What You Can Learn from Successful High Schooler Vanessa Nagoya on Growing Quickly on YouTube: The YouTube Power Hour Podcast 260
“People on the internet will forget that I’m a normal girl.”
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Vanessa Nagoya is only 18 years old and has nearly 400k subscribers on her lifestyle and fashion channel. She started her channel around the age of 15 because she LOVED watching YouTube and had a passion for video production. Her first ever video was a random vlog, inspired by fellow young YouTuber Emma Chamberlain. Vanessa used YouTube as a hobby and as something to do in her spare time to document her high school milestones.
Vanessa had less than 10K subscribers when she had her first brand reach out to her, and it was then that she realized just how much influence she had. The first of Vanessa’s videos to blow up was one called “What High School Guys Actually Look For in Girls” where she surveyed guys in her own school and edited it together. The video now has over 1.4 million views. While YouTube used to be super curated (there was a right way to do things, a wrong way to do things, and one specific path to success), now YouTube is all about authenticity. With the majority of Vanessa’s audience being her age, her content and documentation of high school and college milestones is relatable to other high school students. Her video about her Eating Disorder showcased another level of vulnerability and helped her connect even more to her audience. In the COVID-19 age, Vanessa and her peers are missing out on so many milestones. She missed the end-of-high school experiences and her start of college experiences have been either totally nonexistent or completely different, but she’s made the most of it and the upside to it all is that her peers and her viewers are going through it too.
“When brands started to reach out to me, I realized, wow, I think this could be something bigger than me and myself in my room. I’m reaching more people than I thought. I have more of an impact than I thought.”
Vanessa’s video process can take as much as 4-6 hours of filming and 10 hours of editing for most videos, but some can be filmed in an hour or less. She usually does 2-3 videos a week, but during the month of July, she posted every other day. That grind paid off when she earned 70k subscribers in a single month! Balancing all of that with being a student AND having a social life has proven challenging, but she often will create a video out of the things she does with her friends, and her friends are almost like characters on a TV show that her audience recognizes and identifies with. Interestingly, most of the creators I interview on this show do YouTube full-time or have that in mind as a career goal, but Vanessa still views YouTube as a hobby and creative outlet, and the day she considers it a “job” or “work” is the day she’ll no longer be passionate about it. Her dream job is to be a Social Media Manager for others. I’d say she’s got a pretty great resume already!
“You’re going to have a lot of things deterring you. You may have ups and downs, you might get burned out. But at the end of the day, if you still have that passion for making videos, you will always have that.”
3 Key Interview Takeaways
- Don’t be afraid to start. Even if that means you just make videos without uploading them to get practice talking to a camera. Don’t worry about what people will think of you… just do it!
- Poll your audience. Instagram stories are a great way to generate content ideas from your audience! Ask them what they want to see, but be sure to find that balance between listening to what your audience wants but not ONLY doing what they want. Create the things YOU want to make too!
- Being a high school student on YouTube. While Vanessa is grateful for her channel and all the opportunities that have come as a result, she struggles with being seen as a normal girl. She’s always “Vanessa the YouTuber,” not just Vanessa. She wants people to know that she’s a normal 18 year old girl with normal interests, feelings, and relationships. It’s important to not allow your entire self-worth to be tied to your YouTube channel.
Mentioned in the Episode:
What High School Guys *ACTUALLY* Look For in Girls
My best friend controls my outfits for a week | Vanessa Nagoya
My scrunchies control my outfits for a week | Vanessa Nagoya
I deleted ALL social media for a week | Vanessa Nagoya
My weight loss journey… the truth | Vanessa Nagoya
Connect with Vanessa:
Resources
Add your name to the Zero to Influence YouTube Bootcamp waitlist so you are notified when space becomes available!
Watch my replay of my FREE Zero to 100k Subscribers Masterclass
FREE GUIDES:
Creating Content During Crisis: How to Create Impactful Content During COVID-19 Pandemic
Getting Started on YouTube: YouTube Niche Workbook
How to get onto PR lists and receive a TON of free product even if you have a small following: PR List
YOUTUBE OPTIMIZATION PLUG-IN I RECOMMEND
TubeBuddy [Use the code ErikasBuddy to get 20% off]
MY FAVORITE BUSINESS TOOLS
Course Creation: Looking to create a course? Kajabi is the BEST platform hands down. I use this for my course after extensive research on all the other platforms.
Live Calls and Interviews: I use Ecamm for my podcast interviews, both audio and for YouTube that you see here on YouTube. It makes it super easy to share my screen and create the split-screen with my guest. I’m not super techie and this software is really easy to use!
Webinars and Live calls: I use Zoom.us for my group coaching calls in my private membership group for female YouTube creators. It’s also the software I use to record my Road to 100k YouTube Subscribers Masterclass!
THE BEST YOUTUBE/PODCASTING EQUIPMENT
After interviewing HUNDREDS of successful YouTube creators, these are the pieces of equipment that hands down get mentioned time and time again. You can’t go wrong with anything on this list!
- 4k Camera: Great for starting out and vlogging
- Lens: This lens is recommended highly by many of my podcast guests, it gives the blurry “YouTuber” background look.
- Audio: If you want to upgrade your set-up, audio should be one of the first investments (after a good camera). This microphone is unanimously the favorite amongst my podcast guests.
- Podcast/Voiceover Microphone: If you are looking for a great microphone for a podcast or video voiceover, this is it! This is the one that you see in all of my videos and the one I’ve recorded my podcast on for years.
- Webcam: For my interviews, that you see in my videos, this is the webcam that I use. Super inexpensive and easy to set up!
- Inexpensive Lighting Kit: Need to pick up some lights but don’t want to spend a ton? This is a great set that will get you started and help improve the look of your videos.
- Ring light: Looking for that beauty look? Invest in a ring light! This is an inexpensive light that does that trick!
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Podcast Music Credit: Boop by x50 @x50music
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**Disclaimers: all opinions are my own, sponsors are acknowledged. Links in the description are typically affiliate links that let you help support the podcast at no extra cost.
