At last count, Debasree Banerjee’s eponymous YouTube channel had 50,000 subscribers. By the time this story comes out, it’s almost certain that she’ll have more — women and men looking to find “a long distance make-up shopping partner”. “A girl once sent me a mail where she called me that, and I thought the phrase was perfect, so I asked her if I could borrow it to describe what I do,” she explains.
Debasree is one of the many young women in India using YouTube as a platform to channel their creativity and talent – and for her, like for many others, it’s a full-time job.
Of course, the phenomenon isn’t new, and abroad, YouTubers like Connor Franta, Lilly Singh and Michelle Phan are now well known, widely recognised celebrities with channels that have led to spin off companies, brands and businesses.
Back home, the last five years have seen a slow, steady increase in the number of Indian YouTubers, and a large number of them seem to be focussing on content that ranges from fashion and make-up tutorials to do-it-yourself videos, chatty and candid reviews of latest beauty and lifestyle products, brand collaborations and vlogs (video blogs) of holidays, events and even daily, everyday life. “Videos, I feel work better than blogs, because you can give the illusion of being face-to-face with your audience, of chatting with them,” says Shreya Jain, who runs SJLovesJewelry and focuses on beauty and fashion; two subjects that do work very well on videos.
Many of these YouTubers, including Shreya and Debasree, have left the security and comfort of conventional jobs and invested personal savings; others have chosen to double the workload and balance full time jobs alongside their channels. In each case, the decision has been both difficult and risky, but also, as I find out while talking to some of them, infinitely rewarding.
Channels like Ankita Srivastava’s hugely popular Corallista, or Sonal Sagaraya’s eponymous one, are over five years old now, and have their own group of dedicated followers. Sonal started her channel in 2010, when she was still in college. “Back then, there was almost no other Indian doing this. YouTube hadn’t even officially launched its partnership programme in India, and they’d either approach you or you had to apply for it separately. I had to wait for six months for mine to go through. Now, anyone who fulfils the criteria can sign up and monetise their content. The programme lets you earn through advertisements, paid subscriptions, and merchandise on your channel,” she explains. Larissa D’sa’s channel, which primarily focuses on creative, artistic do-it-yourself videos, is only two, and already racking up an impressive number of followers. “When I uploaded my first video, it was a big flop,” she laughs. Supported by friends who cheered her on, Larissa continued to persevere.
The support of family and friends has been crucial to each of these girls. Sonal, whose channel focuses on beauty, had to rely on her parents in the beginning for help with equipment. For her camera, and assistance in editing, Sonal turned to her friend and now business partner, Rishabh Shah. Debasree, an M.B.A. gold medallist, waited till she found a job in Mumbai to buy her first camera and start her channel, but looked to her parents for a different kind of support.
“I was holding down a full time job, but I realised that while I was good at it, I wasn’t passionate about it. And my channel was beginning to do well. So I asked my father for six months. I told him that I could make this work.” Last January, Debasree quit her job, and then uploaded a short video sharing her decision and the reasons behind it with her viewers.
Like Debasree, many YouTubers try and connect with their audience through videos introducing themselves, answering questions during live chats, and sharing bits of information on their friends and families. In a recent video, prompted by a spate of comments questioning her for income and finances, Shreya faced the camera to explain the process of making money via YouTube channels. “I’m making more than an average salary in a starter job would bring me,” she says.
While they don’t get a regular pay check every month, these YouTubers do find that their channels, via a combination of revenue from , brand collaborations and other initiatives by companies, can be lucrative, especially as they begin to rack up views and subscribers.
“You just have to learn how to discipline yourself. A lot of people think that having a YouTube channel on beauty and fashion means a lot of free products sent in by companies, which is not true. Brand collaborations are a very small part of where the money comes from, and it’s mainly the original and genuine content on your channel and its viewership that matters. Not every brand has a budget for YouTubers, and a lot of them still expect us to work on barter,” says Debasree.
She adds that sometimes, she makes allowances herself. “There are indie brands who can’t afford to pay me, but I go ahead anyway if I really love their work and believe in it.” Shreya too, believes in working with brands she believes in and shares that recently, she decided to turn down an offer for a collaborative video with a company selling skin whitening creams.
Debasree Banerjee
The work, itself, is hard, and Debasree laughs as she recounts a particularly busy week, which sees her waking up at 6 am sleeping at 4 am every day, balancing shoots and appearances at events with editing and uploading videos. “I’m a very lazy person, and I procrastinate more than anyone, but the thing is, when I was working, this is what I used to procrastinate with.”Larissa, who works full-time as a graphic designer at Crowdfire, does find it challenging to find time for YouTube too, but makes sure she gets at least one video out a week. “I love my job, and I also love my channel, so I want to make sure I can do both.”
It is perhaps the technical aspect that takes these YouTubers the longest to master. “When I started, I had no clue about filming and editing. Earlier, with an old Windows computer, and a camera that produced poor quality videos, my sound would be out of sync and the lighting would be bad. At least now I’ve invested in better equipment, and I’ve learned through trial and error, mostly error!” laughs Shreya.
For Debasree, a lot of knowhow came with watching other YouTubers. “I’ve been watching YouTube videos since 2008. I’ve literally watched some of the best YouTubers from across the world grow, and get better. I also read a lot, not just fashion blogs, but articles on web designing, blogging, coding CSS and HTML. You think that the only knowledge you need is of filming and editing, but there’s so much more.” Of course, the fact that their channel is their source of income also brings in other facets to the work, which involve legal and business acumen. “I have partnered with a Multicultural Network (MCN) that looks after the financial side of things, and I also signed up with a digital agency that takes care of the brand deals, but otherwise, I do everything myself. As far as the channel is concerned, I’ve kept myself independent, and I handle everything,” says Shreya.
Each one of these women has a plan, a roadmap they are working with. Shreya, for example, hopes to start her own cosmetics company one day. “So many YouTubers abroad have done this, but no one has in India, yet.” “This is the best time to be doing this. Every day, more and more brands are launching in India, and the existing ones are waking up to the potential of tapping into YouTube channels,” says Sonal.
Taking into account brands like Nykaa, which regularly tie up with YouTubers for placements, giveaways and videos, as well as others including Garnier, BBlunt and Colgate, and most recently, Nyx, which have all turned to Indian YouTubers to expand their own reach, and YouTube’s own efforts in India,Sonal’s statement seems just about right.
