to be something that is in your control. Otherwise that is the path to burnout, depression, anxiety, if you are worrying about something that is out of your control.

“If you instead define success as creating a certain number of videos - obviously that's not completely in your control, life happens - but that is more in your control. If you come into YouTube because you see people who are super successful and are doing it full time, what you are looking at is them years down the line, you are not looking at them when they first started.

“You are looking at them X years down the line, don’t compare yourself to people who are however many years into your future, that is a good way to keep away any frustrations. This is an exciting journey you are going on, not frustrated that you are not at this destination already.”

And finally, what does an average day look like for a YouTuber?

EuroThug4000: “I’m almost always working on videos or other related creative work. From around 10am - 10pm but with breaks in between when I need them! And I might have a day off once a week depending on how busy I am.

“I can only work for that long because I love what I do, sometimes there are fun parts (like playing games for recording footage) but sometimes there are more stressful parts (voiceover recording until my voice becomes rough, late nights editing for deadlines), however it’s my passion and the fact that I work for myself that makes the time fly by. I’ve never been more creatively fulfilled.”

Have your kids attempted to make YouTube videos? What tips do you have for other parents? Share them with our tech writer by emailing: [email protected].