12 Tips for Creating Your Own YouTube Channel

12 Tips for Creating Your Own YouTube Channel

1. Equipment and Software

For face-to-camera recordings you can get started using a smartphone and a tripod with an additional smartphone clamp. If you’re filming on the move, get a gimbal as well.

Use PowerPoint to produce your slides and do the voiceovers with QuickTime Player app or Camtasia depending on whether you’re using a MAC or a PC.

2. Select a Niche

It’s a good idea to concentrate on one niche. Don’t look for quick wins. Above all take the time to build up a successful Channel because YouTube rewards fresh, unique and enjoyable content.

Some YouTube Channels fail, simply because they don’t meet the needs of their viewers, so you need to first think about what your viewers want.

People use YouTube for primarily 3 reasons:

Entertainment
Education
Information

So, when creating a YouTube Channel and associated content, make sure you focus on whatever ones are most applicable to your audience.

3. Channel Name

• Write down 3 things your Channel will focus on.
• Create a name that is no more than 3 words, a single word being preferable.
• Use your own name if the Channel is about you and your specific skillset.
• Research what other Channels are calling themselves but don’t copy a name.

4. Channel Description

Write down 5 keywords that describe your Channel.

Focus on simplicity and informing the user what your Channel is about.
The first couple of lines (100 – 150 characters) are crucial so be sure to include keywords that are relevant to your content.

Other things to add:

• Your experience
• Why you are passionate about your subject
• Your upload schedules
• Create the full description with your keywords using approximately 150 words in total.

5. Channel Artwork

You need eye-catching artwork for your Channel as this is the first thing non-subscribers will see when visiting your homepage. In addition, you can use this to communicate what your Channel is about and how people can subscribe.

Head Banner

Things you can include on your banner:

• A picture of you
• Your Channel name
• A strapline
• A short bullet point list of your Channel subject
• Your schedule
• A call to action
• Relevant images based on your subject matter
• A logo
• The YouTube logo (to add authenticity).

All or any of these things will make your Channel appear more credible and professional.

To ensure best results on all devices, upload one (2560 x 1440) px image.

The minimum dimensions for upload are (2048 x 1152) px and the maximum file size is 6MB.

Note: the minimum safe area for text and logos is (1546 x 423) px and that larger images may get cropped on certain views or devices.

Icon

Your Channel icon shows over your Header Banner and displays on YouTube watch pages.

It defaults to the image associated with your Google Account.

Channel icon specs:

JPG, GIF, BMP or PNG file (no animated GIFs)
800 x 800 px image (recommended)
Square or round image that renders at 98 x 98 px

DO NOT upload pictures containing celebrities, nudity, artwork or copyrighted images since this violates YouTube Community Guidelines.

For all your Channel Artwork you can either do it yourself or outsource it. There are great templates on Canva or you can employ someone cost-effectively on Fiverr.

6. Channel Trailer Video

So, a YouTube Channel trailer is a short, introductory video that promotes your Channel and tells your potential subscribers what your Channel is all about.

A trailer gives your viewers a sneak peek into what you’re all about and is usually less than 60 seconds in length. However, if you can get it to under 40 seconds, that’s even better.

You can easily create the trailer yourself using just a tripod and your smartphone.

Top Tips:

Assume the viewer has never heard of you. It should tell your visitors who you are, what your content is like, when they can expect new uploads and why they should subscribe.

Keep it short. You should be able to pitch the great things about your Channel to a new viewer quickly.

Ask viewers to subscribe. Your trailer will also have an end card when the video finishes, giving the audience an easy way to subscribe.

This work can also easily be outsourced on freelancer sites such as Fiverr.

7. Creating Your Videos

The first thing to do is to think about what people would want to watch from your video Channel.

Don’t forget to use the Google Keyword Tool to come up with video ideas/suggestions.

Make sure you:

• Think carefully about video length as people have low attention spans.
• Have a great “hook” for each video.
• Get to the point quickly to ensure you keep your viewers engaged.
• Use a call to action in your videos consistently as people will only like or subscribe if you specifically ask them.
• Always use YouTube end screens.

Video Traffic

The key ingredients for getting more YouTube traffic to your videos are:

• Audience Retention
• Engagement
• Community

Audience retention is measured on an ‘average view’ basis, which means it’s important that lots of people watch the video for a long period of time. This will massively improve the viewing figures. Therefore, it’s vital to have a great hook as previously mentioned – something that grabs and keeps your viewers’ attention.

Engagement includes comments on your video, thumbs up and thumbs down, how many people subscribe to your Channel and how many people come back to watch your video time and again. Be sure to ask people to LIKE, SUBSCRIBE and COMMENT. Also, pose questions during your videos that require an answer and remember to use end screens.

Building a solid community from your Channel will help improve your traffic figures and rankings. When people LIKE your videos and SUBSCRIBE to your Channel, you’ll see them visiting regularly. Be sure to take the time and effort to respond to all questions or comments that are posted on your videos. When doing so, try to encourage more questions and comments. Try to turn negative comments into positives but remember you can also dislike them so that they move down the page.

8. Video Tags

A video tag is a keyword or phrase that you add to your video whilst uploading it to your YouTube Studio. These keywords and phrases describe and highlight the content that is in your video.

The key benefit to adding tags to your video is that they assist your video in becoming prominent in the YouTube search results. You are basically telling YouTube which keywords and phrases your video is relevant to.

• Make sure your tags are relevant to your video.
• Aim for 15-20 tags if possible.
• Use the Google Keyword Tool and Google SERP (Search Engine Results Page) to come up with TAG ideas.
• Think about competitors’ videos and what search phrases they use.
• Is there are YouTube Channel name you want to compete with?

9. Video Scheduling

This is your proposed plan for creating and uploading new content to YouTube.

YouTube recommends you maintain a consistent scheduling calendar, especially in the early days of growing your Channel. Furthermore, you can schedule your videos to be published at certain dates and times. Also, this is ideal if you want to create and upload all your videos for the month on one day.

10. Video Thumbnails

A viewer will often decide whether to click on a video from the thumbnail.

Just like a book cover design, a great, eye-catching thumbnail image encourages people to click on the video, whereas a boring or dull image will put people off. Before you create your video thumbnail, have a look on YouTube to see what other people are doing first from within your niche.

You can select one of three images YouTube will randomly pick from your video reel or you can upload your own.

11. Video End Screens

End screens allow you to promote up to four elements to further engage your viewers but your video must be at least 25 seconds long to have one.

You can add them to the last 5 to 20 seconds of a video and can be used to point viewers to:

• Other videos from your Channel
• Playlists from your Channel
• Other Channels on YouTube
• A call to action such as subscribing to your Channel
• Promote your own website, merchandise or crowdfunding campaigns

12. Video Captions

Enabling video captions opens up your videos to a much wider audience.

Using captions allows you to reach:

• The hard of hearing or deaf people.
• Those who have processing disorders.
• People who live or work in noisy environments.
• Folk in coffee shops (or on trains) who do not want to be heard.
• People learning English as a second language.

Viewers have the option to enable captions/subtitles on videos by clicking the Settings button on a video.

To Your Success!