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How to Create a YouTube Channel

Chapter 6 by Nicole Martins Ferreira

YouTube is the second largest search engine. With one billion hours of videos on YouTube this is one of those marketing channels you wish you started using sooner. The average mobile user spends 40 minutes watching YouTube videos showing a high level of engagement. How to video searches keep climbing up. Creating tutorials is one of the most popular types of videos you can create.

While it can be hard to stand out on the platform, only 9% of American small businesses market their brand on the platform. You can give your brand a competitive advantage by marketing on YouTube. This can be done by creating how to videos, vlogs, interviews, webinars, screencast videos or product reviews. You can choose to monetize your channel with Youtube ads, links to your products or both. Product links can be added in the video description to drive potential customers to your online store.

Example: Luxy Hair, a Shopify merchant, grew quickly because of their YouTube channel which has over 3 million subscribers. Their channel features hair tutorials featuring their hair extensions without over-selling it. In their description section, they include a link back to their website so that people watching their video can buy their extensions easily. They create stunning YouTube thumbnails with beautiful hairstyles to encourage click through. Pay close attention to how they name each video. They don’t use clickbait headlines but use language that would still encourage people to watch to learn more.


The Steps to Create a YouTube Channel:

  1. Create a YouTube Channel: To have a YouTube account you will need a Google account. This is because YouTube is a Google company. If you have a Google account go to youtube.com and click “sign in” in the upper right-hand corner. This will lead you to the same Google sign-in page as your Gmail account.
  2. Upload a Profile Photo: Adding a profile picture helps people to find you on YouTube. If you are an influencer a high quality headshot will suffice but if you are a brand your logo or recent artwork is great to add as your profile and cover images.
    Oberlo YouTube Profile Pic
  3. Add Links for Traffic: Your YouTube channel can be a great source of traffic to your website so be sure to add links to your website and social media profiles so your customers can easily find as much information about you as possible.
  4. Optimize to be Found: Just like on your website, you can optimize your content on YouTube for search. This includes researching the right keywords to use and placing them in the title of the video, within the description and using tags to get found. Remember YouTube is the second largest search engine in the world so you need to make sure you optimize your videos as much as possible.
  5. Start Creating Great Videos: Then you need to create videos to grow your channel. In order to start creating videos you will need to research topics, choose the right format of videos for your audience, and post high quality videos consistently for your audience to interact with them.
    Create Consistent YouTube Videos
  6. Video SEO: Finally, once you have started to build some great content, make sure to optimize it for both YouTube and Google Search as both search engines can send lots of traffic to your channel.

Tips For How to Create a YouTube Channel:

Most successful YouTubers grew in popularity because they created content with other YouTube influencers. You will need to grow your following a bit before you can work with influencers. You’ll likely need to partner with people at the same level as you. If you have one thousand subscribers, you’ll want to partner with other YouTubers who have a thousand subscribers.  

Focus on creating valuable content that educates and entertains.You can add a link to your products, of course, but your content shouldn’t be a video sales pitch. If you’re selling makeup products, you could create makeup tutorials. If you sell hair extensions, you’ll likely create hair tutorials. Lootcrate often shares Theodore Tusk, a puppet, doing unboxing videos. Good Morning Mythical creates funny videos to build their audience while adding links in the description to their online store where they sell t-shirts, mugs and more.

When starting out, some choose to post a new video every single day. You’re competing with other channels who’ve been around for years. Building up a collection of high-quality videos will give you a better chance of being found on a saturated platform. As your channel grows, you can decrease from daily videos to weekly videos to ensure that the quality stays high. However, keep in mind that running your online store should be the focus so if you can only post once a week in the beginning that’s fine too. The goal should be on consistency such as posting every Wednesday. You should publish videos consistently without affecting the video quality.

Stay true to you. Avoid copying the style of other YouTube influencers. Focus on creating videos that play to your strengths. If you’re funny you could create funny videos about your niche. Dollar Shave Club regularly creates funny videos promoting their grooming products. They’re typically short, commercial length videos packed with a comedic punch. If you’re really experienced within your niche, you might want to educate your audience on things they might not know. House of Fraser has YouTube videos featuring makeup looks by beauty expert Charlotte Tilbury whose products they feature on their online store. You don’t always need to bring an expert into the video. It’s perfectly acceptable for you to be the expert.  Deliver video content in a way that works well with your brand’s or your personality.

Keep your videos short. On average, the most popular YouTube videos are around 4 minutes and 20 seconds. According to Wistia, videos around one to two minutes in length can hold 75% of viewers compared to a five minute video which only holds 60%.

Tell your viewers to subscribe to your YouTube channel in every video. By getting people to subscribe to your channel, they’ll be notified every time you create a new video. This allows you to build your audience, remarket to former viewers and eventually sell more products.

Learn from other YouTube influencers. What do the most successful YouTubers have in common? Do they share a video length? Do they create videos in the same style? Does every top YouTubers’ video look a certain way? How do they communicate their ideas? What’s the difference between a channel with 10,000 subscribers and one million? You could find hints at how to succeed on YouTube by watching others’ videos.

Market your YouTube channel. Adding a YouTube link to your store isn’t gonna cut it. There are millions of videos on YouTube, making it hard to stand out on the platform if you don’t do your own marketing. If your videos provide value, eventually the audience you share it with will share it with their own followers. But you need to take the first step in your video’s promotion.

Alternatively, if you don’t have the time or resources to create your own YouTube channel you can sponsor YouTubers. By paying their fee, your products can be featured in a YouTube influencer’s video. The fees will range depending on the size and clout of the YouTuber. You can use platforms like Makrwatch and Peg to find YouTube influencers.

Optimize your YouTube content. YouTube is owned by Google so treating your channel the way you’d treat your store’s SEO strategy is a pretty safe bet. Add keywords to your video title. Write a unique video description. Tag your videos. Follow trends. Upload the video’s transcript. Link back to your online store. Use Canva to create attention grabbing YouTube thumbnails.

YouTube - Canva

Some store owners choose to turn the comments off on their videos. While it’s true that YouTube trolls can be harsh, the reality is people genuinely want to engage on YouTube. One of the most easily overlooked elements of Youtube is the vibrant and active community. Your business won’t fall apart because of a few bad comments. Find the truth in the negativity and use it to create better content for your audience.


Equipment to Create a YouTube Channel:

Every successful channel has their own great equipment that helps them create a world that subscribers love. When you are planning your YouTube content you should take some time to research possible video equipment that you may need. A few popular equipment categories that brands may need to create high-quality videos include:

  • Microphones: A shotgun microphone is the most commonly used microphone by vloggers and YouTubers. They can easily be mounted on any camera with a pop shield to create an even better sound. 
  • Lighting: LimoStudio, Diva Ring Light, and Stellar’s Ring Lights are the popular light choices for many video influencers.
  • Editing Software: When it comes to editing software, most YouTubers use Adobe Premiere Pro or Apple Final Cut Pro X which are easy to use and have great resources online to onboard you.

YouTube - Adobe Premiere Pro

How to Create a YouTube Channel Tools:

Channel Pages: If you’re looking to partner with relevant YouTuber influencers, you can post your opportunity in Channel Pages. This allows you to grow your channel quickly as partnering with relevant YouTubers can help increase your brand presence and number of subscribers. This YouTube tool also allows you to partner with brands for sponsorship. However, if you’re creating a YouTube channel to promote your store, you’ll want to make sure you partner with brands that complement your business, not compete with it.

YouTube - Channel Pages

YouTube Keyword Tool: You can use this tool to optimize your videos for keywords. You can choose the keywords you want to rank for, the language, and the country you’d like to rank for. You’ll end up with a list of relevant keywords that you can base your YouTube videos around. If you sign up for their pro account, you can view search volume, Cost-Per-Click (CPC), and Adwords competition. You’ll also get up to 2x more keywords.

YouTube - Keyword Tool

AudioJungle: You’ll likely want to add music during parts of your YouTube video such as an introduction, a transition or at the end of the video. You can buy royalty-free music on AudioJungle that allows you permission to use their music in your YouTube videos. You can easily sort through the best-sellers to find the best music for the video.

YouTube Audio Jungle

Social Blade: Social Blade offers you YouTube analytics. By typing in the channel name into the search box, you can view the analytics of any YouTuber. You can view your grade, subscriber rank, video view rank, whether views have gone up or down within the last thirty days, their estimated earnings, and more.

YouTube - Social Blade

YouTube Creator Hub: YouTube’s Creator Hub offers different levels of support based on the number of subscribers your channel has. Those with under 1K subscribers can learn from the Creator Academy and manage their channel with the creator studio. Those with between 1K-10K subscribers can join a Creator Day and learn from other creators. They can also attend meetup events. Those with over 100K subscribers earn an award, gain access to exclusive events and receive a partner manager.

YouTube Marketing


YouTube Resources:

YouTube Creator Services Directory is a directory where you can find experts who offer services like content strategy, monetization, and audience development. You can sort by Creator Type, Regions, and languages.

YouTube Creator Academy offers courses on topics like ‘Foundations of Success,’ ‘Earn Money on YouTube,’ and more. This resource is great for those just starting out to learn more about how to succeed on YouTube.

How to Start a YouTube Channel That People Want to Watch takes a look at what it takes to building a successful YouTube channel. From capitalizing on trends to putting in the work, this article covers all aspects that go into building a YouTube audience.

7 Ways to Leverage YouTube Marketing to Improve Sales takes a look at how to grow your YouTube channel. The article even includes ecommerce brands who’ve built YouTube followings that you can use as inspiration.

16 Easy Ways to Get More Views on YouTube gives you great ideas on how to grow your audience in the ever changing world of YouTube and video. These 16 tips to increase video views on YouTube can help your channel grow without you having to spend any money at all.

11 Powerful YouTube Analytics to Help You Grow Your Channel walks you through all the analytics reports that you need to plan your video strategy in the future. YouTube analytics is so important as it can show you the videos that people enjoy or don’t enjoy, and where the majority of your audience is so you can post videos when they are awake.


YouTube Influencers in Ecommerce:

YouTube Expert - Kevin Caron

Kevin Caron started his YouTube channel in 2006 growing it to over 51,000 subscribers. He shares, “Treat YouTube like social media because, well, it is. I spend time every day answering questions and responding to comments. That has helped me build community. Include a call to action at the end of each video. Viewers have just finished and are, if only for a moment, free to do something else. I want them to like my video, subscribe or visit my site, so I ask.  Be consistent when you upload new videos. I upload every Wednesday morning at 9 a.m. MST People know this and the consistency has really helped keep viewers engaged.”

Michelle Phan started out as a beauty YouTuber. Her channel, which currently sits at over 8 million subscribers, eventually evolved into a business venture: ipsy. Ipsy is a monthly beauty subscription service that lets beauty lovers try out samples of different products that they may not have otherwise tried on their own. It’s no surprise that ipsy’s YouTube channel boasts over one million subscribers and is worth several hundred million dollars.

Mimi Ikonn built out her Luxy Hair brand by creating amazing hair tutorials. The channel boasts over 3 million subscribers. It’s the perfect example of how to build content around your brand without overselling your product. Throughout all their social platforms the content is built around beautiful hair and how to style yours like it. It’s no wonder their brand became such a huge success.

Fastest Growing YouTube Channels:

You might be looking to grow your channel fast through organic means. This means really understanding your target audience and tailoring your content exactly for them. Below we highlight four fast growing channel, outlining how they pinpointed what their audience truly wanted. You can use their success as your brand’s YouTube benchmark for growth.

PewDiePie

PewDiePie subscribers PewDiePie, or Felix Arvid Ulf Kjellberg, has 101 million subscribers and makes mainly video games videos. PewDiePie uses his humor to win the attention of many different demographics who really enjoy the games he plays. He has been the top subscribed channel for many years by creating consistent humorous content.

Niki and Gabi

Niki and Gabi Subscribers Niki and Gabi are 21 year old twins, that vlog about their unique life experiences among other things including makeup, songs and fashion. With 8.9 million subscribers they are taking over the world using their diverse personalities. Identifying that their unique experiences could entice their audience they have corner a market that is hard to replicate.

Alissa Violet

Alissa Violet Subscribers As a 20 something year old living in LA, Alissa Violet is a model who shares her life experiences with her 3.9 million subscribers. Starting out on vine, Alissa moved to YouTube as it was a better fit for her content. She immediately became a hit through her outspoken and unparalleled personality. She is known for the hit saying: Can I get a HOOYAH!

5 Minute Crafts

5 Minute Crafts Subscribers 5-Minute Crafts is a DIY channel that creates videos around different topics like survival skills, life hacks, and magic. With 60 millions subscribers and around 10 other YouTube channels to maintain this amazing company helps people around the world be their better selves.

next: Chapter 7

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