Dulce Candy tells us how to become a YouTube mogul

Beauty vlogger Dulce Candy Tejeda Ruiz is riding high off of the release of her memoir-slash-self help book “The Sweet Life,” and she owes it all to her YouTube channel.

As an insecure teenager who was bullied and, for a time, sought solace in painkillers, Ruiz always found joy in experimenting with makeup and different styles. She enlisted in the U.S. Army soon after high school, and her interest in makeup, now blossoming into a full-blown passion, stayed with her even while stationed in Iraq. She launched her wildly popular “Dulce Candy” beauty channel in 2008 soon after returning, and life has been sweet ever since. Ruiz has been featured in magazines like StyleWatch and Glamour, was recently a guest on “The Today Show” and was named one of Latina Magazine’s “Latinas of the Year” in 2013.

Of course, she’s hit some bumps in the road; her first smoky eye tutorial got so many negative comments that she took it down. But after learning that subscribers responded positively to her genuine self, Ruiz always put the idea of “being yourself” at the forefront.

“When I realized that what I was saying was touching people’s lives, that’s when I discovered ‘This is who I am!’” she says. “I was relatable because of who I was.”

So how can a YouTube hopeful find success and live the sweet life like Ruiz? She spoke more with us about ways to gain attention on YouTube and become the next big thing.

Find out what you can offer

The most important thing you can start off with is finding out what you can offer to people that’s going to be of value, says Ruiz. What works for one YouTuber, whether it’s beauty, comedy, etc., may not work for you. “You have to ask yourself ‘What is it that I love doing?’ Figure out what you love doing and find a way to turn that into value for other people, because people have to benefit from whatever you’re creating.”

Always be consistent

“Once you discover that, you have to be really consistent with your work,” she advises. “You can’t upload one video and come back a month later to upload another one. There’s so many channels on YouTube that people are going to move on to the next thing.” With the constant threat of something better around the corner, it’s important to quickly grab an audience’s attention.

Stay true to yourself…

“I have to mention this twice: stay true to who you are, your voice and what you have to offer.” Ruiz explains that it’s easy to lose yourself in trying to be like other people. YouTube is a place to connect with relatable people, and it was only after she began acting like herself, that viewers took notice.

…But also be careful of what you post

“You have to be very careful with what image you’re portraying on your social media outlet,” she explains. What you post is a reflection of what you represent. She continues, “It’s fine to take shots in the middle of the night, but if you want to have a lasting effect, be more mindful of what you post. A company might not want to work with you because of that.”

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