If you follow me on Instagram, you probably know about my plans to start a YouTube channel this year. It will be based around travel and adventure. To my surprise and delight, my announcement of it on IG was met with a huge amount of support from my followers, which was very touching. I didn’t realize how many people were interested in my doing this.
While I am excited for this chapter, I’m pretty intimidated as well. The reason I am writing up this post today is two-fold. 1: I wanted to share with you where I’m at in the planning/preparing stage. And 2: helping myself to better think through everything by writing it down.
Documenting life does not come naturally to me, but that’s what I want my channel to be about, so I think this post is a good start; breaking down what gear I have so far, and what mental preparation I have been going through…just documenting the process.
Starting with the mental side of things:
WHY AM I DOING THIS?
Simple: Instagram.
Instagram is the reason I want to start a YouTube channel. Instagram is amazing, Instagram is awesome, Instagram is deceiving. Now, when I say “deceiving”, I’m not saying the “It’s all fake, nothing is real” that some people say, because I 100% don’t believe that. BUT, I have spent 6 years on Instagram, using it as an outlet for my creativity. People tend to define me by what they see on IG. Example:
Me: “I’m a snowboarder.”
90% of people I tell this to: “I would not have guessed that.”
Case and point. People don’t think I’m out there, adventurous, or do anything that doesn’t fit into the aesthetic I have created for myself on IG.
For me, my creativity is putting together a fun outfit, making something look beautiful, arranging a flat lay, etc. I have used Instagram as a place where I can be creative for so long, that suddenly showing the world that I wear yoga pants, or want to go bungee jumping would probably make some people want to bail. Which brings me to my next point:
WHY AM I HESITANT?
Oldest answer in the world: Because I am afraid of failure.
I am worried that my YouTube channel, which will be about travel and adventure, won’t draw in my IG audience. I am worried that my IG and YouTube won’t blend…in fact, I am pretty sure that they won’t.
My IG is my creative side, and my YouTube is my adventure side. Eventually I will figure out how to meld the adventure into my IG more, but it’s a slow and careful process. I will say, my IG followers response to my future channel being about adventure and travel was actually very positive and excited, so some of these fears have been put to rest, I am happy to report.
I am also worried about not growing a following. Ugh! I kick myself for thinking this way, but I would love to make my social channels into a business. My IG is my passion, and I hope my Youtube channel will be also, and so I want them to be a success. With that being said, I am working hard on putting myself in the mindset that as long as I am proud of what I am putting out there, it is a success, and it doesn’t matter how many followers I get…a healthy mindset.
I will go into more details in a future post over some other reasons why I chose Adventure and Travel for my channel, but for now, let’s get to the other side of my prep: gear.
WHAT GEAR AM I USING?
Early on, I made the decision to not go crazy with the gear. I don’t know that I want my channel to look too perfect, and I didn’t want to invest in a bunch of expensive equipment if I decided in the end that YouTube wasn’t for me. Starting small might not make my channel look beautiful or perfect, but I tried my best to make wise financial decisions, so this is what I am starting with:
A GoPro, and an iPhone 7 Plus.
Yep. Super simple.
I know that a GoPro would be a must have for me, because it is small, out of the way, and waterproof. I want to feel as “in the moment” as I can while filming, and being able to strap a small GoPro to my head or backpack will help me achieve that. And, the fact that it is a good price, and waterproof, means I don’t have to invest in a nice camera as well as underwater housing for said camera, in order to get footage in lakes or oceans.
To accompany the Gopro I also have:
– Head Strap (came with adventure kit)
– Adhesive Mounts, flat and curved (came with adventure kit)
Before I start my channel I would, ideally, like to have these GoPro products:
– A Hero7 (which has great image stabilization)
– A few more Rechargeable Batteries
– A few more Memory Cards
– More Adhesive Mounts, curved and flat
– A Floaty
– Some sort of Tripod with bendable legs
In terms of using my iPhone, it has a good mic, which means I can record myself without having to worry about having a device with a large, fuzzy microphone attachment.
I also need an external hard drive, and hopefully Final Cut Pro…and I really should have a better computer.
So that’s it. That is the stage I am at in my Youtube planning phase.
I have written down a list of 100 video ideas, and all I am waiting for now is getting all the gear I need together so I can start.
I’m sure I will have many more updates as this process unfolds, including a more in depth look at my reasons for starting a channel.
Thanks for always being supportive, guys! I love and appreciate you all!