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10 YouTube Stars to Watch (& Learn From)

In the internet galaxy, YouTube is a universe unto itself. In just over eight years of existence, YouTube sees over 1 billion unique visitors who watch over 4 billion hours of video. PER MONTH. While the traffic is insane, it's safe to assume that your blog readers have spent some kind of time watching YouTube videos recently. Think about it. How many YouTube clips have you watched just since the week started?

Most of us use WordPress, Blogger, Tumblr or other platforms that allow us to share our text, photo and video posts. Some bloggers have made a living on their YouTube channel alone. Yet other superstars have managed to create huge followings on both their blog, their YouTube channel as well as their other social media profiles (Wendy Nguyen, how do you do it?!?)

I spent some time in the YouTube trenches to scope out the top fashion & lifestyle starlets. Whether you're looking to beef up your own YouTube channel, or just looking for some inspiration to infuse more video posts on your blog, these ladies are leading by example.

Crisp & Clean: Wendy's Lookbook

I adore and admire Wendy on just about every social media channel she's on – and I'm not the only one. She's got legions of followers on her blog, Instagram, Twitter and Pinterest – but her YouTube channel is where you can really see her shine. Wendy makes sure her videos (and photos) are always as crisp, clean and professional as possible. She uses a Canon 5D Mark 2 to shoot her vids and is very friendly with her editing software (a few free choices for you here.) Check out the behind-the-scenes post of her uber-famous “25 Ways to Style a Scarf” video to see how she concepted, produced and edited the video.


Be Consistent: The Style Diet

Just like your blog posts, a consistent video upload schedule will help build a YouTube following over time. Anna from The Style Diet gets straight to the point in her YouTube bio. Every Monday, Wednesday and Friday, you'll see a new video on her channel on fashion, beauty and her lifestyle as a new mommy.

Get Out of Your Comfort Zone: Jarmaine

YouTube videos can literally be a means for you to let it all out there. Jarmaine's over-the-top humor add such a sincere layer of quirkiness, she can't help but stand out in the sea of makeup tutorial and haul videos.

Short & Sweet: LEAFtv

Geri Hirsch says the inspiration behind her and co-founder Erin Falconer's LEAFtv (Living, Eating & Fashion) channel is “The girl who has a job, is social, wants to be in a dope outfit and just needs a little help.” Simple enough, yet LEAFtv is able to be that and so much more. By keeping videos tightly edited and concise (most are right between 30 seconds & 1 minute), you can learn everything from how to layer jewelry & wear a white shirt 4 ways to how to mince garlic & make the perfect martini.

Let Your Personality Shine: Blair Fowler & Elle Fowler

Elle & Blair are sisters who shot to YouTube stardom simply by being true to who they are. Watching their videos is like sitting across from your roommate or best friend, who just happens to be giving you a rundown of her new favorite nail polishes or a tour of her new home. It's common for bloggers to hear that they should ‘write like they speak' – and the same rule runs true in front of the camera, too.

Become the Teacher: Chriselle Lim

All of these YouTube stars are great at teaching their viewers how to style their hair, face and outfits. Chriselle Lim's smartly edited videos are shot with an editorial feel, with style tips, eye-catching graphics and kitschy props that weave her tutorial together. Chriselle includes links to outfit pieces and her other social media sites in the description of each video – a smart way to convey all the pertinent link info (maybe with affiliate links!)

Work with What You've Got: Dawn Del Russo

Most of us (me included) don't have the time or patience to produce beautifully edited videos. That's where the magic of Dawn Del Russo's channel shines. She uses the SocialCam app for iPhone to film quick outfit posts and behind-the-scenes looks at her editorial shoots (she's a stylist by trade.) So if you'd prefer Vine, Videolicious or just your smartphone's camera video option, you can still make great videos on-the-go.

Engage the Community: ThreadBanger

Corrine and Rob of ThreadBanger know their niche and nail it – giving back to their community at the same time. Not only do they share their crafty DIY projects, they regularly encourage their viewers to make their own DIY videos to feature on their channel. Such an awesome way to engage your readership and show them thanks for their loyalty.


Collaborate & Listen: The Platform

The ladies of The Platform are doing what we're all doing with our girls – talking dating, fashion, beauty and life – with the whole world watching. They maintain their own popular YouTube channels while working hard to bring the community of YouTube lifestyle vloggers together via The Platform. They also solicit other lifestyle vloggers to join in on the fun – you can apply to be part of The Platform.

Connect & Keep it Real: Shirley B. Eniang

As bloggers, we will get questions from our readers on what we're posting. YouTube clips are excellent for responding to those questions with the depth and genuineness that just can't be conveyed with the written word. I love British blogger Shirley B. Eniang's response and words of encouragement when asked about the topic of bullying and how to deal:

Any tips from you or your favorite YouTube stars? Share them (with links) here!

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9 Responses

  1. Erin Bailey

    Great list of Youtubers and awesome tips! I have to agree on one in particular, timing! It’s really, really easy to get carried away while filming, but the shorter and more direct a video is, the better! After about 3 minutes, it’s easy for people to tune you out, “fast forward” your video by clicking through it, or just turning it off! (I do it ALL the time!)

    Reply
  2. Karen Ussene

    If you are a Blogger and you want to increase you number of followers I think that by doing videos for Youtube it’s a great way for it but be aware the number of haters will double.
    In my opinion I think that the number of haters and trolls are bigger on Youtube than on Blogs.
    People may pick on you either for the fact that you only have expensive things or on the idiom that you do your videos. If you are a native English speaker, well that is (possibly) your only option, but since the Internet is mostly ruled in English and if you happened to be a Spanish/Portuguese/French/Italian/German (etc) speaker, do you do your videos on your native language or in English?
    If you do on your native language your audience might be small and then you start having people asking to speak in English and then if you do in English, you then will have people complaining that they don’t understand English and will hate you for that :S.
    So you might have to spend some extra time dealing with the translation option on Youtube.
    Basically if you do decide to go on Youtube, go for it , it can be great, but be sure to have a thick skin.
    And Please don’t just do it for the money, people will see right through you.

    Reply
    • Dee

      Hey Karen, I think with international vloggers you need to think about which audience you plan to target. For instance there is a vlogger called moroccanglamour I featured her on my blog you can read about her here http://www.msdeekay.com/142/behind-the-youtube-natural-hair-vlogger-ouga-of-moroccanglamour/

      And she vlogs mainly in english but once a week on fridays she vlogs in her native language for her native speakers. Beauty and fashion of course is pretty much the same across the world, so she features products that can be found elsewhere and from time to time she will do vlogs about morroco for her international viewers, so they can get a inside look at the country and the scene over there. I think the way she does it is really smart because she doesn’t limit her options and she targets both her audiences.

      Reply
  3. Dee

    I started vlogging on youtube the same time I started my blog, here are a few things I have learnt so far… (I started towards the end of last year so by no means am I a professional)

    It can be a lot of work, you need more time to come up with a concept for your videos, shoot, edit and upload. You will also have to do SEO and promote your content on social media. So be prepared to juggle a lot more. But you will learn quite a lot from it.

    Be consistent with your content and make sure that at least your lighting is good and you have something to contribute.

    Take part in the community, subscribe to other channels within your niche, leave thoughtful comments. Especially in other “young channels” this is how you make friends.

    It takes time to build a following. So be patient because most channels that are big, did start four, five, six years ago and what you see today is an accumulative effort.

    There is a viewer for everyone, as long as you come across genuine, someone will see something in you and view your content.

    Most of all have fun, don’t get caught up in how many comments, views and subscribers you have, if you put in the work, they will ultimately come.

    Dee
    www.msdeekay.com

    Reply
  4. Petya

    What a great list of YouTubers! Thank you for sharing them. I’ve watched Chriselle and Wendy’s videos before and I absolutely love them. Now I had the chance to watch some other Youtubers and learn a little something for any of them. LEAF videos are amazing. That girl shows so much, but still keeping her videos so short, which is great!
    This was so inspiring, I even end up with some post ideas, lol. Thanks again!

    Reply
  5. Jessica Flores

    I love this post! I actually started with a YouTube channel first and created my blog after I getting a consistent growing number of subscribers (thanks to my Bridal Brooch Bouquet tutorial).

    I know a few on the list and am looking forward to watching more from the YouTubers you just exposed me to. Thanks, Jesse!

    http://www.DomesticatedMe.com

    Reply
  6. Nasreen

    I love that video..the one about a dress 5 ways…totally different outfits! so awesome.

    http://lazyobsession.blogspot.ie/2013/05/oasap-summer-giveaway.html

    Reply
  7. fashion diy

    I especially liked the dress five ways can help with our new web which is still work in progress, am attracting good contacts through twitter will add short very short clips there first. Thank You

    Reply
  8. Joyce

    I’ve been following Shirley for a long time and she is a very genuine and professional person.. Loved the list!

    Joyce

    Reply