Thinking of starting your own YouTube channel? Who can blame you, YouTube is the second most popular search engine on the internet, with over a billion users and over 500 hours of video posted every minute. A successful YouTube channel is priceless when it comes to marketing.
Here at Viddyoze we understand that we live in an audiovisual world and that YouTube is a huge deal. We also understand how important it is to create quality content quickly and easily so that you don’t get left behind. But before you get started, you need to begin by following some simple steps.
This guide will walk you through the steps of creating a successful YouTube channel so you can start uploading your content and getting views.
Why should I start a YouTube Channel?
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iMMeXEd9kpM
Good question! In short, there’s no definitive answer but It might help to know that it serves many purposes. Here are a few.
Express Yourself Creatively
YouTube is the perfect platform when it comes to personal creativity, allowing you to experiment with different visual and audio styles and a range of different formats. Got a video idea? Test it on your audience until you find the perfect balance for your new channel.
Creativity is key when it comes to making YouTube videos. Record videos and have fun experimenting with different video ideas. Whether you want to produce daily vlogs, trip videos, animations, short movies, or something else. Don’t worry though, we’ll get into different content formats later in the article.
Share Your Expertise
People often head to YouTube to learn something new. Creating how-to videos, courses and tutorials can be a great way to make money doing what you know and love.
Expose Your Brand
As we mentioned earlier, YouTube reaches almost every corner of the world. As such, it’s a great tool for sharing your branded content with your intended target audience.
Make Money
Even though the number of creators is growing by the day, there are a few different ways to make money on YouTube. Here are a couple:
- Sell Products: Use your video channel as an online store to sell your products to your biggest fans
- Affiliate Marketing: Working with other brands and creating sponsored content is a great way to make money on YouTube. Just make sure you’re recommending products that your audience is interested in
- YouTube Ads: Once your channel reaches certain milestones, you’ll be able to join the YouTube Partner Programme and begin making money from ads
Is it worth starting a YouTube channel now?
Yes is the honest answer. YouTube is the world’s largest audience generation tool, with over 1.86 billion users. There are some impressive stats that show just how incredible YouTube is performing right now. For example, 74% of adults in the U.S. use YouTube, which is almost twice as much as Instagram.
Is it too late to start a YouTube channel at 25?
Age doesn’t matter at all when it comes to creating a YouTube account. As long as you’re providing content that people want to see, and presenting it in an interesting and engaging way, you’re on the right track.
Just check out YouTube channels such as ThePianoGuys and GamerGrandma who have proven that age is most definitely just a number enjoying being successful YouTubers at ages 51 and 90.
How To Create A YouTube Channel Step-By-Step
Create A Google Account (If You Don’t Already Have One)
YouTube is Google-owned, which means that before creating your YouTube account, you’ll need to create and sign in to a Google Account.
Create Your New YouTube Channel
Head over to YouTube and select Create A Channel. Choose between a personal channel (one that only you can manage) and a business channel (one that can have more than one manager or owner).
Customize Your Channel: 6 Essential Steps
Viewers need to know who you are and what you do as soon as they land on your channel. There are a couple of best practices when it comes to customizing your channel and standing out from all the other channels on the platform. Here are a few of our pro-tips:
1. Change Your Channel Icon
A channel icon is akin to a profile picture. If you already have a brand logo then it makes sense to use it for your channel icon. Otherwise, consider using an icon that relates to your industry – e.g. a chef or table setting would work for a cooking channel.
2. Upload Your Banner
You’ll be welcomed with a large banner when you visit a channel. It’s the first thing viewers see, so it makes perfect sense to add a CTA or promotion. Again, check out ThePianoGuys channel to see a promotional banner in action.
3. Upload Your Watermark
A solid watermark can boost conversions. Some channels use their logo, while others use a CTA such as ‘subscribe’. Many viewers don’t know that they can click on a watermark, so make sure you allocate time for it in the YouTube video, point towards it, and ask the viewer to take action.
4. Write Your Channel Description
Your channel description should be a summary of the type of content you post on your channel. It shows up on your channel page as well as in the YouTube search bar results.
It’s your hook so keep it clear and concise and use any keywords that relate to your industry. It’s also a great spot to add links to your website and any other social media accounts that you have.
5. Choose Your Channel URL
Once you hit a couple of small milestones, you’ll be able to create a custom URL for your channel. A channel name or brand name is much easier for a viewer to remember rather than a jumble of mixed numbers and letters – it will look much better on your social media platform too. Be sure to choose a channel name that is relevant to the content you will be sharing.
6. Add Your CTA Links
What do you want to achieve with your YouTube channel? Is it newsletter signups, product enquiries, donations? Your goal should dictate which link to use in your content.
Customize Channel Layout
Choose the best videos and playlists that perfectly represent your channel. Want to draw attention to a new video? Have your most recent uploads at the top of your channel so your viewers can see your latest content.
Add A Channel Trailer
Channel trailers automatically play when a viewer lands on your channel. It’s usually a brief video that introduces yourself, your content, and why viewers should subscribe. Imagine it as a movie trailer.
What Equipment Do You Need For A Successful YouTube Channel?
A High-Def Camera
You’ll never run a successful YouTube channel if you’re distributing poor-quality content. Luckily, good video quality is right at your fingertips. Thanks to technological advances, a smartphone can be as good as a dedicated camera like a DSLR. If you have the opportunity to buy a state-of-the-art camera, then be sure to check out our guide on picking your first camera.
We’d also recommend using multiple cameras when filming, if possible, so that you can cut to different angles when editing the final cut.
Microphone
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PZzz88cMuN8
Similar to the point above, bad audio is a no-no. It can be argued that audio is more important than visuals – a viewer is more likely to forgive a blurry shot, but will most probably hightail it out of there if they’re made to endure bad audio.
No need to spend hours researching the best microphone, check out our YouTube video where we test the best budget smartphone-friendly microphones.
Lighting
There’s a reason lights come first in the classic Hollywood phrase LIGHTS. CAMERA. ACTION. Perfecting lighting in your videos will keep your content looking professional – and you don’t need fancy equipment either. Ring lights are the perfect, low-cost option and are great for illuminating your set and eliminating any shadows.
Editing software
Once you’ve started creating your video content, you’re going to need an editor. With so many choices, finding the perfect editing software can be overwhelming. It’s best to start by deciding how much you want to pay. Paying for a powerful editor will offer more editing options, but we recommend trying a free option if you’re a beginner. New to video editing?
Check out our top 5 video editing tips for beginners.
How To Create An Intro, Outro, and Transition Videos For Your Channel
Crush the competition and create videos with unmissable intros, outros and transitions that set the tone for your successful YouTube channel and content.
Intros
The perfect intro can instantly catch your viewers’ attention. In fact, the importance of a striking intro or logo stinger cannot be overstated. Imagine watching a TV programme with no intro – the audience needs to know what they’re about to watch.
Viddyoze allows you to make studio-quality intros and logo stingers in a matter of seconds. We offer a huge range of intro, title and logo templates that are perfect for welcoming viewers to your video.
Thanks to the simplicity of our platform, you can create your intro in just a few clicks – saving you time and money as now you don’t need to hire that editor or spend money on expensive editing tools.
Click here for more info on transforming your YouTube content with Viddyoze.
Transitions
Transitions are used to move seamlessly between clips in your video content, but there are certain tricks to remember when it comes to picking and placing them. Nobody enjoys disjointed and jarring cuts in videos.
Using a simple, smart transition can ensure you create videos that flow smoothly from beginning to end. Here at Viddyoze, we have all of your transition needs covered with a selection of over 80 options, dedicated training on how to use them within your editor and a quick-read blog post covering when and why you should use transitions.
Outros
The frosting on the cake is to end with a good closing statement that looks cool. Not only does an outro add a professional feel to your content, but it also helps maximise sales, shares and sign-ups. Outro creation is really simple with the templates provided by Viddyoze.
How To Monetize Your Videos
So you want to begin making money from your channel? Joining the YouTube Partner Program is the first step toward monetizing your YouTube videos.
Before we get into it, there are four milestones you need to reach before you can be considered for the program:
- Have at least 1000 subscribers on your channel
- Have generated at least 4000 watch time hours over the last year
- Comply with all policies and guidelines set out by YouTube
- Have an AdSense account
Advertisers on YouTube don’t want to be connected with low-quality material, therefore the platform is keen to guarantee that YouTube Partner Program members are producing distinctive, useful videos. Keep this in mind when uploading your content to YouTube and be sure to check out their guidelines and make sure you comply with their policies.
The AdSense account is required so that the ads shown on your channel can be tracked and you can ensure you are paid correctly.
Remember, just because you’ve met the requirements and making money on YouTube is possible, it doesn’t mean you’ll instantly see the money rolling in. There are a few important points to focus on:
- Would You Buy It: Only sponsor products that you would buy. It will seem disingenuous if you begin promoting products/services that you aren’t interested in or don’t relate to your channel
- Consistency: It’s simple. The more videos containing ads you post, the more likely you are to reap the rewards. Just make sure you don’t spam your audience with constant ads
- Don’t Compromise: Video quality is key. Don’t allow the quality of your content to slip just so that you can add as many ads as possible
- Understand Your Audience: Your audience visits your channel for a reason. Make sure the ads you share are relevant to the theme of your content
- SEO: You want your ads to reach an audience, so make sure you’re doing what you can to make that happen by using relevant keywords
How to turn on ads:
- Go to your YouTube Studio
- Click “Content” in the left sidebar
- Select a video or multiple videos
- Click Monetization in the left sidebar
- Select the type of ads you want to run
- Save
Ad revenue might seem like the most obvious way to make money through your YouTube content, but it’s not the only way.
Make Sponsored Content
This requires reaching out to brands and companies and creating content that features or promotes their products/services. These brands are more than willing to pay money to YouTube creators that can expose their products to large, engaged viewers.
This is a great opportunity to pursue if you’re making videos that are gathering a lot of attention. An easy way to reach out is to use YouTube BrandConnect, which matches you with potential sponsors using an algorithm.
Tips To Improve Your Channel & Content
Focus On Boosting Your Retention Rate
You only have to watch a few videos on the platform to realise that YouTube’s goal is to sell ads. By keeping people on the platform for longer, they’ll be able to show more ads.
Therefore, your content is more likely to be prioritised in search results if you have great retention. Poor retention will lead to YouTube deprioritising your content.
There are a few tips for boosting your retention rate:
- Use multiple angles and set-ups to make the video more entertaining
- Make sure the summary and video description match the content
- Keep your first few videos shorter until you find the perfect length for your channel
- Focus on quality over quantity – although this doesn’t mean you should post videos less frequently. Just don’t spam
- Use accurate titles and descriptions across all your videos
- Stay focused on the subject of your video
Try And Capture The Viewer In The First 5 Secs
The most common hook used is problem and solution. Present the problem to your audience and show them how you are the solution.
For example, the Viddyoze channel audience may not have time to spend creating video content, we show viewers how this can be done quickly and for a fraction of the price of expensive software. The problem is not having time or expertise to create content, the solution is Viddyoze.
Here are a couple of other tips for grabbing attention in the first few seconds of your video:
- Surprise: Announce the launch of a new product or service that your business or channel will be offering.
- Story: People can be nosey and a good story will have them hooked. Check out how we’ve done it.
Don’t Worry Too Much About Video Length
You’re probably wondering whether longer videos or shorter videos get more love from a YouTube audience. Ultimately, if your content is good then people are going to stick around to watch it. Cristos Goodrow, Vice President of Engineering at YouTube says “The best thing to do as a creator – don’t overthink your videos, the run time should match the content”.
While we advise not spending too much time worrying about the perfect video length, there are a couple of ways to see a clear analysis of the ideal video length for your own channel:
- Check out the length of your top-performing videos
- Find out what time your viewers drop off from your video
Create Great Channel Art
A great thumbnail can make a huge difference when it comes to a potential viewer clicking through to watch your video. The thumbnail is the first glimpse of your content that viewers will see while browsing through search results. You need a thumbnail that grabs your audience and shows them exactly what your video is about.
Here are a few of our top tips when it comes to channel customization and creating great YouTube channel art that can result in an even greater click-through rate:
- Be Honest: Clickbait titles will only mislead your audience and ultimately damage your channel’s reputation
- Size: According to YouTube’s guidelines, your thumbnail should be 1280 x 70 pixels
- Pick An Image: Make sure the image you use is high quality. It’s all about first impressions and poor image quality in your thumbnail doesn’t send high hopes for your video content
- Title Text: An image isn’t always enough to communicate what your content is about. Add context using a text such as a snappier version of the video title
- Branding: Maintain consistent font and color use so your audience knows exactly who uploaded the content just by looking at the thumbnail
There are plenty of great, free tools out there such as Canva that you can use to create your thumbnails.
End With A CTA
A call to action (CTA) is the action you ask your viewer to take after they’ve watched your video. Whether you’re asking your audience to subscribe to your YouTube channel, head to your website, or watch the next video in the playlist, we strongly recommend adding one to your content. Using a consistent CTA can help you reach your monetization targets and boost subscribers.
For more information on building an automated YouTube sales funnel, check out this post.
Use Playlists
Create playlists to organize your content by video topics or themes. When a viewer selects a video in your playlist, the other videos automatically play.
There are a few reasons why playlists are important:
- Increase View Times: Viewers are more likely to watch the other videos in the playlist because they automatically play
- Organizing Content: Your viewers will be able to easily find the content they’re looking for without needing to scroll endlessly through your YouTube channel
- Video SEO: Entire playlists can rank for keywords that are searched by platform users
It’s also important to know how to use playlists to properly organize your YouTube videos:
- Don’t Overwhelm Your Viewers: Avoid adding too much content to your playlists. It’s unlikely your audience will sit through a 50 video long playlist
- Select Your Best Thumbnail: Draw your audience in by placing the most interesting video and thumbnail at the top of the playlist
- New Here?: Create a ‘new here’ playlist that will introduce your audience to your channel and brand
Experiment With Content Formats For Your YouTube Videos
YouTube has completely transformed how we’re consuming and creating videos. There’s no such thing as ‘regular’ videos. From unboxing videos and interviews to reviews and vlogs. When it comes to making YouTube great videos or a live stream, you have the freedom to mix up your content format and find the perfect fit for your channel.
Some important questions to ask yourself when figuring out your content format are:
- Is this format unique and does it help my message stand out from the rest?
- Is this format valuable/beneficial to my viewers? i.e. why would my viewers want to watch this video?
- Does this format suit my channel’s audience?
Monitor Analytics To Check Your Content Is Performing
YouTube Analytics aren’t just perfect for working out the perfect video length, they’re also useful when it comes to diagnosing problems and eradicating underperforming content.
Want a successful YouTube channel? Here are some video metrics we recommend you keep an eye on:
- Subscribers: Great to see whether there are any significant spikes or dips.
- Top Videos: Amend the timeframe and identify the all-time best performing videos on your channel.
- Channel Watch Time And Views: Choose a 28-day timeframe and figure out the average for your channel.
- Impressions Click-Through Rate: Impressions are one thing, it’s also important to find out how many people click on your thumbnail once after it’s shown to them.
- Traffic Sources: Great way to find out where people are finding your videos. Invaluable information when it comes to marketing tactics.
All of these metrics, and more, can help when it comes to refining your content strategy and growing into a successful YouTube channel.
Summary
So in summary, there are several reasons as to why you should start a YouTube channel in 2023. Not only is it a great creative outlet, but it also offers huge opportunities to create extra income and share your brand with a wider, relevant audience.
Push yourself out of your comfort zone, stick to uploading videos regularly, engage with your community and you’ll be off to a flying start.
To boost your chances of creating a successful YouTube channel, you need a channel that stands out visually. That’s where your Viddyoze account comes in very useful. In just a few clicks, you can create branded intros, outros, CTAs, transitions, lower thirds, titles and much more. You name it, Viddyoze offers it.
As if these channel boosting templates weren’t enough, our simple platform also provides free training videos that show exactly how to use these templates in videos.
Create your YouTube channel today and use Viddyoze to begin adding unique animated content that will set you apart from the rest.
