Reflections on 100,000 subscribers and my journey getting here
Why I Started a Youtube Channel
So this is going to sound absolutely ridiculous, but I started a channel because my mom nagged me to do it. She always thought I had interesting information to share and was good on camera so she thought I should make videos on youtube. At this time I didn’t even watch youtube beyond the occasional viral video; I had no idea what a “beauty guru” was, or that videos were made beyond funny cats and Charlie biting his little brother’s finger. So she sent me links to some of her favorite youtubers and I started watching – Carli Bybel, Nicole Gurriero were the first two I ever watched. But they are makeup focused and that’s not really my passion so I still had little interest. Then she showed me a Bethanny Mota video and I got a little spark of inspiration from that. I liked how her videos were fun, creative and about a variety of lifestyle topics. So finally I decided to try it.
The first youtube video I made was almost 2 years ago on a point and shoot camera; it was the first video I had made since I was about 10 years old when I used to film myself doing “magic tricks” – which consisted of me making objects disappear by stopping the camera, throwing the object out of the frame, and turning it back on. ABRA CADABRA! (I think I was ahead of my time, haha.)
So at this moment 15 years later had absolutely no clue what I was doing, to the point that I thought I had to do the whole video in one take. So every time I messed up – approximately every 15 seconds – I would start from the very beginning and start over again. So a 10 minute video took me an entire day to film. This is not fun at all, I thought, this is terrible! After making this video I actually remember google searching: “do you have to film an entire video in one take?” #cringe
So I posted that video, and I waited: “THIS IS IT!! This is my big moment! This video is definitely going to go viral. I’ll probably make it on the local news”
And then… so much nothing. After a few weeks it had maybe 5 views. And I’m pretty sure 4 of those were my mom. Who am I kidding, all 5 were my mom. So needless to say I was a little discouraged and humbled and didn’t have much of a desire to do another video.
Several months passed and my mom kept nagging me to try again, “I had natural talent!” she said. To which I replied “I’m pretty sure all mom’s think that about their kids, but thanks.”
But she kept at it, she kept nagging me almost every time we spoke for several months, so honestly just to stop the nagging I decided to give it another go.
I know this sounds absolutely ridiculous – I started my channel because my mom nagged me to. But you don’t know the power of her nagging. The tenacity. The perseverance. I truly believe her nagging could end wars.
My Channel Journey
So after my rocky and somewhat reluctant start, I discovered that I had a genuine love for making videos. Way to go mom for seeing something in me that I didn’t even see in myself!
Some of the most fundamental elements of my personality are that I love to learn new things and I love to be creative, so making youtube videos was an amazing outlet for these passions. In the beginning, I decided to pursue making videos as a learning exercise, and I didn’t care too much about getting followers or being excellent. I let myself be a beginner and didn’t put too much pressure on myself, I just enjoyed the process. I also spent my spare time learning about filmmaking and video editing, which I found quite enjoyable. I got a huge sense of satisfaction from seeing my videos improve.
One of the most difficult things about making videos – to this day – is being myself and having high energy on camera. It took me several months to realize that my on camera personality was a little flat, monotone and ….let’s face it, dull. So I decided to focus on having more energy and personality on camera – I personally believe this is a huge factor in getting people to connect with you. Once I started being myself, having fun and integrating my humor into my videos, I noticed a jump in my subscribers. I also felt strongly that I wanted my videos to add value, teach people something new, and if I could do that, people would respond. That also ended up being true.
Overall, I basically had the attitude that I would focus on improving my content, video quality and my on camera energy and viewers would come naturally. I did virtually no marketing of myself, I just worked extremely hard behind the scenes.
My Struggles
There have also been a lot of personal struggles along the way for me. If you watched my “25 facts about me video” you will know that I am an extremely sensitive person- it’s actually called “HSP: Highly Sensitive Person.” I take things very personally and I am sensitive to criticism. I wish this wasn’t true about myself but it just is what it is. My first boss out of college nailed it when she said: “Brittany, you could get 100 compliments and one critique and you will only focus on the critique.” Yup, pretty much.
So take that personality quality and them put that person to be judged by thousands. GOOD TIMES!! The very first mean comment I received was someone telling me that I was fake, stupid and inauthentic. That hurt me so deeply because one thing I pride myself most on is being genuine and that I care so much about people. I remember sobbing in bed for almost an entire day. I know it seems ridiculous – and I cringe thinking about that now, but, like I said, it’s been a growing process.
The thing that has been hard for me to grasp is that no matter how hard I work on a video and how good I feel about it, people will pick it apart. There are always those token comments of the people who find anything they can wrong with me or something I say. It used to really, really bother me, but at this point I’ve come to expect it and have started to try to find the humor in it. I’ve also discovered that the more I stand behind myself and what I do, the true pride and sense of confidence, the less it effects me. I am still not perfect in this regard, but I see progress in myself and I’m proud of myself for that.
What 100k Means To Me
When I decided to commit to youtube in January 2014, the goal I set for myself was to get to 100,000 subscribers, however long it took. At the time, that seemed like a HUGE number, one I could not even comprehend. But now that I’m there I realized I don’t feel much different at 100,000 than I did at 5,000. The meaning of that number isn’t the number itself, but what it represents. That I’m doing something right. That what I’m doing is resonating with people.
At the end of the day I realized that none of this is really about me. It’s about you out there supporting me – because without you none of this would have happened. The absolute best and most rewarding aspect of this whole experience is hearing from people that I have inspired them in some way – to eat healthier, to be more organized, to try new things – because that is why I do this.
This journey has been so much more challenging then I ever thought it would be- but it’s also been more rewarding. So from the bottom of my heart thank you to each and every person who has believed in me and supported me.
Brittany
Brittany Vasseur 
Hey Brit! Glad you decided to sit down and share a few words about how you are feeling right now.
First of all, congratulations on your big milestone, I think this is the most powerful one until you hit a million, it’s so joyful and overwhelming! I am genuinely so happy for you, because when I first watched your videos you had about 18k and I couldn’t understand why, your videos were of such good quality and they only got better since then, I was always hoping you’d get a big break.
About mean comments… I know this is weird but maybe it’s a good thing that one awful person decided to ruin your day with a comment, at least after that they will leave your channel and never come back since they didn’t like it. I can’t tell you to stop caring about them, because you probably tried that. Instead, think about us! There are so many of us anxiously waiting a video, a tweet a snap, something of yours to make our day better because you have that kind of personality.
This comment is already too long so I will just stop, in conclusion thank you momma Vasseur for nagging this girl until she started a YouTube channel! Love you Brit, all the best to you and your family!
congratulations !!! Love you !
Hey girl heyyyy:) Such a great read!! I like this because it intrinsically shows that all it takes is a bit of courage in order to achieve extraordinary things! Your mom sounds like she loves you so much and through her tough love gave you the boost you needed in order to make things happen and a brighter life for yourself! Aw I enjoyed reading this because sometimes I wonder if I’m overly sensitive about things and then I think yeah it’s stress or it’s hormones that doggone birth control pill etc 😛 when really it’s just I believe a part of being so perceptive of others and empathetic with them (a strength) that can then become a weakness if you let their negativity in–but all in all I’d say it’s a beautiful strength and it eminates throughout your videos! Keep up the good work and thanks for having the hoopla about reaching 100k! It was that little push I needed to feel free to write and comment on your stuff without feeling creepy! Your videos are my home away from home as I study dentistry in Germany I love the California vibes 😀 thank you!!!
AWWW this is mod lovely genuine post! as soon as i found your chanel i immediately followed all your social media.
it was definitely you humour and ability to laugh at yourself that makes me love your videos. plus they are so unique which i love!
xxx
Congratulations girl! I started making videos in February and am feeling the exact same way you described when you first started. This blog post gives me hope and excites me!
Again, congratulations on your 100k! Can’t wait to see what the future holds for you d your channel!
*and
Congratulations Girl! U deserve it and wish all the best for your future….i know it will be freat….never lose hope….we should always listen to our mom…
Great Journey Story! Tell your awesome mother that we appreciate her nagging you into doing videos. haha We mothers do not think of it as nagging but like to refer it as great constructive critiquing.
Congrats on the 100,000 plus subscribers on YouTube I did comment when you were around 70,000 or 80,000 views that I believed you would hit that milestone by your birthday and you did it and have surpassed it.
I want to comment about negative views and I think there are a couple of reasons why people do that. Consistent negative comments made by the same people are made by unhappy or unfulfilled people or by people who were raised in a negative home atmosphere. So I forgive them. Then there are those negative comments made by people just doing it for fun and get a kick out of the reactions to their comments. To those people, I tolerate them. I want to share this short story with you. My mother had TB of the bone in one of her legs (most people have never heard of that) AS a young child and a young adult she spent 11 years in and out of the hospital but mostly in. Many of those years, she wore a cast and did not get to play or socialize with other kids. She chose not to dwell on that and become very creative making things, sewing, drawing, etc. I can only remember her positive attitude through out my life and as she still continues to suffer from the after effects of TB to this day, she still remains consistently positive.
Lastly I want to thank you. You may not recall this but I told you once that I will be retiring in the next few years and wished the media was around when I was younger to show all my DIY ideas and you told me to go for it. Thank you for being inspirational and thank you so much for the great videos. The world is a better place with you in it. Much love and continued success!
congratulations! the first 100k are well deserved, and here’s to 100k more ♥
I just want you to know I am so proud of you with how far you have came. I remember watching your first YouTube video and I was onw hundred percent in love with you. Your style your clothes your voice and just how positive you are. Over the past year I have noticed how you are very serious about your YouTube career and I find that very amusing. Keep doing your thing girl! 😍❤️
Congratulations! I found you on YouTube as a recommended video when you had 10k subscribers, and I thought you and your videos were just lovely! Positive and funny and smart – like you! Keep up the good work! Enjoy this moment – being a creator is so much about being “in the process” that milestones like this that force you to sit back and really appreciate all you’ve built are so special. ❤
congrats!!!
Brittany! I am a pretty new subscriber, but I have to say that the more I watch your videos, the more the authenticity shines through. I am new to Youtube, being a blogger for three years now, so your videos have really inspired me to grow my channel. Thank you for creating amazing content and congratulations on 100,000 (!!!) subscribers! It’s very clear to me why so many people love your channel 🙂
Brittany you are seriously my favorite you tuber. Your videos are always so refreshing and informative. I have been watching you since your video on the DIY lush bombs and have loved watching your vids every week since. Thank you for always being so sweet to your subscribers.
You’re such a beauty and so genuine, you always go out of your way to film qualify videos and I love that about you, you’re super nice to your subscribers and overall such a lovely person! I love watching you because you’re such a bundle of joy and positivity! You deserve all the fame you’ve got and more! You give me so much inspiration and I absolutely adore you! Keep doing you Hun, all my love ❤️ And thank you so much for following me on Twitter guy made my day (eman_siddiqui) ☺️
*you
Love your videos and the fact that you throw some comedy in there. Thanks.
We love you! You are a joy to watch and learn from. Your videos are always bubbley and positive, who could dislike it?! I stumbled upon you this year and have watched every video since then. 🙂 You rock!
An individual that is part of your support team,
Kenya (aka: Nonakind)
Congrats of getting over 100K and it’s not just the support we’re giving it the determination that you keep on going. Some you tubers just stop because they think it is over but instead of you doing that, you kept expanding you creativity into your videos and eventually you got a Vasseur Beauty family.