How and why you might want to become a gay YouTube star
Do you have a unique perspective on gay culture? Would you like to share your experiences with a community online? Jacob Michael shares how and why you just might want to become a gay YouTube star.
Hear how to become a gay YouTube star:
Create and help others as a gay YouTube star
Jacob Michael is a popular gay YouTube star and social media influencer with nearly 22,000 subscribers and hundreds of thousands of video views. He got his start doing vlogs for fun, but his channel evolved into a space for exploring his own experiences the queer community. Today, he films videos on key LGBTQ social issues like body shaming, dating culture and mental health.
On this episode of Queer Money®, Jacob Michael joins us to explain what inspired him to start a YouTube channel and walk us through the logistics of getting started as a creator on the platform. He shares how much time and money he’s invested in his channel, describing the different ways influencers can monetize once they’ve grown a following. Listen in for Jacob Michael’s insight on withstanding criticism online and learn what steps to take to share your unique voice on social media!
Topics covered on becoming a gay YouTube star
What inspired Jacob Michael to start a YouTube channel
- Voice personal struggle to fit into the gay community
- Share his take on issues others not talking about
How Jacob Michael got started creating on YouTube
- Film on iPhone, edit with Adobe Premiere Pro
- Develop inner core to accept criticism for POV
How much time Jacob Michael spends on his channel
- 20 hours/week early on as learning to film and edit
- Scripted, 45-minute videos take up to 50 hours
How much Jacob Michael has invested in his channel
- $2K on an editing software, camera and lighting
- Made $ back by monetizing channel with ads
The different ways to monetize a YouTube channel
- Through ads (requires 1K subscribers)
- Affiliate links for products mentioned
- Sell merchandise
- Crowdfunding
- Sales funnel for own product
Jacob’s best practices for growing a following
- Focus on niche content, optimize for keywords
- Remember it takes time to hit benchmarks
Jacob’s advice on riding out the ‘waiting game’
- Don’t compare with others, try to remove ego
- Develop grit to persist + realize impact do have
How Jacob chooses topics to discuss
- Respond to feedback from core supporters
- Draw from patterns in own experience
Jacob’s first 3 steps for aspiring gay YouTuber stars
- Just start (don’t get analysis paralysis)
- Gather tools and resources you need
- Persist so long as you enjoy work