- In this video, I'm going to show you how
to create a brand new YouTube channel
if you are a complete beginner.
From creating an account to all
of the key channel settings to get right
so that don't hold you back, turning you into a YouTube pro,
before you even press record.
This step-by-step guide covers all
of the latest updates in 2024
and will tell you the most important things to focus on
as you start your YouTube adventure.
And here is the biggest, most important tip of them all.
Stop thinking about it. Stop putting it off.
Let's start right now.
We'll work on the assumption
that you haven't got a YouTube account
or that you want to create a new one.
Go to youtube.com
and then at the top right hand corner of the screen,
click on the sign in button.
Because YouTube is a Google product,
you will need to create a Google account.
In this example, we're going to create an account for work
or business and we'll explain why very soon.
Hi, I'm Rob, by the way. Welcome to VidIQ.
I'll be your guide throughout this video.
Forgive these some more eccentric glasses.
You'll get used to them.
I just want to let you know
that this video is a safe space.
If you are brand new to YouTube,
there are no stupid questions,
so pop them in the comments below
and we'll do our best to answer them all,
and you'll also find tons of links to resources
that are going to help you set up your YouTube channel in
the video description, so make sure to check them out.
The next couple of screens will be bog standard
form filling stuff.
You can either choose an existing email account
or create a Gmail account, which is another Google product.
Again, in this example,
we are setting up a brand new email account
because we want to treat our YouTube channel as a business
separate from our personal accounts.
There's another important reason coming
up why you should do this.
As for your account password, yeah,
that's something I can't directly help you with.
Just make it a little more secure than this.
You may also be asked
to verify your account with a phone number.
This might seem annoying right now,
but it will help secure your account
and it is essential for your YouTube channel
as you'll discover later on.
Now you have a YouTube account,
you can now create a YouTube channel,
and this is where the creativity,
customization, and fun starts.
First up is your channel name.
This can be anything you want.
Next is your channel handle, which can be anything you want
as long as it's uniquely available on YouTube.
No two handles can be the same,
and this isn't a permanent commitment to Eva.
Both can be changed in the future, if you need to.
You will need to upload a profile picture next,
which will be a round shape on YouTube,
so find something appropriate, silly, or just cool.
So channel name and channel handle.
What's the difference?
Well, your channel name is just
that it appears on the front page of your channel homepage
and also under thumbnails
for your videos dotted around YouTube.
Your channel handle is like your social media name
on YouTube.
It can also be used to find a channel, for example,
youtube.com/@vidIQ,
and your YouTube handle is displayed, not your channel name
when you post a comment on a video.
Think of it like this,
there can be many channels called Mr. Beast,
but there can only be one at Mr. Beast on YouTube.
As for deciding on a YouTube channel name,
my advice is to keep it simple,
make it memorable and easy to spell.
It also needs to be unique so you don't blend in with all
of the other creators
who thought this was a good channel name.
We've all of that been said, you should now have the bare
bones essential of your YouTube channel,
which looks like this.
Yes, not much to look at right now, but you do have a new
and important update on your profile picture,
which is the YouTube studio link.
So let's head on over there.
While there is a lot to take in here,
only one thing matters right now.
The second most important thing you're going to do today
after creating your YouTube channel.
So go to settings,
then channel, then feature eligibility.
You must verify your YouTube channel
to unlock mission critical features,
those being able to upload videos longer than 15 minutes
and adding custom thumbnails to your videos.
And just like last time,
you'll need a phone number to do it.
Verifying your YouTube channel is also the first step
to unlocking advanced features,
which will allow you to upload more content to the channel
and monetize it in the future.
But let's worry about all of that tomorrow.
All right, next up we need to take a look at all
of the essential channel features that if you get right now,
you can pretty much set and forget.
So go back into the settings
and this time you want to go to upload defaults
and then check out visibility.
This setting automatically determines what happens
to a video when it's finished uploaded to YouTube,
and it should never, I repeat, never be set to public.
You will always want to prepare a video
before making it public.
Writing a title, a description, uploading thumbnails,
and all of that takes time.
So set this to either unlisted or ideally private.
That means only you can see the video on YouTube
until you make it public.
And while you're on this screen, you may want to go
to the advanced tab and check out comment moderation.
If you hate negativity
or your content is likely to attract unwanted trolls.
Set this too strict.
This next one is important.
If you make content of it's aimed towards children,
you'll find it under the advanced settings
of each channel section.
You must declare if the content is made for kids.
As YouTube got in a lot
of trouble over this a few years back.
The result of this massive fine is
that YouTube is now very cautious when it comes
to content made for kids.
If you incorrectly state whether
or not your content is made for kids,
you could get in a lot of trouble
and your channels could be terminated.
Now, whether or not you make content for kids,
if you don't answer this question here,
you'll have to answer it every time you upload a video.
So it's best to set a default answer here
after you've read all of the help articles on this topic.
One last thing to mention in the settings for now,
and that's permissions.
This allows you to invite people to help support, maintain,
and manage your YouTube channel.
You can assign people different roles on the channel,
and the key to these permissions is
that they only have access to your YouTube channel,
not your entire Google account.
Let's work on this positive assumption, shall we?
Your YouTube channel is going to be a success.
In the future,
you'll have people helping you run your channel
and you'll have lots of people wanting to contact you,
and that's why we recommend setting up your channel
as a business with digital separation from
your personal accounts.
And now we're going to show you another reason why you need
to be security conscious
as we explore a little bit more of this YouTube studio.
Head straight on over to the customization screen
and click on the basic info tab.
As mentioned earlier,
you can change your YouTube channel name and handle,
and this is where you can do that.
But more importantly right now is your contact info
at the bottom of this screen.
This is an email address,
but it's publicly displayed on YouTube.
So whatever you do, make sure it's not the same email
as the one you use to log into your YouTube channel,
because basically if you do that,
half of your security is compromised.
What the hell?
Let's get back to some proper channel setup.
Now with the channel description box
that's on the same screen,
when people visit your channel on a desktop browser
or through the YouTube mobile app,
they'll see the first eight
or so characters of your description, so make it count.
Our advice is to don't waste these important lines
talking about yourself.
Instead, talk about the value you're going to deliver
to the viewer and then flesh out the rest of the description
with keywords that will help YouTube
to understand a little bit more about your channel.
Back to more visual elements of the channel
now in the branding tab.
You've already uploaded a profile picture.
Now for your channel banner,
don't overcomplicate your banner.
It needs to communicate to the viewer as quickly
and as simply as possible if they are
in the right place or not.
Use objects that relate to your topic.
Think about a color scheme
and design style that will match your thumbnails
to build branding and create a memorable slogan
or value proposition that speaks the language
of your target audience.
A basic principle to follow for your channel as a whole
and with every single video you make is this.
You want to get the viewer to say to themselves as quickly
as possible, ah, this channel
or this video was made for me.
Go on a minute. You felt like that, haven't you?
When you've watched certain videos on YouTube
from your favorite creators.
And your channel banner represents a good opportunity
to put this into practice.
Something that you do need to be aware of
with channel banners are the dead zones
where the edges will get sliced off
in the YouTube mobile app.
So keep everything important centered
in the middle of a channel banner.
When you upload a banner, it will show you
how the banner will look on different devices,
and as you can see in this example,
some graphics will be invisible to those
looking at the channel on a mobile phone.
Below the channel banner is the video watermark,
and we're going to keep this really simple
and give you this one to use.
It appears in the bottom right hand corner of the screen
and is a call to action to subscribe
to your YouTube channel.
It's quite an old outdated feature at this point,
and you don't get that many subscribers from it,
but it's linked in the description if you wanna download it.
To round off the customization screen,
we have the layout options,
but since you haven't uploaded any videos yet,
there's nothing to layout yet.
So instead, I'll mention the next screen in the menu,
which is the audio library.
This will give you access to free music
and sound effects that you can download
and use in your videos without worrying
about copyright claims.
(upbeat music)
♪ Don't be scared ♪
Another screen many of you will be keen
to look at is the earn screen.
This will show you everything you need
to know about monetization,
including those all important requirements.
It will track your progress to these milestones
and notify you when they are reached.
Also note, there is another security feature here
that you should turn on,
and it's two factor authentication.
You'll need to have it on to monetize your channel.
Now, there is a relatively new threshold for monetization
that requires less subscribers, less watch time,
or less short views as you can see on screen now.
But this lower tier of monetization
does not unlock ad revenue for your channel.
That my creator friends, is a whole video in itself,
which we've already made on the channel.
As for everything else in the YouTube studio,
content management, analytics
and video comments, well, there isn't much to see yet,
as it all depends on you taking
that big creative leap of faith and making a video.
All right, we're at the business end of YouTube now,
making videos people actually want to watch.
So here's four pro tips
to help you get started on the right footing.
Be focused, ask yourself these two questions.
Who should be watching my videos
and why should they be watching my videos?
This will become your target audience
and your value proposition and help you stay focused.
Curiosity and emotion is far more important
than SEO and video tags.
Don't just cram your videos full of keywords
and only appeal to search base queries.
Tap into the desires, goals, fears
and stories your audience crave.
Titles and thumbnails are way more important
than what you think right now.
Everyone sees these two elements of your video.
They are the packaging, so spend time on them
and if possible, create them
before you even start your video.
But most importantly of all, get creative.
Stop watching videos about YouTube
and start YouTubeing yourself.
You need to discover whether or not you like making videos,
and I can assure you that in six months time,
you'll look back on your first videos and cringe,
and that's a good thing
because you'll be a far better creator
because you've got your hands creatively dirty.
I'll put it to you like this. Nothing beats experience.
If you do want to delve more
into the creative side of things,
we do have this complete Beginner's Guide to YouTube,
which is crammed full of 150 tips.
Otherwise, welcome to YouTube.
Now go change the world.
(upbeat music)