- Are you ready to start your YouTube channel
and become the next big thing in 2023?
Well, don't.
Yeah, yeah, yeah, I know.
Listen, "New year, new me."
That's what everyone's gonna tell you.
But things have changed.
And in 2023,
I don't want you to just start a YouTube channel.
I want you to start a business.
Subscriber counts and view counts are not the thing
that you should be worried about
when you're starting this YouTube journey.
And I'm gonna tell you why.
YouTube has changed a lot.
And the advice we were giving just a couple of years ago,
a lot of it isn't relevant anymore.
One of the top things
that you need to worry about is competition.
And yes, year over year,
increased competition is going to be a thing
that you need to look out for.
But it is easier than ever to start a YouTube channel.
Not only that, the algorithm itself is constantly changing.
The algorithm is here to determine
what videos get recommended to what viewers.
But viewers' interests are constantly shifting,
and so the algorithm is as well.
And going along with that,
another big thing that's changed
is creators have identified
the need to engage with their viewers.
Likes, comments, and overall just making videos
that are even sharable,
videos people are willing to actually text to their friends.
All of that is very, very important
when you're starting a channel right now.
And all of those things are a bit ominous, right?
It's all going on kind of underneath the surface.
Except for YouTube Shorts.
YouTube Shorts emerged in 2021,
but it's a mainstay here on YouTube now,
and it is one more reason
that it's so easy to start a channel.
They have completely changed the way
that people watch content and make content,
and they're also a huge opportunity even today.
So, how do we take all of those different stresses
I just listed
and turn them into an opportunity
to start an actual YouTube business?
And let me be clear,
even if you're the kind of creator
who isn't interested in making money on YouTube
and you just wanna do this for fun,
a key way to find success on YouTube
is to still approach your decisions from a business mindset.
You need to be thinking big picture,
and planning, organizing, strategizing.
I'm gonna walk you through all the things
I would be doing if I were starting a channel today.
First, I would advise that you ask yourself the question,
"Why do I wanna start this channel in the first place?"
Are you trying to boost an existing personal brand?
Do you wanna be seen as an expert in your field?
Or do you simply just wish to become a popular influencer?
That reasoning is going to impact
a lot of your decisions going forward
because you're gonna be optimizing for the desired result.
So if you're a brand trying to get more sales,
then you probably wanna optimize
a lot of your content for search.
Or if you're thinking of living that influencer life,
you might wanna be optimizing a little bit more
for your community
and building up that whole base of super fans.
So, that's the why.
But now you need the what.
What are you going to do on YouTube?
And this is where you find your niche.
What are you passionate about?
In an ideal world, you would start a channel
around the thing that you are the most excited about,
the thing that when you show up to a party,
no one can get you to shut up about it.
For a lot of creators,
this might be the most difficult step.
But for a lot of you,
this might be the easiest thing.
"I know exactly what I wanna make a channel about."
But when you're just starting out,
you should try and narrow it down,
and narrow it down even again from there.
For example, let's say you're passionate about healthy food.
Now, there are a ton of health food channels out there,
so maybe your channel focuses on eating right
but for a specific type of diet.
There's gonna be a smaller amount of channels
talking about healthy food for a specific diet.
There's gonna be an even smaller amount of channels
talking about healthy food
for a specific diet using only seasonal ingredients.
Hopefully you understand what I'm getting at here.
You don't need to be an expert at everything.
In fact, I would say if you're trying to come off
as an expert at everything,
people will take you as an expert of nothing.
If you can narrow your channel down to a specific topic,
you are gonna become the go-to person
for that specific thing.
This is gonna allow you to build up your credibility,
and hopefully in the future,
start to branch out over time.
Basically, you don't have to be the Nutella
of YouTube channels.
I assume everybody likes Nutella, right?
I did mention branding a few times.
You're also gonna wanna make sure
that you try and get creative with your channel name
and your logo and your handle.
This is the first place
that people can really go to identify
who you are as a creator.
So make sure your channel name is memorable,
your handle is easy to spell,
and your channel art is clean and nice.
If you can't think of the perfect name right off the bat,
don't let that stop you from starting a channel though.
Get something in there that you like for now,
and you can always change it later.
While we're talking about channel names,
let's talk about your channel set-up
because this should also be an area
that you focus on to have a very professional presence.
You'll want to customize your channel banner.
You'll want to take a great video
that you've made in the past,
one that represents who you are today,
and make that your channel trailer.
Below that, make sure
all of the videos and playlists that you have
match where you're going with your channel in the future.
And then beyond that,
make sure that you've set up the playlist
that you want people to see
as soon as they land on your homepage.
The homepage is very important because,
did you know that the Subscribe button
on the front of your channel
is the one that people will click on the most?
My theory here is that the reason
people go to this Subscribe button
is because after you ask them in a video
to please subscribe,
they go and investigate who you are.
These details are important
because the number one Subscribe button
people are gonna click
is the one on your channel homepage.
So when they get over there,
make sure that you've put your best foot forward.
And that homepage is a great representation
of all the content you make across your channel.
Another thing you can do to set up
your new YouTube business for success
is download all the tools you need
that make your life easier.
Struggling with picking a good title for video?
vidIQ.
Need to optimize for SEO?
vidIQ.
looking for some daily inspiration for new content ideas?
vidIQ.
Maybe you wanna check up on the competition.
You get the point.
In all seriousness,
there's actually a ton of tools out there
for making videos that are awesome.
And yes, we have some tools that I like to promote,
but I want you also taking time
to learn how to use other tools
that become daily mainstays in this journey.
Do you use Premiere or Final Cut to edit your videos?
Take the time to learn those softwares in and out.
Do you like to use Canva or Photoshop
to make your thumbnails?
Again, look up tutorials
so you can get even faster at doing it.
Downloading tools is one thing,
but take the time to learn how to use them,
and I promise your YouTube journey will be a lot smoother.
And for videos themselves
if you're just starting out,
try and keep the things you do in each video
short and sweet, nice and simple.
Try to focus on one topic in a three-to-five-minute video.
This will help keep things from getting overcomplicated.
One way to do this well
is to research your topic beforehand.
Is the video you're about to make
something that somebody in your space has done recently?
Watch their video and find ways you can improve.
If you're looking for ideas,
check the comment sections of those videos
and see if there's anything in there
that these audiences are looking for.
And one super important tip I have for you
when making your next video
is to plan your title and your thumbnail
before you press Record.
This is gonna set you up beforehand
because now that you know your title and your thumbnail,
once you sit down in front of your camera,
you can present your video
with a really strong hook
that backs up your title and your thumbnail.
So as soon as people click,
they know they're in the right place.
And then beyond posting your first videos,
should you be promoting them around the internet?
Mostly, I'd say yes,
but do so responsibly.
If you make videos about a certain diet, for example,
be sure that you're not just spamming those videos
in the Facebook group you hang out in.
Instead, look for questions people are asking,
and if you have a video that answers that question,
that would be the appropriate way to comment
and to let people know,
"Hey, I actually answered that question
"in a video I did recently.
"Here's the link."
I'm not personally a believer
of just posting your link to a social media website,
shouting into the void
and hoping somebody watches.
I think just coming from a place of being helpful
is a much better way to promote
if you're going to promote outside of YouTube.
Throughout all of these things you'll be doing,
you're gonna be building a community along the way.
So, be sure to answer your comments,
ask for feedback every now and again.
Perhaps do a Q&A live stream.
Once you're feeling good,
maybe you start to open up a Discord server or a subreddit.
Having that network built up outside of YouTube
is a great way to build a stronger connection
with your audience.
In the context of running your channel like a business,
posting consistently is definitely something
you are going to want to think about.
But I have a different approach here.
Let me go ahead and use our own channel as an example here.
The days we typically post are Monday and Friday
for long-form videos,
and we do live streams every Tuesday and Wednesday.
Our audiences come to know
when we're going to post a video,
and when we're gonna go live.
However, nowhere did we promise
that's what we're always going to do.
We like to keep this open-ended
for one very important reason.
If YouTube suddenly decides to have a major update,
we wanna have the flexibility in our schedule
and with our time
to be one of the first people to cover that update.
So out of the blue,
you might see us post a video on a Thursday.
When that happens, if it's not timely,
I'll take the Friday video
and just kind of move that to next week.
Posting on a regular basis is very important to us.
However, it's also important
that we remain flexible
because it's going to benefit our audience in the long run.
We can't cover a major news event
a whole week after it happened simply because
"Well, we already posted this week,
"so what are we gonna do?"
And counter to that,
if we're feeling like,
"Ah, we kind of need a break right now."
Maybe we don't post on a Monday.
And then one of the things you're gonna need to do
as a YouTube channel/business owner
is measure your success.
Use analytics to track all the data
that you get from posting these videos.
Look at what's done well, look at what hasn't.
Look at the retention on your videos.
Are people leaving really early?
Learn from your videos as much as possible
and then let those lessons influence your next videos.
The ultimate advice here
is that if you plan on running your channel
like it's a business,
every decision that you make
needs to be through the lens of a business owner.
I say that because that's exactly
what the most successful creators on YouTube are doing.
Another thing they're doing
is avoiding these outdated YouTube tips.
Check it out.