How to start a successful YouTube channel in 8 steps
Do you need to grow your YouTube Channel but aren’t sure where to start? Well in this post you’ll learn 8 simple steps on how to start a successful YouTube channel, even if you are just getting started!
Define your target market and niche and how you help them
One thing that most people struggle with when it comes to how to start a successful YouTube channel is that they don’t have a set target market. The first step you need to grow your YouTube channel is to have a set niche and theme for your channel.
It’s going to be really hard to grow your YouTube channel if your content is all over the place. This is why it’s important to decide what kind of content you are going to create and who you are going to provide value to.
When you are marketing to everyone, you are really marketing to no one. So be sure to hone in on your specific niche you are talking to and trying to help.
There are really 3 types of content you’ll want to create as a way how to start a successful YouTube channel. You want to create content that is either educational, inspirational, or entertaining.
Depending on the kind of channel you have, you may do more of one type of content vs others, but if you can try and mix those 3 types of content in it will work well to help you grow your YouTube Channel.
Get the necessary equipment, lighting, microphone, camera
Camera
One thing a lot of new YouTube creators struggle with is thinking that they need the most amazing equipment in the world before they get started. Thankfully you don’t need the highest end equipment to grow your YouTube channel.
For example most people reading this have a smart phone, and any relatively new smart phone can record a video in HD. That’s pretty much all you need as far as a camera is concerned.
So if you have a smart phone, just turn it on and you now have great camera to start building your successful youtube channel.
Lighting
How to start a youtube channel for beginners? Lighting is one of the most important things you should focus on. If people have a hard time seeing you, or your video isn’t clear, your channel will suffer.
Thankfully there are several options that are very cost effective for lighting. Natural light is the first great way to have quality lighting in your videos. If you can film near windows with light shining on you, that works great. You could also do videos outside where you are facing the sun.
The natural lighting options are great if you are just starting out. Beyond that how to get started on youtube for lighting could be as simple as buying a cheap adjustable lamp. Simply buy a light with an adjustable neck and have the lamp shine directly on your face.
There are even lighting kits you can get with multiple lights on Amazon for around $60 bucks. Certainly not a huge investment, and good lighting is one of the best youtube channel tips you can implement as a beginner.
This is the lighting kit I use.
Microphone
The 3rd piece of equipment you’ll want for how to get started on youtube is to have a good microphone. Again if you are wondering how to get started on youtube and do you need a few hundred dollars to get the highest quality microphone, the answer is no.
Back to utilizing your smart phone! Most smart phones have a high enough quality microphone you can use when you are just getting stared and want to grow your youtube channel.
If you do want to invest in a microphone, there are plenty of reasonable priced microphones you can get on Amazon as well. I’d suggest getting a lapel microphone that you can just attach to your shirt and a microphone extension cord so you can be a few feet away from your camera.
Good news is there are plenty of options to get a microphone like this for around $15-$25! Good sound quality on your videos is a must to grow your youtube channel.
Certainly you don’t need the most amazing high end equipment when you are just getting started, and they are things you can build up to as you grow your youtube channel.
Check out a great low cost lapel microphone on Amazon here. I use one just like this.
Tips to grow your youtube channel: Have a consistent Schedule for making your content
Wondering how to start a youtube channel for beginners? You’ll want to have a consistent schedule as a way to grow your youtube channel.
As the old saying goes, showing up is half the battle. Releasing consistent content on your youtube channel is one of the foundations of how to start a successful youtube channel.
The more you can get your viewers into the habit of coming back to your channel, the better! Releasing consistent content is one way to do this. If you are just getting started on youtube you’ll want to release content on a schedule that is manageable for you. Often this would be about 1 video a week.
The great thing is, is that when you do this consistently your content on your channel will start to build up significantly over time. If you are wondering how to make money on youtube, understand it doesn’t happen over night.
However, it is possible when you produce quality content over time. When you stay consistent and continue to grow your youtube channel, it really just becomes a matter of time before you can make money on youtube.
Looking to start a youtube channel? Set up your profile, pictures, banners, websites, tagline first
Want to know how to start a youtube channel for beginners? As a foundation you’ll want to set up your profile so it looks professional.
This means you’ll want to set up your profile picture, channel art, links to websites, as well as your tagline of how you help people.
A great site to make artwork to grow your youtube channel is called Canva.com. What’s cool about this site is that there are specific settings to make quality artwork for your youtube channel, and it’s also free!
Having a solid profile is key to any marketing strategy. You’ll also want to set up a tagline for your channel.
This basically means a sentence or two that describes what you do and how you help your target market. For example on my business youtube channel my tagline is “I help teachable professionals how to create freedom through a profitable home business”
My video game and nerd channel, Nerd Problems Gaming for example my tag line is “we go through the good and bad of everything nerdy, to make sure you spend your time on the best of the best.”
The tagline is a way to share how you provide value to your audience and it is one of the best ways how to get started on youtube.
Start making videos! Don’t look for perfection right away
Right along with consistency, if you are wondering how to get started on youtube, step one is to get out there and make videos! Here’s the thing, everyone wants to have amazing videos right away, but it takes time to get good at it.
So don’t look for perfection when you are just getting started on youtube. Getting good at making money on youtube and putting out quality content takes consistent effort and practice.
If you are just getting started on youtube, your first videos probably won’t be that great, and that’s ok. Mine weren’t great either, but after doing videos consistently you will start to get better.
Perfection comes after doing lot’s of videos, so don’t beat yourself up when you are just starting to grow your youtube channel.
Edit video and thumbnails if you want to grow your youtube channel faster
Another basic step to building your youtube channel as a beginner is to edit your video and thumbnails. Thumbnails are the little pictures that go along side of your youtube video.
Same concept that you’ve heard above, you don’t have to be perfect right away. Creating good thumbnails on youtube takes practice, but you can learn quickly by matching and modeling other successful youtube channels.
As mentioned above, Canva.com is a great site to create quality youtube thumbnails as well. Also you may want to check out the Google Chrome Extension VIDIQ as a essential tool to grow your youtube channel.
Not only does it have a simple way to create custom thumbnails it can help you optimize your videos for SEO as well.
As far as editing your youtube videos, there are a ton of free editing software options to choose from. Windows movie maker, and iMovie are a couple of basic examples you can use when you are just getting started that are free!
Upload and optimize
Now that you are making videos you want to start uploading them and optimizing them! Make sure you have a quality description and appropriate tags on your videos.
One step to building a youtube channel is search engine optimization. You’ll want to do some keyword research as a start. This can help you decide what to title your videos and what tags to associate your video with.
VidIQ can help you with this as well. As you start to type in tags for your videos VidIQ will offer suggestions of tags. These tags could fit well on your videos and are good for SEO. This can quickly help you grow your youtube channel because it will help your videos get discovered faster.
How to start a youtube channel for beginners? Finally Promote your videos
As a final step for how to grow on youtube, you’ll need to start promoting your videos. Get the word out on your youtube channel. If no one knows you have a youtube channel it’s going to be hard to have your channel grow.
Think about your youtube channel like a business. If no one knows you are in business it’s going to be hard to build a successful youtube channel. As with many businesses people start, traffic should be the final step.
Start with all the previous tips to grow your youtube channel. After that, adding in traffic can really help you start a successful youtube channel. Sharing your youtube videos on social media is a great option as well.
You can use social media marketing to promote your youtube channel as well. Implement these tips for youtubers and you’ll never have to worry about how to grow on youtube again!
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