How to Start Vlogging
For the past year I have been a full time food blogger/vlogger and I have learned so much that I want to share with you all! Not only am I able to earn money through food vlogging but I have also had the opportunity to partner with companies and hotels to receive products and stays in return for content creation. Keep reading to discover how I got here and how you can start vlogging!
This post contains affiliate links. If you are interested in purchasing any of these items please click through my links to help support me :).
How to Start a Vlogging Channel!
If you follow me on social media you probably know that the main social media I use is TikTok. I personally think that TikTok is the perfect platform to start vlogging and I will tell you guys why but first I'll give you a little background on how I started posting on TikTok.
I absolutely love everything to do with food. I am so passionate about cooking, trying new foods at restaurants, and watching food vlogs on YouTube. When I started University in Montreal there were so many amazing restaurants to try and since I was living on my own I started experimenting more with my cooking. This was so much fun for me and I decided I wanted to share what I was eating with my family and friends so I started sending them little food vlogs on Snapchat and found it was a really fun way to share my passion and stay connected. I also worked for my school broadcasting/journalism club in high school so I was pretty comfortable talking in front of a camera already.
At this time TikTok had already been out for a while and I thought it was such a fun platform so on a whim when I was at an ice cream shop in Calgary I thought why not post about it on TikTok! My intention was never to become a full time content creator at this time, I just thought it would be fun to share all the amazing food I try/make with people online!
After a couple of my early videos got tens of thousands of views I felt so motivated to post more consistently and improve the quality of my videos because people really seemed to be enjoying them! I started editing my videos and bought recording equipment over time and in less than 2 years I got to where I am today with over 150k followers on TikTok!
Why TikTok is the Perfect Vlogging Platform to Start On
If I had started on any other platform I don't think I would be where I am today. This is because TikTok has some key features that make it great for creators including the following.
TikTok is amazing for exposure. If you post on TikTok consistently then you will notice that every once in a while one of your videos will go "viral" and you will get way more views on it. This can give you a huge boost in followers and this creates a snowball effect where next time one of your videos blows up it will get even more views than last time and you will get even more followers and the cycle continues.
TikTok allows you to record longer videos than other platforms with the same system. I believe YouTube Shorts and Instagram Reels at the time of writing only allow you to record up to 1 or 3 minutes but TikTok allows 10 minute videos and are continually expanding the duration. Depending on your niche you may want videos longer than 1 minute like myself which makes TikTok the perfect choice.
The main drawback on TikTok compared to something like YouTube Shorts seems to be monetization from ad revenue. Compared to YouTube Shorts, TikTok has significantly fewer countries where you can receive money from ad revenue and until recently with the new TikTok Creativity Program Beta revenue was very low.
Personally though I really don't think this is very important at all. The reason is that even if I received ad revenue from TikTok it would probably account for a pretty small percentage of my total income because other income streams can be so much higher. This is why I think that the flexibility that TikTok provides and how effective the algorithm has been for me compared to Instagram Reels and YouTube Shorts far outweighs any loss in ad revenue I may be incurring.
Vlogging Equipment
Realistically, if you have a smartphone that is less than 3 years old you can make a pretty great vlog right away! Smartphone cameras are so advanced nowadays and have so many great features that I personally think you can use one for your vlog until you make enough money to buy a camera. I honestly still use my phone for most of my TikToks and it works perfectly fine! The first thing I would buy though is a tripod. This isn't the tabletop tripod that I use but any similar to this should be fine.
Eventually, especially when I started posting on YouTube which I will talk about more later, I invested in a camera. I still use the same camera today and that is the Sony ZV-1. I think this is a great starting camera for vlogging because it is small and light, it doesn't have interchangeable lenses so you don't have to worry about spending more money on lenses, and the flip out screen and video quality are both great. Along with the camera, I highly recommend purchasing the accompanying vlogger accessories including this microphone, this Bluetooth microphone, this handheld vlogging tripod, and a full-size tripod.
After you record your videos you need to edit them and for this I use Adobe Premiere Pro. I am assuming there is other free or cheaper software that can get the job done but I think especially for YouTube videos having Adobe Premiere Pro is a huge plus. Adobe software are amazing and have an incredible amount of features plus there are a lot of resources online about them. An average new (less than 5 years old) Windows or Mac laptop should be able to run Premiere Pro but I have used my regular Dell Laptop for video editing and it can be a little laggy sometimes, especially for transitions, and can occasionally crash. I personally don't use Mac but I am assuming it should run relatively smoothly on there. Instead, I bought a gaming laptop, an older version of this one, for only $1000 at the time which was a pretty great deal considering the current price of new laptops. It works great for me and if you aren't concerned about portability I definitely think it is worth buying, otherwise just try to get a newer laptop with 16GB of RAM.
Other Social Media to Consider
Not too long after starting my TikTok I started posting on Instagram. Here you can re-post shorter TikToks as reels but I think the real value is in posting regular Instagram posts and stories. This is because it diversifies your content, by posting photos on Instagram you are creating another form of media that some people prefer or appreciate seeing alongside your short-form videos. Stories are also an amazing way to encourage daily engagement from your biggest fans. I try to make my stories as interesting as possible so that people want to see what I am doing everyday, especially when I am traveling. It just think it is perfect for providing daily updates when you're doing something interesting!
The other social media I started using a while after I started TikTok and Instagram is YouTube! I feel like this really rounds out diversifying your media based content because this is the perfect place to post long-form videos! I am currently not yet qualified for monetization on YouTube (you require 1000 subscribers and 4000 watch hours) but once I am this will be my main source of ad revenue. I think growing on YouTube is a great long-term goal for getting relatively consistent ad revenue once your are monetized but I definitely recommend starting it after TikTok and Instagram because you will already have a following to drive traffic from to your YouTube! I also think that although YouTube videos require a lot more recording and editing work they are also really fun to record and edit, allowing you to try and make a more polished product!
General Vlogging Tips
Pick a niche. Choose one of your interests and make videos about it! It obviously helps to choose something more popular/generic for gaining a large following but at the same time smaller niches are less competitive so everything has its benefits and drawbacks. Ultimately just make videos on what you enjoy!
Get personal. You may be afraid/embarrassed to put yourself out there but I think a big key to my success has been tied to showing my face in all of my videos and sharing personal anecdotes. Not only do people enjoy seeing someone talk instead of a voice-over but I personally think it also creates a stronger connection with you and your audience which is both important for having fun on social media and later for monetization!
Good lighting. This is a more technical tip but good lighting is absolutely essential for vlogging. Using a smartphone in good lighting beats a $1000+ camera in bad lighting so try your absolute best to have great lighting in all of your videos. I don't use it much but I own this portable light which has come in handy in certain situations so consider getting something like this if you find your often struggling to get good lighting.
Diversify your subject matter. I mentioned diversifying the type of content you make (short-form videos vs photos vs long-form videos) but you should also try and diversify your subject matter. As a food vlogger I don't just to restaurant reviews but also cooking videos, life updates while I am eating, comedy TikToks, etc. This way you will not only reach a broader audience but you will also see what subject matter your audience seems to enjoy/engage with the most,.
Don't be shy about recording in public. I record in public on a regular basis and at first I was pretty shy about it but I quickly realized there is no reason to be. I personally have found that nobody really cares and pretty much nobody has ever said anything to me while recording. Even in Asia where it is frowned upon in some places to record so openly in public as long as you ask and are courteous in situations where you are unsure you will be completely fine!
Catch peoples attention. There are a lot of strategies online to simply increase the visibility or watch-ability of your videos without changing the content. This includes things like having having a hook at the beginning of your TikTok videos or adding captions, a strong title, and an appropriate file name to your YouTube videos. Assuming you don't have the means to hire an SEO expert or social media strategist (I know I sure don't) just read online about how to make more eye-catching TikToks and how to improve YouTube SEO!
Monetization
Finally, once you have a following you can start trying to monetize in order to turn your hobby into a "side hustle". The first way to monetize and what will generally provide the greatest earning for most vloggers is brand deals / sponsorships. This is where a company will pay you for an advertisement / product review. In my experience, you can expect to get ~$1000-$2000 for an advertisement with 100k-200k followers in the food niche. This includes some amount of exclusivity, meaning you can't post an ad in the same product niche for a certain amount of time, and generally includes posting across multiple social media. Also, while you can seek out brand deals on your own it is generally easier to join an agency and get them to negotiate deals and do all your paperwork for you. The drawback of this though is that they generally take ~20-30% of you revenue from the deal so in the end instead of $1000-$2000 you would be looking at $700-$1600. This is specifically for food vloggers and just in my personal experience. Other niches may have lower or higher rates than this.
Sponsorships / brand deals is pretty much how I make 100% of my income right now but here's the two other main ways you can monetize. The first is affiliate marketing which is where you get paid for referring people to a product that they then purchase. I have made maybe $100 total through affiliate marketing with a private company as part of an ad deal but I am hoping to make more through affiliate marketing using this blog! I will make a separate post on starting a blog but pretty much if anyone purchases any of the Amazon products I have linked in this post I will get a percentage of the sale through what is called Amazon Associates. This makes it seemingly easier to do affiliate marketing with a blog than purely through social media but you can always link products in your bio or linktree!
The second way is through ad revenue on social media platforms. If you are in the USA or a couple of other countries you can actually do this through TikTok and I heard the new TikTok Creativity Program Beta has been paying out pretty decently compared to the old creator fund (like up to 20x more apparently which is crazy). I think the most popular way to get ad revenue though is through YouTube. I am personally not there yet but I think in 2024 I will get monetized on YouTube which is a fun goal to shoot for. Pretty much what you need is 1000 subscribers and 4000 watch hours within 1 year. After you are monetized I hear that depending on your niche and considering how many people use ad blockers most people make $1-$10 per 1000 views.
Additionally, while this isn't directly monetization, if you have less followers (like 10k-50k) you can still get compensation in the form of products or hotel stays in return for advertisements / reviews! Prior to getting paid for advertisements I would receive free products like knives, air fryers, food products, soda makers, etc., and then do a unboxing / product review! In terms of hotel stays, it was hard and took contacting hundreds of hotels but eventually I got a lot of my accommodation for my recent trip to Asia covered in return for hotel reviews! As long as you are proactive even with 10k-50k followers you can receive free products / stays if you just reach out and aren't afraid to get rejected!
NOTE: I just want to point out that this post deliberately isn't phrased as an "escape you 9-5 and make your side hustle your main source of income" type of post. Even though I am doing content creation full time right now this is just because I decided to take a gap year from education. I am starting law school next year and even with my current following I am still considering this my "side hustle" for the foreseeable future. To be honest, my current income isn't sustainable and the money flow isn't stable so I would definitely say for most people just vlog because you are passionate about it but don't do it with the end goal of doing it full time because getting there seems pretty difficult, but that's just my two cents many other people will give opposing advice to this.
The Emotional Side of Vlogging
To end off this post I want to mention something that I think is talked about a lot more in private than publicly among vloggers. If you start vlogging you are inevitably going to get hate comments and occasionally some of them are going to be REALLY mean. I am lucky to have pretty positive reception to my posts and I have grown to not care too much about hate comments but if you are an emotional person it can definitely effect your mental health, especially when you are first starting out.
Ultimately, I would love to say to just ignore the hate comments and stick through it but at the end of the day maintaining good mental health should be your top priority. If you are struggling to handle hate comments/messages don't be afraid to take a break from social media or reevaluate if it is right for you to be a content creator. I think it gets better over time but social media can really suck people in especially if you start monetizing so just remember that being a vlogger isn't perfect and the additional income is definitely not worth it if you stop enjoying what you are doing! I absolutely love what I do and I can only hope that everyone else who seriously does content creating or wants to start does as well!
How to Start Vlogging: Final Note
I hope this post provided some useful insight into how to start vlogging. I tried to make this post as practical as possible and filled with as little motivational fluff as possible but I want to end it off by saying that consistency is key. This is something that everyone has heard but especially with vlogging there will be times when you content isn't performing well or it may not perform well at all for months but you never know when you are going to get lucky unless you stay consistent. In my opinion, the only way to be a luckier person is to consistently give yourself more opportunities to get lucky!
That is all for this post and I hope if you are considering starting to do content creation / vlogging that this post motivates you to do so! Make sure to checkout my other blog posts for foodie content but if you guys enjoyed this post please let me know and I can try to make more posts for aspiring content creators! Also, checkout my social media to follow me on my foodie adventures. I hope you all have an amazing day!
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