Faceless YouTube channels... It’s something that’s been on my mind for a while. I’ve known about these channels for years but never really thought about creating my own. However, back in March 2023, I finally took the plunge and gave birth to TheMindExpander, my first YouTube channel.
I posted a few pretty crappy videos using Clipchamp, with scripts written by ChatGPT and voice-overs from various apps, then left it to gather dust for a while. But now, I’m back in action. Well, I can't really call it “business” yet since I’m far from being monetized.
I’m still trying to find my niche and my editing style, so the content I upload is watchable and, ideally, able to turn my channel into something profitable. I don’t want to just copy what everyone else is doing.
I want to carve out my own niche, and despite using AI for core processes, I still want to keep it as original as possible. Some might ask: Why the fuck aren’t you recording yourself and doing proper vlogging?
Well, pretty much for the same reason I haven’t done it on Hive either: I’m not good at that. I’m not a native English speaker, and I honestly don’t like being in front of the camera. The faceless YouTube channel niche is expanding fast, and I need to stay competitive.
That means I’ve got to bring punchy topics to the table and “trick AI” into sounding as human as possible. It’s crazy where we’ve come as a species. I mean, trying to make AI seem human wasn’t even on my radar four or five years ago.
What do I mean by that? Well, considering I’m using ChatGPT for scripting and Clipchamp’s AI for the voiceover, I really need to ensure it doesn’t sound robotic.
I’ve already posted about eight videos, and the last couple of them have gotten around 40 views each... I can’t say I’m fully satisfied with my work yet. There’s still a lot to do to make these videos monetizable and something I’m proud of.
The “AI summoning job” is easy as long as you’re precise with your requests for the script and voiceover, but the editing takes a lot of time. I don’t want to just upload videos made entirely by AI. I want them to have a personal touch, so I spend time researching free-to-use clips and images, then turn them into something worth watching.
It’s both intriguing and frightening to think about how we’ll interact with the online world in a decade or so. A few years ago, I was totally against AI, and I still believe that AI-generated content on Hive shouldn’t be encouraged.
Hive isn’t YouTube... But when it comes to YouTube, I’m willing to give AI a shot to help me monetize my channel, as long as I can make my videos look and sound as human as possible. We’ll see how it goes...
Thanks for your attention,
Adrian