This YouTuber Reveals The Secret Behind Her 640K Followers Each YouTuber can build their own identity and manage to build their own loyal audience

Whether you are in the metro or the local bus, at a restaurant or a food court, more often than not, you will spot people plugged in with their earphones and watching something on the phone. Digital content is on the rise and how. Amongst all the platforms that exist today, YouTube continues to reign supreme. Statistics show that there are 1 million video views per minute from mobile devices alone on YouTube.

The popularity of the platform has also led to a rising number of YouTube stars across the world. India too, has been home to some great video content coming out of different parts of the country.

Prajakta Koli, aka MostlySane, is India's biggest female YouTuber in the comic space with over 640K followers on YouTube. Entrepreneur India caught up with Koli as she spoke about how to build a business through YouTube and what first timers should keep in mind when they try their hand at name and fame through the platform.

The Plan B That Was Never Planned

For as long as she can remember, Koli always wanted to be a Radio Jockey. While most college students worry about what to do next as their final exams come to an end, Koli didn't even waste a minute before joining a radio station as an intern. But as she started working, her bubble burst. "I was an oversmart child. I never had a Plan B," she said.

But as luck would have it, Plan B was in store for her. While interviewing Hrithik Roshan for the radio station, her chirpy nature was identified by One Digital Entertainment, who offered her to start her own channel.

Koli gave it a try but once she did, there was no stopping her. Her first video itself had over 1,000 views and while the first four months she had 2000 subscribers, with a release of a new video which went viral, in the next month she had over 20,000 subscribers. And she loved every part of it. "With YouTube, you get addicted to the number of views, likes and dislikes. It's an honest and transparent platform while being interactive," she said.

Growing up, Koli never thought YouTube would be a career option for her. But with the digital revolution, life changed for her. "I didn't want to let it go. Choosing between radio and YouTube would be a difficult decision I thought but it turned out to be quite simple," she said.

You Can Do It Too

Koli had no prior experience when it comes to YouTube. But as she started working on the platform and creating her brand name, she has learnt a lot. For all those wanting to start their own business or brand through YouTube, Koli believes that the platform is pure gold. You have all the power and you work according to your own terms, which can actually be very motivating, she believes.

She has two rules she lives by that she would also want to recommend to every entrepreneur out there

• Always remember, content is king. Everyone is on a digital platform, so make sure you are giving your users quality content.
• Consistency is paramount. It's easy for you to get lost in the sea of videos, if you do just one video in some time. "There's a lot of other content out there. YouTube has a straight forward audience, if they like your stuff and have regular updates, they'll stay otherwise not," she said

There's No Stopping the Growth

There's so much consumption through these platforms, but each YouTuber can build their own identity and manage to build their own loyal audience. For different consumers, there's different types of content. "Today, people have the resources and time to consume content," said Koli.

But for the money to hit the bank, it takes some time. "There's a lot of misconception about YouTube. Just one viral video won't help you. For brands to reach out to you, you need to have a considerate number of subscribers and views. Subscribers give you higher credibility than views as they represent a loyal following," she said. For every ad that plays on the YouTuber's channel, the brand pays YouTube and the platform pays the channel owner.

According to Koli, YouTube is the big thing for advertising right now. Brands have the spending power for ads and considering everything is digital now, they want to collaborate with social influencers to create content. "For brands it works out great as they don't have to produce the video themselves, they just have to tie up with a creator and decide on content which suits both of them. It's an easy amalgamation of brand and video," she said.