- Let's not mess about today folks.
Simply put, this is how to unlock
every single YouTube feature.
- [Man] VidIQ.
- [Woman] VidIQ.
- [Man Whispering] VidIQ.com.
(upbeat music)
- A good place to start is to find out
what YouTube features you already have.
You can find out through this link
which I will leave in the video description
and it takes you to this page that's showing you many
but not all of the YouTube features available.
Do note that as YouTube continues to shift
to a new creator studio, the design of this page may change.
The first thing you should do
when you create a YouTube account is to verify it.
This will unlock many of the basic YouTube features.
It only takes a minute
and you do it through your mobile phone.
For the complete tutorial on how to do this,
click the link on screen now
in the top right-hand corner of your screen.
Custom thumbnails allow you to turn
random still images that YouTube selects
from your videos into powerful works of art
that draw viewers into your videos.
The best news is that custom thumbnails require
zero views, zero subscribers, zero watchtime.
All you need to do is verify your account.
By default you can only upload videos to YouTube
with a maximum length of 15 minutes,
so to upload longer videos, just like custom thumbnails,
you don't need any views, subscribers or watchtime.
All you need to do is verify your account.
We livestream every week on YouTube,
auditing your channels, helping you to grow.
As with custom thumbnails and 15+ minute uploads,
this does not require a single view, subscriber
or any watchtime, only to verify your account,
although you may need to wait 24 hours
before you can do your first livestream
once you enable it.
Those are the rules for desktop,
but for mobile livestreaming,
it's a little more complicated.
You cannot livestream directly through
the YouTube app if you have less than 1,000 subscribers.
You can still livestream to YouTube
on a mobile device using third-party applications
such as Streamlabs and DU Recorder
without a thousand subscribers.
I'll leave links to those apps in the video description.
A custom URL is one of the first steps
you can take to branding your channel
and protecting your presence on YouTube.
In order to be eligible for a custom URL,
your channel requires 100 subscribers,
to be at least 30 days old, and have
a unique channel icon and channel art.
Each channel can only have one custom URL.
It cannot be transferred to another channel,
but you can remove and change your custom URL
up to three times a year.
One of the most powerful ways to reach
your audience is through the Community tab.
We use it every day to engage with you,
and we find that people just can't get enough
of voting polls.
To unlock the Community tab, you will need
1,000 subscribers.
Once you reach that target, it may take
up to a week before you have access to it
and YouTube should send you a notification
when you unlock it.
Probably the most important one of the lot
for many of you, monetization.
I'm sure you've heard of the big two requirements
for this before, but there are more besides.
You will need 1,000 subscribers on your channel
and 4,000 hours of watchtime over the last 12 months.
As well as this you will need a Google AdSense account
set up and linked to your YouTube account.
Your channel must also be in good standing
regarding community and copyright strikes
and follow all YouTube policies.
Not having all of this in perfect order
can affect your application.
Finally the YouTube Partner Program
must also be available in your country.
Once you meet all of these requirements
you can apply and must go through a review process.
If you are rejected, you can apply again in 30 days.
We know this is a huge topic with a lot of questions.
We've made lots of videos that specifically
address monetization, so click on the playlist link
in the top right-hand corner now.
Super Chats enable your fans to financially
contribute to your livestream and
prioritize their message at the top
of the livestream chat feed.
To allow viewers to Super Chat you,
your channel must be monetized, of course,
with at least 1,000 subscribers.
You must also be over the age of 18
and be located in one of the countries
that supports Super Chat.
I will leave a link in the video description
to a list of all these countries.
YouTube Stories allow you to capture
micro-moments behind the scenes of your videos
to share just like you would an Instagram Story.
The Stories feature is currently in beta
and available to all eligible channels
with over 10,000 subscribers.
It may take up to four weeks for Stories
to show up after reaching 10,000 subscribers.
There are many ways to make an income on YouTube,
merchandise being one of them,
and you may have noticed these merchandise carousels
appearing on channels.
This is part of YouTube's direct merchandising feature,
taking all of the pain out of setting it up yourself.
As you might expect, being another income revenue stream,
to get access to merchandising on YouTube,
you must already be in the Partner Program
and have 10,000 subscribers.
You also need a clean slate when it comes
to community guideline strikes.
Once you have merch set up, viewers in
the following countries will be able
to buy your swag directly from your YouTube videos.
Oh, and if you would like vidIQ to start selling merch
on our channel, vote now and give us
your ideas for T-shirts in the comments below.
Now, when you've been watching videos recently,
have you seen this button or similar?
It invites you to become a member
of that YouTube channel for a monthly fee,
and it enables the channel to offer
unique perks to those members.
Think of it as a Patreon-type service
directly tied into the YouTube platform.
This YouTube feature has the biggest
requirements list of the lot.
Already in the Partner Program,
30,000 subscribers, over the age of 18,
and available in your country.
You and your multi-channel network,
if you are with one, must follow
the Terms of Service, including
the Commerce Product Addendum,
and your channel must have zero active strikes.
And even if you do meet all of the above,
YouTube is still rolling out this service,
so it might not yet be available to you.
If someone else is using your content on YouTube,
it may appear in the Copyright Matching list.
This allows you to review the match
and then take appropriate action.
As of now YouTube are currently rolling this out
as a small pilot project to channels
already in the YouTube Partner Program,
so just keep an eye out for it in your Creator Studio.
Now to be honest, with this one
I'd made up the name, but I'm sure you've seen
this season-slash-episode format
that appears on some video titles.
They replace hashtags and locations,
and when you click on them, they take you
to the playlist.
I'm calling this "YouTube Season Playlist" for now,
and when I asked YouTube how to get this,
they told me it was through YouTube invite only.
This thing that I have given a name to
should not be mistaken for official series playlists,
which are available to all video creators
who have verified their account.
This does not give you seasons or episode numbers,
but does change how your videos are presented
and discovered on YouTube.
And that is how you unlock every single feature on YouTube.
... I think.
If you think I've missed anything obvious,
do let us know in the comments below.
I'll just have to make another video on it.
Now that's how you unlock YouTube features,
but how do you unlock the secrets
to growing your YouTube channel?
What if you had something that would help you
research YouTube, analyze videos, audit your own channel
and take actionable steps?
That's where the vidIQ Chrome extension comes in.
It's free to download, there is a link
in the video description.
For more awesome YouTube beginners' guides,
we've got a playlist over here.
For more awesome vidIQ videos that will help you
grow your channel, playlist down there.
We'll see you on any of those videos right now,
and of course, enjoy the rest of your video-making day.