The Life of An Aspiring You Tube Star

Wake up, make coffee, check Instagram, Facebook, and Twitter, and brainstorm different ideas of what to film on the Internet for the day. Film, that is, in a makeshift studio in a two-bedroom apartment on Milwaukee’s east side.

This is a typical weekend morning for University of Wisconsin-Eau Claire graduate, Brandon Bennett, who has his own YouTube channel. He graduated with a bachelor’s degree in marketing. He currently resides in Milwaukee working at Snipp Interactive as an account manager. His job brought him to Milwaukee back in August of this year. But in his spare time, he’s a You Tube star. Or trying to be one, at least.

“I enjoy filming in the mid morning because it adds the best natural light,” he said. “I feel accomplished when I film early. I have the rest of the day to edit, and maybe even upload the video that night.”

Bennett is one of a billion users of YouTube. The minimum age requirement when joining YouTube is 13-years-old.  As the Internet continues to grow, a trend of people creating their own YouTube channel has begun. YouTube stats show YouTube has one billion active users a month. That’s a big potential audience.

The goal: To become the next YouTube star. Anyone with a computer and camera, can be a regular YouTuber. You don’t need the most expensive lights and camera, and you don’t need a studio system or an agent, in order to put out quality work. It’s becoming easier for people to express themselves in an online setting.

Bennett is passionate about his channel. There’s much more to it than his camera and personality. He has over four lighting fixtures set up, a chair for him to sit down, and a desk to edit his footage at. Thousands of dollars have been spent on his equipment to produce quality video for his viewers.

He resides on the East side in a two bedroom apartment. One bedroom was dedicated to his YouTube set up. The room was big enough to store all the lighting and special equipment.

UW-Milwaukee Senior lecturer and social media expert, Marc Tasman, explains that “we” make everyone famous.

“The moment we click on a link to an article, that’s adding to their viewer numbers,” said Tasman. “Even when we think we aren’t supporting someone to become famous, we are by clicking on their content.”

He believes the definition of fame is something that will keep changing. He refers to Andy Warhol’s famous quote, “In the future, everyone will be world-famous for 15 minutes.”

Each user has a different direction for his or her channel. It could have a focus on beauty, entertainment, hard news, or it can be one video of someone changing an oil in a car. There are many possibilities.

Bennett started his channel back in May 2014 before he graduated college. He started it because a friend of his made a channel back in high school. After years of her harassing him to start one, he did. His friend thought he had the perfect personality for an entertaining YouTube channel.

As of right now Bennett does this as a hobby, and makes no money off of YouTube. The potential is there for him to make some revenue. He doesn’t plan on stopping his YouTube channel any time soon. If he keeps gaining subscribers and uploading content, there is an opportunity for YouTube to bring him in some extra cash.

His channel is about whatever comes to his mind. The videos focus around comedy with titles such as, “The Worst Snapchat Stories,” “Gym Pet Peeves,” and “Homecoming Survival Guide.”

“What I like most about filming is I am able to express myself in a way that I can’t express myself one on one with another person,” he said. “Having an online audience gives you an opportunity to explore part of yourself that you haven’t before.”

The video on his channel with the most views and comments is on Wisconsin Stereotypes. It has 3,888 views and counting. The video focused on Bennett reading through an article on Buzzfeed with stereotypes given to people who live in Wisconsin. He agreed with most of them, such as that Wisconsin residents are the most loyal sports fans, and that they’re fish fry fanatics.

One viewer commented: “All of this is so true… #wisconsinite.”

Bennett decided to find a roommate and save extra money, so he no longer has the extra room for his YouTube set up. He now keeps his lights stored in his walk-in closet. When he does film, he sets up either in his bedroom, in a corner, or in his living room. The space wasn’t the same as it was before but that doesn’t stop him from filming. He says that as long as he has a corner that’s empty, he will make do and keep filming.

The quality video is not magically thrown into a package. It takes Bennett half an hour to record a five minute video, and two hours to edit it.  He says the videos don’t take him long to record, because they’re usually in the moment with minimal preparation. Editing is different. He has to cut sound bites together so they form a story in a shorter period of time.

The success of his channel is not where he wants it to be. He has 128 subscribers and he wants that number to grow. He looks at his channel as one of his hobbies, he doesn’t plan to become successful on it and make millions of dollars.

He took some time off from YouTube when he moved from Eau Claire to Milwaukee this summer. He wanted to adjust to his new life. His channel was put on the back burner, but he plans on recording again soon.

“I have a blast with my channel,” he said. “I can be my complete self and the minute I see someone hit the thumbs up button, I know I’m doing something right.”

People will do great things and reach fame through social networks. They also will do negative things to reach temporary fame. Fame is a definition that will evolve as the years go by. says Tasman, the UWM senior lecturer and social media expert.

Tasman believes that social media sites, such as YouTube, are a place for a market of ideas.

“Maybe, today, “fame” is a reason to try something,” said Tasman.

Each YouTuber has his or her own story. As the trend continues to grow, there is always a reason behind someone starting a channel. Some users are able to make money off of their channel, and some keep it as a hobby.

Fleix Kjellberg, known as Pew Die Pie, has earned $12 million dollars within the last year. His channel focuses on video games and how he reacts to people that he’s playing against. YouTube creates a huge opportunity for people when it comes to earning money.

It’s easy to set up the revenue aspect of a channel. The videos need to have monetization enabled, which means the user is giving YouTube the right to place ads in their video. Following that, the user has to set up a Google AdSense account, which is the website used to place the ads. The key to making money is having a strong audience. If there’s no audience, there won’t be people watching the ads.

Other ways that people can make money is by becoming affiliates with companies.  For example, a YouTuber with a beauty channel could become an affiliate with a makeup company, and have a coupon code for their users to use online in the check out. This coupon code is an affiliate code, which means the YouTuber will make a certain percentage of revenue off the order placed with that company.

Some YouTubers tell their viewers that the code is an affiliate code, and some may not. They’re not required to tell their audience that they make a certain percentage if their code is used. Most will state that in a video to remain credible and to build trust with their viewers.

Next time you watch a YouTube video, take a look at the person who runs the channel. Businesses and celebrities run some of the channels, but most are run by your average colleague such as Bennett.

Having a YouTube channel is a growing trend that doesn’t seem to be going out of style any time soon. The road to stardom has never been cheaper, but it’s still crowded out there.