How to Start a YouTube Channel

Whether you are an individual wanting to showcase an interest or a business trying to captivate an audience, YouTube is for everyone. If you are seeking exposure or financial gain, starting a YouTube Channel can be a big step in the right direction. This can be especially true if you take advantage of YouTube ad campaigns. If you are an individual, starting a YouTube channel can be a fun way to express yourself. In either case, you have a growth potential that is only limited by your own creativity and tenacity.

YouTube is the largest video streaming platform. By utilizing it to post your videos, you have access to a worldwide audience. The actual setting up of a YouTube channel takes mere minutes. However, if you want to have a successful channel, you’ll need to take a little time to set yourself up for success.

How to Create a YouTube Channel

The actual process for creating a YouTube channel is pretty straightforward. You can have a channel set up within minutes. However, you’ll need to consider whether you want a personal or business channel. It is recommended that you use a Gmail account for signing up to streamline the process. This is especially the case if you are going to be doing advertisements through your YouTube channel, as they are run through Google Ads.

How to Create a Personal YouTube Channel

With personal YouTube channels, only you can manage it through your Google Account. The steps are as follows.

  1. Sign in to YouTube. You can do this on a computer or through the mobile site.
  2. At the top right of the screen, you will see an icon indicating your profile picture.
  3. Click your profile picture and select the “Create a channel” option.
  4. You will be prompted to answer some basic questions about yourself and your channel.
  5. Ensure your details are correct and that it is connected to your Google account.
  6. Choose Confirm and congratulations! You now have a YouTube Channel.
A snap shot of our Sony FS7 cinema camera system from our film set, while producing a documentary series for the Holocaust Center for Humanities. Here we are interviewing a local high school about their experience with some of the Center’s teaching materials.

How to Create a Business YouTube Channel

With a business YouTube channel, you are able to have additional owners and more than one person managing the account. With this type of account, you are not limited to using a Google account to begin. You can also connect your YouTube channel to a Brand Account that is specifically for your brand.

  1. Sign in to YouTube. You can do this on a computer or through the mobile site.
  2. At the top right of the screen, you will see an icon indicating your profile picture.
  3. Click your profile picture and select the “Your channel list” option.
  4. Select “Create a new channel” or “Use an existing Brand Account” depending on your needs.
  5. You will be prompted to fill in details and give your new channel a name.
  6. Confirm and congratulations! You now have a Brand Account.

You can add channel managers and owners after the channel is created.

YouTube Channel Success Strategies

Creating a YouTube channel is one thing. Creating a successful YouTube channel is something else entirely. Before you start uploading videos to your newly created channel, you’ll need to consider what your channel is going to be about. Whether you are creating the channel for business or pleasure, turning it into a success is an involved process and honestly, takes work. Then again, anything worth doing will take some degree of effort. In addition to creating amazing and searchable content, you can also adopt additional strategies to boost your chances of success.

Establishing Your Niche

If you haven’t already, you should decide on what type of content you want to create before starting your channel. This is important because if you change your mind later, you may find yourself struggling to keep any traction you may have had. If you are unsure, check out the most popular videos on YouTube and find an area that interests you.

If you are a business, make sure that your videos are consistent with your brand’s image. The goal should be to post videos that uplift and promote your business in a positive light. Having a dedicated channel will not only attract interested viewers but also establish your presence. Keeping consistent with a particular niche will help with your channel’s legitimacy.

Getting the Word Out About Your YouTube Channel

Making a YouTube channel is the easy part, the real work comes when you want to get the word out about it. One of the ways to do this is promoting your YouTube channel on all your social media. Utilizing your additional audiences can help drive traffic to your YouTube channel. This process can also be automated through a scheduling app such as Loomly or Hootsuite. Either way, it does not matter if you have the most interesting videos on YouTube if no one knows about it. Making sure to let people know what you’re doing outside of the YouTube platform can make a big difference in your following.

That being said, before you make a YouTube channel, there are few things you can do beforehand that can help ensure your short and long-term success.

Utilizing Your About Me Section

When making a YouTube channel, having a robust profile can make all the difference to potential subscribers. If you are a business, having a full and informative profile will do you well. If you are an individual looking to become a “YouTuber,” having a profile showcasing your personality and legitimacy is crucial. Use this section to also describe your brand and set expectations for your viewers. Let them know the type of content you’re planning on providing. If you have a posting schedule, use this section to let your viewers know.

The About Me section is visible in more than one place so making it as informative as possible is to your benefit. You have the option of adding links to your About Me section, so make sure you utilize this feature. Connect personal or brand websites, online stores, any social media handles, or anything else relevant to you.

Male checking YouTube phone analytics.

Marketing Through Your YouTube Channel

There are three things that will ensure a successful YouTube channel: having high-quality content, subscribers, and searchability. If your goal is to grow beyond just being a contributor, there are a few things you can do to grow your channel. With YouTube’s large audience, incorporating YouTube within your marketing plan can be an effective move. Not only is it relatively low cost to do so but you also have access to potential consumers across the globe.

Creating Quality Content

One part of providing high-quality content is doing research. Assuming you’ve already found your niche, take a look at the most popular people within it. What are they doing? What content are they providing? How consistent is it? While having originality is important to the process of providing content, there’s no need to reinvent the wheel.

In your early stages, try different approaches and techniques. Consider if you get more views on some videos over others. Explore what things work better and focus on those. Keep in mind, popularity is fluid. Consumers often sway from one interest to the next. While you always want to maintain your integrity, staying on top of trends and topics will keep your YouTube channel relevant and in the public eye.

Gaining Subscribers

If you do choose to market through your YouTube channel, getting a high number of subscribers should be one of your main goals. YouTube has algorithms just like any other social site so understanding your niche is important. What makes people want to subscribe to you?

  1. Consistency. Getting on a regular posting schedule will show that you are reliable and get your potential subscribers coming for more. Even if you only post once a week, do so religiously. YouTube also has a scheduling feature. Oftentimes, you can preplan videos in advance in order to maintain a consistent schedule.
  2. Personality. Being able to stand out to your viewers is key to gaining subscribers. This is true whether you are operating as a business or as an individual. The product or service you provide is less important than the face you show to your audience. Having a strong personality, regardless of whether it is “likable” will make you stand out.
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Search Engine Optimization for Your YouTube Channel

Ensuring that the content you provide is not only of high quality but also searchable will also ensure your success. When making your content, consider if it is searchable to potential viewers.

Whenever you upload a video to your channel, you’ll be prompted to add a title, description, and tags. This is a crucial component to the searchability of your content. Similar to website and article SEO, you can optimize your YouTube videos as well. Utilize keywords in the description and title but be wary of using too many. Experiment with different keywords to see which ones are more effective. Since YouTube and Google are linked, there is a potential to not only show up in YouTube searches but also Google searches as well. Having good SEO can make a difference in your growth potential.

However, you decide to market your brand, keep in mind that utilizing multiple tools can improve your success. Things like creating a YouTube channel, Instagram account, and/or Facebook page can improve your brand’s legitimacy as well as help you reach a wide audience.

FAQs:

  • How do I create a business YouTube channel?
  • How do I create a personal YouTube channel?
  • What factors will help me gain YouTube subscribers?
  • How can I utilize the About Me section?
  • How do SEO and YouTube relate?

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