How to start a YouTube channel and grow your audience
Create a channel
The first step is to create a YouTube channel using your Google account. You can choose to use your name and photo, or create a brand account with a different name and image. To create a channel, follow these steps:
- Sign in to YouTube on a computer or the mobile site.
- Click your profile picture in the top right corner and select Create a channel from the menu.
- Check the details (with your Google account name and photo) and confirm to create your channel.
If you want to create a channel with a different name and image, you can connect it to a brand account. To do that, follow these steps:
- Sign in to YouTube on a computer or the mobile site.
- Go to your channel list.
- Choose to create a new channel or use an existing brand account.
- Fill out the details to name your new channel and click Create.
Customize your channel
Once you have created your channel, you can customize it to reflect your personality and style. You can add a profile picture, a banner, a trailer, sections, and more. To customize your channel, follow these steps:
- Sign in to YouTube on a computer or the mobile site.
- Go to your channel page.
- Click Customize Channel.
- From here, you can upload a profile picture, a banner image, and a video trailer that introduces your channel to new viewers.
- You can also add sections to organize your videos into different categories, such as playlists, popular uploads, or recent uploads.
Plan your content
Before you start filming and uploading videos, you should have a clear idea of what kind of content you want to create and who you want to target. You should also consider your production plan, such as how often you will upload videos, what equipment and software you will use, and how you will edit your videos. Some questions to ask yourself are:
- What is the main topic or niche of your channel?
- What is your unique value proposition or selling point?
- Who is your ideal audience or target market?
- What are their needs, wants, pain points, and interests?
- How will you solve their problems or entertain them with your videos?
- How will you differentiate yourself from other channels in your niche?
- How often will you upload videos and what will be their length and format?
- What camera, microphone, lighting, and other equipment will you use?
- What editing software and tools will you use?
- How will you optimize your videos for SEO and discoverability?
Upload your videos
Once you have filmed and edited your videos, you can upload them to YouTube using YouTube Studio. To upload your videos, follow these steps:
- Sign in to YouTube on a computer or the mobile site.
- Click the Create button in the top right corner and select Upload video from the menu.
- Select the file you want to upload and wait for it to process.
- While it is processing, you can add a title, description, tags, thumbnail, playlist, subtitles, and other details to your video.
- You can also choose whether you want to make your video public, private, unlisted, or scheduled for a later date.
- When you are done adding details, click Publish or Schedule.
Grow your audience
Uploading videos is not enough to grow your audience. You also need to promote your videos and engage with your viewers. Here are some tips to help you grow your audience:
- Share your videos on social media platforms such as Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, TikTok, etc.
- Collaborate with other YouTubers in your niche or related niches.
- Respond to comments and feedback from your viewers and ask them questions.
- Encourage your viewers to like, share, subscribe, and turn on notifications for your channel.
- Analyze your analytics and performance data using YouTube Studio or vidIQ.
- Learn from your best-performing videos and improve on your weak areas.
- Experiment with different types of content, formats, styles, and strategies.
Starting a YouTube channel can be fun and rewarding if you follow these tips. Remember that success does not happen overnight. It takes time, effort, consistency, creativity, and passion. Keep learning from other successful YouTubers and from your own experience. And most importantly, enjoy the process!
Summary:
This article gives you practical advice on how to create, customize, plan, upload, and promote your YouTube videos and channel.
