In this post, I´m going to talk about the things you need to know before starting a YouTube channel, and how you can take advantage of them to grow.
Now, for the most part, succeeding on YouTube depends entirely on your efforts, but doing a couple of things right will lead to quicker growth.
Let´s dive in!
1. It Takes Time
Yup, you saw this one coming, don´t you?
It takes time to grow on YouTube, not only referring to the time it takes for a video to start ranking and getting organic views while you are a brand new channel but it also takes more time than you´d think to shoot a good-looking video.
First, it takes time for your videos to start getting some traffic when you begin uploading videos, check out these examples:
Here´s another case study.
And you can find more evidence of this if you take the time to follow brand new content creators.
So, as you see, it can (easily) take months for your videos to start showing up on people´s feeds and getting some traffic, don´t despair and keep working on improving.
Now.
On the other hand…
…Although you can make it really simple and film something with your phone, maybe make a rough edit and upload it directly to YouTube, you NEED to know that, especially nowadays, YouTube is getting more and more competitive.
So, writing a script, shooting with enough lighting, trying to figure out what to say and how to say it, and editing everything right takes time.
2. Niche Diversity
Picking a niche wasn´t that important when getting started on YouTube ten years ago but now it really IS.
Niche diversification, meaning that you make videos that cover every topic you can think of, without (almost) any sort of proper direction will only negatively affect your channel´s growth.
People want to know exactly what they´ll get when they subscribe to your channel, and they won´t do it if you make videos that talk about very different things.
Therefore, taking the time to think of exactly WHAT you want your channel to be about would be a smart move.
Now, how broad or narrow you choose to go from here depends on your particular goals and what you like to do, so choose something that you can rumble upon for years to come and/or something that you want to learn more of and get better at.
In short:
AVOID niche diversity, pick up ONE thing to talk about, especially at first, then and after you´ve seen some growth you can expand a bit more on your video-topic selection. 😉
3. Production Value
If there´s one thing that really stops people that want to start a YouTube channel is this.
Production value it´s just a fancy way of saying high-quality looking and sounding films and videos, that´s it, the higher the production value the higher the quality.
Now, the wrong impression that most people make is that they think production value mostly refers to expensive and fancier equipment and although this is (sometimes) a part of it, it´s more about HOW you use what you have.
That being said, there IS an actual minimum you should try to reach in order to get a fair chance at getting traction with your content.
Here´s what to really focus on:
- Audio is even more important than video if you have (at least) a decent phone to shoot with making sure to put it close to your mouth and sync up audio later, it just takes a few clicks, or you can use your headphones mic.
- Try to shoot at 720p minimum if not 1080p, most phones can easily capture that level of quality footage.
- Rearrange your scene, whether that means organizing your room so it looks more presentable or simply getting rid of everything you can that will be in frame so that there is no distraction between you and your audience. You can always invest in a solid color backdrop, which is not expensive.
- Lighting is the real issue, if you use natural light you will need to film at certain times of day, but it´s something that you´ll HAVE TO learn more about in order to get the best possible result.
4. MUST-Learn SEO Tactics
Especially now that there are more and more people getting into YouTube you must learn (at least) a few SEO tactics in order to get some leverage with your content creation process.
Relying simply on wishful thinking won´t get you anywhere.
You need to do that “extra” work not many people usually do, and that is learning how to apply proper SEO practices, for video.
YouTube is a search engine, as well as Google, and that means you can rank videos on the top of the search results and get organic views that way, whether you are a brand new channel or not.
Therefore, SEO can be a great way for you to get discovered and grow as fast as possible.
Some must-learn SEO practices are:
- CTR Improvement. This means taking a closer look at your Click Through Rate, the number of clicks you get compared to the impressions your videos have within the platform and adjusting both your thumbnails and titles accordingly to improve your results.
- GOOD Keyword Research. You have to do some keyword research if you want to be found on YouTube, as well as analyzing what are some “easy” keywords or phrases that you could rank for if you create a good-looking and entertaining video.
- Audience Retention. Last but not least, watch out your audience retention metrics. Do people click off after watching 20 seconds of your video? Do they stay? Maybe you should shorten your intro. Audience retention (as well as watch time) can make or break the success of your video making strategy.
Clearly, there are many other things that affect SEO and can be improved, I´ve just mentioned these for you to get an idea of the importance it has and that this is one of the many things you have to consider before you start a YouTube channel.
5. The Consistent Lie
There are so many YouTubers saying that consistency is one of the keys to grow on YouTube and that you have to upload videos (at least) once a week if you want to be promoted as a content creator.
Well, this simply is NOT TRUE, or an incomplete statement to say the least.
You don´t need to upload one, or two, or more videos per week to grow on YouTube, you just need to make the highest quality piece of content you can as many times as you can.
What does that mean?
The quantity versus quality dilemma is one of the oldest questions many content creators often ask and have found no definitive answer yet.
However, if you take a closer look at what some channels have done you start to see some patterns.
For example, Experimental Fun has hundreds of thousands of subscribers and gets millions of views on his channel by posting videos months apart from each other.
Check it out:
The owner of this channel just makes good, fun, original, and entertaining content, that´s it.
His “World´s Smallest Shotgun” video, which lasts less than 5 minutes, has 27M views and doesn´t even apply any sort of SEO strategy on YouTube, it just gets promoted by the platform because it´s GOOD.
Successful content on YouTube depends on how good your video actually is compared to what other content creators have made on that similar niche or market.
Another great example of the consistent lie is Parker Walbeck, who posts 1 video per month, has a little over 70 videos on his channel and it´s going to grow until it gets to 1 million subscribers.
And if you take the time to watch some of his videos you´ll see why.
In short:
If you make something 100% better or, at least, similar to your competitors you´ll get promoted. Period.
6. Basic Editing Skills
Of course, you must learn some basic editing skills to make videos that don´t bore your viewer right from the get-go.
People´s attention span is only getting shorter and making a video where you rumble about any given topic won´t make them watch until the end, they´ll simply click off.
That´s why having learned some basic editing will help you make your clips more entertaining to watch, whether that means adding cool effects, motion graphics, or titles to keep your viewer’s attention.
You can easily take advantage of some editing tricks to get your average viewer watch until the very end of your video.
So, bear in mind that you´ll have to dedicate (at least) a couple of hours to learn a few basic editing skills as they´ll come handy once you start making your very first videos.
No matter what software you use there are some features that you MUST learn how to properly use if you want to be able to improve watch time as well as audience retention on YouTube.
7. Social Media Is NOT Important
Contrary to what many potential creators think, you DON´T need to have a big following on social media or any sort of previous social media knowledge to create a successful YouTube channel.
Social media is just a good way to complement your YouTube strategies and further promote your videos so that you get more traction of every piece of content you make by repurposing it.
So, although a Facebook page can be a potential ally that can help your growth is NOT important in the big scheme of things.
As long as you keep making good, relatable, and shareable content you´ll keep growing, no matter what.
That being said, the truth is that using social media to fasten your growth won´t hurt you, just keep in mind that you don´t need it, your focus should always be in making better content.
8. The 4,000 Hours And 1,000 Fans Rule
You probably have heard about this before, but in case you didn´t let´s talk about it.
In order to start making money with YouTube videos, you have to comply with the number one barrier the platform has created to differentiate those who take this seriously from those who don´t.
You have to amass a total of 4,000 hours of watch time and 1,000 subscribers in the period of 12 months to get accepted as a member of the Partner Program and start monetizing your content with Adsense.
Now, although this might sound like a lot it isn´t.
Think about it, if you are going to take this seriously and try it as such you are going to upload many videos, some of them are going to be really good and are (probably) going to get a few thousand views, at least.
This will lead to 4,000 hours of watch time in just a couple of months, if not weeks depending on how content you are able to upload.
In addition to that, if you do things right, market your channel well, target a specific audience and ask them to subscribe you can easily get 1,000 subs in one entire year.
To be completely honest, it isn´t a very high standard if you think about it.
9. Understanding Fair Use
Another point to consider if you are going to start on YouTube is getting a better understanding of fair use.
Fair use laws regulate how you can use other people´s content, whether that is video or audio, into your own content and not get punished by YouTube.
Now, what you should know is that YouTube just uses fair use laws as a guideline to be safe that there are no copyright violations being committed when a video is uploaded to the platform.
If you are going to use other people´s content you have to get a bit more familiarized with fair use rules and learn how not to get copyright claims or strikes from YouTube.
So, for that purpose, I´ve written this post: Fair Use On YouTube. Check it out!
10. You Don´t Need To Be An Expert
You don´t need to be an expert, at all.
But.
You HAVE TO (kind of) become one if you want to succeed on YouTube.
This means that if you don´t know much about what you are talking about on your videos then you need to pick something you want or are interested in learning more of, so you can improve as you go.
People want to get their questions or searches answered and if you are effective at making something that addresses their queries you´ll get a higher ranking.
So, if you are not an expert on your channel´s niche or market then you can begin the path of becoming one.
Now, although you don´t need to be an expert you DO NEED to be transparent with your lack of expertise while still make high-quality content.
People can see right through you, the camera doesn´t lie.
The best way to grow on YouTube is by building relationships and having a long-term goal with your channel.
11. A Thicker Skin
Yes, you are going to get some really nasty comments from time to time, and people are going to talk about you, and you have to be able to deal with it or simply not care that much.
The truth is that YouTube works also as a social media platform, not only a content-based one.
People interact with each other, they answer comments, share, and like or dislike content constantly, and you don´t have to pay that much attention to that unless you want them to interact with you, which is actually GOOD.
The more people comment your videos YouTube sees that as a positive ranking factor, something that can make your content be promoted that much more.
So, don´t see it as a dreadful thing you have to worry about but more so of a natural part of it and something you can actually take advantage of.
12. Camera Comfort Takes Practice
No one is born with the talent of speaking directly to the lens with a perfect pitch and total comfort, it´s a skill that you learn and develop with hours and hours of practice.
Chances are that you won´t like that much how you look and sound on camera, it´s sort of a weird feeling as it is something most people haven´t done before.
Unless you are a news reporter or a movie star you won´t feel very comfortable at first, and you should expect that to happen.
But wait, don´t panic, it´s 100% normal.
I´ve struggled with this on the first few months of my channel and still am, but it gets a lot easier as you do it more.
Also, you´ll have good and bad days, it happens.
Days when you don´t feel like making a video or that you are a bit unfocused, you have to get right past that and press record anyway, it might not be the best video you´ll ever make but it will surely take you a bit closer to it.
13. You May Suck, At First
Just watch at some of the very first videos some of the best YouTubers have made, except for Casey Neistat, don´t watch his first videos, they were already awesome, especially considering what the rest of the YouTube world was doing.
For example, check out one of Peter McKinnon´s first videos:
Now, watch a bit of one of his latest videos:
You can already see a huge difference between the thumbnails, right?
So, as you can guess, it IS a process, it takes time and you (probably) will suck at first.
That being said, if you take enough action you´ll get much better, and, the more action you take the better you´ll get, it is that simple.
Now, simple doesn´t mean easy, it is still very hard to improve if you are not willing to push some boundaries, learn from your mistakes, and keep going.
Therefore, bear in mind that you will probably suck but don´t let that keep you from doing it, try to make your best effort to shoot good-looking videos and learn from each piece of content you make.
14. Everybody´s Different
Although it is common sense I don´t think everybody realizes how different we all are, and how little most people take advantage of that.
The place you live in, what you do for a living, what´s your own personal view of this thing we call “life”, everything gets in the way and can make or break the way and type of content you ultimately produce.
That´s why Matt D´avella talks about Minimalism and how it affected his life and the way he thinks, sharing tips and tricks on how to apply this philosophy to your own life.
Or how this guy is able to share some of his food reviews to more than a million followers!
The bottom line?
Make every video a self-expressing piece of content that both provide actual value to the viewer and connects with your audience on a deeper level, give it a more personal touch, make it more YOU. 🙂
15. Scripts Are KEY!
Especially when you are getting started writing a script, even something simple like a bullet-point list that you can take a pick when you are recording your very first videos, it´s SUPER important and makes a world of difference.
Think about it, when you record the first videos you are nervous, you don´t really know what you are doing, you rumble and pause repeatedly and you aren´t as fluent to speak to the camera as you are when you are amongst friends.
The list goes on and on, you get the idea.
You´ll find that having a script beforehand helps a lot, even when you are an experienced YouTuber and you´ve been doing this for years, but more so in the beginning.
Plus, when you don´t use a script and hit the record button it shows, you start to rumble about your topic, you don´t follow (almost) any sort of structure with your content, you pause a lot, etc.
So, unless you have a ton of experience on YouTube, and even in that case, you have to take advantage of the beneficial power of writing a good script.
16. Don´t Believe Everything You See
As you may already know YouTube it´s a great way to make money online, probably one of the best ways nowadays.
As a result, you´ll find lots of self-proclaimed success stories and scammers that promise the world to their viewers and make false claims to attract a broader audience, you should try NOT to fall into their tramps.
The way to do that is by conducting your own research and find real people that can actually recommend you a course or mentor that actually deserves your time, money and attention.
Do not follow the path of least resistance, it will ONLY backfire as it is not a sustainable way to build a brand and have a long-term goal with your YouTube channel.
Learning how to create great content online can take time, more now than ever.
If there´s someone that´s telling you that can teach the apparently unknown secrets of making money online they are (probably) bull shitting you.
You can easily find tons of good information online for free, and I would suggest you start that way until you feel comfortable enough to invest in yourself and buy a course or any sort of digital/informational product.
17. You NEED a Strategy
This need-to-know tip works together with picking a niche and learning a few SEO tactics to apply on your YouTube journey.
It´s important that you come up with a plan for your channel, you shouldn´t rumble about your video topics, what´s your goal, or how are you going to make money with it.
The more precise you are the better results you´ll get.
Growing a fanbase on YouTube is only going to get tougher, therefore you must have a strategy to succeed and grow as fast as possible.
This could mean that you spend some time promoting your content on social media if you are in a very competitive niche, or that you use specific SEO strategies to be found, or maybe that you change the entire concept of your channel and focus on different topics that are being underserved on YouTube.
Whatever it is you can rest assured that your growth will be positively affected by deploying the right kind of strategy.
In fact.
As I´ve mentioned before, Peter McKinnon did not “shine” on camera when he got started, but he did one thing particularly right at the beginning.
Instead of keeping up making vlogging videos about any sort of random topic he created a super-useful good-looking short video clip that could be found if you happen to be searching for some camera tips or hacks.
Which, apparently, a ton of people were!
From a few thousand views per video to almost 5 million on his 9th video, that´s simply incredible.
And you can accomplish the same if you take the time to do some research on your niche and find opportunities to create an AWESOME piece of content people will really appreciate.
18. Land Of Opportunities!
Finally, and to end this in a more positive tone, YouTube is (literally) full of great opportunities.
In fact.
It is, right now, the best opportunity you´ll have as a content creator in the 21 century and for many more years to come.
Video marketing is the number one way to attract more people to your business and make money with, it is also relatively new so you ARE still on time to get into it and benefit from such a great platform.
As someone that is really into SEO and content marketing, I see YouTube as the biggest opportunity you could possibly think of as a brand new content creator.
There are hundreds of thousands of tough keywords that couldn´t even think of ranking for on Google but you can easily get traffic with if you´d take the time to craft a nice video.
Actually.
In order to rank in Google, you have to do a lot of things right, and you might not still get it, plus, the traffic won´t be as high and engaged as it is on YouTube.
So, to be able to say that you own a YouTube channel that gets a couple of thousands of views a month is way more valuable than if you´d get that same number as a blogger.
Therefore, if you are thinking that your camera or phone isn´t good enough, or that you have to invest in any sort of high-quality equipment, then remember that what actually matters is the content itself.
The information you deliver, the value you provide through your videos IS what makes the difference, not how much you spend on your camera or how high-quality your lens are, the content itself.
Spend time doing proper research, work your way up, make an undeniable great video YOU would like to watch, something you can be proud of and that isn´t easily replicable.
If you follow these simple yet increasingly important tips you´ll see how growth will become inevitable.