I hope everyone is doing well and staying healthy. These are crazy times we are living in and we are continuing to pray for the health and safety of you and your loved ones during this time.
On Tuesday, one of our strategists, D’Laina talked all about time management and how we can learn how to best manage our time during this season we are in and beyond.
Today, I wanted to share a little bit more about how to start a YouTube Channel completely from scratch.
Maybe you’ve been wanting to start or really invest time and energy into your channel for a while, but you haven’t made the jump just yet.
We always say the best time to start is NOW.
I’ve been on YouTube for a LONG time and I know it can be intimidating to start completely from scratch.
Here’s what I would do if I was starting a brand new channel all over again.
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Don’t focus too much on equipment. Growing on YouTube isn’t about growing the fancy equipment that you have. It’s about how well you connect with an audience. Don’t let a lack of equipment hold you back – just get started!
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Know exactly what value you want to provide. Viewers don’t click on your videos because they care about you (at least not at first). They do because the title and thumbnail tease some sort of value that they want to consume. If you want to get momentum with non-subscribed viewers, you need to make it clear to your viewer what value you’re providing to them and why they should care.
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Stay in your niche. Niches can determine what you will/won’t make videos about on your channel. For example, it would be pretty strange if I made a gardening video on this channel because it’s about YouTube creators. Gardening doesn’t align with the value of why you’re here. When your audience knows what to expect from you, they’ll want to come back for more.
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Do research on your competition. What videos are working well for them? What are their top performing videos? Use your competition as inspiration for your own videos. Don’t copy them – just use them as inspiration!
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Don’t take too long to get to the point. Your title and thumbnail together set an expectation for a view to obtain some value when they watch your video. If that expectation isn’t met within the first opening seconds, they will abandon your video. Just like we don’t like listening to a boring lecture, we don’t want to watch boring videos. Make sure you’re getting to the point quickly or you have a REALLY good hook. Don’t wait to deliver the value 8 minutes into the video.
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Plan your content carefully. The viewer journey REALLY matters – from the thumbnail all the way to the endscreens. A lot of creators throw this stuff together last minute and we always recommend planning this out carefully for better success on YouTube.
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Create your title and thumbnail carefully. It’s not unusual for creators to spend hours/days making the perfect video and then not get the results they were hoping for. It doesn’t matter how great your video is if no one is enticed to click on it.
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Utilize your other platforms. If you have a blog, Instagram, LinkedIn, etc. bring those people over to your YouTube Channel. Even if it is just people you know in real life at first, that’s okay! This will mostly just help you get started.
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Study your analytics. Your data doesn’t lie. It shows your video’s performance and exactly how you can improve. Use this data to your advantage. Here’s a playlist to help you learn how to read and study your analytics.
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Create a lot of videos. This has nothing to do with the algorithm, but everything to do with making mistakes and getting better. The only way you’ll make better YouTube videos is by doing it, making mistakes, learning from them, and making better videos. You’ll need time to feel more comfortable in front of the camera (or to get in front of it period). That’s okay. Just start.
Are you ready to get started or finally go all in?
We hope so! Let me know if there’s anything my team and I can do to help you get started.
Thanks for reading!
Keep changing lives,
Tim
P.S. If you want my team and I to walk with you and help you set up your YouTube Channel for the most success in 30 days, check this out. We’d love to help you on your YouTube journey.