YouTube Millionaires: Lifestyle Guru Brianna Renee Always Knew She’d Be A YouTuber

By 05/09/2019
YouTube Millionaires: Lifestyle Guru Brianna Renee Always Knew She’d Be A YouTuber

Welcome to YouTube Millionaires, where we profile channels that have recently crossed the one million subscriber mark. There are channels crossing this threshold every week, and each has a story to tell about YouTube success. Read previous installments of YouTube Millionaires here.


Even before Brianna Renee joined YouTube, she made content for YouTube. She never uploaded the skits, hauls, and tutorials she made as a teen emulating her favorite YouTubers. But looking back, those videos were practice for the content she’d one day produce — and that practice helped her find quick success once she did start her channel.

Renee joined YouTube June 2014, and in August 2014 uploaded her first majorly attention-grabbing video — a morning routine vlog that brought in 40,000 views within a week. That was a big deal for Renee, who’d only netted about 50 subscribers at the time. She took her cue from the successful morning routine video and kept producing DIY and life hack videos. Those were successful, too. Within a year, she had more than 100,000 subscribers.

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But something wasn’t right. Renee had put herself in a “box,” as she calls it. She liked making DIY and hack content, but that wasn’t all she wanted to make. The issue was, though, that her audience had come for hack and DIY content, and that was what they expected. Diverting to new content was a risk.

Renee did it anyway. She started offering more personal content, like the video where she goes through her old phone on camera, and this one where she gives a tour of her room, and this one where she introduces subscribers to her boyfriend.

Then Renee hit on her biggest content changeup yet: a series called Draw My Life. Combining YouTube’s storytime genre, where people (often theatrically) share tales from their lives, with her love of art, she started debuting fully-illustrated storytimes — and her subscribers dug them. Even more than that, people who weren’t her subscribers dug them, and became subscribers themselves.

Which brings us to now, when Renee’s 1.3 million subscribers officially make her a YouTube Millionaire.

Check out our chat with her below.

Tubefilter: How does it feel to hit one million subscribers? What do you have to say to your fans?

Renee: It feels unreal! Sometimes I forget how big the number one million truly is, but when I really think about it, it blows my mind! I’m so thankful for everyone who supports me and enjoys my content! I love my fans so much, and promise to always produce the best content I can for them!

Tubefilter: Tell us a little about you! Where are you from? What made you want to join YouTube?

Renee: I’m from a very small city in New Brunswick, Canada! I started falling in love with YouTube around 10 years ago. I would always watch girls in their bedrooms upload hair and makeup tutorials, and I wanted to be just like them when I grew up! Before I ever even uploaded my first YouTube video, I would film skits, hauls, and tutorials just for fun! I think I always knew one day I would be a YouTuber. I love it so much, and I know it is what I was made to do.

Tubefilter: You have quite a range of content! You produce Draw My Lifes, experiments and challenges, vlogs, and more. What draws you to making lots of different types of videos? How do you decide what to make next?

Renee: For a while, I had myself in a box. I pretty much only made DIY and life hack videos, because those were the only types of videos that performed well on my channel. However, I grew a bit tired of the repetitive content I was making and wanted to switch things up! I’m so happy I made that decision — trying new types of content keeps YouTube exciting for me! Plus, I’ve had a lot of success with my new series, like my Draw My Lifes!

As for how I come up with my video ideas, I’m pretty much always on the lookout for trends or inspiration. I love taking a trending video idea and putting my own unique spin on it! I currently have a list on my phone of about 20 video ideas I eventually want to make!

Tubefilter: What do you think makes your content stand out despite all the noise on YouTube?

Renee: I put a lot of effort into my videos! If I have a video idea I’m excited about, I will give it as much time, effort, and money as it needs to become a reality. I’m definitely a strong believer in quality for quantity. I put my all into every video I make!

Tubefilter: What’s your production process like? How long does the average video take you to make, from conception to posting?

Renee: This is a tricky one to answer. Since I do make such a wide variety of content, the process is almost always different! For example, Draw My Lifes usually take two weeks of full work days (including weekends), whereas something like my heatless hairstyles video only took about three to four days! Production process usually consists of me picking an idea I want to work on, writing out a full outline in the notes app on my phone, scheduling out how to divide the work over the coming days, and ordering any supplies I may need. Then my assistant will help me film and keep everything moving smoothly until I get to the editing process.

Tubefilter: Do you have a budget for your videos? How do you budget for your channel overall?

Renee: Honestly, if I have a video I really believe in, I don’t really budget myself! I love going all out and reinvesting the money I make back into my videos!

Tubefilter: What can viewers always expect when they tune in to a Brianna Renee video?

Renee: Fun, high-quality, and entertaining content! If I don’t think a video is all three of those things, I simply just won’t upload it.

Tubefilter: When did you start noticing your audience really picking up? Was there one specific video that attracted a lot of attention? How are you growing your audience?

Renee: I feel like I have had a pretty slow and steady growth! I’ve been doing Youtube for a little over four years now, and gained 100,000 subscribers in my first year! The only video I can really pinpoint as my first to get a lot of attention would be my first morning routine video! It got 40,000 views within a week, which was crazy for me at the time, since I only had around 50 subscribers. After that, it seemed to be my DIY content that got the most attention, and now it would definitely be my Draw My Lifes grabbing the most attention.

Tubefilter: What else do you get up to in your daily life?

Renee: Honestly, not much, hahaha, I’m a bit of a workaholic. On the rare occasions when I’m not behind a camera or a laptop, you can probably find me with my friends or boyfriend! Any free time I have, I love to spend out of the house with my favorite people!

Tubefilter: What’s your favorite part of making content specifically for YouTube?

Renee: Right now, YouTube is the best platform out there for creators to build an audience and get paid for making content they love! Instagram and Twitter are fun, but YouTube definitely owns my heart. My favorite thing in the world is sharing a video I’m really excited about and seeing my fans’ reactions. I’m very grateful to have this platform.

Tubefilter: What’s next for your channel? Any plans looking to the future?

Renee: Lots of fun and creative video ideas! I love the direction my channel is heading in! I want to keep making bigger and better high-quality content, but I want to work on producing it at a faster pace! Hiring an assistant has been a great help for me in that area!


You can add yourself to the ranks of Renee’s more-than-a-million YouTube subscribers at her channel YouTube.com/BriannaRenee.

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