- So then, you've taken a plunge
and decided to be a video creator on YouTube in 2019.
Next step, how do you start a channel?
Holy shh, VidIQ. - VidIQ.
- [Announcer] VidIQ.com.
- Yes, folks, this is the scary part.
Actions that speak louder than words.
You said you're gonna start a YouTube channel.
Now, you need to do it and publish a video,
which actually means turning actions back into words.
I didn't really think this one through.
Hello, I am Rob, welcome to VidIQ,
the YouTube tool and channel that educates you
on your YouTube journey and welcome
to this continuing series that's gonna chart that success
on YouTube in 2019.
Throughout this series, we're gonna help you get more views
and more subscribers to ultimately grow your channel.
To follow the full playlist, click over here.
And to keep up to date with all of the awesome VidIQ content
that we push out every single week.
We got some juicy subscribe buttons down here,
go on, give 'em a click.
Alright then, before we begin, I want you
to keep in mind all points.
This unarguable, indisputable, undeniable fact.
I know starting a YouTube channel can feel
utterly overwhelming and daunting,
but every single video creator starts it with zero views
and zero subscribers just like you.
On day one, everybody starts on a leveled playing field,
but by day 100, will you have taken the opportunities
at hand, listen to the advice that everybody gives you
about YouTube, or have you just spent your time
complaining about not being able to gain any momentum
because of some entitled right you think you have
to these views and subscribers, alright, let's begin.
The first question you need to answer
is what is my channel going to be about?
The simplest answer to that is what do you like watching
on YouTube, it's gonna be a vlogger,
or it's gonna be a gamer, or it's gonna be me.
Three choices, take your pick.
As well as your favorite video creators,
you'll also have a favorite video style
that you gravitate towards.
Now, this could be long-form storytelling videos,
and by long-form, I mean anything over 10 minutes
on YouTube, or you could enjoy short montage clips,
such as Fortnite compilations.
Whatever style you like
and whatever video creators you like,
that's the type of video content you want to create
because at the end of your videos, you wanna say,
"Yeah, I really enjoyed watching that.
"Hey, that was my content."
So the next time you're on YouTube as a viewer,
watch the content with a critical eye,
which will improve you as a creator.
Oh, that is weird.
As for your strategy, your channel focus,
the video topics that you're going to cover,
we are going to do a deep dive in a separate video,
which you can find over here,
unless it's not available yet because of continuity reasons,
I haven't filmed that one yet.
But I'm gonna summarize it briefly here.
Make videos on what you're most passionate about.
The one thing that you care more about
than anything else in the world.
The reason being that if you're passionate
about something, you'll be very knowledgeable about it,
and you'll be able to share this with your audience
with energy, vibe, and enthusiasm
that you may not have for any other topic.
To put it in very simple terms,
which sport do you enjoy most,
which team do you support from that sport, why?
And you'll be able to reel off so many things
versus another team in that sport.
But as I say, we'll cover this in a lot more detail
in a future video, do check it out.
Another good habit to start developing now
is to always be in the mindset of a video creator
when you are on the YouTube platform.
As a YouTube viewer, you can press play
and simply enjoy the content, but as a video creator,
you wanna get behind the scenes of everything
that's going on with every single video that you watch.
Why am I even watching this video?
Is it because of an intriguing title
or because of a clickbait-y, custom thumbnail.
Were the tags used relevant to what I was searching for?
Why did the video creator include this paragraph
in the video description?
There are so many things you need to think about
as a video creator outside of just making content,
and that's where VidIQ can come in.
Once you download it, it will transform the way
you use YouTube on the desktop.
It will give you so many analytics for every single video
that you watch, and when you do a search,
you'll see all of the trending keywords, related keywords,
tags that different videos use.
There's tons of stuff there, and a lot of it is for free.
So for now, I recommend downloading it
and watching the beginner's guide, just getting familiar
with some of the major tools that we have,
and we can leverage the power of it later on in this series.
Just remember to think beyond the video you're watching
and consider everything else that goes into the production
of it, and that's where VidIQ can help.
Now, let's focus on a couple of technical aspects
about your YouTube account.
First of all, your channel name while in the long-term,
this is going to be very important,
in the short-term, if you're not sure what to call yourself,
don't worry, you can change your name in the future.
However, when you decide that you want a custom URL
that has your channel name in your web address,
then it does become important.
However, when you first start your channel,
you don't meet the requirements to get a custom URL,
so don't worry about that too much yet.
One thing that you can do immediately, however,
and you should is to verify your YouTube account.
When I talk about verification,
I don't mean this verified check mark
against your channel name.
This is usually reserved for channels
with over 100,000 subscribers.
What I'm talking about is verifying your YouTube account,
which gives you access to new YouTube features instantly,
such as being able to upload videos longer than 15 minutes
and custom thumbnails.
Even if you use neither of those features to begin with,
you want those in place straight away.
In fact, there's no excuse not to do it now.
As always, I can entertain myself.
And I did this in one take.
(grunts) And I just dropped the ball.
Next up, let's talk about tech.
Don't use it as an excuse not to start making videos.
Use what you have at your disposal right now.
This is my very first video in front of camera,
and ironically, I was reviewing
a possible camera at the time.
The audio is terrible, the video is terrible,
but at least, I got down what I could.
Of course, what I do need is a mirror
and a really tasteless shirt.
And this is my first video trying to use a green screen.
The video and the audio is marginally better,
but the lighting continues to be absolutely terrible.
And I am totally wooden in front of camera.
It's absolutely necessary, but I stand in front of a camera.
And things really haven't changed much since then.
I would say 95 percent of you are gonna have one
of these in your pocket
that does perfectly good video and audio.
By simply pressing record with any sort of tech,
you're gonna learn how to frame a shot,
deal with background noise, shooting outdoors,
lighting, all of those variables
that even the best video creators
with the most expensive technology
still have to deal with.
It's all about gaining experience right now.
And to begin with a lot of it really does come down to that.
Press record to gain experience.
Even if you decide never to publish your first video,
just record it, just edit it, just upload it.
Write a title, write a description,
create a custom thumbnail if you want to.
Do all of the things that prepare you for making
a YouTube video, and then, you can decide
whether or not to click that Publish button.
If you're a vlogger, you're going to do this
hundreds of times.
If you're a gamer, you could do this thousands of times
in your YouTube career.
My personal experience now runs in the region
of about 1,500 videos total on YouTube,
and I've been responsible for every single aspect
of those videos in all but a handful of occasions.
In terms of knowledge, skills, and experience,
I've gone from here to here.
But in reality, I know I want to end up over here.
If you don't start, you'll never learn,
but if you keep going, you'll never stop learning.
So inspirational, but that took me 12 takes to get right.
Congratulations are in order on your first video.
Now, you're a YouTube practitioner.
You also need to become a YouTube student,
and there are tons of resources available for you to use.
Now, this would be the perfect opportunity
to plug VidIQ's tools and the awesome tips and tricks
you can get from this channel,
but since you're already here,
let met tell about one resource that so many people miss,
but it's actually from YouTube
and that's the Creator Academy, and it's completely free.
It is chalk full of several courses, dozens of lessons.
It's like an online university for YouTube,
and there is a YouTube channel called the Creator Academy
that you can also watch tons of videos on as well.
Do check it out, a lot of people miss this resource,
and it is absolutely free.
Another discipline you'll want to master early on
in your YouTube journey is this.
Don't compare yourself to other channels.
It is a toxic exercise that will sap your strength
and suck motivation right out of you.
Don't compare yourself to the huge YouTube channels
that you admire, don't even compare yourselves
to channels that started at the same time as you.
By all means, analyze their content
and see why they are successful in the things
that they do, but comparing numbers
is just a futile exercise.
If you start comparing yourself,
you'll keep asking the why question.
Why is that channel doing better than me?
I have better content than them,
why is my channel not performing?
All you'll do is talk yourself out of the positivity
of your own channel and focus on
what other channels are doing,
and that's just a waste of everybody's time.
Remember what I said in the very first video in this series.
YouTube despises procrastination,
and when you start asking that why question,
that's all your doing.
Once you've got over the excitement of creating your channel
and publishing your first couple of videos,
you are going to need a healthy dose of patience.
There is a quote that I love to attribute
to the right person, but when I did a Google search on it,
it seems as if loads of people have said this.
Overnight success can take 10 years.
If this is your first visit to VidIQ,
and you're thinking, wow, this is awesome.
How did I not already know about this content?
Hello, I've been here for two and a half years
making VidIQ videos, we've got over eight million views
and 250,000 subscribers.
That took a long time, this here, this silver Play Button,
which celebrates 100,000 subscribers,
that took 10 years.
I mean, granted, I've got a few more since then,
but you get the idea.
A sprint, YouTube definitely is not.
It's not even a marathon, to be honest.
It's like one of those Iron Man challenges
where you've gotta swim six miles, cycle another 14,
then run another 20.
And then, climb Everest at the end of it.
And there you have it, folks.
How to start your YouTube channel,
all bundled up in a nice 10 minute package.
No, there are so many ways you can tackle this question
that even a three hour video wouldn't do it justice,
but it gets to the point where it's over to you.
You just have to start to gain some experience,
and then, learn from there.
And we'll take you through the rest of the YouTube journey
as we go through this series.
If there are any points that you think you would like me
to cover more, or things that you think are really important
for starting a YouTube channel that we've missed,
do let us know in the comments below.
You'll find the rest of this video series here,
and some more awesome VidIQ content around about here.
To be honest, I'm not sure.
I'm pointing at thin air right now.
We'll see you on any of those videos right now.
Enjoy the rest of your video making day,
and don't forget, press record today.