How to Be a Creator if You’re Camera Shy

It’s very easy to fall into the mental trap and think that all content creators and influencers are a little narcissistic and just want attention. The vast majority of creators show their face and talk directly into the camera or post copious amounts of photos of them with their #OOTD, so it’s natural to lean in that direction.

However, not everyone wants their face on camera. Does that mean they can’t create great content? No!

There are many different ways to be a content creator and it’s entirely possible to be a very successful and influential creator without ever showing your face. 

Here are two examples of my faceless YouTube channels and the first two things you need to do to get you started. 

ALSO READ : Why Parasocial Relationships Are Important to Creators

Binging with Babish - 10 million subscribers

Binging with Babish is a popular YouTube cooking channel by Andrew Rea. While Andrew isn’t afraid to show his face on social media, his videos typically do not feature his face. 

Instead, the camera focuses on his hands and cooking, with his torso in the background. So it’s not like the old Buzzfeed Tasty videos, where they only show a top down view of the food cooking (but you can do that too!). 

As Andrew cooks the episode’s recipe, he narrates his actions with an edited voice over. This offers insights for the viewer, but doesn’t pressure the creator to make a perfect dish, while also delivering a perfect monologue. 

Binging with Babish’s style both connects you with the creator, removes stage freight, and makes it easier for the creator to deliver great cooking content. 

Wendover Productions - 4 million subscribers

I am a fan of Wendover Productions videos, but I knew nothing about the creator before researching this article. 

Wendover Productions is a faceless YouTube channel created by Sam Denby, aged 25. He makes fantastic videos that educate audiences on different topics like logistics, geography, and economics. I discovered him when I was researching the economics of airlines (Just for fun, the thought popped into my head on a Friday night and then I spent an hour down a YouTube rabbit hole). 

Wendover Productions’ magic is in his research and ability to break down complex topics to anyone. His videos are not highly edited. He primarily edits together stock footage that relates to his script. He’ll occasionally create minimal graphics to better highlight his main points, but overall, there is nothing he does from an editing standpoint that is difficult. 

Yet, he has 4 million subscribers and never shows his face. Even his voice overs are monotone, not animated in any way. It doesn’t matter. His information is thorough and the stock video illustrates his points. This is a winning recipe. 

Getting Started with a Faceless YouTube Channel

There are two things you need to do to get started. First, find your niche. This is incredibly important to the success of your faceless YouTube channel. The second is starting to create content. 

Finding Your Niche

Don’t jump straight to creating content. You need to find what has the most opportunity. You need to account for two main factors, high search volume and high potential income. 

The higher the search volume, the greater the interest. This will help with views. Secondly, you want an audience with high incomes. This will increase your CPM and enable you to make more money. 

To find a profitable niche, first use tools like Google Keyword Planner or TubeBuddy to find keywords that have high search volume and low competition. Google Trends and Social Blade can help you understand growth opportunities for the channel. 

You can use YouTube analytics and the Revenue tab to analyze the average CPM for your topic. The CPM will factor in things like audience demographics and geographic location. The higher the CPM, the more money you can make from ads. You can also use Social Blade to get estimated earnings for similar channels. 

Start Creating Content

This is actually a daunting task for many people. They worry about what skills they don’t have, rather than what they have…the desire to create. 

Learning how to edit videos for free on YouTube is accessible to anyone. There are free software tools like XYZ to edit your videos. You don’t need fancy equipment either. To start, your smartphone can act as your microphone. 

If you don’t necessarily want to learn these new skills (but you should, it’s fun), then you can always outsource parts of (or all) of your content. 

Online marketplaces like Fiverr and Upwork give you access to thousands of freelancers all over the world. You can hire people to edit video, write you a script, research topics, record your voice over or even hire game animation services to create a unique game for your content!

Being a content creator can be a lucrative career or a fun side project. There are no rules with being a content creator and nothing says you have to plaster your face all over the internet to get views. You can become a popular content creator by simply making videos that do not feature your face. 

If you’re looking for help monetizing your existing content, sign up for Slice today.