On YouTube, content is king, says Sanvi Narula, a 13-year-old YouTuber

https://youtu.be/hZApW-Lh9mk

Sanvi Narula, a class 8 student of Apeejay School, Panchsheel Park, New Delhi, started her YouTube channel ‘Super Sanvi’ in 2013 and now the 13-year-old has amassed over 16.4K subscribers. In a candid interview, Sanvi talks about how she balances between YouTube and studies and shares important tips to budding YouTubers.

Tell us about yourself?
I have been studying in Apeejay since Nursery. I love making abstract paintings, acting, creating YouTube videos and taking part in various inter-school competitions. I have also been accorded the All-Rounder award twice by the school based on my performance in studies and extracurricular activities. Talking about my parents, my mother (Sonia Narula) is a homemaker and my father (Vikramjeet Narula) is a real estate agent.

Share with us your YouTube journey?
When I was in class 1, there was a Poetry Recitation Competition in school. On competition day, I was practicing reciting the poem and my mother filmed me and posted the video on YouTube. I was not even aware that she had created a YouTube channel under my name. From then on, she started filming me reciting poems in school competitions and began posting the videos on YouTube. Initially, for a couple of years, my mom used to sporadically post the videos. It was only from 2016 onwards that we started posting videos regularly. Though, at the outset our focus was only on poems, now we make videos on a wide range of topics such as ‘Cooking without fire recipes’, ‘Travel vlogs’, DIY projects, dance videos, etc. But, I get most views on poem recitation videos.

How did you become interested in poetry?
I would credit my paternal grandfather. He has an interest in poetry and till class 5, I used to recite poems written by him. It was only in class 6 that I started writing my own poems.

Who helps you edit and make videos?
Let me explain how the entire process works. My mother suggests interesting topics for videos and I do the rest. I want to make one thing clear that whatever I speak on videos is unscripted. My mother is in charge of shooting and editing videos. Of late, I have started editing the videos myself as my mother gets occupied looking after my five-year-old brother and attending to other household tasks. In fact, I have started learning video editing to give a more refined look to my videos.

How has YouTube impacted your life?
Due to YouTube, I have become famous in school. Sometimes, students interrupt me in corridors and other places and enquire, ‘Are you Super Sanvi’? Students of other schools also congratulate me on my YouTube videos. Taking a cue from me, a couple of my classmates have opened their own YouTube channels.

How do you strike a balance between YouTube and academics?
As I am moving to higher grades, the syllabus is increasing. That’s why, I had decided to shoot the videos on Saturdays and edit and post them on Sundays. During the final exams of class 7, I didn’t post a fresh video for two months. The idea is not to compromise on my studies.

What are your future plans?
Since my family is in real estate, including my grandfather, I want to be an architect and continue making YouTube videos side-by-side.

Your tips to budding YouTubers.
It’s a big task to gain subscribers on YouTube. One has to show patience. The content is king. So, the best way to increase your views and gain followers is to come up with interesting and engaging content; something that a lot of people can relate to. You also have to cover other areas such as posting videos consistently, investing in good recording equipment, communicating with viewers, learning from YouTube analytics and keeping up to date with trends.

“Teachers have always stood rock-solid behind me and encouraged me to take part in various competitions. I was shy at first but with the constant support and backing of my teachers I became a confident speaker. Every year, I set myself a goal and strive towards achieving it. For example, I got 94.7 per cent in class 7 and in class 8 I am determined to score more than 95 per cent.”

Sanvi Narula