How 18 Year Old Alivia D’Andrea Grew a Million Subscribers in Two Years: The YouTube Power Hour Podcast 165
“You can’t go wrong when following your heart. Start with that.”
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You’re definitely not too young or too old to make your voice be heard and build an impactful brand on YouTube! Don’t take my word for it – flexibility and fitness YouTuber Alivia D’Andrea shares her heart-centered approach to blowing up on YouTube! The icing on the cake is: she’s only 18 years old – you’ll want to listen to this one right now!
This powerful young woman is only 18 but she’s a total giant, and it’s not even because she’s grown to over 1 million subscribers in 2 years. It’s because she’s using her platform to impact people and spread the message of self-love, self-acceptance and being of service to others. She started YouTube out of a desire to want to help and connect with people and stuck with it when all of her other friends gave up on their channels. When she found that more people were resonating with her flexibility and fitness videos than her beauty videos, she dove into flexibility with both feet. That commitment to her purpose drove her and her channel to new heights.
“People like to see vulnerability because we like to see our sorrows echoed into the lives of others.”
Alivia is in her freshman year at the University of California Riverside and the future before her is already very bright. I can’t wait to see what more she will create in the world. In this episode, you’re going to learn about the power of vulnerability and how she uses it as a magnet to bring people to her. You’ll also get some great tips and examples on how you can build your own heart-centered brand.
“Find the intersection of doing what you love while at the same time being in the service of others.”
7 Key Interview Takeaways
- Thumbnails make a big difference. You’ll hear me preach about this a lot! Get your thumbnails on point. While you’re creating creative titles and descriptions, remember that thumbnails help with the YouTube algorithm and getting your videos found on the platform. Also, attractive thumbnails stand out even more than the title, so put in a lot of effort into it, or at least as much effort as you do for your titles and descriptions.
- Build your niche, then own it. When Alivia started, she was one of the very few people making flexibility fitness videos, so she was able to explode and show up at the top of all the search results when people searched for those topics. You want to find a niche you can own. If the one you like is already too big, how can you find a sub-niche within that to own? For example, don’t try to be yet another beauty YouTuber – figure out what niche within that category matches your unique perspective and interest and own it!
- Follow your passions and listen. Alivia had a lot of interests when she started on YouTube and so she posted on all of them. She did beauty, she did flexibility, lifestyle, and fitness. But she didn’t just blindly post on her interests: she posted, and she listened. And the feedback she heard guided her to post more in the flexibility niche. The more she gave her audience what they wanted, the more she grew and she’s a giant today because of it. You’re driven to create, which is why you’re on YouTube, but if you’re trying to grow, leverage your community to create content that’s even more impactful and you could grow exponentially as a result.
- People crave more vulnerability. The level of sheer openness Alivia brought to her Glow Up videos is unbelievable, and her vulnerability is undeniable. She gave hope to everyone who has been in or is in the same position she was in by letting them know she was one of them. It wasn’t fake or manufactured and that brought her closer to her audience and helped her grow. Polished content is great, but every once in a while, let people see your human side. At the end of the day, we’re all just humans craving connection.
- Learn to tell good stories. Stories are really great at delivering your points and lessons in a creative and entertaining way. So many people miss making an impact because they don’t tell stories. Instead of blasting people with information, give your lessons an opening, middle, and end, or a setup with a conflict that ends with a punchline. The better you get at telling stories, the better your content will be. If you look at most of the YouTubers who skyrocket onto the map and straight to the top, they’re using stories all the time.
- Keep your content positive. Unless your channel is controversial or the brand you’re trying to portray involves a lot of conflict, you want to be sure that you’re always keeping your content positive. Avoid negative topics, don’t feed the trolls or incite people to do harmful and negative things. You’ll attract the wrong type of attention and you’ll brand yourself as an unsavory character. Even if you are addressing a negative topic in a vulnerable way, have a positive and hopeful spin on things.
- Show people you care about them… before asking them to care about you. One thing Alivia learned pretty early on is that her vlogs weren’t working. She had the awareness to know that people won’t be that concerned about your life unless they know that what you do is valuable to them. Once people started to know her and trust her as someone who gives them value through her tutorial videos, they were more curious to find out about other parts of her life in her vlogs. That’s when the vlogs started working. What is your edge? What solutions can you give people? What problems can you help them solve? Take them to that point first before asking them to invest in your vlogs and deepening the relationship.
Alivia’s Favorite Items Mentioned in The Podcast!
Nano Ionic Facial Steamer | Aztec Secret Indian Healing Clay | Too Faced Better Than Sex Mascara
Resources
My favorite free SEO tool for YouTube: TubeBuddy
(Discount code ErikasBuddy for 20% off the paid version)
PR Guide: How to Get onto PR Lists and Get Lots of Free Product
Getting Started on YouTube: The #1 Downloaded Free Niche Discovery Workbook
Connect with Alivia
Facebook Group:
Podcast Music Credit: Boop by x50 @x50music
Music provided by Free Music for Vlogs youtu.be/o52xQkQWzyU
