The Ins and Outs of Creating a Successful YouTube Channel

Is it feasible to start a YouTube channel in 2020?

The short answer is ‘Yes’.

Along with the YouTube Partner Program, a plethora of organisations has come to see the platform as a viable advertising outlet. With over 2 billion monthly active users, YouTube is a haven for brand exposure.

Verbal and visual integrations, sponsors mentions, and creating a video around a product are just a few ways that brands can leverage the reach that YouTube creators build with their editorial content.

Furthermore, YouTube is not limited to displaying a specific type of content. This allows brands to work with multiple creators without having to worry about one channel cannibalising the audience of another. 

13 Ways You Can Build a Successful YouTube Channel

Pick a genre and stick to it

When you start a YouTube channel, you’ll have space to experiment. That’s because you won’t have too many subscribers expecting a certain type of content from you. However, that changes when you start building a subscriber base.

Experiment early on and figure out your groove. Look out for ways to make your content unique and then stick to it.

Once you start building your subscriber count, double down on the content that worked. But still consider different types of content.

Create content consistently

Billions of monthly active users on YouTube exist because it also hosts a large number of creators.

There are currently 50 million YouTube creators. This is a tough competition for anyone trying to make it on the platform. That’s why you should create quality, unique and consistent content.

Choose a strategy:  

• Can you make content weekly or daily?  
• How do you label your content? 
• What’s your thumbnail theme?

Always include a CTA (call-to-action)

When you first start a YouTube channel, viewers might not pay attention. However, a growing subscriber base will appreciate a call to action.

It can be a very effective way to get more views and subscribers, lead people to your other social accounts and lead them to an advertiser’s landing page.

A typical YouTube creator often asks their viewers to like, share, and subscribe and also hit the bell button. But CTAs are so much more than that.

A creator can divide a CTA into two parts—one for the intro and one for the outro. You can also get creative and maybe insert them in the middle of the video without interrupting your content flow.

Register a domain name

Whatever career you’re planning to start with, it always pays off to register your domain name.

Doing so doesn’t only secure your trademark but can further promote your YouTube channel as well.

For example, you can redirect your viewers through social media posts and your website. This lets you bring in traffic to your YouTube channel.

New domain extensions, such as .tech, .site, .online, .fun, .space, etc. allow you to promote your YouTube channel and build a strong brand.

Make a backdoor channel

Some call it a backend channel and others a production channel. They all imply the same thing—a private channel for content feedback and backup.

A channel such as this should have close to zero subscribers, and all videos must either be private, or unlisted. This channel is mostly used for content feedback from your team, the brand you’re working with, or friends.

Having a channel like this prevents you from accidentally clicking on ‘public’ for a first cut. Secondly, it prevents your main channel from bloating up with several cuts, which can make navigating difficult. Finally, in case your channel gets shut, hacked, or banned, you have a backup channel.

Interact with your audience

This goes beyond the ‘Hey guys!’ that almost every creator uses at the beginning of their video.

Replying to comments leads users to your other social platforms. Also, introducing interactive elements to your videos can get you a loyal follower base that’ll eventually attract advertisers.

A good way to interact with your audience is through the use of YouTube’s easy-to-you use Cards feature. This feature allows you to create cards that the audience can interact with. These cards can be links to websites, other channels, playlists, and even donation cards.

Just a heads up, as of June 10, 2020- poll cards have been discontinued, all other types of cards are still in use.

Invest in an editing software

Video editing is essential if you plan to start a YouTube channel.

You can opt for free video editing software, such as Blender and Shotcut, especially if you’re just starting. But it still pays off to invest in a paid software in the long run for a better content outcome.

However, despite what you choose, learning how to edit is a must. Outsourcing can be an option, but it can be expensive.

Invest in a camera and mic

It doesn’t have to be a pro DSLR or an expensive microphone. When you start a YouTube channel, you probably have limited funds. You can use two phones, one for audio recording and one for video.

YouTube is also a great source of learning about how to make a cheap YouTube setup with DIY lights and other equipment. Your first video can look extremely professional without you breaking the bank.

Explore YouTube studio

Analytics, as mentioned above, is one part of the greater YouTube Studio. YouTube Studio is like a giant, virtual control centre for creators. It gives you all the resources you need for your video to succeed.

On it, creators can access analytics and YouTube’s audio library, create subtitles, and many more. It is a great place to see all your videos in one glance and package it effectively.

Start navigating through YouTube Studio and create quality videos towards a successful YouTube channel.

Make use of YouTube audio library and other free resources

When you first start a YouTube channel, you’ll need all the free help you can get. Music, sound effects, the actual visuals, and video effects are the four primary things to make a video.

However, creating and licensing them can be out of reach or expensive. Also, they may not make sense if your content is more spoken and more akin to a podcast put against some stock footage.

While premium sources offer their benefits, there are numerous free resources you can use as well. These include:

• YouTube Audio Library: For all things sound. 
• Pexels: For free stock images and videos. 
• Unsplash: Free high-resolution photos. 
• Free Music Archive: Music in the public domain. 
• Pixabay: Free visuals: videos, vectors, photos, and illustrations.

These sources all offer high-quality media for free. However, make sure you follow proper attribution guidelines to avoid copyright issues.

Explore the analytics page

YouTube analytics is given to every creator. Make use of it.

When you first start your YouTube channel, you will see just how abysmal your numbers are. Don’t be discouraged. Use them to understand what you’re doing right and what’s not working.

The analytics page shows your overall viewership trend which lets you determine whether you’re losing or gaining viewers and subscribers. These two examples are just the tip of the iceberg.

While your inner artist wants to pursue all that is pure art, a successful channel is the brainchild of both art and data. Use both and see your numbers rise.

Create different playlists

The playlist feature on YouTube lets you both express yourself and get more subscribers.

Playlists are a great way to get your viewers to watch an entire web series that you’ve created, or just show them a collection of your videos that fall under the same theme/ tone.

However, smart creators can go beyond just looking in-world. You can put other creators’ content in the playlist if you don’t have enough videos and even form partnerships with creators to create playlists with both your videos.

Playlists are an excellent way to increase view time for your overall channel. It’s also a good way to see which genres, themes, and videos work and which don’t.

Package your content

Regular packaging and quality control are paramount if you want to get subscribers and advertisers on board.

From designing a good looking logo that doubles as a watermark to choosing a consistent colour scheme—all these are important.

Potential brands and advertisers will mostly want to work with a less error-prone channel. Which goes the same with your viewers.

Make sure to run technical checks to help increase your numbers. 

Claim your YouTube spotlight

Starting a YouTube channel is easier than ever. The real work starts once you start creating content and publishing videos.

Make sure to fully dedicate your time to consistently make quality and engaging videos. With this, it takes very little to check in all the actions mentioned on the list above.