How to Start & Grow your Youtube channel in 3 simple steps
As a creative entrepreneur, sometimes you can forget how the world perceives you. You can put up your ads asking people to check out your latest and greatest offering, have the coolest opt-in offer, or the most banging blog post ever. This may not be the best way to approach a cold audience.
We are being marketed to so much on the internet and a lot of the marketing sounds scammy or just like everybody else. Your audience wants to know that you’re a real person just like them. They want to be able to relate to you the old-school way, in person. While this may not be the in-person experience they want, it gets close to it. The principle of KLT (know-like-trust) applies. Your audience has to know, like, and trust you before they can become your customer.
You may be asking, “how do I get started with video?”
Easy peasy, YOUTUBE! YouTube has over a billion users. The network reaches more people in the 18 to 49 age bracket than any other cable network in the U.S. Learn more about YouTube's reach here: http://bit.ly/1jJRc8O.
YouTube generates hundreds of millions of views every single day. The world is obsessed with YouTube and that’s why you need to jump on the bandwagon. Position yourself as an authority and meet some amazing people while doing it.
Like everything else, starting a YouTube channel is all about mindset. You can’t go in thinking you’ll fail. You have to go in with a winning attitude and be confident in your abilities. You can do it!
Here’s an action plan that will help you start and grow your YouTube channel in 3 simple phases.
>> Step One: Startup Phase <<
- Create a YouTube account.
Your YouTube account must be linked to a Google account. You would create a Google account if you don’t already have one or use an existing Google account if you’d like. Pick a name that suits your personal brand and the audience you’ll deliver your content.
- Personalize your channel.
Add a profile picture, viewers want to see who you are. Add a picture of yourself or if you’re a business or want to remain anonymous then add your logo here.
- Create your Youtube banner
This is similar to a Facebook cover photo for business pages. Use Canva to create this if you do not design savvy. Try to make a banner that fits your brand. If you can, put your video upload schedule on the banner. For instance “New videos every Tuesday and Thursday.” This lets your audience know when to expect your videos. You can also put the focus of your channel on the banner. For a personal stylist, this might be “Styling advice, unboxings, and shopping trips."
- Change your about section
Let viewers know what your channel is about. This can be really brief, I don’t think your audience wants to read an essay. You could say “My name is Ashley, I’ve been a Personal Stylist for the past 15 years. I love helping women achieve success in life and in wardrobe. If you’re a fashion junkie, enjoy styling advice, and want to “throw it in the bag” with me at my local shopping mall then subscribe! Stay tuned for new videos every Tuesday and Thursday. Looking forward to our journey together. Xoxo, Ashley "
- Add your other social media links
YouTube allows you to link to all of your social media accounts. On the “about” tab of your channel, you can click on “edit” next to links and add all of your social media handles. This will help you cross-promote your other channels and build your following.
- Make yourself contactable
Put an email where people can get in contact with you. You can do this right above the section where you add your social media links. Make sure this email suits your brand. Use a professional email address if you are serious about getting opportunities on YouTube. Emails like [email protected] may not land you the opportunities you're looking for.
- Create a canned video description
Go to the creator studio, choose a channel, then “upload defaults.” Click on that to customize the default settings. Each time you upload a video, these settings will apply.
If you’re a Personal Stylist and you made a video about how to clean your closet for spring, list the steps you mentioned. Make sure any third-party resources you mentioned in your video are listed in the description box.
The description box is also an area where you would leave direct links to all of your social media profiles. It’s important to make sure this is in the description box for each of your videos. Viewers don’t want to search multiple videos to see where else they can find you. They also don’t want to go to the about page to get that information. Make it easy for them and make it visible everywhere.
Monetize your videos.
Set up a Google Adsense account here: http://bit.ly/29Fko3T
In the creator studio, under the channel, you can click on monetization to connect your Adsense account to your YouTube channel. You want to do this in the startup phase to take advantage of the views you’re getting. You can’t backtrack on your earnings.
Let’s say you just posted a video on YouTube with no Adsense account. The video happens to generate 100,000 views in 48 hours. When this happens, you immediately set up your Adsense account. There’s no button you can press that says “pay me for the 100,000 views I’ve already received.” You can only benefit from those views before the fact, not after the fact.
Of course, there are other ways to monetize your YouTube channel. You can monetize through sponsorships. This is when a company pays you to talk about a product or service. You could also make money by selling your own products and services. You could also use affiliate links in your description box to link to products you talked about in your video. If you want to monetize through Adsense, get your account set up and linked to your YouTube channel immediately.
Just like in the blogging world, you can’t monetize an article that’s already gone viral. You have to be proactive and set everything up first.
If you’re going to use music in your videos, make sure they’re royalty-free. Your videos can’t be monetized through Adsense if they contain any copyrighted content. You can learn more about Adsense here: http://bit.ly/1SwuWQd.
>> Step 2: Management Phase <<
- Record an introductory video
It’s important to just get started with something. You don’t want to waste time with setup and never post a video. Once you get started, everything becomes easier.
This video can simply be you restating everything you mentioned in the “about” section. This would tell your viewers who you are, what you do, and what they can expect from you.
Include a call-to-action at the end of each video. You can ask your viewers to comment below, like the video, check out your website, etc. Asking your audience to take some action helps you get comfortable asking them to take action and conditions them to engage. This also helps you achieve your personal or business goals.
You can ask viewers what videos they want to see next. This will take the guesswork out of figuring it out by yourself. At the end of your videos, you can even include a poll to poll your audience using the card feature on YouTube. Learn how to do this here: http://bit.ly/1xplb2j.
-Upload the video to your computer
Your camera should have instructions attached on how to do this. You can use a USB to connect your camera to your computer and upload the raw video just like you would a thumb drive. If you’re using your phone, you can email the video to yourself. You can also send it to your computer via Bluetooth or text message if you’re on a MAC.
-Edit the video in editing software
Don’t throw a raw video onto YouTube. The key to getting quality video is to edit your video to take out parts you don’t like. You can customize your video by adding transitions to make the video flow, add text, or add sound. You want to cut out parts of your videos that have long pauses or that would make your viewers click off the video.
-Export the video
Once you’re all done editing the video, then you want to export the file. Each editing software is different. If you’re using iMovie, click on the “share” menu at the top of the screen and then click on “export.” The software generally lets you know which formats you can export your video in. If you have the option to export in 720 HD or 1080p HD, I would recommend that you do that. This gives you a high-definition video that your viewers would appreciate.
-Upload the video to YouTube to make it live
Click on the “upload” button at the top of the YouTube screen or on the left-hand side panel. Select your file and choose whether you want your video to be public, unlisted, private, or scheduled. If you select “public,” your video will automatically go live when it’s finished uploading. If you select unlisted, your video will go live after uploading but it won’t be visible on your channel page. Unlisted videos are viewable to those who have the link. Keep in mind that these videos aren’t private. If anyone gets ahold of that link then they will be able to view your video. Private videos are just that, private! No one can view a private video but yourself. Initially, I use this option for every upload. I want to make sure that I have time to customize the description box and add a custom thumbnail.
-Customize your thumbnail.
A thumbnail is an image you see on a video. Thumbnails are extremely important because they make people click. The idea here is to make your image attention-grabbing to make a person who doesn’t know who you click on the video. You can choose a stock photo or you can take your own images and edit those. I always take my own pictures and edit them. I would recommend Fotor or Canva to edit your YouTube thumbnails. Those are the only tools I’ve ever used to create my thumbnails. If you’re not a graphic designer, I recommend those tools.
-Customize the video description.
Make sure to include specific things you talked about in this section. If you mentioned a few links or products in your video, link directly to those in the description box. Your viewers don’t and won’t rewind to hear what you said. They want to look in the description box for that information. You can also talk about the general topics you presented in the video. If you go into the specifics, people won’t watch your video.
-Add tags to the video.
These are keywords. YouTube is powered by Google and is basically a search engine. Don’t get cutesy with your tags. Type in things that people are actually searching for. If you’re a graphic designer and just made a video on how to use photoshop to create YouTube thumbnails, you would use tags like “photoshop, how to use photoshop, how to create a thumbnail in Photoshop.” Think of this as SEO for your YouTube channel. You should use a keyword planner tool to help you see what people are searching for and how many hits those keywords are generating. You can use the Google Keyword Planner, check it out here: http://bit.ly/1liOZmG.
-Promote the video
Now that the video is live, you want to promote the video. Just like that nice blog post you wrote or the new offering you have in your business, it means nothing if no one knows about it. Share your video to different Facebook groups if the group allows it. Share a pretty picture on Pinterest that links back to your video. There are so many platforms you can share your YouTube video on. Stumbleupon is a great resource as well.
A great way to promote the video is to follow other people in your niche. Watch their videos, like their videos, and comment on their videos.
Commenting on other’s videos makes you visible in your community and easier for others to find your channel. People will see your comments and want to check out your channel. Make sure to keep your comments positive and un-promotional.
Do not promote yourself under someone else’s video. This will possibly get you blocked from that person’s channel, it’s spammy and rude. Make your comments conversational and on-topic. If what you watched resonated with you, share that with the creator in the comments section.
-Track YouTube analytics.
It’s important to see how your channel is doing. You have access to key metrics that can tell you a lot about the health of your channel. You can see metrics on things like watch time, location of viewers, and more. In the creator studio, under analytics, you can access this information. Get more insight into YouTube analytics here: http://bit.ly/29fps0b.
-Respond to comments.
Your viewers want their comments and questions responded to. You are more likely to turn these viewers into hardcore supporters if you engage with them. Make sure to use their names if it’s in their username to make it extremely personal. Thank them for watching your video. The truth is they could have been watching anybody else’s channel but they chose yours.
>> Step 3: Growth Phase. <<
-Choose a filming schedule.
You want to choose a filming schedule to keep you consistent with your videos. You can create an editorial calendar or jot down video ideas on a notepad. You can use a free tool like Trello to create an editorial calendar. Stay up-to-date on current trends in your industry and be willing to go outside of your filming schedule to cover these topics. Doing this may get you viral traffic if you act immediately. News is here today and gone tomorrow. The people who act fast win!
-Collaborate with other YouTubers.
You can reach out to other YouTubers in your niche and team up to do a collaboration video. A collaboration video is where two YouTubers come together physically to film a video for each of their channels. They cross-promote each other’s videos to their subscribers. This could also be a virtual collaboration where the YouTubers pick a video topic or two and create their own videos.
For example, two YouTubers that specialize in doing makeup videos may collaborate on Valentine’s Day looks. One YouTuber creates a certain Valentine’s Day look and the other YouTuber creates a different Valentine’s Day look. At the beginning of each video, each YouTuber tells their audience that the video is in collaboration with another YouTuber. They tell their audience to check out the other YouTuber’s video. They’ll even link to each other’s videos in the description box.
-Host giveaways
Hosting giveaways are great because it helps you grow your channel. You want what you’re giving away to be something your audience wants. Don’t make the giveaway local to you or your business. Chances are most people that watch your videos won’t all be located near you. You don’t want to exclude your other subscribers. Make sure it’s a product or service that relates to your channel.
You want to set rules for the giveaway to make it fair for everyone participating. Maybe you’re a web designer and you’re giving away a custom website to a lucky subscriber. You may say, “to win, comment below and let me know what your perfect website would look like.” The best giveaways are ones that foster a lot of engagement and require the audience to do something.
Also, make sure to put the word “giveaway” somewhere in your video title and thumbnail. This can help drive a lot of traffic to your video and channel.
You also want to make sure to set an end date for the giveaway. If you don’t specify this in your video and description box, people won’t take action immediately. Also, they’ll continue to try and enter the giveaway long after it’s closed. Put “Giveaway closed” somewhere in your video title when the giveaway has ended. You can use tools such as random.org to choose winners at random.
-YouTube networks.
Proceed with caution here. With the growth of YouTube, many networks have formed. They have been promising YouTubers channel growth and sponsorship opportunities. You’ll be approached by networks almost immediately. They’ll send you private messages, comment on your videos, and email the address you put in the “about” section.
DO YOUR RESEARCH BEFORE SIGNING WITH ANY OF THESE COMPANIES!
The promise can sound amazing at first but a lot of YouTubers have gotten scammed by these companies. These types of things usually only tend to favor extremely large channels. It’s easier for these networks to leverage traction that a YouTuber created themselves. They can’t create this for you but they’ll promise it to you.
They will take a cut of your YouTube earnings and they lock you into a contract for at least one year. Most of the people that have signed with a network have been looking for ways to get out of their contracts. This will only benefit you if your channel is already large (500,000 subscribers plus). Even then, some of these companies are scams so check their reputation beforehand.
-Upgrade your equipment.
If your equipment isn’t helping you produce high-quality videos, then it may be time to upgrade equipment. This also applies if you’re filming on your phone. There are so many great tools out there. I would recommend that you invest in a camera that can shoot in 1080p HD. Also consider getting a good tripod to stabilize your camera, studio lighting, a mic, and advanced editing software.
The important thing is to be true to yourself, find what works for you and your brand and put that into practice. With consistency, time, and quality content your channel will grow and become a success. Keep in mind that success is different for everybody.
Popularity doesn’t equal success, it doesn’t always mean dollars.
If you have a YouTube channel, comment below and let me know your channel name. If you haven’t started a YouTube channel yet, let me know what’s stopping you.
>> ABOUT GLORY <<
I’m Glory! I’m a glampreneur, makeup artist, and blogger. I live in the Lone Star State and enjoy nights out with my girls. I adore Sunday brunch, six-inch heels, and tall carafes of bottomless prickly-pear (sparkly and bubbly) mimosas.
I’m a girl’s girl who loves helping women transform every aspect of their lives from drab to fab. Great skin, a pinch of encouragement, and tons of sparkle are all you need to beat basic and live the glamorous life.
Website Link: www.globyglory.com
Instagram: @GlobyGlory
Facebook: Glo by Glory
Snapchat: Glorye
