YouTube Video Ideas for Beginners

Making videos for YouTube can be a fun pastime activity, an opportunity for learning, and a means of generating income. But before you get there, you have to roll up your sleeves and put out a couple of videos. This will get you in the habit of making videos, and the feedback you receive from viewers will help you improve your content.

If you’re eager to start making videos, but don’t yet have a specific idea in mind, you’ve come to the right place. Here are 15 YouTube video ideas for beginners to help you get your creative juices flowing.

1. Product Unboxing

The next time your Amazon shipment arrives, try to contain your excitement for a moment, and try making an unboxing video. The point of an unboxing video is to show viewers exactly what they’re getting when they purchase a product. Be sure to showcase the product from different angles, and give your honest opinion on what you’ve bought. When it comes to product unboxing videos, viewers value authenticity more than high production values.

2. Favorite Recipe

Everyone has at least one recipe they’re proud of. Whether it’s a simple pasta, a funky sandwich, or a cake loaded with chocolate, it deserves to be shared with the world. So roll up your sleeves, prepare your ingredients, and show why your grandma’s special casserole is the perfect dish for any occasion.

3. Street Food Showcase

If you really don’t want to show off you’re cooking skills, you can show some love to your favorite street food vendors by recording them in action. Wait for a warm, sunny weekend, go to the streets, and then visit your favorite ramen stand. Be sure to ask the chef for permission to record, but few restaurants will reject an opportunity for free marketing.

4. Something Oddly Satisfying

Did you ever lose track of time watching some mundane, yet oddly satisfying activity? Maybe someone is slicing onions in a particularly rhythmic way. Maybe it’s someone cleaning an old coin with great care using a toothbrush. Maybe someone is folding clothes into mathematically perfect squares in a single move. You get the idea – find some mundane activity that stimulates the neurons more than it reasonably should, and you have an excellent idea for a video.

5. Time-Lapse

Watching things as they change with the passage of time is always fascinating. But since most people don’t have the time to sit in one spot and watch what’s going on, time-lapse videos came into being. To record a time-lapse video, choose a process that has a clearly defined daily cycle, set your phone on a tripod, press record, then forget about it. Check the footage in the evening, and then speed it up until it is a minute long.

6. Go Down the Rabbit Hole

Remember that one time you were reading a Wikipedia article on frogs, and 5 hours later you’re exploring the religious beliefs of an obscure Indonesian tribe from 500 years ago? This is called going down the rabbit hole, and its a fascinating way to learn about the world. So why not record your journey and take others with you on the ride? Use screen capture to record footage as you browse, and then edit it with a free video tool like Binumi.com

7. Local News

There’s always something going in the world, and that includes your current place of residence. This also means that you have plenty of things to record for your YouTube video just by stepping outside of your home. But since it’s not particularly helpful to say “just record whatever”, here are a couple of suggestions. Go to a local food market, talking with sellers. Ask senior citizens to share local history. Look for a recent construction project and ask passers-by for an opinion.

8. Fan Speculation

If you’re a fan some media franchises like the Avengers, Star Wars, Hunger Games, etc., you probably have a lot of opinions on the subject matter. This is perfect, because geeking out about your hobbies is an excellent way to make a video. If you develop a fan theory that is both plausible and original, you can quickly rise to fame just by publishing videos on YouTube.

9. AMV

AMV stands for anime music video. It refers to the practice of combining anime footage with popular songs to create DIY music videos. No one know how the practice first started, no one knows why it works, but the fact is, AMVs are extremely popular on YouTube. If you’re an anime fan, making AMVs is an excellent entry point into video production.

10. Gameplay Footage

If video games are your jam, you’re already half-way towards becoming a YouTube content creator. All it takes to get there is to fire up OBS, launch your game of choice, and start recording footage as you play. That’s literally all there is to it. You can add audio commentary, record yourself with a web camera, or choose to complete specific challenges withing the game, but some of the most popular YouTube content creators have gained more views by doing even less.

11. Home Movie

If you love watching movies, you’re probably wondering what it’s like to make one yourself. While making a YouTube video won’t make you a famous director, it is a good way to dip your toes in the waters of film-making. You can start out small and record a home video. For example, you can talk with your housemates, explore the nooks and crannies of your home, examine old photos, and then edit everything together to make a slice of life video.

12. Top 10 List

A top 10 list is probably the simplest, easiest type of video content you can make. You can pick any subject matter, from cars, to clothes, to animals, and songs. You can easily find footage online for each of your picks, so all you really have to do is edit them together and add some narration on top. That literally all there is to it.

13. Weird Experiments With Household Items

Weird experiment videos exist to satisfy our curiosity about important matters such as: What happens when you drop a Mentos into a Coke bottle? Can you blend a broomstick in a blender? Can  you cook a lasagna in the dishwasher? These videos are hilarious to watch, whether you succeed in the endeavor, or fail spectacularly.

14. Funny Animals Compilation

We’re almost at the end, and we’ve yet to mention one of Internet’s national treasures: funny animal compilations. Animals are just funny, and seeing them act in silly ways is a sure way to glue people to the screen for hours on end. If you want to be original, pick an obscure animal such as a pangolin  a sea pig, or a axolotl.

15. Meme Videos

Meme videos are the lifesblood of the internet. They don’t require production values – in fact they’re better off without them. They can be about anything – from pandas, to a weird nose hair on someone’s face in an obscure movie from the 50s. They literally take minutes to produce. And if you played your cards right, your malformed meme video will go viral over night, giving you your 15 minutes of fame.

Conclusion

There you have it, 15 YouTube ideas to inspire you to make some video content. If there is one piece of advice we can give, it’s not to take things too seriously. Your first few videos will probably suck, so it’s important to get them out of the way as early as you can. You will learn a lot from the experience, and it will make your future videos better down the line.