Honestly, don’t pin yourself to one platform.

There are reasons many creators are on several platforms at one and use a platform to manage all the interactions.

Depends what you 're making.

Instagram, tiktok and youtub. Generally speaking.

Tiktok and youtube shorts = free adverts made by you

Instagram = digital store window. But also have a website for people to purchase through (though you can sell purely through Facebook marketplace or ebay if its convenient.)

Having those 3 and your own website is precisely as professional as your online commerce ever has to be.

It’s a highly competitive market and will take years before you make money (if at all). Having money to put into it (production, equipment, time, possibly pay to get on top of algorithms) can help but it can also just as easily be thrown away.

As long as it’s a hobby and you enjoy it, I’d say money is never wasted. If you only see it as a job and source of future income, you probably have better odds at gambling (don’t gamble!) and definitely better odds at the investment market (only go for index funds to start with!).

Do you have another source of income while you build your audience and finance this hobby?

Can you do your own editing?

Can you stream for zero people and still make it fun and funny with zero audience to bounce off? It’s necessary to capture the attention of anyone who might pop into the stream randomly, and for a possible collection of clips to post later or to other platforms. And/or do you have friends to stream with that are okay with their voices being published on your channel?

Can you deal with haters, if they make shit up to make fun of you for or if they make fun of you for actual insecurities? Can you deal with threats? Can you deal with being ignored, or compared to others? You need a solid foundation of emotional maturity to be able to handle the shit people throw at you as a public figure.

Do you have something that sticks out and makes you noticeable (a special voice, good at a game no one else streams, good at explaining and can to tutorials, know other streamers to collaborate with, perform sketches mid-streams)?

My guess for platforms to get started is “as many platforms as are relevant and that you can actually keep up with”. Perhaps start by making shorter videos if you’re going for humour or news, or by full-length videos if going for streaming and clipping the streams to short form platforms once you have enough takeouts stacked up so you can post clips regularly. It’s no use starting on multiple platforms if you don’t have enough content or can focus on quality of posting on all of them.

Start small, build your skill, build the quality of your output and then branch out in time.

Avoid AI. Just as a personal note and personal preference: I never click thumbnails made with AI, and I block any channel using an AI voice over. You don’t have to show your face, but find some way to be a real person to the audience, not just another slop channel or sloppy clipshow of other peoples content (even it that seems like the fastest way to make money, it’s the only way to never get good at what you do or enjoy the hobby).

If your content involves other people, remember that everyone involved HAS to enjoy/be in on it at ALL times: don’t bully people or be mean, don’t do “pranks” unless they are fun for the person being pranked, don’t accost strangers and force them to be your content, don’t be obnoxious in public or involve service workers in any way. And don’t post other people without their permission of course.

First figure out what kind of content you want to make. Short form video? Long form video? Livestreaming? Artwork? The best platform to put it on will depend on what you’re making.

We’re on fedi so you know I’m gonna say PeerTube

If you want to make money, YouTube. But you need millions of viewers for that, I’m sure it’s a dead end nowadays. Video games are a hobby, what other things do you like?

Pornhub