Hank Green, with his brother John, are the Vlogbrothers and more.
As VidCon2011 approaches, it’s time for some thoughts from Hank Green, one of the event’s founders… inspired by something beyond the fame and money, the Green brothers have sustained long beyond their 15 minutes.
Says Hank: “I actually just wrote an article on motivation and success. I think everyone is motivated by different things, but the trick is actually believing in it, either because you think a little more money, a little more fame, a little more recognition really will make you a happier / more satisfied / more important person.
I’ve had different motivations throughout the process, from getting views to getting subscribers, to being recognized by other youtubers, to being recognized by YouTube, to feeling obligated to our community, to feeling like we actually have an opportunity to do good things, to feeling like we have an opportunity to do big things, to actually believing in what we do as a force for cultural change.
All of those things motivate in different ways and they all overlap. I we didn’t have all of them, I don’t know if we could do it.
Only because we have all of those different bits of motivation, it doesn’t seem like a big deal to spend eight hours a day developing ideas for videos, interacting with our community, or whatever else we’re up to at the moment. I pour pretty much all of my creative juices into our videos now (or on projects that relate to our videos.) And that’s only OK because I actually believe in it. If I didn’t have all of those various sources of motivation, I’d go get a real job.”
This Today show report highlights Lauren Luke, a single mom from England who found fame via YouTube make-up tutorials. Now she’s making money on YouTube, and has launched her own makeup line with Sephora. Her own makeup talents are more evident by her glowing face in the in the live shot than the interview clips preceding it (which, perhaps due to careful NBC lighting direction, give her that requisite homely amateur look).
Check her out at YouTube as Panacea81 or see her fashion line here. If you last long enough in this video, you’ll see a rare quote from YouTube about the financial upside for creators. Go get ’em Lauren.
Lessons learned:
Sometimes you can go from obscurity to a full-time revenue on YouTube.
That can transcend to additional opportunities.
NBC, like every other network, will never fail to show “Charlie Bit My Finger” or some of the other most-viewed videos whenever covering the medium.
Eyes in thumbnails sell. See her most popular videos below:
I thought I knew my fellow YouTubers well, but I learned some interesting facts about some of my favorites in a new book by Frederick Levy (see his YouTube channel). Levy covers some famous YouTubers, and me too. There’s a Q&A and some coverage about the NAPPY campaign I had almost supressed.
Worth a read for those interested in the culture beyond the “cat videos,” or for those already steeped in the social aspect of YouTube. Of course I haven’t read a book completely in about a decade, so I’ll have to trust the book cover. Link below to Amazon if you want your own copy.
An explanation of how to take advantage of YouTube’s far-reaching
resources and potential
Expert advice on how to get your video seen
Insightful strategies on how to make your video stand out from the
crowd
Instruction on uploading videos from a mobile phone
Simple ways to capture video directly to YouTube from a webcam
Tips on embedding videos into personal webpages or blogs
(Warning- clicking the image to the right will cause you to download the book, which is annoying but probably what most people expect).
This post marks the official release of the book. You can download it (for free) by clicking this link, which will open the 30-page PDF: “How to Become Popular on YouTube (Without Any Talent), version 1.5” by Kevin Nalts, WillVideoForFood.com. If you post the PDF on your own blog or website, please keep that title, and my name and URL. You might want to list this post’s permalink, since it will point to future downloadable versions.
While you’re waiting for Adobe to open (insert “car rusting” joke here), I hope you’ll RSS this blog so we can keep each other current. If you’re a YouTuber and haven’t subscribed to my videos, visit YouTube.com/Nalts, then select the orange button labled “subscribe.” Okay- enough self promotion for one day. I’m going to take a nap.
Here’s a free 2-page synopsis of my book, “The Prophet of Online Video.” If you want to use this outline and write your own book, go ahead. I’m so not writing for a while.
