YouTube Growth Secrets to 700k Subscribers with Dr. Vanita Rattan: The YouTube Power Hour Podcast 357
“I couldn’t afford to fail.”
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Dr. Vanita Rattan is a doctor and cosmetic formulator for skin of color. She now dedicates her life to helping people of color achieve their skincare goals by tackling a range of specific skin issues that are insufficiently addressed by the traditional cosmetics industry. Dr. Rattan’s YouTube Channel, also dedicated to helping people of color address their skincare, grew rapidly to over 500,000 subscribers in just 12 months.
I’m so excited to have one of my favorite skincare creators on the podcast! Dr. Rattan got onto YouTube because she saw a lot of people giving misinformation, particularly for people of color. A lot of the DIY recipes she saw on YouTube included ingredients that were harmful to the skin and would lead to hyperpigmentation, especially for people of color. When she started, she had to get out of her comfort zone a little but, but she improved with every new video and she really listened to her audience and the feedback they gave. Within the first month of doing YouTube, she realized that the reason she wasn’t growing was because she wasn’t uploading enough. Because her personality tends to take things to the extreme, she decided to upload 5 videos per week! She doubled down on the topics that did well, and she grew rather quickly during the Covid-19 Pandemic. The more she grew, the more motivated she got to continue.
At one point, posting 5 videos a week was helping her grow an average of 50,000 subscribers a month. She has now slowed down a little bit to 3 videos a week and is seeing a growth of about 20,000 subscribers per month.
Time Management
On top of posting 5 videos a week on YouTube, Dr. Rattan was also posting daily on instagram and TikTok. There was so much that she wanted to give. She learned how to batch her work. In fact, she has a spreadsheet of 1,000 (YES, 1,000!) video ideas that she needs to write scripts for, and she is constantly adding to it based on suggestions from her subscribers. She can script up to 4 videos in one day, then she spends a day filming for YouTube, and another day filming for TikTok and IG. That’s 3 days just working on her social media alone! She does outsource her editing and her thumbnails, but she edits her TikToks and reels herself. Dr. Rattan believes that how you edit your short-form content makes a huge difference to your success, whereas longform content like YouTube is more about the quality of the content. People don’t come to YouTube for the quick content you can get on TikTok. They come to YouTube because they have a pain point or a problem that they want help for. They want details.
“Youtube is an incredible space for you if you want to teach.”
Closing her clinics
Dr. Rattan used to have 4 clinics, and he had them for over 8 years. But when Covid hit and everything in the UK was shut down, those clinics just became a black hole of money. She was paying for the leases and paying staff but not making anything back because she wasn’t seeing any patients. Her back was against the wall. She had a huge responsibility to support her family and she really couldn’t afford to fail. It was do or die for her, so she closed the clinics and channeled all of her energy into building her YouTube channel. She was determined to work harder than everyone else to succeed.
She was also able to launch her own brand. The beauty of influencers having their own brands is that they can cater their products to their subscribers. There’s a reason why people are drawn to certain influencers. They like the way you think, they like the way you explain things, and you can get a lot of feedback as you’re developing a product to what your audience really wants. And that’s just what Dr. Rattan did.
What’s most surprising to me is that none of her videos are sponsored and none ever will be sponsored! That means she gets to be really honest and truly authentic in her content.
Final Thoughts
Youtube is a performance to tens of thousands, or hundreds of thousands of people, but really you’re in a room alone talking to a camera. You have to bring energy to every video as if you were on stage in front of a live audience, and that can be exhausting. Take stock of your lifestyle and balance. It’s easy to become obsessed with social media, because it’s like gamifying your work. It can be addicting and debilitating. Give yourself a time limit so you don’t get sucked in.
Everytime you upload anything it’s a piece of you and a piece of art. If it’s met with low views, it hurts. Even if one of Dr. Rattan’s many pieces of content fails, she fixates on it and it can become unhealthy. Don’t compare yourself to other content creators in the same niche. Don’t even look at them if you can help it! Remember that content has to keep changing and evolving, and sometimes it doesn’t work. Be willing to try something new and have thick skin if people don’t like it. Sometimes you fail, and sometimes you succeed! It’s good to make mistakes because you need to make mistakes to find out what works. You can’t predict what videos do well!
Finally, creators tend to get onto YouTube if they have something to teach and they have a solution to people’s problems. Youtube is a great space for people who want to give value and teach something. It’s about building a community, so you have to commit. Post frequently and consistently for at least 6 months, and before you even pick up a camera, write as many ideas down as you can. Maybe you can even get to 1,000 like Dr. Rattan!
“It was a learning process and a journey.”
Mentioned in the Episode:
Doctor V – Exposing Luxury Skincare | Skin Of Colour | Brown Or Black Skin
Connect with Dr. Vanita Rattan
Dr. Vanita Rattan on Instagram
Dr. Vanita Rattan’s Facebook Group
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, and being asked all the time what equipment I recommend for YouTubers, I created a list! Click here to see all my recommended equipment for YouTubers!
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