Meet Sarah Salvini, a KU journalism student with a successful YouTube channel. She shared with me what got her started with YouTube, what she enjoys most and what she hopes to get out of it. To follow her on social media, find @TheSarahSalvini on YouTube, Twitter and Instagram.
Name: Sarah Salvini
Age: 20
Year in school: Sophomore
Major: Strategic Communications
Hometown: De Soto, KS
What originally interested you in doing makeup? Growing up in a small town there wasn’t always a lot to do. I would spend time watching videos in my room and it became a hobby. After school I would come home and look forward to watching other YouTubers. One day I decided to set my camera up on some books and I quickly found out that I loved it.
Where did you learn to do makeup? When I was younger I would definitely consider myself a tomboy. I was always outside riding four wheelers so I had no clue about makeup. I started watching Carli Bybel on Youtube and I would copy how she did her makeup. I would try really interesting looks, it was almost like art to me.
When did you start making tutorial videos? I started making youtube videos in July of 2014.
How did you get such a following? People think that it only takes one video to shock the Internet and that’s it. For some people that is how it works, but not for many. I learned that I will only get out, what I put in to it. It takes a lot of consistency and you have to continue to listen to what your following wants and how to improve your content.
How much of your time does it take up? It takes a lot of time. Its definitely not something you can turn off at the end of the day. It usually takes a few days to film and edit but most of the time goes to connecting with subscribers and people that are watching.
What’s the normal process of making a new video? I will usually start filming early in the morning and plan out what videos I need to film for the week. I adjust my filming set up and make sure my camera and lighting makes the videos come out how I want them. It will take me all day to film the videos I need. I will spend the next day editing and uploading to youtube. After that ill have to edit the video on youtube and create thumbnails for all of them.
About how many people watch each one of your videos? It definitely varies depending on what the video is about. My most viewed video has almost half a million views but for my average video I range between 4k-10k.
Where do you see yourself in 10 years? In 10 years I want to still be creating youtube videos. Its something I enjoy doing and I cant see my life without it. People always say do what you love and I can tell this was the path I am suppose to be going.
What’s the coolest thing that’s come out of this? Honestly, meeting subscribers. Its so easy to forget who you’re putting in all this work for when you’re constantly talking to a camera. But a few times people have come up to me while I was in the mall and I even met someone in the dunkin donuts drive through. It’s by far the best feeling when people tell me stories of how I somehow made an impact on their lives and getting to be that person people feel like they can open up to. That is my overall goal with youtube is to help someone. Makeup is great and so much fun but I want my channel to be more than that.