How To Start A Successful YouTube Channel

If you’ve been thinking about starting a YouTube channel, now is the time to do it!

There are so many successful YouTubers out there that have paved the way for beginners to make a real career from the platform.

You just have to get started!

Now, I get it.

When I started my channel, I thought I was too late.

There were so many other successful YouTubers that got started YEARS before me.

And I thought it would be nearly impossible to stand out among the millions of people who are uploading videos.

RELATED: How To Create Unique Content That Stands Out Among Other Influencers

But here I am with a YouTube channel (by the way you should totally subscribe) that is continuing to grow every single day.

So today I want to share some tips on how to start a successful YouTube channel.

PLUS how you can grow your channel from the very beginning.

Let’s get into it!

WHY I STARTED MY YOUTUBE CHANNEL

I started my YouTube channel because I knew the move was video.

I mean, ask yourself: how many blog posts do you actually read compared to how many videos do you watch?

Typically when I want to know something, I head to YouTube.

I like to get quick actionable tips that I need.

Instead of having to scroll through the fluff to find the information that I actually want.

And once I’m on YouTube, then I get lost in all the other accounts that I love to follow.

Even if I’m not getting anything valuable from them, I still love to follow people that make me smile!

So why do you want to start a successful YouTube channel?

Do you want to share your life? Grow your blog? Provide more value?

Whatever it is, let me know in the comments sections down below!

And don’t forget to share your new channel for a little #shamelesspromo!

Now let’s get to the video!

HOW TO START A SUCCESSFUL YOUTUBE CHANNEL

There is so much that I could tell you when it comes to starting a YouTube video. But honestly, this blog post would be a mile long.

So instead of me typing it all out, I created this video.

But if you want to learn more about how to create videos, rank in YouTube search, and get more subscribers, I’ve got more tips for you.

So let’s get to those.

HOW TO MAKE YOUTUBE VIDEOS

Let’s be honest.

Setting up your YouTube channel is pretty easy.

All you need is a Google account, a profile picture, and a cover image.

Then it all comes down to the videos that you create.

So how can you create videos?!

You’re going to need a few things like a camera and a tripod.

But there’s more that goes into it.

Let’s dive in.

5 TIPS TO MAKE YOUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL A SUCCESS

Now I’m sure you want to know how you can get more views on your videos and subscribers to your channel.

So here are some tips to help you grow from the very start!

1. Learn YouTube SEO

Yep.

Just like Google and Pinterest, YouTube also has SEO.

I mean, are you really surprised?

YouTube is owned by Google and it is a pretty powerful search engine with people searching for videos every minute.

So you need to learn some SEO that you can incorporate within your videos to help them be found in search.

One of the main factors of SEO is KEYWORDS!

It all comes down to what keywords you are including in your title, description, tags, and the content of your video.

So let’s talk a little bit about keyword research.

2. Perform keyword research

If you want to be found in a YouTube search, then you need to make sure that you are including the right keywords in your video.

It’s not enough to just include the keywords that you want to include.

If you want to be successful, then you need to include keywords that people are actually searching for!

And that means… keyword research.

Performing keyword research on YouTube is pretty easy.

Simply start typing in a keyword phrase that you think you want to rank for and look at the drop down menu with other suggested searches.

These are popular searches that other people have completed!

Now if you want to take it a step further than you need TubeBuddy.

And if you want to learn more about how to use TubeBuddy, make sure you watch that YouTube SEO video above.

3. Post at times when YOUR subscribers are active

This is huge.

The first 24 hours after you launch your YouTube video will really determine the success of the video.

Sure.

A video can go viral at any time!

But the first 24 hours are important for YouTube to tell if it’s a good video for them to pick up and promote in search or not.

And by promote, I don’t mean a paid promotion.

I just mean boost a little higher in search or the recommended video section.

So what this means is that you need to share videos when your audience is active.

And with the new YouTube Studio, you can tell when you get the most views by taking a look at your video count for the last 48 hours.

If you don’t have many views of subscribers yet, I’ll let you in on a little secret.

The times that perform the best for me (and when I notice a lot of other big YouTubers upload) are 12 or 1 pm EST and 5 or 6 PM EST.

That’s when I try to upload all of my videos because the first 2 hours I get the most views!

4. Niche down

If you want to become a daily vlogger, it’s going to be hard for you to get a lot of subscribers at the very beginning.

So I would highly recommend niching down!

This is something that I really struggled with at the beginning. I wanted to talk about anything and everything!

But little did I know that I ended up wasting almost a whole year because I was creating content that no one really cared about.

It wasn’t until I decided to talk about only a few key subjects that my subscriber count really started to grow!

So get focused and create content that your audience would honestly want to see.

And what they are actually searching YouTube for!

5. Your thumbnails matter

When I first started my YouTube channel, my thumbnails were awful!

Honestly, I don’t know what I was thinking.

I had created a design that was so different from anyone else (and much worse looking, might I add) that clearly they weren’t going to perform!

Your thumbnail is your opportunity to grab people’s attention!

Not many people read the title of a video first.

They will look at the thumbnail! So it needs to be good.

Don’t just grab a screenshot of you talking in your video. Or doing whatever you’re doing.

Have an actual photoshoot before, during, or after you shoot your video!

Then when you edit your thumbnail, add a little text.

Something that will get people to actually click on it!

Oh, and make sure that it’s big enough to read.

Have you ever seen the size of thumbnails on your phone?! They are so tiny.

So obviously small text won’t do the trick.

THAT’S IT FOR TODAY

Honestly, there is so much that I’ve learned since starting my YouTube channel.

I feel like I could go on for days about how to grow your channel and make it successful from the start.

But these were some of the things that I wish I paid attention to when I was getting started.

So I hope you found this helpful!

Now go out there and create your channel already!

And don’t forget to subscribe to mine. (wink, wink)

KEEP READING…

ABOUT THE AUTHOR

Cathrin (Cath) creates content that encourages bloggers & online entrepreneurs to be themselves, chase their passion, and create their success online. 1 year after started her blog (TheContentBug.com), Cath left her full-time position working in the digital marketing industry to pursue her dreams of being her own boss. In weekly blog posts, sporadic YouTube videos, and constant talking on Instagram stories, Cath hopes to spread her story and be an inspiration to others who desperately want to change their lives.