10 Things to Know Before Starting a Youtube Channel

Having transcribed thousands of videos this is one of the questions that we would like to answer in terms of YouTube content creation in particular.

As you may all be well aware of the fact that, YouTube today is the second biggest search engine in the world. Second only to the mighty Google. YouTube is a Google property and it is expected to have top quality content and deliver an experience that is consistent with other Google products. Having said that, YouTube although has a lot of professional content creators, it also has its fair share of amateur content creators who play a crucial path in its growth.

With this post, we hope to address a few things that content creators on YouTube need to pay close attention to before starting a YouTube channel and also while running the show. So here goes.

Post consistently

We cannot stress this enough. If you have worried that your video is not perfect and it needs to be that way all the time, then you will probably never get anything published. We are sure there are pictures that you took 4-5 years back that you are not very proud of in terms of quality but just as with anything else, we learn by practice.

Also, it is important that you set a goal for yourself and stick to it in terms of regular posting. You can force consistency for a while and before you know it, it would have transitioned into a habit.

Gear up

It is not important for you to have the most advanced recording equipment in the world. However, it is necessary that you have at the very least enough to get a decent product out there. This does not mean you breaking the bank, it could be as simple as getting a good audio recorder for $100.

Especially, when it comes to audio a lot of YouTubers tend to ignore that aspect of the product. Paying attention to the nuances is what will make or break your final output.

Take Inspiration

Videos uploaded on YouTube are no different from the hours of video content that you consume on a daily basis on television, Netflix and the like. So there are loads to be learned from these sources in terms of production quality, camera angles etc.

For example, Breaking Bad had brilliant camera work going for them, you could try some of that. Also, “The Wire” has exceptional lighting and you could experiment with that setup as well. Inspiration is everywhere, you just have to find it.

Don’t be afraid to use the scissors

A bad video is way worse than a smaller edited one. Do not be afraid to chop off parts where you feel it is not up to the quality standards that you have set for yourself.

It is also important for you to set the right benchmarks for yourself in terms of quality. You can follow top YouTubers to find out what level of quality is acceptable at that level and strive to reach that with every video of yours.

Followers will come eventually

Followers/Subscribers are not everything on YouTube. In fact, the number of subscribers does not define the quality of your channel. You will be able to gather the following over time but you will have to be patient about it and consistently roll out content.

If you are someone who is looking to make a quick buck then YouTube is not the place. So take that with a pinch of salt. Money and followers will follow with good and consistent content.

Keep it simple

Do not worry about stuffing your video with a million elements when a handful could have done a much better job.
We tend to over think the process of adding a lot of variables and if you plan on doing this for a long time then you will have your task cut out. Rather have a very simple setup and process so that the journey from the camera to your channel is smooth.

For example, if a simple Windows Movie Maker/QuickTime could do the job for you then there is no point in complicating it by getting Adobe’s Final Cut Pro and paying all that extra money unless you absolutely need it.

Transcribe your video

This goes without saying that opening up a new consumption channel for your content can do a lot for you. And unlike other parts of your video, captions do get indexed by search engines since they come from a text file. This will increase your chances of being found by anyone looking for your content and in turn increase your following/earnings.

One study proves that adding captions can increase your views by 14.38% in the first 14 days and 7.32% overall. So why would you want to leave that money on the table? Get your YouTube video transcribed and improve your discoverability.

Pay attention to Video SEO

It is no secret that there is a lot of SEO that you can do with your content and apart from the transcription of your video mentioned above, you can also do the following to improve your SEO.

a) Add a descriptive title that gives enough context

Good description: A tribute to Boston Celtics Class of 2009
Bad description: Yaaaay!!! Boston Celtics 2008

b) Use tags that reflect what your video is about. These are options that you will get when you are uploading the video and it is important that you pay attention to it.

c) Add keywords in your description. Think of this as the meta-descriptions of Google Search in the 2000’s. This can greatly influence your SEO. Hence, make sure you give an accurate yet brief description of your video.

Also, do not forget to include keywords that you would like to rank for in all the above three parts of the text.

Develop a thick skin

This is pretty important since the internet is not filled with just angels. Most people are not going to cut you any slack and you will have to face the criticism. But it is very important to know the difference between constructive criticism and just pure trolling which you should ignore.

Remember that you can never make everyone happy all the time, so it is up to you to know what changes/modifications make sense in the long run and what does not and act accordingly.

Get Social

A lot of times the audience will not come to you, so you got to take the show to them. Start getting active on social media and set up an effective distribution process so that your content get as many eyeballs as possible.

Buffer is a great tool for content distribution that we would like to recommend but there are many similar tools that do the same job.

These were the 10 things that we feel every YouTuber needs to know before getting started on the long and exciting journey of video content creation.

Do let us know in the comments below about what your thoughts are on this post.