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When I started YouTube in 2016, I started with nothing. I had people pointing out things left and right and felt powerless because I had no money to get better stuff. As of now, getting approved for SSI has allowed me to put into working from home. If YouTube is a way to work from home I can go towards that. With affiliate links. I think the viewer would trust me more if they physically see me unbox/review/test the product. They can see whether or not they would like it from my video. Plus I get more traffic on YT than I do on my blog. My blog has 100+ total views while my YT has 3K. Also, you can show ads on your blog with Adsense. You need to purchase a domain in order to run ads.
When I was the struggling broke small YouTuber was before I got approved for disability. I tried doing let’s plays when I didn’t have a good mic. I got comments left and right about my mic. I do admit when I started YT I knew nothing about it. I didn’t have the money to buy one. Remember I had no money at all. When I said I didn’t have money they probably thought I didn’t have money for say a blue yeti mic but maybe I could get a mic for 30 bucks or something. I had no money at all. Nothing. Nada. Zero. Zilch. The mic I have now I won it in a giveaway.
It’s just rough that not everyone understands when you have little/no money to get better stuff for YouTube.
I feel they wouldn’t point out something I had zero control over. If my mom bought a cheap camera, she got what she could afford.
I tried making sit-down vlogs with my webcam on my old laptop since I had no money for a camera. No money for lighting so I had to use the overhead lights in my room. I was in a group where one thread was for feedback. I commented on the thread a video I made and one person replied with a link to a camera and said ‘don’t make an excuse.’ I was so angry they saw me being broke and having no money to buy better stuff as ‘excuses.’ They wouldn’t understand that I just could not afford it. How is being broke an excuse? What did they want from me? To steal a camera? They did mention all they hear is excuses. BEING BROKE is an excuse to these people. BEING BROKE. If being broke is an excuse then I guess they wanted me to steal a camera. I mean they told me to get a selfie stick but I couldn’t afford it.
In my eyes, I felt if they understood that I simply had no income coming in to buy better gear, they wouldn’t have labeled that an excuse.
My footage was shaky. One person said ‘all we are asking is for you to spend 10 bucks on a selfie stick.’ What part of I DON’T HAVE ANY MONEY didn’t they understand? I wasn’t the ‘ I can’t afford a 300 dollar camera but maybe something for 100 dollars broke’ I had NOTHING. NO MONEY, PERIOD. Also, Apple/Andriod started to roll out phones with built-in stabilizers. I couldn’t afford a new phone
I found a selfie stick at the dollar tree later on.
I couldn’t find a job to save up for equipment. In 2017 I went through a program that I thought helped disabled people find a job and they don’t do shit.
Then at the time, I didn’t know about gaming. I stupidly did not know that people didn’t like watching videos with lag. Maybe they wouldn’t care if it was a glitch here and there. I mean you have to connect to Steam to play which could take some CPU as well as your recording.
People made comments about how bad my computer was. No money to get a better laptop. I was left with no other option but to quit gaming videos. I started back after a few months with indie games and when my mom upgraded our phones playing the Telltale series (they offer the first episode free) then when Animal Crossing Pocket Camp came out and The Sims Mobile I played those.
I joined Steemit.com to try to make some money. I barely made a dollar per post but having that and saving up was better than no money at all. I didn’t join for only the money but a backup source for content.
I started vlogging and this viewer who found me, I felt he could not understand I was trying I just didn’t have money to get better stuff. I am not saying having to spend 300 bucks on a camera. I mean I was so broke I didn’t even have money for even cheap alternatives. I wasn’t getting any income. Not the ‘wait until my next paycheck broke.’ I had no job. I tried but no one would hire me and my limitations due to anxiety and stuff.
I got so fed up with this guy’s nitpicking. He left one comment I saw as hate and here is why. He talked about skipping the video because of my face. SO he’s implying I’m ugly?
One comment he told me to work on my editing, enthusiasm, and music.
- I did not compose the music. I used NO Copyright Sounds, a channel that is 100% trusted for free no copyright music. And YouTube’s audio library. Later when I got approved to Freedom Network, the music they approved. At least he could have told me the best genera that fits vlogs the best, you know. The way he worded ‘work on your music’ it looked like he thought I composed my music. Instead “Always use soft beats for vlogs, it sets the tone better. This is where I get my music.”
- My old laptop could not run any good editors. For example as of now on my new laptop Camtasia, Shotcut, Openshot, VSDC work on my computer with very little to no issues. I unbox that here. Those editors did not work on my old laptop. So my editing was gonna suck because my laptop sucked therefore I had no options. I have a Gaming Laptop as of April 2022 and I have way more options. I unbox that as well here.
- Am I a bubbly vlogger? No. That is not my style. I wanted to be accepted for who I am.
This instance led me to quit vlogs. Just telling me to work on something and not telling me what you saw that gave you the idea that it needed work does not help me. He pointed out my editing. My old laptop sucked. Not one of the good editors supported it. Therefore I couldn’t get a better editing software to edit. To me the better the editor the more features it will have. I was limited to even editors due to not having a good laptop and not being able to afford a better laptop.
Having good laptop matters because if the CPU is not strong, you will have lag when you try to view the video, crashing and exporting will take forever. Which could be why the guy thought my editing needed work. The lag was too much for me to properly view the video to cut out stuff.
My videos are also done ahead of time and since the video, he nitpicked aired I was in the process of testing out other things.
With the limitations I had due to no funds, I could not fulfill the quality the guy expected. He would not understand that if I had the money for better stuff, I would have gotten it.
The point is if the person is unaware that I just can’t afford it, they could see it as me not taking YouTube seriously.
I lost count on how many times people pointed out stuff. I tried making gameplay on my phone and a guy pointed out the audio. I had Undertale on my channel where I was able to balance everything better, but they didn’t want to watch it because they wanted to play Undertale blind. The reality is the first episode will be rocky because I won’t know the outcome. I won’t know how low to put the sound on my phone to somewhat balance the audio. I want people to know it’s harder on mobile to balance out the audio and make it sound good than on a PC or console when you can use your mic. On my phone, it uses the built-in mic to record the game’s sound and my voice. Unlike being on a PC where I can use a USB mic.
Now I can use OBS Studio to record my gameplay. I can control the game’s sound and my voice. You can ask why didn’t I use a mobile emulator where I could record on a computer. It was because the computer was not strong enough.
Now you could ask why didn’t I install an Andriod emulator and just record with my computer and then I can use OBS and my USB mic. My computer was not strong enough for that.
Also, I forgot to edit out adjusting the levels and it was pointed out without second thought. Understand that YouTube creators are human, too. One guy got snarky when I forgot to edit out changing the levels. I forgot to edit it out, it’s not that deep.
It was rough being a broke mobile gamer.
They don’t tell me directly what the problem is so I concluded that maybe they aren’t used to it, especially
if they watched a PS4 gamer before me.
Let me explain it this way. On a PC say you use OBS you can pick your speakers to take the game’s audio and your mic to take your voice. On mobile, I use AZ recorder or Mobizen. I don’t have the options I would with OBS. I was broke and had to use my phone for the Telltale games. Now I can save up for a PS4. Before, I couldn’t with the scrape change I was able to make on Steemit.
I feel as though not everyone understands that when you are broke you are stuck with what you have. Which was my case. Someone who found me through a video I did 8 months ago wouldn’t know I didn’t have a good tablet when I recorded the game and my mom bought me a new one for my birthday after it was done.
Like right now I can get better stuff, a video from before I got a better X will be up before a video with the new equipment.
The hard part is getting new viewers who find you to understand the instance when you shot said video. Constantly having to repeat over and over what happened that skewed the quality that you overlooked. I mean you can tell them in a pinned comment but if they find your video from an external site like Reddit.
I made a video on my tablet looking at the screen instead of the lens. It is easier for me to see the lens on a camera rather than the small lens on a phone. 6, 7 people kept pointing it out and it was getting more difficult explaining that I didn’t know at the time.
Understand that most if not all YouTubers will start with the shittest phone or computer that they have until they can save up for a better one. Understand they are trying their best but won’t have the same quality as someone with 10K subs.
We are trying. We want better stuff but can’t afford it. If we don’t have a following then creating a Patreon or Paypal is pointless.
We need programs that give small YouTubers equipment discounted/free in exchange for a review. I mean small channels under 1K. If there are such programs chances are it’s for channels with 1K+ followers.
When someone told me to upgrade this and invest in y it was heartbreaking telling them ‘sorry I just can’t afford to buy a mic.’
On one of my Roblox videos on one site, this guy asked me if I can upgrade my mic. I was extremely confused because I have Blue Snowball, which is supposed to be one of the best mics. I usually record my voice with the recorder I use to capture my gameplay. Because of that, they thought I needed a new mic. I was not in the position to spend 100 dollars on another mic when I can, for way less, purchase a mic stand and pop filter to bring the mic closer to my mouth. After doing a test, I felt the sound was crisper when the mic is closer to my mouth. All I needed was to bring the mic closer or add a step in audacity and this guy wanted me to spend money on a new mic, that I did not have. I don’t mean to be rude when you are a small channel with little money. You should try applying some adjustments to see if they work before spending money.
Even though I was trying to get money from my Steemit blog, I still could have easily saved up 20 dollars for a mic stand and pop filter than 100 dollars for another mic.
I just want people to understand when they first come to my channel, if they watched a video that was let’s say 7 months old, chances are that I did not have a good camera. Recently someone left a comment on one of my throwback videos that the quality looked like the video was done in ‘1989’
Digital cameras were not around in ’89. There were those cameras where you need tape. I plan on buying a camera next month. The point is the guy came on a video that was done when I didn’t know much about YT. Which was the goal of my throwback series. I also think my problem is when new viewers find a video 8 months old before finding a more recent video. Getting them to understand I didn’t have a good X. It should be obvious that I just didn’t have a good X but I am either saving up or will buy it at the next pay. When I was the broke small YouTuber, I had no money coming in to allow me to save up for a camera.
To conclude this. Yes I was the struggling broke YouTuber. Getting people to understand was my main problem. Like the girl in the group thinking me being broke was an excuse when they clearly have no idea what it’s like to be broke.
People coming across older uploads and not realizing when it was uploaded ( ex watching a video that is 8 months old in July that was posted in November of last year)
This is why when I buy new equipment I do an unboxing and a few test uploads so the viewers can see improvements are coming. It will take time
I also mention videos before I got the X will go up.
I also wish that people would stop telling me to get a new mic when nothing is wrong with it. I mean they don’t tell me what went wrong. I don’t mean to sound stubborn. But a new mic, laptop, editor, camera, phone won’t fix anything if they do not know how to use it correctly. Say I buy a 500 dollar camera, it records in 4K. If I do not save the video in at least 720p, the quality will be low. Buying a new camera will not fix the quality if am not picking the right export settings. Or maybe they watched someone before me and they had a different mic or camera. All I can do is guess if they do not tell me what the problem is. if they tell me, I can look up tutorials on YouTube. Or change the position of my mic. I feel the position plays a major role.
I make a backlog of premade videos and sometimes after a video is up, I may change my setup or be in the process of buying a better whatever.
Or I was trying a new editor and I did not know the right settings. I tried hit film express, and it lowered my audio so low no one could hear the video. I obviously did not use the right export settings. Hitflim lowered my audio to the point where no one could hear the video. Strangely, I could still hear the video on my computer. I did not know no one could hear the video until I uploaded the video and someone thought I did it on purpose.
My long-winded point. A new x will NOT fix issues you see or hear in my videos if I do not know how to use it or I did not pick the right settings before exporting.
Another thing is compared to a larger channel, I don’t have a team. Most large YouTubers have an editor or a sound director whom they can pass viewer feedback to. Let’s say I had a sound director and a viewer points out an issue, I can pass what they said and the director can tell me what happened and how to fix it.
However, I am on my own and can only guess what I think went wrong which is the export settings weren’t high enough or the mic was not close enough to my mouth.
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