Have you ever felt a little bit awkward going out in public,
vlogging yourself, when people are looking at you,
going, what in the world is that person doing?
Well, today I have a few tips for you
on how you can turn those awkward moments
into subscribers.
[MUSIC PLAYING]
Hey, everybody.
My name is Joshua Johnson.
On YouTube, I'm known as the Geocaching Vlogger.
If you don't know what geocaching is,
geocaching is a high-tech treasure hunt
where people use GPS-enabled devices to find
treasures, or caches, all over the world.
My channel features my friends and family
exploring the country looking for these little hidden
treasures, and finding joy at the same time.
When I'm doing my geocaching video, I'm often out in public
vlogging myself for the world to see.
And let's face it.
If you're a vlogger, one of the challenges
of getting great footage is the awkwardness and barriers
caused by people staring at you as you're filming yourself.
And I've found some ways to use these awkward vlogging moments
as opportunities to introduce people to my channel.
One of things that I do is, when I'm out and about vlogging
myself, and somebody's staring at me or looking at me funny,
I'll approach them after I've done.
And I hand them one of the most effective tools
that you can use to introduce people to your channel.
And that is the power of the business card.
After I'm done filming, I'll walk up to them.
And I introduce people to my channel, and also a hobby
that I love.
It's a real practical way to break the ice.
And let's face it-- you look more official, you look more
professional, and a lot less creepy if you have
some sort of official sort of printed material.
Another thing I do is make sure I have a prepared elevator
speech in my mind before I go out in the public vlogging.
Which means if somebody approaches me,
I know exactly what I'm going to say to them.
A three-second speech, a five-second speech,
or a 10-second speech to explain what I'm doing.
For example, somebody comes up to me, asks me what I'm doing,
and I'll give them the shortest true answer.
I'm doing a travel series for YouTube.
Or you could use a statement like, I'm
documented my adventures for YouTube.
Often people know what YouTube is.
So the minute you say YouTube, they're
going to know what you're doing.
By simply having a conversation with somebody,
instead of ignoring them-- could be
a future viewer or future subscriber.
And let's face it, it breaks the awkwardness of them
just kind of staring at you.
The third tip I have is, if it seems appropriate,
invite them into the fun.
If the conversation's going well,
invite them into what you're doing.
Hey, vlogging is fun.
YouTube is fun.
And I know my hobby's fun.
So often, if somebody comes up to me,
I'll say, hey, we're going geocaching.
Have you heard what it is?
And then I'll explain what it is.
And then I'll say, hey, why don't you join me?
An example of an occurrence that happened like this
was last summer, when I was in a very dense area, where there
are a lot of people around, and I was vlogging.
And they heard me say the word geocaching.
And they were curious about what it was.
And I said, hey, why don't you come along with us
and help us find this?
So they went with us, they found it.
They were a part of my video.
And I honestly found a new subscriber.
And my last tip for you is to vlog in places
where there are people that enjoy the things you do.
I will take my vlog to geocaching events
all over the country.
There I build relationships, I build viewership,
and make that one on one personal connection
with that person.
And that, honestly, is what it's all about.
Decide for yourself not to care what other people think around
you.
When I'm out there vlogging, I think of myself, you know what?
You know what's more important?
The thousands of people that are watching my video right
now are more important than the two or three
few awkward looks around me.
So in my mind, I decide, you know what?
I don't really care what people think of me.
And I'm just going to do this because I think it's important.
And I'm doing it for the thousands
of people that are watching my videos.
Well, those are my tips on turning those awkward vlogging
moments into potential relationships
and potential viewers.
If you have any ideas on how you turn those moments
into subscribers, or real life relationships into viewership,
I'd love to hear more from you in the comments below.
And if this is your first time on the Video Creators website,
make sure you subscribe.
To be completely honest with you,
Tim Schmoyer has done the most to help my channel grow
and to help reach my community into sharing my geocaching
adventures with the world.
So make sure you subscribe.
Thanks for watching.