The other day a friend of mine asked me; since I seem cool what's my opinion whether she should start a YouTube channel to make videos of her own. My first question was, “What do you want to talk about?” because it's got to be a mixture of fun and passion. This has worked for Bethany, a girl who just started off making YouTube videos on make up and style. She's now accrued 10 million followers and earns over $40,000 dollars per month. On top of that, she's had a stint in Dancing With The Stars and owns a cloth-line which her followers lovingly buy. Here's my take on what our local artists like Bellesa Africa, This Is Ess and the rest can learn to step on to another level of success.

1. Let your fans contribute

One common mistake that common local YouTubers do is to think it's their own business such that they won't let their fans contribute. They won't let anyone else contribute videos or appear besides them – especially a random fan. There are genuinely cool and interested fans out there who would love to be your brand ambassadors. They would love to be associated with your work and maybe learn from you.

2. Do collaborative projects and support each other

Local artists – collectively, creatives won't do projects together, because, competition. Learn from successful collaborators – artists and entities. Locally, Redsan is an excellent such artist. His projects are boundless. He's got vision. When it comes to companies, H&M has collaborated with Chanel to create an affordable, classy handbag.

3. Make it fun.

Don't be in it for the money. Don't slog hard working on a video whilst your mind is on the amount of return you'll get from it. We know that some of the most successful people on earth worked their way up relentlessly. ​ As Confucius once said, "​Choose a job you love, and you will never have to work a day in your life."

4. Success isn't magic.

When you've posted your YouTube video, monitor closely and respond to comments – positive or negative and it'll show your audience that you genuinely care about them. That it is all about them and not you. That you're the owner of the account but you respect and adore your fans. This will in turn be 'loyaty' from your followers; they'll be anxious to see the next creative video you work on.

“When you upload a video, don't just walk away from the computer. Respond to comments and tweets, and use all social media. That's what's most important about YouTube. Take advantage of letting your audience know who you are,” Bethany shares her success tip in a November 2014 interview with AdWeek.