My first year on YouTube - A talk for dev.talk in Dorset

On 26th March 2025 I achieved Number 12 from my list of #40Before40 items. I gave a talk in public. This was for a Dorset based tech event called Dev.Talk (https://devdottalk.uk/) where I was invited to speak about my first year on YouTube. I was welcomed so warmly by the community and I had a great time. Here is the post in which I based my presentation. There will be a YouTube video featuring me in due course (I haven't edited it yet) but for now here it is! 

Introduction
I started my YouTube channel on 18th May 2024 so not quite a year ago but close enough and these are my current stats. 
My first video was actually about unboxing my new camera. The DJI Pocket you see filming all of you. 

I filmed it on my phone, with the wrong camera I used the front camera rather than the back one (forehead slap) with no script, no added features on the video, no text, music, proper thumbnail (this one has been added since it was uploaded) and little thought about the title. Since then it has had 137 views and a few nice comments from a man in Australia who was considering buying one which was lovely. 

It made me a youtuber. The following videos have predominantly been travel related with some relating to my side project 40Before40.   

Why did I want to get into YouTube in the first place?
I have never had an answer to the question "what do you want to do when you grow up?" As a big believer in trying new things, especially as you get older, I wanted a slice of the YouTube pie. I am a life long YouTube fan, I watch something on YouTube every day, whether that for fun watching my favourite travel channels all the way to "how to" videos on editing software. And now shorts has made it possible to just doom scroll the night away with all sorts of random things. My channel came about after I created the blog JustPickOneUK in February as I could use the content from there to create content on YouTube. I was writing about whatever I wanted and I thought I could translate it to YouTube well enough but I didn't have a fixed idea in the very beginning - I didn't decide on my niche - and I am still finding my feet. Ideally I would like to earn a living from making my videos so if anyone knows of a sponsor for a nearly 40 something lady with a travel based channel then let me know. 

What has been the most difficult thing about YouTube?

There's two things really. The first being Ideas. Deciding what to record in the first place and how to go about it. So far I have made videos that I want to make and in the style I wanted but as I am not exceedingly famous yet and as the year has gone on I have learned that I need to be thinking about "What value can I give to someone watching my videos? Why should someone watch me?" Perhaps by asking the question “What do I want to know about X?” There are search tools available to find out what the public are looking for and so my next adventure is deep diving into that and try to fill the need that already exists.

The second is TIME - You know the credits on the end of a film, on screen talent, director, director of photography, sound technician, editor, costume designer, lighting technician, screenwriter, PR Manager -- ALL ME! Being solely responsible for everything on the video, is a heavy burden at times.

Everything takes a lot of time, especially if you want to improve. You have to invest in everything. Not just financially, although that is a significant part - but the time and energy, the creativity. Then researching in ways to improve - How to get the most from the cameras, new features and ways of editing. Trying to work out "What is the analytics telling me?" Researching what works and what doesn't, how to make a good thumbnail, choose the right title, What is CTR anyhow? You get the idea.

What is the best part? 

Having said that it is all me, I have the freedom to do what I want. I can be creative with my shots, choice of videos, choice of what to say and how to say it. Do I want to be on camera for this one or just do a voiceover? Do I want to make a serious video or shall I make something completely silly because I went passed a house with 4 Daleks and a Tardis standing out front! Now that I have put time into learning how to make videos I can make what I want and I am still learning new things with each and every video.

What technology have I used? 

As this is a tech meet up I had better talk a bit about the tech I use for the channel. 

First off is my phone. Like I said my first camera was my phone but for the sort of videos I wanted to make and a personal preference, I felt I wanted an actual camera. So i invested some inheritance money and bought the DJI Pocket 3. It is an amazing bit of kit and almost all of my videos have been filmed on it. I now also have the DJI Action 5 Pro which is as it says an action camera with a few different features and ways of shooting which I am looking forward to experimenting with in the coming months. 

Next up is the editing software. So once you are done filming you need to stitch it all together and make a full video. For my purposes I use Capcut. It is easy to use and best of all free. It gives me a lot of features and it is a great beginner piece of software and I have grown a lot with it. There is also a mobile version used by TikTokers and Instagramers all over the world but I find it more clunky and harder to use and I prefer to edit on my laptop. 

Then I have used AI products in a few ways. For all of my images that I use on my blog and YouTube channel that I haven't got a photo for, I have used Microsoft Designer which is a free to use AI based website. It does have limitations like trying to put text into the picture. But I used it for my Logo, background images, use once images or just have a bit of fun after a Dev. Talk event where one of the speakers was discussing AI at length. 

AI can also help with script creation, generating ideas for videos, titles, video descriptions, Search Engine Optimisation etc. All of which can help you but be careful with it as if you have a channel surrounding your personality it can all sound very fake so tweaking what it gives you to suit your "voice" is essential. 
As thumbnails are one of the most important features of a YouTube video, I needed to know how to make them and my go to software of choice is Canva because of the numerous templates which have been size adjusted for all of the social platforms, the text and photo elements as well. It is very easy to use when you are starting out it is a great place to go. And best of all - yet again it is free to use!

I was also very surprised about how much is out there for free. Free editing software, connections and advice you can gain through using Reddit to get ideas, get questions answered, YouTube is full of tutorials on how to edit, how to do well on YouTube but always check on when it was made because YouTube evolves quickly.  

I was also very surprised about how much is out there for free. Free editing software, connections and advice you can gain through using Reddit to get ideas, get questions answered, YouTube is full of tutorials on how to edit, how to do well on YouTube but always check on when it was made because YouTube evolves quickly. 

Does YouTube suit everyone?

No......but is can suit anyone.

Making videos should be fun. You don't have to have it all figured out on day one. Chances are your first few videos will be rubbish, But you will learn. You will improve. I am loving the creative side of it, the feeling you get when you just know how to do something either taking the perfect shot, in the edit, finding the perfect piece of music to fit the video, knowing I am improving with each video, or if not improving then learning something new, or what NOT to do next time which I am fairly sure everyone in this room can relate to that. 

How do I get Started?

Just press record!

Q&A
I hope this has given you some insight into the world of YouTube and I am happy to invite questions if you have any. I might know the answer......

Until Next Time

xx