7 Smart Ways To Start a YouTube Channel As a Teenager! (2019)

Today I´m going to talk about how you can start your own YouTube channel if you are just a teenager.

Although there are many experienced YouTubers out there you can also find a ton of great examples of really young YouTube stars.

Now, if you don´t know where or how should start then let me help you.

Let´s begin!

1. The Creators Academy Guidelines

Not many people take the time to learn how YouTube actually works, what is important to learn, and actually master the basics of being a YouTuber.

Although YouTube is free and a great resource for you to take advantage of, if you are new or upcoming YouTube star then you HAVE TO pay attention to the platform guidelines.

In fact.

They make available an awesome catalog where you can go from zero knowledge to a YouTube expert in a matter of days.

In short: you have to go to the Creators Academy and start browsing to learn more about how things actually work.

You should take the time to know what are the REAL things (and not what others say) that matters for you to succeed as a teen YouTuber.

You can learn about how to make money from YouTube, how to film and edit your videos, how to get discovered in the platform, and even specific courses for beauty channels, musicians, gamers, and more!

TIP – Make sure you go in the proper order becuase there are many topics that are related to each other, start with the quickstart guide and go from there.😉

YouTube Creators Channel

Yep! YouTube´s has its own channel where some of the best creators you can find online teach you how to create AWESOME videos, how to avoid burnout, and show off your skills.

In case you didn´t know (because most people don´t) YouTube Creators Channel features some of the most successful creators on the platform so you can learn directly from them and find helpful and useful tips in one single place.

You can find tons of videos that go in-depth with some of the most common issues YouTube creators have to deal with on a daily basis.

2. Take Advantage Of Collabs

As you´ve probably heard of doing collaborations can be a game changer way to grow and turn those 12 subscribers into 10.000 in a matter of days.

Doing collaborations with other fellow YouTubers that have already grown a large following and can share some of their viewer’s attention by presenting both of you in a video must be one of the fastest ways to grow a brand new channel.

Now, if you are a teen or a kid that´s in the very beginning of your career as a YouTuber then you should take full advantage of being such a young age.

How?

Well, the mere fact that you are young gives you access to a specific audience of younger people that can relate to you in one way or another, and many “older” creators want to be able to access that audience.

In fact, being young is probably one your stronger traits when it comes to creating great content that is highly original and entertaining to watch.

Here´s a few tips to collabs:

Use the Channel Crawler – The YouTube Channel Crawler is a great app to find a small, medium, or big channels by the number of subscribers they have, what niche they are in, their name, language, country, or even number of views they get on a monthly basis. It is a great tool that can help you find your first collaboration partner in no time! (make sure to add your channel to it)

Follow YouTube´s guidelines – As I´ve said before, following the platform guidelines is one of the most effective ways to get started with the right foot as a newbie. So, when it comes to collaboration the Academy gives some great advice like choosing compatible collaborators, doing cross-promotion, how to turn new viewers into subscribers, among other great tips. (Lesson 6 inside the “Get Discovered” course)
Go off YouTube – Finally, get out of YouTube and try to connect with people outside the platform. That way they´ll know you are for real and that you are willing to bond in order to form a trusting relationship if the right partner appears. Go to forums, check out YTtalk.com, go to meetups and/or networking events as well as conferences, any type of live event where you can actually connect with people works great.

Extra TIP! Here´s another tool I´ve found that can make your job way easier and that can help you find your collab partner. (yourcameo.co)

3. Learn By Doing

One of the first things most kids I´ve talked to that want to start a YouTube channel is that they are unsure on actually HOW to do it.

And yes, you guessed it, you´ll learn how to do it by doing it!

Now, although it sounds simple it might also seem difficult at first, creating your YouTube account won´t be hard, choosing a nice pic for your profile won´t be either, but things start to complicate when you have to think about keywords, channel art, video production, thumbnails, and so on.

So, if you want to learn how you can do all that then there´s no better way than actually doing it, putting the work to learn how to design a nice-looking thumbnail, what your video title should look like, and how the heck do tags work takes time, so the best thing to do it is to start right NOW!

In fact.

“Learning by doing refers to a theory of education explained by American philosopher John Dewey. He said that learning should be relevant and practical, not just passive and theoretical.”

What does that mean?

Well, it is fairly simple, you HAVE TO apply the things that you know or learned in a practical manner and not just sit on your chair to watch another video on how to do a thumbnail.

You should watch one, maybe two if the first one did not do a good job at explaining the necessary steps and then you simply DO-IT.

4. Share But Stay Safe

You want to get discovered, by known as a YouTuber that provides lots of great content, you want to make videos that people share, and to do that you MUST share yourself with your audience.

But, what does that mean?

Sharing yourself is about being authentic, original, creating videos without fear of showing your true personality and thoughts.

If you that you´ll see how there are a huge amount of viewers that will relate with you, your thoughts, desires, hobbies, taste in music, your life background, and many other things.

You want to share in order to connect with your audience and entertain at the same time…

But… you want also to stay safe while you do it, right?

So, what are the things you should do in order to protect yourself and your information as you grow your YouTube channel, let´s see.

Change your last name – If you think ahead in the possibility of building a huge audience it is a good thing that you “change” your last name (if not your full name) in order to protect your identity online and use your fake one as your business/artistic name for people to know you by.
Hide your house – If you are going to vlog at home (like most people do) make sure to not share too much, don´t show the front of your house, if you film inside don´t giveaway any indicators of your home address or sensitive information others could take advantage of. Keep your vlogs and videos indoors, record in your room and maybe some other areas of your house as long as it doesn´t show information you don´t want to be viewed by the entire planet! (be aware of street signs or easily recognizable landmarks)
Hide info – This is similar to the last point I´ve made, you don´t want to show sensitive information like your driver license or any other document that could contain private info, so keep that in mind when editing your videos, in case you´ve filmed something without realizing it, it´s more common than you may think. (you can blur that out)
Do not announce travel plans – You don´t want to say you won´t be at your house or where are you going to be at, specifically, unless it´s for an event or social gathering that involves your YouTube channel.

TIP – Check out pipl.com to know what the internet knows about you! 😮

5. Brand Your Channel

First and foremost, you want to be easily recognized and that people are able to find you in the platform as the YouTuber that makes videos about X or Y.

Why?

Simply there´s already too much competitition out there to just settle, make a video or two, and passively wait to get some traffic to your channel.

It won´t work.

You MUST brand your channel, and you have to do it the right way in order to provide value and get people to click on your videos, watch them until the end, and go back to your channel and subscribe.

Here´s how:

Be yourself – First and foremost, there´s no easier (not necessarily simpler) way to differentiate yourself from your competitors than begin to feel comfortable in front of the camera, that way you´ll be able to show off your personality and how you see things from your own perspective, that alone will ensure your path to building a personal brand that stands out on ANY market. If you are just a kid starting out try to film yourself as often as you, until you get more comfortable with it.
Choose ONE topic – There are many top YouTubers that give the same advice to newer YouTubers, and that is choosing ONE single topic you want to master and talk about. Whether that is fashion, beauty, music, gaming, or animated videos, choose one and stick with it, at least for a while. People won´t subscribe if they don´t know what they´ll get from your channel. After you´ve reached some point, let´s say your first ten thousand or more subscribers then you can start to try new and different things, just make sure you do it gradually and that you still talk about your ONE thing, if not people won´t keep watching.
Use a crafty design – If you use the same color theme, fonts, and overall layout for your channel, thumbnails, website, and whatever it is that you create online you´ll be able to brand your design and/or outlook for people to easily recognize you and your content. Whatever it is that you are trying to do keep in mind that design it´s not as important at first but it will be in the future, so the sooner you´ll work on it the better.
Focus on value – Last but not least, focus on delivering high-quality content, top information, the best tips you can possibly think of. Whether you have the best camera money can buy or not it won´t matter nearly as much as the value you provide to your viewers throughout your videos. In fact, at first, it is your MOST important advantage.

6. Know Your SEO

One of the best ways to get started as a brand new channel and get the most out of every video you create is by keeping SEO in mind.

Now, in case you´ve never heard of it SEO stands for Seach Enginge Optimization, meaning making content optimized around a certain keyword or phrase that people are actually looking for in order to be found on Google or YouTube. (or both!)

Although making funny videos can be a lot of fun you should try to make content that also provides some valuable and educational information that people can actually use for good.

If you combine that approach with SEO you´ll have a success formula for most exposure, views, and subscribers in the long run.

Here´s how you can do it in 3 simple steps:

#1 Find a Keyword

You should use the suggestions that the YouTube bar gives when you type for any given keyword in order to find ideas for future videos.

Now, whenever you´ve found a result that doesn´t answer to your search you may have found a great spot for you to make a video and help the user.

#2 Make Optimized Content

You want ot make sure that your content is better than your competitors, create your video around a single keyword (make sure you use that keyword on your title, description, and tags), and you want to make it long.

Nowadays videos easily surpass the 10 minute mark.

#3 Promote It!

Finally, share it with your friends and family, share ir on social media and ask people to comment any possible suggestion they may have for you to improve on your next video.

Almost any sign of social engagement (comments, likes or shares) are a HUGE ranking factor for YouTube to promote your video.

7. Long-Term Success

Last but not least, YouTube is not easy, now the online world has turn more and more competitive, and you cannot take things for granted.

You have to be willing to put in long hours and practice in front of the camera to deliver your best performance when making content.

That being said, YouTube is still a great opportunity for every person that wants to be known for their skills, hobbies, or that want to make video content their career path for good.

But…

…you should take this goal as a long-term one, you don´t want to get frustrated on the first few months because your subscriber count didn´t blow up.

It takes time to grow on YouTube, more now than ever before, but once youget there (as with everything that´s worth pursuing in life) you´ll enjoy a UNIQUE way of life.

The Digital Hustler

How To Start a YouTube Channel As a Teenager