“The joy of YouTube is that you can create content about anything you feel passionate about, however silly the subject matter.” — Zoe Sugg
❓ What You’ll Learn
- How to use AI to make faceless videos?
- How to maintain anonymity while looking like a human?
- How to grow with YouTube Shorts?
- What to use instead of stock footage?
- How to reach a wider audience?
- What are production costs?
- How to stand out from competitors?
- How to defend yourself from copycats?
- How to create compelling content in shorter formats?
- How to monetize a faceless YouTube channel?
💎 Why It Matters
You can become a YouTuber without worrying about how you look, speak and act on camera.
🔍 Problem
Speaking on camera raises the barrier to entry for YouTube creators.
💡 Solution
Faceless YouTube channels rely on stock footage, virtual characters, animation, audio and/or editing skills.
🏁 Players
Faceless YouTube Channels
- TheThings Celebrity • Celebrity news and gossip
- Weird History • Untold parts of history
- Nonstop • Football and basketball clips and history
- Bad Lip Reading • Lip-reading video clips for comedic effect
- Tasty Recipes • Daily and holiday food recipes
- FINAiUS • Documentaries about the world’s financial geniuses
Faceless YouTube Niches
- News • Recap of events that happened in politics, economy, society and more.
- History • Historical facts and documentaries.
- Sports • Compilation of sporting moments, events and more.
- Comedy • Jokes, memes, sketches and parodies.
- Cooking • Food recipes, product reviews and cooking advice.
- Finance • Personal finance, investing, cryptocurrency and more.
Video Creation Tools
- TubeBuddy • Optimize your channel to get more views and subs
- Storyblocks • Get unlimited stock video, audio and images
- Powtoon • Create videos with animated characters, templates, backgrounds, audio and more
- VideoScribe • Make animated videos in seconds
- vidIQ • Boost your YouTube views and subscribers
🔮 Predictions
- Faceless YouTube channels will use generative AI to create characters, animations, audio and scenes.
- Alec Wilcock shows how to use ChatGPT to write video scripts.
- Dreamcloud shows how to use Steve AI to make animated videos.
- Premier Gal shows how to use Runway and other tools to edit videos and sound.
- Scalespeeder Gaming shows how he uses Midjourney to make photorealistic thumbnails.
- We’ll see million-dollar, one-person faceless YouTube channels.
- Devon Canup says he’s made $1,000,000+ in 3 years with faceless YouTube channels.
- Chems says he owns 30+ faceless YouTube channels and earns $1,000,000+ per year.
- Faceless YouTubers will use AI to keep anonymity while preserving human looks.
- Mrboofy used WarpFusion to turn Matt Wolfe into fantasy characters.
- Ciara Rowles is building TemporalKit that turns people into characters while preserving natural motion.
☁️ Opportunities
- Make YouTube Shorts. They are easier to create and yield better return on effort.
- INNOVA Crafts’ videos get ~150,000 views. Their Shorts get up to 5,000,000 views.
- Videogyan Kids Shows’ videos get ~150,000 views. Their Shorts get up to 800,000 views.
- Comics Explained’s videos get up to ~120,000 views. Their Shorts get up to 1,000,000 views.
- Animate your videos. This is more appealing than stock footage.
- Chris Invests uses whiteboard animation.
- Upgraded Mentality mixes 2D sketches and animation.
- Escaping Ordinary visualizes book summaries and ideas.
- Cross-promote your YouTube channel on social media. Use discovery platforms to reach a wider audience.
- Bestie is active on Instagram and Facebook.
- Daily Dose of Internet promotes his channel on TikTok and Instagram.
- Baseball Doesn’t Exist shares videos on TikTok, Twitter and Instagram.
🏔️ Risks
- Impersonalization • It can be hard to build personal connections without showing your face.
- Platform Risk • You’re subject to YouTube monetization and content policies.
🔑 Key Lessons
- You can express your creativity without worrying about your looks, status or reputation. Your audience is tuning in for your content, not you. An FBI agent can run a channel on cryptocurrency.
- Faceless channels have lower production costs. You don’t need expensive gear such as a video camera, tripod, stabilizer and light equipment.
- Consistent branding can help you stand out from other faceless channels. Use a recognizable logo, color scheme and visual style.
🔥 Hot Takes
- Running a faceless YouTube channel doesn’t mean you should stay anonymous. Jeff Delaney runs Fireship where he talks about apps and coding. He shows his face on social media.
- Faceless channels are less defensible than those showing “real” people talking, traveling, doing interviews and more. Becoming a VTuber will boost your defense.
- Virtual YouTubers are personal brands. While they are not real, people keep coming back for their unique looks. They are idols.
😠 Haters
“YouTube is saturated.”
You underestimate the scale of the internet. YouTube is big enough for you to carve out your niche. Experiment with different formats, copy what’s working and add your own touch to stand out.
“Faceless YouTube channels have limited brand recognition. They all look the same.”
While some of them are not associated with a real human, consistent branding can help you get noticed. Becoming a VTuber is another option if you want to put a face to your channel.
“Becoming a VTuber won’t stop copycats. They can copy virtual characters.”
That’s true. Copycats can copy your virtual avatar, scripts and assets. A better way to defend yourself is to move to the real world. It’s harder to copy your room than your graphics.
“The learning curve for animation skills can be steeper than learning how to act on camera.”
Those who act on camera often _still _use animations. We’re simply removing an ingredient.
“It can be hard to build personal connections with my audience if I’m running a faceless YouTube channel.”
No choice is without tradeoffs. While channels “with a face” tend to get more engagement. You can sacrifice bonding with your audience for lower key-person risk and production costs.
“You said that YouTube Shorts are easier to create. It’s harder to tell stories and create compelling content in shorter formats.”
Podcast hosts share clips of longer interviews to pique interest. You can take Shorts from longer videos to grow your channel.
🔗 Links
- 116 Best Faceless YouTube Niches • Profitable niches for faceless YouTube channels.
- Complete YouTube Automation Guide • Beginner’s guide on running faceless YouTube channels.
- The Ultimate Guide to YouTube Monetization • Monetization and growth strategies.
📁 Related Reports
- Personal Brands • VTubers are personal brands with distinct personalities and reputations.
- The Creator Economy • Faceless YouTube Channels operate in an ecosystem of creators, consumers and advertisers.
- Audience-First Products • Faceless YouTube Channels make money directly from their audience.
- Virtual Influencers • Faceless VTubers have unlimited time and speak many languages.
- ChatGPT • It boosts the productivity of businesses and individuals.
🙏 Thanks
Thanks to Maisha Cannon, Swapnil Puranik, Mehmet Gonullu, Guillaume Tessier, Uwe Dreissigacker, Darren Travel, Nicolo’ Borghi, Arvid Kahl, Marc Fletcher, Stewart Townsend, Keller and Matthew LaCrosse. We had a great time jamming on this report.
✏️ Emin researched and wrote this report. Dru researched and edited this report.
📈 What else?
Trends PRO #0117 — Faceless YouTube Channels has more insights.
What you’ll get:
- 17 Faceless YouTube Channel Examples (184% More)
- 17 Faceless YouTube Niches (184% More)
- 17 Video Creation Tools (240% More)
- 7 Predictions (250% More)
- 11 Opportunities (267% More)
- 4 Risks (100% More)
- 6 Key Lessons (100% More)
- 6 Hot Takes (100% More)
- 10 Links (234% More)
With Trends Pro you’ll learn:
- (📈 Pro) Who are VTubers?
- (📈 Pro) How to quickly grow new faceless YouTube channels?
- (📈 Pro) How to boost views and engagement?
- (📈 Pro) How to put content creation on autopilot?
- (📈 Pro) How to scale sales without spending more time?
- (📈 Pro) What to offer in a paid subscription?
- (📈 Pro) How to diversify your income?
- (📈 Pro) How to monetize traffic?
- (📈 Pro) How to bond with your viewers?
- (📈 Pro) How to boost your odds of success?
- (📈 Pro) What deters people from consuming faceless content?
- (📈 Pro) How to save time with voice cloning?
- (📈 Pro) What are 17 ways to grow your faceless YouTube channel?
- (📈 Pro) How to build a consistent brand?
- (📈 Pro) How to hack the YouTube algorithm?
- (📈 Pro) How to make compelling thumbnails?
- (📈 Pro) How to optimize your YouTube channel?
- And much more…
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