What I Use

This page shows what I use - both for running my business, and for YouTube!

I will note that one advantage of the Amazon affiliate links I use is that I pay for a service which will try to take you to the correct Amazon website for your location - and will also try opening it in the app, if you're using a phone.

HARDWARE

Of all of these, I consider the Blue Yeti microphone as being likely the single most important purchase - your audience will tolerate questionable video quality and awkward transitions, but poor audio quality will quickly chase them away. As a true plug-and-play microphone, the Blue Yeti is easy to 'get right'.

You might want to use (and your audience might want you to use) one type of pop filter or the other, or both - or perhaps neither. They're a comparatively modest expense, so I personally chose to just pick up both to be on the safe side.

While audio should be your first priority, there is one other rule of thumb that's worth taking to heart:

If you think you need a better camera, that means something - it means you need better lighting.

If you have a remotely modern phone - I'm getting started with an iPhone 12 Pro Max, about a month prior to the launch of the iPhone 17-series - then you really should prioritise focusing on your lighting rather than your camera. The product I link to above is a convenient set containing a highly capable light, a stand, and a softbox. It really is all you need to get going in the lighting department.

I also bought an adjustable tripod to hold my phone.

SOFTWARE & SERVICES

Canva Pro can be very helpful, as it includes access to large a number of premium templates you can use for YouTube thumbnails - and if you're just starting out on YouTube and don't have experience with image creation, that can really lower the barrier to entry for you.

However, of the two - I have to give it to vidIQ Boost. VidIQ is a one-stop shop for all things YouTube: if you want to perform market research to see which types of videos do the best, it can do that; if you want it to generate a thumbnail for you, it can do that; if you want help drafting a script, it can do that.

WEBSITE