- So you finally decided to start a YouTube channel
or reinvigorate an old dormant one?
Well keep watching this video
because I'm going to share with you things
that I think people should know
when starting a YouTube channel this year.
(upbeat music)
Hi, TubeBuddies, welcome or welcome back to the channel.
I'm really excited that you're watching today's video.
One of the first things I would advise
for anyone getting started with a YouTube channel
is to make sure you actually learn about YouTube.
This doesn't mean spend all day watching videos
because you will get analysis paralysis,
trust me on this one
but it does mean you should understand
some of the basics such as can you use music
and what music can you use
and actually learning a little bit about
the rules of the road when it comes to YouTube
and the community policies
and the guidelines for uploading and creating videos.
One thing we do have to acknowledge
is that it will quickly become overwhelming,
all of the items that you think that you need to complete
to be able to start creating videos.
What do you even make videos about?
How do you do channel banner and artwork?
What do you do about thumbnails?
I get it, I get it, nut here's the thing.
A lot of those things can also be changed eventually,
you can start creating videos and putting them out.
This is going to come to our next point,
which is that you actually have to
create content and publish it.
That is what distinguishes a YouTube creator
just from a YouTube viewer.
A lot of people never make it past this step
because they ideate and think of all the things
that they're going to do but never actually do any of them.
I've always found that it's much easier
to choose from a list of ideas that I've already curated
and then decide which one is most exciting to me
and then make that video.
So I would also encourage you
to do the same type of thing inside of TubeBuddy,
you can actually use the video topic planner
and it's a really great way.
You can pull from comments
and leave them as video topic ideas.
You can actually just put in a whole bunch of video titles
that you want, including notes
and you can use it like a digital post-it system
to come back to any time.
And the nice thing is it also syncs across
the mobile app as well
so if you're on the go
and you want to put in a new video idea,
you can certainly do that
and then the next time you're on your computer,
you're going to find that it syncs
with the browser information as well.
One of the things that's always going to come up is
do I have to come up with a niche
and create content only in that niche
at the very beginning of your channel?
So there's a couple of ways to think about this.
One is you can go after the spaghetti method
where you can toss a whole bunch of different types
of content out there and see if something actually sticks.
And then the other is to go very deep and detailed
into one particular type of topic
to try and build your authority faster.
While both methods can be effective,
I think that in the beginning,
you shouldn't focus as much on niche
as you should about creating videos
and getting them published.
It's really easy to get bogged down
in staying inside of a niche,
but you could quickly become trapped
inside of a category or topic
that you're not very passionate about
and for most of us, we actually have
more than one thing that we like to talk about.
Now, this does not mean that niching down is a bad idea,
especially if you are a brand or a business
or going after search as your main traffic source.
A lot of channels when they're first getting started
are going to focus on search based,
how to, evergreen type of content like that
and that's perfectly fine.
You can answer specific questions with specific videos
and you'll get very good at crafting a title
and being able to use keyword research.
Now, of course, the keyword explorer
inside of the TubeBuddy suite of tools
is one of the most powerful tools at your disposal
when you're first getting started.
And you can definitely be able to see how to craft a title
and the related searches and videos
that you're going to be coming up against
if you start making this type of content,
even if you're not using the keyword explorer,
you can definitely go in there to see
the what's trending tabs
so that you can get started on content
that people are already searching for.
Something to consider when you're going into any category,
genre or niche on YouTube is going to be
not only the topic in which you talk about
but the way that you come across on screen
and talk about it, for example,
a beauty brand may come out with a new makeup palette.
It's going to be the same item
but lots of different people, lots of different channels
are all going to be talking about that same one product.
So how do you make yourself
differentiated from other people?
When all of you have the same product in mind
that you're going to be talking about.
You really fall into a few different categories.
You can either be different, you can be first,
or you can be the best.
So what does that mean?
If you are someone who is getting something
in PR or early look,
you're going to be able to make that content
before anyone else gets their hands on it
and by the time they're going to put it in the search bar
and see if it's something that they should buy
your video should already be there.
When it comes to being the best,
an example could be you're very thorough
when it comes to ingredient analysis and cost per gram
or perhaps even the swatches or any of the manufacturing,
the product history, the list goes on and on
and you're really going to learn
and do a deep dive into that product.
When it comes to being different,
you can take this in many different directions as well.
So maybe you're someone who does ASMR with a product,
maybe you're someone who actually destroys the makeup,
all of these different types of ways
that you can be different are going to be ways
that everyone using the same product can all stand out.
So after you get a few videos in
or even before you start making videos,
you really want to spend some time developing,
what is it about you that makes you unique
and will make you stand out when you're making videos
on the same products or games or anything category,
that everyone else is also making content about?
The next thing we have to talk about
is how many of you always are talking
about waiting to feel ready.
And I'm here to tell you that ready is not a destination,
it's actually just a decision.
And many times you're going to have to do things
or start before you're ready.
It will happen for the rest of your entire YouTube career,
trust me on this one.
So if you're someone who's been watching this video
and now you're thinking, okay, I am deciding to be ready,
pause this video and go comment ready down below.
I want to take a second and put on screen
the comment of the video.
Thank you so much for interacting with our videos.
And if you want to be featured in an upcoming video,
make sure you comment on this one.
Now, similarly to all of the other voices
that are going to chime in when it comes to
YouTube education and helping you become better creators,
we do want to just one more time iterate,
that Ad Sense is not the be all end all
when it comes to YouTube monetization,
should never be the only goal that you have in mind.
There are so many ways that you can make money on YouTube
with or without Ad Sense
and if you're looking for more ideas,
we even made a video about it,
I will link it up in the cards
and down in the description as well.
Because it's so easy to get caught up in analytics
and numbers and milestones
as you are going along your journey,
I would really implore you to make sure
that you define what YouTube success looks like for you
before you get started.
Is it just based on subscriber number
and why do you need a certain subscriber number?
Because there are plenty of channels out there
that can make a full-time income,
as well as have thriving communities
that have smaller YouTube, actual subscriber accounts.
Okay, let's talk thumbnails.
Yes, absolutely thumbnails are important.
However and this is a big caveat
you can always change a thumbnail later on.
What's more important to me again, is publishing videos,
publishing videos.
I would highly encourage you to make 10 videos
before you even start looking at your analytics
because honestly you really need the practice
to be able to go through that process
and know what the whole journey
is going to look like for you.
Then you're going to be able to evaluate
and look at your data.
You're going to be able to execute
and then evaluate and then implement.
And it's just a cycle that will continue on
for the rest of your whole entire YouTube creator journey.
One thing you'll hear a lot
and I could not agree more is that YouTube is a marathon.
It's not a sprint and you need to be prepared
to be in it for the long haul.
A lot of the time people come in
with unrealistic expectations of what's going to happen
after they actually upload one or maybe even two videos.
And then they get disappointed and angry
and leave in frustration when after two videos,
they don't have a hundred thousand subscribers.
You've heard me say it before in the past,
I'm going to say it again.
Fundamentals are in the foundation of fun.
For you to be able to make sure that your video
is getting out there and doing as well as it can,
you should definitely follow the best practices
that are set out not only by YouTube,
but TubeBuddy every time you're uploading a video.
Building this into your workflow
as part of a repeatable, executable process
is so key in building your foundation
for all of your videos going forward.
Marrying all this together in TubeBuddy's SEO studio
is going to be a great way for you to keep practicing
all of the steps that you should be doing
in a sequential order every time you upload a video.
When it comes to making YouTube videos,
remember that this process is also supposed to be fun
at the end of the day, yes, you're learning,
yes, you're growing,
yes, you're doing everything you can
to get yourself in front of the right people
at the right time so that
they can continue to follow along with your journey
but you should be having fun at the same time.
Remember that ready is just a decision.
And I hope you make that decision
to get started on YouTube today.
Make sure you subscribe so you can follow along
for more tips and we'll see you in a video very soon, bye.