Illustration by Garrett Golightly
What's the Meaning of Vlogmas?
Deck the Trending page with holiday lights and tinsel—it’s vlogmas time. Vlogmas—a portmanteau for when creators upload consecutive videos during Christmas time—is kind of like a video advent calendar.
But the stakes are much higher than a piece of chocolate every day. For many creators, participating in vlogmas could mean significant revenue and major community-building opportunities—at least when it’s done right.
Let’s explore the reason for the season, at least as far as this industry is concerned: vlogmas.
Backstory: The term “vlogmas” was coined in 2011 by Ingrid Nilsen when she posted a video with a title of the same name (fans still return to watch the video every year). Her holiday vlogs snowballed into a movement that’s seen everyone from old school creators like AlishaMarie to newer creators like Charli D’Amelio participate to celebrate the season, shake up their usual production routine, and connect with fans.
Deep as its roots might go (2011 was a long time ago in creator years), vlogmas is more than just a sentimental internet tradition. It’s a full-fledged cottage industry.
Vlogmas: the business
Google (YouTube’s parent company) suggests creators participate in vlogmas because it aligns with the time of year when AdSense revenue peaks.
Colin and Samir’s analytics align with those suggestions. In the summer of this year, their CPM was around $11. This month? Upwards of $20.
Lifestyle creator Cathrin Manning has also said December is her biggest revenue month thanks to vlogmas.
Why? More people are spending—both money on gifts and time online—during the holidays. As such, many advertisers fork over bigger budgets to position their products in the right place during the holiday shopping season. There are also tax benefits—money advertisers don’t spend on their marketing budgets will count as profit and will be taxed for the year.
More ads + an incentive to empty the piggy bank = bigger AdSense opportunities, which drive up CPMs. The competition increases, so price does the same. (FYI, ad quality and audience size also factor into the equation.)
What if your channel isn’t monetized yet? Vlogmas has benefits far beyond AdSense earnings:
Improve production skills: Alex Roque, YouTuber and member of Colin and Samir’s subreddit, shared that even though his subscriber count is under 500, vlogmas helps him get more reps. “My goal is to discipline myself by having deadlines everyday, get better at filming, faster at editing, and become a better storyteller,” he said.
Experiment with content: Creator and fellow subreddit member Jason Tebbs is trying something new. “I call it vlogmas, but a better description would be 25 videos in 25 days because the videos I'm making are all over the place. I haven't posted enough on YouTube to have a specific video style, so I'm just playing with ideas,” he shared.
Engage fans: Sharla in Japan has participated in vlogmas since 2015 for a big reason—her fans. “I would vlog all day until the evening and then stay up until midnight editing and posting, and then repeat the next day. It was a lot of work but I really enjoyed chatting with my viewers daily in the comments,” Sharla told us.
Our Take
Vlogmas harkens back to a time on YouTube before creators like MrBeast and Mythical used it to jumpstart million-dollar businesses. The vlogs are relatable, personal, and low-budget—which makes them an endearing gift to fans.
The seasonality allows creators to both experiment more and to build an event around their content. And fans? They keep coming back for seconds, every single year.
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🤝 Creator Support
Publish Press readers share a problem they're facing and creators Colin & Samir respond with their advice.
Q: My son tells me he wants to be a creator—how can I best support him?
A: We think about this a lot when it comes to education and curriculum for our upcoming courses. One of the identity groups we’re keying into is parents who have kids who want to become creators. Multiple surveys have found that being a YouTuber ranks as the top dream job among teens and kids.
It can be frustrating or confusing if you’re unfamiliar with the space and trying to figure out: Is being a YouTube creator a viable line of work? How do I approach this?
Start by educating yourself. Check out our catalog of creator interviews and our podcast to get familiar with the space. Nick Nimmin and Jon Youshaei also do a great job at detailing the inner workings of the creator economy.
Next is helping your child find a subject matter or community—whether that’s cooking, hiking, or engineering. Help them answer the question, “What’s the thing that I want to spend my time thinking and talking about?” and a follow up question: “Is there something new I want to say or add to that topic?”
It’s going to be hard to gauge if your kid is attracted to YouTube because of the fame or because they want to express themselves creatively. If they just want to get 100 million views but have nothing they want to talk about, take time with them to explore growing a passion for a subject matter or hobby.
If your child doesn’t know what subject they want to explore, start with the smallest possible audience—niche is a major advantage, as far as we’re concerned.
Suggest your child make a video just for your family. That makes it easier to come up with an idea and empathize with how all of you would react to it. It also allows them to start putting in reps of making videos without the pressure of view counts and comments.
No matter what, just supporting them in their effort goes a long way.
Facing a creator problem you want help with? Share it here→
🔥 Press Worthy
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