How I’d Start a YouTube Channel If I Had to Do It All Over Again
Creating a YouTube channel is the best thing I’ve ever done for my business. Even with a small audience, YouTube is incredibly profitable and one of the best ways to draw leads.
If you’re super excited to get busy and dive into the wonderful world of YouTube content, I have to tell you something first — it’s going to take some work.
YouTube isn’t like any other social media channel. On TikTok, you can go viral overnight and for no apparent reason for a video you whipped up in 5 seconds, while your well-thought-out video gets minimal views.
Not on YouTube. This social media platform values quality content, so don’t expect to become an internet sensation in your first week.
The main thing? Stay consistent with your content and go into each video with a solid game plan.
What you need before you start making videos
You can’t just dive into creating videos. Well, you could, but…they wouldn’t be very good.
Just like anything else in business, your YouTube channel needs to be strategic. The whole point of using YouTube is to drive leads to your business and make you more money, but you can’t do that if you’re just slapping some b roll together and calling it a day.
Here’s what you need to get started:
Channel name
Channel banner
About section
Channel keywords
Important links (where are you going to be directing your audience with CTAs?)
Channel settings (don’t skip this one! Optimization is important!)
You’re also going to need to set some realistic expectations for yourself. If you don’t have time to post two videos a week, then don't. If you put too much pressure on yourself, it’s likely that your content will suffer because of it.
But one video a week that’s not well thought out can be a fatal flaw in growing your channel.
I try to streamline and systemize my video creation process as much as possible, but it still takes a while — roughly 8 hours for one video, start to finish. I know that sounds like a lot, but taking this stuff seriously takes time.
Choosing your video content
Before you can make great videos, you need a plan to make it happen. Even if you’re unsure where to start or you’ve got about a million ideas and need help choosing one, creating a content strategy can help you get started on the right foot.
Know who you’re talking to
Knowing who you’re talking to makes your content creation process run a whole lot smoother. It gives you the ability to create quality content for the people you will resonate with the most.
Get into their mindset and start thinking about what kind of problems they need answers for. Look at the comment section on videos from channels similar to yours. What kinds of questions are they asking?
If you don’t know who your target audience is yet, I did a whole video here about neighbor niching and how it will help you figure that out.
Content pillars
Your audience will get bored if you talk about the same topic over and over. You have to diversify the topics you discuss but still think strategically about how they all fit together and drive leads to your business.
What are you promoting? What are you selling? What do you want to be known for? You don't have to talk about everything but you do need to be well-rounded.
Start by taking the main idea and then branch off to sub-topics to discuss. I, for example, talk about building and growing a YouTube channel, but I also talk about content planning and Instagram strategies. See how they all work together?
Always plan out your title and thumbnail first
Creating the title and thumbnail right off the bat will help you make sure you stay on track with your video. You don’t want to promise something you can’t deliver. When people see your thumbnail and then your video title, they’re clicking to watch because they are expecting that your video will follow through with that promise.
And DON'T create titles and thumbnails for clickbait purposes. There are ways to be catchy, clever, and attention-grabbing without falsely portraying the content in your video.
Planning your videos
Maybe you want to start with two videos a week. Maybe you’re cool with only doing one. Whatever you choose, make sure it's sustainable for your business because it will speed up growth.
There isn’t a quick fix for growing your YouTube channel, but if you want to do it a little bit faster, put in the time and effort. Make small improvements with each video. Implementing these small changes over time will boost your content quality faster than evaluating quarterly or annually.
You don’t need to plan your content around SEO and keywords either. Sure, they help your videos get picked up by search engines, but if you’re just repeating the same ol’ crap just for the sake of being searchable, you aren’t serving your audience well.
Instead, plan your videos around content that your audience is going to get excited about!
Producing your videos
The first thing you want to do when producing your video content is to work out your content schedule — and stick to it. Decide when you’re going to plan out your videos and what you are going to film them. Put it on your calendar so you’ll actually stay consistent.
I also HIGHLY recommend batching your content. Take a day to do the planning and research, then the filming, then the editing. When you group like tasks together, it makes you much more productive.
What equipment to use
Many people are surprised to learn that my videos don’t use a lot of equipment to film and produce. I believe that keeping things simple is the best way to focus on what you need to get done — and to create high-quality content.
I also don’t think you need to invest in crazy expensive camera equipment. You’re not making the next Avengers movie, you’re filming a YouTube video for your business. An iPhone works just fine.
Here’s what I use:
Camera
Mic
Camera card
Light
Blankets (for noise cancellation and light!)
Background ideas
Backup mic
Extra batteries
Tripod
I also keep outfit changes handy in my office on days that I film. When I batch record, I just change clothes and film the next so it doesn't look like they were all created at once.
How to upload your videos
There are quite a few things to consider when uploading your video. You’ve gotta make sure yours is optimized to the max! YouTube is more likely to push out a high-quality video that’s optimized for their platform than one that became low-rez in the uploading process.
Here are a few best practices to optimize internet speed, description boxes, tags, and more.
Build out a strategy before you get started
There are so many things I wish I knew before starting my Youtube channel. If I had a YouTube pro walking through the beginning stages of my business with me, I could have avoided a lot of mistakes that cost me time….and money. I always think about how nice it would be to have those resources right in front of me instead of searching for hours on Google for help.
That’s why I created this 100% FREE training that takes a deeper dive into what kind of strategy it takes to build, and grow, a YouTube channel specifically for business.
YouTube can be a huge asset to your business, but you have to make sure you’re using it strategically and keeping the algorithm happy. Because if we make YouTube happy, they’ll show our content to more people, which, you guessed it — helps us drive more leads and sales to our business. No thousand-dollar ads needed.
If you’re ready to boost your channel with some tried and true content tactics — make sure you sign up before May 25th!
