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The dictionary definition of a vlog is ‘a video journal that is uploaded to the Internet, or a blog in which the postings are primarily videos’. With this general definition, many people mistakenly rush into vlogging thinking all they need to get started is a video camera and access to the Internet.

If it were that simple, why is it that some vloggers receive hundreds of thousands or millions of views, while others struggle to reach over a hundred? The answer is that the well-known vloggers have a constant theme that runs throughout their videos, and this is often lacking in amateur vloggers’ work. Let’s take two professional vloggers – Tanya Burr and Marcus Butler. Tanya’s YouTube channel contains a high proportion of beauty videos. She regularly posts make-up tutorials, and talks about grooming products she has bought and she recommends. Viewers have reason to watch the videos because they are being educated: they are learning how to apply make-up better. Marcus, on the other hand, is more of a comedian, regularly uploading videos of pranks he’s carried out. Viewers are entertained; they are having a break from the humdrum of their daily lives and laughing out loud at something silly.

Successful vloggers either educate or entertain – or both – by picking a theme that runs throughout their videos. They often post about their daily life in addition to this educational or entertaining content, but these daily uploads usually reference the subject they cover in their other vlogs. When you visit your favourite vlogger’s YouTube channel, you know exactly what types of videos you will see, unlike when you visit the channel of a vlogger who is just starting out and hasn’t paid adequate attention to why they’re vlogging or what their long-term goals are. Themes keep viewers coming back to a vlogger’s channel, as people like to watch the development of a storyline, laugh at the prank that has been talked about in a previous video or see the next instalment of a complicated make-up tutorial.

Themes that work well on vlog channels include computer gaming, agony aunt advice, fashion and style talk, make-up tutorials, cookery demonstrations, comedy, top-ten lists and random short features. However, before you make a decision on what direction you’d like to go in, it’s vital to answer the following questions: