5 Ways to Make Your Vlogs More Interesting

So I started making YouTube videos on my goodmonica channel back in 2007 on a whim. I was fed up with my job at KFC but wasn't in a position to quit. YouTube became a way for me to relieve my work stress. I had seen a view videos from some of my favorite channels at the time like TheWineKone and CommunityChannel and I thought, hey I can do that too! I mostly made videos with my Cabbage Patch dolls. I called it, The Delilah Show, and it wasn't really catching on, at least not like I wanted it to. A year later I made a new channel, called myself "m0brya" and uploaded my first skit that featured me. My actual self. It was different.

Skits are great. YouTube is full of skits and pranks and stunts but there's another kind of video that I don't have a lot of experience with. It's video blogging, or vlogging. I've seen these videos where people sit down and talk about their lives and it's fascinating sometimes. There are other times when people are so boring you'd rather slit your wrist than keep watching. But then there's the other people. Those special few who just get it. I don't have a lot of experience making vlogs (which I hope to change) but I do watch them. Here's 5 ways you can make your vlogs more interesting.

5.) Be Relate-able:
Some of the best vlogs I've ever seen were ones I could relate to. We all have awkward moments. We all get embarrassed. We all have weird experiences at school or on the bus. Talk about those things. Chances are, the people watching you have had similar experiences. Please don't sit there and talk about how bored you are or how you're making a video because you haven't made a video in a long time and blah blah blah. Nobody wants to see that.

4.) Limit Jump-Cuts:
Sloppy editing is definitely frowned upon in the YouTube community but similarly, don't edit yourself into visual suicide. You don't need to be in a different place on the screen for every word you utter. Of course there are exceptions to this rule like if you're adding dramatic effect or you want to drive a point but you don't have to completely mutilate your sentences. If you have to resort to cheap tricks to keep people interested then maybe it's your topic that needs a change.

3.) Show Don't Tell:
One of my major pet peeves are vloggers who insist on telling me about an event instead of just showing the event! If you're going to scout locations for a short film or go shopping for supplies, take your camera with you! At the least take pictures. I don't want to hear about how cool something looked - I want to see it for myself! I understand there are times when you can't record, but try to capture as much as you can when possible. We're living in selfie culture. Embrace it!

2.) If You Can't Actually Show Us, Act It Out:
There's also the vlog-skit-vlog approach that never gets old if done correctly. Sometimes, you just don't have your camera handy. Other times a camera may not be allowed. That's ok! Just put in a little extra effort to film a short skit of the situation. Skits give vlogs variety and it also draws the viewer in, making them feel as if they were with you when it happened. Try it!

1.) No Topic Is Off Limits:
I think this is one of the most important things you can remember. The cool thing about vlogs is that you can talk about whatever you want as long as you care about it. Nothing cool happened today? That's perfectly fine! Talk about an event from the past, anything. It could be a movie or something that happened at school or the time you broke your leg. And don't limit yourself to that either. Talk about the future and where you hope to be in five years. The sky is the limit!! Don't be afraid to let people get to know who you really are. I mean, isn't that the point?

I hope these tips help. Of course they aren't the "be all, end all" and I certainly don't know everything. These are just things that interest me when I choose vlogs to watch.