How to Start Your YouTube Channel in 2023: The Step-by-Step Strategy You Need to Get it Done!

Jul 26

Was starting a YouTube channel on your bingo card this year? Well, then you need to know this isn’t the same YouTube it was a few years ago. Times have changed, and with it, so has the algo…and more importantly, the way people consume content there.

I’ve been in the YouTube game for almost eight years now, and I can tell you that yes, YouTube is SO worth the time put into it. And it can really end up being your biggest money maker…IF you do it the right way.

And I’m not talking about having kitschy thumbnails and crazy video titles. Again, it’s 2023…we’re so past clickbait now. I’m talking about having a valuable, actionable, strategy to connect with your audience and convert leads.

Want to know what that strategy is? Keep reading to find out!

Step #1: The pre-prep phase

Before you can really start digging into this cycle, you have to kind of “pre-plan” how you’re going to get it done. Especially if you’re starting a channel from scratch!

In this phase of your YouTube strategy, you’re going to focus on defining the purpose of your channel and really honing in on that niche.

And I know — these words have kind of become buzzwords you hear online and are probably tired of hearing. But I’m telling you…these are CRUCIAL for setting yourself up for success.

Why? Because it’s like I tell my clients all the time — if you’re creating content for everyone, you’re really creating content for no one. And by not having a clear idea of who you want to talk to, you’re doing that by default.

YouTube won’t know where to direct people and won’t push you to new leads (they want people to stay on their platform as long as possible, which is why they do that). Meaning, your chances of getting seen slim down.

So make sure you do this first!

Step #2: The planning phase

Now it’s time to get your hands dirty! Let’s plan out the content that will help build your channel.

Planning your content

There are 3 ways you can get traffic to your videos within YouTube:

On the search bar
On the home page
Through suggested videos

Each of these traffic sources has its own tactics and strategies BUT when you are first starting out on YouTube, you want to focus on search to find your people. This is the easiest way to generate traffic to your videos if you don’t have an established audience.

People look up things like, “How to start a YouTube channel” and if that’s what you teach, ideally your videos will show up!

That’s why you need to plan your content around your niche and what they could possibly be searching. What problem can you solve for them? How would they phrase it when typing in the search bar?

(Pssssst….this is exactly why I say DON’T skip the pre-planning phase! You need to know your niche before you can really start doing anything else.)

The 2 main types of content

There are 2 main types of content you want to focus your content plans around.

First, you want to focus on discoverable content. This content is exactly what it sounds like — content that’s going to help people find you! These are those “how to” or “tutorial” types of videos. It answers a question or solves a problem for your target audience.

This is content that gets found by searching on YouTube or even on Google.

BUT 100% of your content WILL NOT be discoverable content because once you bring people into the mix, they’re going to want more. They want to take things a step further and learn as much as they can. Plus, you’ll also want to create content that helps build a connection (people are more likely to buy when they have one).

That’s where your second type of content comes in…community content!

This content is designed for your current audience to feel connected to you, and to help you build that relationship with them. It humanizes you and helps your audience decide if you are the person they want to work with or buy from.

These videos are what build a community of people who will buy what you offer.

Some of the community videos I’ve done in the past are a day-in-the-life style vlogs. I also share my biggest lessons and even share an entire series deep diving into the first 5 years of my business and the ups and downs.

You can check them out here to get the idea wheels turning!

Step #3: Implement

Now it’s time to do the dang thing!

You need to put it on your calendar

You need to treat it like any other business task or doctor’s appointment. Don’t put it off to “whenever” because you’ll never get to it. Set a time on your calendar and stick to it!

For me, I do this every other week.

Every other Tuesday I will plan my videos — research, title ideas, thumbnail concepts, and video scripts. Then every other Wednesday I will film my videos. And I’m usually planning and filming videos every 2 weeks.

Really, the key here is trying something and figuring out what plan will work best for you. Because you HAVE to make a plan to do this and commit to it

Creating the content

If I could give you just one piece of advice for creating YouTube content, it would be to keep things simple. You don’t need a fancy camera or a fancy setup. You don’t need to pull out all the stops with the editing.

Just focus on providing valuable content. That’s it! I know you might have been expecting a really long paragraph, but it really is that simple (all puns intended!).

Step #4: Analyze your content

You need to know if what you’re doing is working right? So DON’T skip this step!

You have to be looking at your YouTube analytics to figure out how to improve. This can give you some very important clues as to what you need to do — like looking at audience retention or click-through rates.

There are SO many possibilities but the important thing to remember is that you won’t know until you look. Plus, YouTube Analytics is free and pulls the reports for you, so why not use that to your advantage?

Want even more YouTube tips?

If you found this post helpful, then I’ve got more where that came from! If you’re ready to get started with your YouTube channel in 2023, and want to start on the best foot possible, then I’d love to have you join me inside Going Video!

You’ll learn things like:

The formula for a binge-worthy video so you can feed the YouTube algorithm EXACTLY what it wants — getting you in return more views, engagement, and traffic to your offers.
The top tips and tricks to speed up your video production process without lessening the quality of your video.
How to put all the pieces of video content creation together with the simplified process.
Where to spend your time to get the most sales out of every single video you create.
The best ways to increase your watch time so you can make the YouTube algorithm happy and get your videos in front of even MORE people!

Sound like just the thing you need? Grab Going Video here!