How do you take your YouTube career to the next level? For Los Angeles-based content creator Asia Jackson, it’s by using the YouTube platform to speak about important social issues and to give representation to people who are mixed. As an African-American/Filipino, she has been able to use social media to create the #magandangmorenax movement, empowering mixed women of color to love the skin they are in.

“Having an opinion separates you from everyone else.”

As an actor, Asia first decided to start her own YouTube channel so that she could create her own content and her own opportunities. She started her YouTube channel in January of 2016 and, about 2.5 years later, now has 250k subscribers. Although she wasn’t immediately successful, what started as a hobby for Asia has turned into a career.

“Once you hit 100,000 subscribers, that really changes a hobby into a job.”

With a focus on beauty and women's lifestyle, Asia’s YouTube channel features skincare routines, beauty reviews, fashion lookbooks, and monthly vlogs where she captures everything from acting auditions to the different branded and social events she attends. While being present in the beauty/lifestyle space, the YouTube platform also affords her the opportunity to voice her thoughts on things she truly cares about. She continues to be very vocal about her experiences as a mixed person as well as the sociopolitics surrounding mix identities.

“Your why is bigger than you and your fears and your insecurities.”

While some YouTube videos go viral and catapult their creators to instant popularity, it takes more than a viral video to call yourself a success. So, what does it really take to succeed on YouTube? With a plethora of videos coming from YouTube content creators all over the world, how can you gain audience loyalty and support?

“At the end of the day, it’s the people that enjoy your videos that you’re making them for.”

Find out the answers to these questions from 23-year-old beauty expert, Alexandra, as she shares her YouTube journey and tips for how to succeed on YouTube. She started her YouTube career right out of high school at age 18, and her channel, AlexandrasGirlyTalk, has been a tribute to her younger, more awkward self who had a budding curiosity for all things girly.

“There’s so much negativity that can happen by being on YouTube, but there’s also a lot of good.”

She used to get made fun of for being and looking different so, she started experimenting with her looks. This led her to realize that she’s not the only girl who wants to know how to take care of her looks and how to take control of her beauty so, she started making videos. Now, Alexandra currently has 1.9 million subscribers and 222 million video views.

“If you really believe in what you’re saying, you definitely want people to see what you have to say.”

How has Alexandra managed to succeed on YouTube?

Well, Alexandra says that first, you need to figure out what makes you unique. You have something valuable about you that you can share with people. Once you’ve found a way to communicate that in your videos, you’ll have taken the first step on the path to success.

“It becomes a monster of a thing that’s so beautiful but also so ugly when you don’t stay true to what you want.”

The new season of the BATV Podcast is here! I am starting the podcast off with a solo episode where I recap my experience with the Beauty and the Vlog YouTube Bootcamp and also reveal the 7 things you do NOT need to be worrying about on YouTube plus the 1 thing you NEED to focus on.

Karissa Pukas is a full-time YouTuber from Canada now living in Australia. She reveals how she got started in YouTube and how she was slowly able to increase her subscriber base.