How To Create A YouTube Channel & Grow? – The Ultimate Guide

Consider this: YouTube is the only social platform where your contents appear in the timeline of those people who don’t follow you.

Besides, YouTube videos also appear in Google’s top search results.

So, if you have something to say or show to this world, then there’s no greater place to do it than YouTube.

Now let's talk about how to create a YouTube channel that goes viral and makes you a successful YouTuber.

Getting Started

Okay, we understand that making YouTube videos is a lot more difficult than creating an image and writing a bunch of text.

And Video Editing is the ultimate excuse thrown by those who aren’t professional in Designing.
But, as you read this blog, we are sure that you’ll see that making amazing videos is not that difficult.

And believe us you don’t need a DSLR camera and expensive lighting to start with. If you have them, that’s great. But if you don’t, all you need is your smartphone camera and some natural lighting.

After your channel has grown significantly and you’ve earned the budget, you can invest in expensive equipment.

Now, we believe you’re ready to move ahead and start your channel.

How To Create A YouTube Channel?

Create Channel

The easiest way for both the mobile app and the desktop version is to click on the “upload video” button. YouTube will automatically prompt you to create a channel.

Channel Name

If you’re going to create videos in a particular niche or industry, then choose a name that reflects it. Your niche can be anything from sports to food to fashion to technology to inspiration to comedy to traveling to literally anything you can think of.

However, if you’re planning to create videos over a wide range of topics, then going with your name is the best idea.

If you’re still not sure, then put your name for now. You can change it later as well.

Take this free course and read "The Perfect Brand Name" module if you are not sure about the channel name.

Verify Your Channel

Click on the verification link sent by YouTube on your email.

Customize Your Channel

Just like any other social media platform, you should aim to use your channel as your home page.

On YouTube, your channel page shows your name, logo, art, subscribers, channel trailer, and videos from popular sections.

About

Use this section as a little info about what your channel is about. Here, try to give your visitors a reason to follow you.

Channel Keywords

As we said, YouTube is also a search engine. And to have success on search engines, you need the right keywords.

To add channel keywords, go to advance settings under the channel tab. In the box, enter all the keywords you think people search for.

Social Links and Websites

YouTube also allows you to add links to your website/blog and other social channels.

To do this, go to “about”. Scroll down to the “link” section. You can add a maximum of five social channels.

Recommending Channels

This is another reason why promotion on YouTube is very easy. In this tab, you can add other YouTube channels that you think your viewers will enjoy.

The benefit of doing this is that you’ll be able to establish relations with other YouTubers. They may add you to their recommended list in return.

Channel Trailer

YouTube is all about Videos. You can communicate what your channel is all about through a small trailer video. It appears at the top of your channel page.

I use this video as a trailer for my YouTube channel as of now because I didn't make an exclusive trailer. And that's okay too.

Most YouTubers, however, use their most popular or latest video as their channel trailer.

Sections and Playlists

They will come handy after you’ve uploaded a considerable number of videos.
With sections, you can categorize your videos.

For example, if you have a few videos for Smartphones and some others for laptops, you can create different sections for them.

If you have a series of videos about a particular topic, then the playlist will help your audience finding all of them in one place.

Another advantage of playlists is that your viewers will stay for long on your channel. This will give YouTube the impression that you have quality content.

Congratulations! You have set up your YouTube channel, and it’s time to move to make videos.

Types Of YouTube Videos

Before we start recording, we have to decide what type of video we are going to make.

Mainly, videos on YouTube fulfill either of the following marketing goals:

1. Generating Awareness
2. Educating
3. Engagement
4. Entertainment

Let’s now look at some of the most popular types of marketing videos:

• “How to” type videos: Here, you take a problem and explain a solution for it. The same goes for using a tool or software.
• Reviews: In this type of video, you take a brand or a product and explain the pros and cons of it.
• Interviews: As clear from the name, you call an expert(s) or a professional(s) and ask questions related to a certain topic.
• Listicles: These videos are the type of, ‘5 best Smartphones of 2019” and “10 exercises to lose belly fat in 3 days”.
• Humorous: This is the most popular type of video on YouTube. It generates maximum viewing time as people love comedy.
• Q and A: This is similar to interviews. But here, it’s the admin of the channel who’s answering the audience’s questions.
• Vlogs: It is like a journal video. You give your audience a tour of your experience or something you use and your daily life routine.
• Behind The Scenes: Such videos are becoming popular these days. Here, you give your audience a peek inside how you made a particular video.

This is not an exhaustive list and there are many other types of videos. You can also think of an entirely different type and experiment if it works.

We hope that by now you’ve finalized the type of video you’re going to create. So, it’s time for pre-production activities.

Researching For The Video

The first thing you have to do is to find what people are watching. Creating a different video is good, but creating something no one is interested in is quite useless.

The best place to start researching is the “Trending” button.

The first thing you have to do is to find what people are watching. Creating a different video is good, but creating something no one is interested in is quite useless.

The best place to start researching is the “Trending” button.

The number of times the keyword is being searched is the search volume.

The good thing is that Google and Keyword Everywhere list the data of a large number of related keywords as well.

Look at the level of competition for each keyword. It’s low, medium, or high.
Go with a keyword that has medium to high search volume and low competition.

Try to avoid the ones with high competition unless you’re sure you have exceptional content for the video.

Scripting/Outlining Your Video

Before you hit the record button, prepare a short outline of what you’ll be saying in the video. If the video is going to feature multiple people, then prepare a short script.

Knowing what will go in your video will save you from losing track.

If you’re the one going to stand and speak, then place your notes behind the camera so you don’t forget what to say next.

If someone is recording it, he/she can help you with it. Otherwise, you can paste the notes on the wall.

How To Shoot An Amazing YouTube Video?

So now we have a daunting task in front of us. We are going to shoot our video.
We cannot give you the full photography tutorial here.

But we will list a few important tips that you can follow and record a video that looks so good.

First, let’s tackle the Video part.

Tips For Better Video

Start With What You Have

We’re again saying this: DSLR and expensive lightings are not something to fuss about when you’re starting.

It’s all about passion and your content. A Smartphone and a window pouring natural light in your room are enough.

You can add some cool effects in the editing process.

Practice. Practice. Practice

If there’s one thing that can make you comfortable in front of the camera, it’s practice.

Everyone is a starter at the start, and it is the continuous practice that makes them perfect in the long run.

• Practice smiling and moving your hands. Your bodily movements will make your video come alive. Otherwise, you’ll look like you’re forced to do it.
• Practice assuming your camera as your friend you’re talking to. There are not millions of people. There’s just a camera, which is your friend, and you’re having a natural talk with him.
• Practice avoiding repeated umm… and err….
• Practice looking straight at the lens. This way, you’ll have direct eye contact with the viewers. Practice not moving your eyes here and there so often.
• Practice speaking clearly and at a speed that is neither too fast nor too slow. Record multiple times and see how your voice feels.
• Practice speaking on your own without a teleprompter.

Background

What’s in the background is as important as your face on the camera. Your background shouldn’t be very bright colored and distracting.

Generally, the best types of professional backgrounds are:

• A plain white wall.
• A colored hanging cloth. Make sure the cloth is light-colored and doesn’t have creases.
• A bookshelf with neatly stacked books.
• A wall with some light natural photographs.
• If the view of a city through a window is your background, use lighting to illuminate your face.

Other important tips about the background:

• Make sure there are no animals or garbage or a person’s body part lurking in the background.
• Try to have as little activity in the background. Otherwise, you risk your viewers getting distracted.
• If you can create a set for producing your videos, that’s great. But if you can’t, then choose a particular place for shooting your video and set up the background permanently.

Split-up Your Video

If you’re shooting a long video, then it’s good to split up the entire video in parts. Record them separately and stitch them together in editing.

This will cause less trouble if you need to reshoot some of the parts.

If you make a mistake while shooting, then there’s no need to start over.

Just carry on from a little earlier and continue. You can remove the mistake in editing.

Lighting

Even if you don’t want to buy expensive lights, having something to illuminate your face is essential.

Shadows on your face will make the video dull.

Fortunately, there is affordable lighting equipment available in the market.

You can also invest in an affordable ring light. They are meant to illuminate the face along with creating a ring effect in your eyes.

Use A Tripod Or A Flat Surface:

Avoid holding your camera in your hands otherwise, your video will shake a lot.

The best practice is to use a tripod. There are many small to large-sized tripods available in the market.

If you don’t want to invest in a tripod, then use a flat surface to keep your camera steady.

Make sure the surface is high enough that the lens of the camera is at your eye level.

Now, let’s look at the audio part.

Tips For Better Audio

Audio is as important as the visual part of your YouTube video. Audio is even more important than the video itself.

The problem with audio is that you can’t do a lot about it once it’s recorded.

This is why you should use a microphone or a shotgun mike to keep your voice noise-free and real.

Do not rely on your Smartphone’s audio recorder while filming. It will kill all the joy.

Fortunately, there are affordable mikes available in the market which can be mounted on the camera or placed on the table.

A microphone is the one that is placed under your collar.

Also, try shooting in place which doesn’t have a lot of noise. Choose a quiet place.

To learn about the best shotgun mike, here is the information on best Rode Shotgun mikes.

If you are thinking about purchasing video and audio equipments, you can see my suggestions on my Amazon Influencer page here.

Extra Visuals For Your Video

So, we have filmed our video. And now it’s time to think of some extras to add with it.

Title and Endings

You must have noticed that many videos start with the animated logo of the channel.

And in the end, almost all videos ask you to like, share, comment, and subscribe.

Instead of creating them again and again for each video, it’s better to create them separately and just stitch them in all videos.

You can hire a graphic designer to do this for you. Or you can take help from Canva or any other designing tool.

B-Rolls And Reactions

B-rolls are the visuals that show your audience what you’re saying.

For example, if you say “the sun was rising”, you can display a picture of the sun rising above the mountain.

You can also add funny gifs and cartoons and small clips to make your video entertaining.
Deciding your reactions in advance is quite difficult.

So, film your video, identify the points where you have to give a reaction and shoot it separately.
In the editing process, we will stitch them all together.

Thumbnail

The reason why thumbnails are important is that they are the first thing people see.

While an appealing thumbnail can entice people to click the video, a dull one can make them scroll down.

YouTube generally asks you to choose a thumbnail from the video. But you can get customized thumbnail too with texts and images.

Editing Your Video

Everything we have done till now for our YouTube video is in bits and pieces.

Combining them all and adding titles and texts will need editing software.

For MacBooks, there’s an inbuilt iMovie for this purpose. However, Adobe Premiere and Final Cut Pro have more features.

It’s true that editing software cost money and require skills.

But take it as an investment.

Editing is what will make your video come alive. You can also prefer to hire a professional video editor from Freelance or Fiverr at affordable costs.

What To Do In The Editing Process

Getting It All Together

First of all, move all our clips and b-rolls and other visuals in a separate folder.

Editing Software

Open the editing software and add the clips to the timeline in a left to right manner.

Adding Visuals

Add B-rolls, reactions, titles, and endings at suitable places.

Zoom

If there’s something your audience needs to take a closer look, use the zoom functionality. You can zoom out as well to give a broader view.

Normally, most videographers don’t like to do the zoom from the camera. Either they’d do it by moving close or far or leave it for the editing process.

Rough Cut

This is where you start trimming. Mark all the places which have errors and are repeated and overlapped. Carefully delete them.

In rough cut, you may also need to do the jump cut in case of high pitched sound and rambling words.

Transition

You can add effects while moving from one clip to another. If you don’t do this, the next clip will just start from where the previous one ends.

However, all software offers you tons of cool transition effects to choose from.

Adding Texts

Texts are important, but the good thing is that they are easiest to add. Just mark the points where you have to add the text and simply add them.

Do Some Marketing & Promotions

Tell People You Have A YouTube Channel

In the very beginning, when you have nothing, start with uploading at least 2-3 videos.

Then, inform your friends, colleagues, clients, and group members about your channel and ask them to subscribe to you.

Optimize The Title And Description

This is something you have to keep doing all the time. By optimizing, we mean adding the right keywords you’ve researched in the title and description.

Remember The Formula

The keywords should have medium to high search volume and low competition. In the tag section, add terms related to the video and your niche and names of other YouTubers related to you.

Share

Share your videos on other social media platforms. Create a Facebook group and use it to get the first set of viewers.

Communicate

Watch the videos of other YouTubers. Go to their comment section and start a conversation there.

A witty comment will earn likes and replies and will stay at the top so people will see you.

Embed

Embed your videos on your websites. Share the video in forums and with clients as well.

Journey To First 100 Subscribers

On YouTube, you get two types of traffic: suggested traffic and search traffic.

Suggested Traffic

To get more suggested traffic, use the tags in your videos wisely.

Add the popular YouTubers in the tags. This will make your videos appear in people’s recommendation list.

Your suggested traffic will also increase when other YouTubers add you to their recommended list.

Search Traffic

We have said it earlier too. Using the right keywords will increase your appearance in search results.

Create Quality Content

When we say quality content, we don’t mean 4K video or Ultra-HD Dolby sound.

What we mean is to offer detailed and true value.

Research the topic thoroughly while preparing your content. Give viewers something only you can give.

Consistency Is the Key

Creating content on social media is all about being consistent.

Bring new videos regularly on a fixed pattern.

All top YouTubers roll their new videos once a week or two. Doing this will keep your audience on the eager side.

YouTube Stories

Creating content on social media is all about being consistent.

Bring new videos regularly on a fixed pattern.

All top YouTubers roll their new videos once a week or two. Doing this will keep your audience on the eager side.

Use YouTube stories to build a conversation with your audience.

Even if you’re not ready with your new video, use stories to keep in touch with your people.

When your video is fresh and uploaded, use stories to announce it.

Cross-Channel Branding

In the description of your video, ask your audience to join you on other social media platforms such as Instagram.

On Instagram too, create a post to tell your followers about your new video on YouTube.

Call-To-Action

At the end of the video, ask your viewers to like the video and subscribe to your channel.

Growing Further

Custom Channel URL

Get a custom URL link and share it on social media. You should have at least 100 subscribers to create a custom URL link.

The advantage of custom URL is that when people click on the link, they get a popup to subscribe button.

Work With Influencers And Other YouTubers

As your YouTube channel is growing up, you can collaborate with other YouTubers too.

This way, you can increase your reach to a large number of people who follow your collaborators.

Share Your Playlists

As we said, the advantage of the playlist for you is that people spend more time on your channel.

Sharing your playlist across other channels will be effective in telling YouTube that you have very good content.

Making Money On YouTube

And now, we are at the final step: making money on YouTube.

Yes, some people become celebrities on YouTube

Yes, some people have become millionaires by just making YouTube videos.

Yes, some people make a very decent living off YouTube.

But, the truth is a little harsh: When you’re starting on YouTube, don’t focus on money, because you won’t be getting anything for a long time (except you’re exceptional).

No, we aren’t discouraging you.

What we want to say is that instead of money, focus on making amazing content and establishing a long relationship with your audience.

Focus on standing out from the crowd. Strive to get those subscribers who are interested in you, and not just increasing the numbers.

Even Gary Vee says, ‘stop focusing on likes and start focusing on impact’.

YouTube is a place where good things do pay off, and if you’re contributing value, then eventually you’ll tap into the box of money as well.

Yes, you can also make money by making YouTube videos. The ingredients you need are patience, consistency, and determination.

Different Ways To Make Money On YouTube

YouTube Ads

To begin with, you need 4000 hours of view on your channel to start monetization. Once you’ve reached this threshold, you’ll start getting ads.

Converting Viewers Into Customers

If you sell a product or provide a service, YouTube is the best way to create awareness.

Entrepreneurship is all about solving your problems. If your product solves a problem, explain it through YouTube.

Direct your audience to eBay or Amazon or your website where they’ll turn into paying customers.

Online Course And Consultancy

If you have an online course on your website or any other platform like Udemy or Masterclass, give your YouTube audience a glimpse of it. Pique their interest.

Show them what value they’ll get. This is the fastest money-making technique on YouTube.

Affiliate Marketing

But what if you don’t have anything to sell? Well, you can help other companies sell their product and earn a commission.

For example, if your channel is about beauty and makeup, you can do the unboxing of a new beauty product.

Getting Your Videos Sponsored

In the world of digital marketing, companies are always looking for influencers.

Channels like Reallifelore, Wendover, Vox, What if, Practical Engineering, etc all start their video by saying something like “this video is made possible by…”.

When your subscriber base is increasing, you’ll also start getting similar offers.

Conclusion

We have covered a lot of things in this ultimate guide to making YouTube videos and getting thousands of followers.

We have gone through every process with a detailed overview.
And we’re sure you have the entire process in your mind and you’re confident to apply them.

We’ve said it earlier, and we’re saying it again: making YouTube videos is a passion, and even though it will take time, you’re going to enjoy the process.

Being consistent will bring you all the success you want on YouTube.