Learn how to start a successful YouTube channel from scratch in 6 simple steps. From choosing your niche to uploading your first video, discover essential tips for equipment, channel setup, and content creation.
Build your channel’s identity, engage your audience, and maximize your potential on YouTube.
Starting Your YouTube Channel: A Step-by-Step Guide
YouTube is a great platform where you can provide more content to your audience. It’s free and very easy to set up a channel on YouTube. Uploading videos on your channel on YouTube is a great way to utilize your talent and convert your passion into a profession.
There are lots of creators on YouTube who are making money out of it. To start a successful YouTube channel you should be very careful while choosing the niche.
Your niche should be related to your area of interest so that you won’t run out of ideas to make videos.
In this article, you will learn how you can start a successful YouTube channel in 6 simple steps. Let’s get started from scratch.
1. Choose a niche:
Choosing a niche before starting your YouTube channel is a must, it is the foundation of your YouTube journey. Based on your niche you will choose your channel name and target audience.
Most people already know what their niche will be when they think of setting up a YouTube channel.
It is advised to choose a niche that is related to your passion and about which you have adequate knowledge because you have to come up with new content regularly and if you don’t enjoy the topic you will find it difficult to post new content.
Also, the niche you are choosing must be in demand. Your content must be something that people are looking for on YouTube.
Another thing to focus on is the competition. Choosing a highly competitive niche will make it difficult for you to be successful in that niche. Your niche must be something with high demand and low competition.
But, if you are confident and have proper knowledge about your niche then you don’t have to worry about the competition because as far as you will provide quality content to your audience it will be easy for you to grow.
To stand out from the competition you can look at the content of your competitors and then you can plan better content accordingly.
2. Get the required equipments:
The quality of the videos you post on YouTube plays a very big role in making you successful in your journey.
As a beginner, it’s best to put some effort into the visual quality of your videos to ensure that your videos stand out and attract viewers. The most important piece of equipment that you need is a camera.
If your pocket allows you then getting a DSLR is recommended, otherwise you can also use a smartphone’s camera as their quality has improved vastly in the last few years.
Along with a camera, you might require a fast lens with a large aperture if you are going to shoot your first few videos inside, in low light.
If you are shooting your videos in a quiet environment then you might not require a microphone. But, if you find your audio getting muffled then you must go for a quality microphone.
Quality earphones will not cost you much but they will make a huge difference in the quality of your videos.
You can also buy premium video editing software just to add music and effects in your videos to make it more attractive and engaging.
Investing in these equipment will pay off in the long run. Here are some recommended equipment that you can consider to have a start:
i. Cameras:
- Sony ZV-1
- GoPro Hero 9 Black
- Canon G7 XIII
ii. Microphone:
- Rode NT-USB
- Takstar SGC-598
- Blue Yeti USB Microphone
iii. Video Editing Software:
- Quik
- Adobe Premiere Clip
- Final Cut Pro X
3. Set up your youtube channel:
If you have a google account then your youtube channel is already waiting for you. Log into youtube and choose your channel. Once you are done with setting up your youtube channel now its time to do the modifications.
Choose a attractive name of your youtube channel that also suits your niche and videos that you are going to post. Uploading a unique logo or profile picture for your channel is also very important.
This logo will make you stand out from other competitors and also be your identity. You must also provide a background image for your youtube channel.
This is called your channel art. You can choose any image and can update it whenever you want. Once you are done with setting up the channel art and logo now its time to modify the ‘About’ section.
This section will tell the viewers about the purpose of the channel and what kind of videos they can find here. In the about sanction give a brief description about yourself and your page.
You can also provide your address and email ID if you are making a youtube channel for business purpose.
4. Make a channel trailer video:
A channel trailer is a video designed to help people quickly learn about your channel. Once you enable channel trailer, this trailer will be displayed at the top of your youtube channel to non-suscribed visitors.
After the channel logo and channel art next thing that catches the eye of visitor is the channel trailer. If you present your channel trailer effectively then it will help you a lot in gaining subscribers.
A basic channel trailer must include quick intro of you and your channel, overview of the type of videos you post on your channel, posting schedule, and call-to-action to subscribe
5. Upload your first video:
Now that your channel is ready, you need to focus on the content because content is the king on youtube. Record your content carefully without mistakes and take as less takes as possible. Insert an intro and outro to your video.
Once your video is ready to get uploaded click on the ‘Create’ button to upload the file. Once the file is uploaded, now you need to provide a descriptive information about the video.
Be careful while giving title to your video and writing the description.
You can do keyword research on various online keyword research tools that will tell you how people search for topics related to your content or niche. The title must be catchy and the description must support the content.
These small elements will elp you to be on the top on the searches and they will also increase the chances of getting more clicks on your videos.
The youtube interface allows you to edit youtube videos once they are uploaded. You can also group the videos on similar topic by adding them in a playlist. It will make your channel more organised and user-friendly.
6. Build your network:
Youtube is all about connecting, sharing, and collaborating with other users. To be successful as a youtuber you must build your networks. Collaborating with other creators will give exposure to both of you which ultimately helps in gaining more subscribers.
Building contacts only with other creators will not be enough, you also have to make time to connect with your viewers and subscribers. You will start getting subscribers with time, once you start getting comments on your videos try to reply them politely and ignore the negative comments.
Promote your channel on other social media platforms such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, Snapchat, and Linkedin.
You can get lots of viewers from these social media platforms. Interact with your subscribers and get an idea about what type of content they need in future and what are their likes and dislikes. Make sure you upload videos on a regular basis to maintain your credibility.