EXCLUSIVE: The World (Wide Web) According To Michelle Phan

Whether you’re a YouTube newbie, vlogging pro or just love all things fashion & beauty, Michelle Phan is an industry need-to-know. She’s one of the ‘online originals’, has amassed a fervently loyal fan base (7,654,623 YT subs and counting) and has just launched ICON UK – a new YouTube destination dedicated to empowering women and encouraging creative thinking through inspirational premium content, conversation and community.  We caught up with Michelle to chat ICON UK, online success and dealing with the haters...

The concept of icon UK really started with my love for wanting to share advice…

When I started 7 years ago there really wasn’t any infrastructure and no support group for someone like myself because it was so new at it’s time, but throughout the past several years I’ve learnt so much along the way. I learnt about working with brands, developing my own brand working with people and collaborating, and I wanted to create a network for content creators, where they can collaborate and they have an infrastructure, and the resources and tools to help them develop their branding, their content and beyond.

When I started my YT channel I didn’t make money for two years

I was a college student, and I should have been spending my money on books and food but I was spending it on make up supplies… I needed make up to use in my videos!

I am a huge believer in working with local talent and creators

They know how to communicate to their community best, so I’ve been watching a lot of UK YouTubers, it’s crazy to see the different styles and how the humour is different but there’s something really similar. That’s how we were able to find these creators but we’re also going to look for new creators and help them develop their channel especially for those who aren’t on YouTube and want to get on that platform.

If you’re new to this, my advice would be to start small

Try Twitter, try Instagram or try Vine first and then move on to YouTube. Start by creating 15 or 7 second videos online, really experiment first before jumping into the world of YouTube because it requires a lot of work, you have to update continuously, you have to always just be on and if you’re creating these long formatted videos it’s tough to maintain them on a weekly basis. 

It is a 24 hour job because the internet is open 24 hours…

You have to love it. If you don’t love it then it’s going to feel like work and you’re going to burn out really fast, so you have to understand that this isn’t just a job, you know it’s a journey and if money’s the by product then great.

Trolling and online hate comes with the territory once you become a more popular public figure…

You have to look at it as part of a wider scale, it’s called the world wide web for a reason, you have people from all over the world, who might not agree with what you think. Of course there’s going to be naysayers who want to say something but a lot of them it for the attention because that’s how they get their validation.

I don’t pay attention to the negativity…

If you have 10 positive comments and one mean one, of course the negative one stands out but I’d rather empower, spreading positive messages instead. Just ignore the hate, block them and delete if they become a little to hostile but in general there’s no point getting upset about it, just focus on the positivity that’s what I tell my fellow creators who have trouble with online hate.

There’s no better partner than the Endemol Shine Group

They are the largest independent company in the world and if there’s anything that I believe in, then it’s just quality production because if you have quality production, you have a premium product and that really goes a long way.

Subscribe to ICON UK here

Check back next week for the final installment of this exclusive Michelle Phan interview where she reveals her biggest social media NO NO!