How to Start a YouTube Channel In 7 Steps

YouTube marketing has never been more important. While it may seem to some that it's too late to start a YouTube channel in 2023, it's far from the truth.

With the rise of video content consumption, YouTube is one of the best platforms to promote your business, regardless of whether you're a big brand or a solopreneur.

Thanks to YouTube monetization options, starting a YouTube channel is also a great way to share something you're passionate about with the world and eventually turn it into a personal brand and a profitable venture.

If creating YouTube content to promote your business has crossed your mind, or you want to become a YouTube creator, you might be wondering how to start a YouTube channel. Whether you're an established brand looking to promote your business on YouTube or someone who wants to share their passion with a bigger audience, we've got you covered.

In this article, we'll show you how to start a YouTube channel in 7 simple steps. We'll also throw in some ideas on how to promote it to help you build a successful channel that you can eventually monetize.

7 Steps to Start a YouTube Channel

If you're new to the fantastic world of YouTube content creation, starting a YouTube channel may seem overwhelming.

However, this process can be broken down into a few simple steps, from identifying what your channel will be about to running YouTube giveaways to promote it.

Let's go over each step in detail.

Step 1: Choose a niche for your channel

The first step in starting a successful YouTube channel is to decide what it will be about.

If you're an established brand looking to promote your business on social media, this won't be a problem for you - you already have a niche and don't have to go through the brainstorming process.

If you're not a business owner and you're looking to start a YouTube channel, you might be wondering what your niche should be. The answer is simple: your niche should be something you're truly passionate about. Something that you want to share with the world.

However, identifying your niche is just the surface level. To really hit the nail on the head, you need to go deeper and figure out not only what your videos will be about but also how you want to present your message to the world.

What form will your videos have? How-to guides? Animated videos? YouTube shorts?

What will your voice and tone be? Casual? Formal? Humorous?

There are plenty of possibilities. Figuring out how to present your content in a unique way will help you stand out to your subscribers.

Step 2: Set up your YouTube channel

Once you have a solid idea for your channel, it's time to set it up. You can do this straightforward process in just a few clicks.

Create a YouTube channel

Once you're signed in to your YouTube account, you can create a new channel by clicking on your profile picture in the top right corner of the screen and then clicking on "Create a channel." It's that simple!

Choose a channel name

To create your channel, you'll need to choose a name for it. This can be your name or a brand name that reflects the type of video content you'll be creating. You can change your channel name later, so don't get too stuck on this step.

Add a channel description

A channel description is a short, written summary of your channel that tells subscribers what it's about. You can add or edit your channel description by going to the "About" section of your channel.

Step 3: Customize your new YouTube channel

Personal branding is one of the most important factors to help you stand out online.

While it may seem insignificant at first, your branding is what draws people in by making a great first impression. It also shows them you're serious about your channel since you've invested time and/or money into creating a professional brand.

So, before you can go ahead and customize your channel, you need to create:

• A color palette that best matches your brand
• A font combination that best fits your brand
• A logo that reflects your brand
• A YouTube channel art that tells the visitors what your channel is about
• A video thumbnail template consistent with your branding to create a coherent look across all your videos (you will be able to customize it to each video).
• An intro and outro for your videos, consistent with your branding.

If you have some graphic design skills or don't mind the learning curve, you can do all of it yourself with the right software. However, if you lack the necessary skills and/or you're looking for something highly professional, it's a good idea to outsource these tasks to a graphic design expert.

Once you've created your visual brand identity, you can change your channel banner and channel icon to reflect the branding.

Step 4: Come up with a content plan

As a content creator, you'll need a solid content plan to be consistent with your posting and always have a new video idea for when it's time to hit record.

A good content plan should include a variety of topics that you want to talk about and that your YouTube subscribers want to learn about. It's essential to strike a perfect balance between informative, educational, and entertaining content to keep each viewer engaged.

One thing to remember when growing a successful YouTube channel is that consistency is key. A content calendar will help you create a posting schedule that works for you and allows you to produce high-quality video content regularly.

By planning your content in advance, you can ensure that your videos are well-researched, well-thought-out, and well-produced.

Step 5: Use the right recording and editing tools

Video production is an inevitable part of being a YouTube creator. Regardless of who they are, your target audience wants well-produced videos that offer a good quality viewing experience.

This means that before jumping straight into filming your videos, you need to prepare the right recording equipment, such as a high-quality camera or a good webcam and a soundproof microphone.

But having the right equipment isn't everything. You also need to prepare your video setup. Think about where you'll be recording your videos and prepare the space. Your space should have:

• Great lighting: You can use daylight in a space with big windows or invest in professional lights.
• Clean background: You don't want to record your videos in a messy space. Create an aesthetically pleasing set for your videos.

Video editing can be as simple or as complex as you wish. You can opt for simple-to-edit videos where you sit in front of the camera and talk. Or you can go for cinematic videos with drone shots and movie-like scenes.

If your videos require basic video editing, you can easily learn how to do it with a user-friendly software such as Adobe Premiere or Final Cut. There are also many other alternative software on the internet you can find.

However, if your videos require complex editing or you don't have time to edit them yourself, you may need to seek the help of a professional video editor.

Step 6: Optimize each YouTube video

Growing a successful YouTube channel doesn't end with recording and publishing videos. Optimizing your YouTube video is just as important as recording it in the first place.

Here are a few things you need to do to optimize each video for the YouTube algorithm to discover and recommend you to potential viewers.

Optimize for YouTube SEO

No matter how excellent your videos are, no one will find them if you don't optimize them for the YouTube search algorithm. And if no one sees them, they'll quickly drown in the sea of other, similar videos.

This is why optimizing your video description, video title, and video tags for SEO is crucial to gaining more views and subscribers.

Your video title, as well as the description, should contain relevant keywords that you want to appear in YouTube search. This will help the YouTube algorithm determine what your video is about and push it to viewers who are searching for the exact same or similar query.

Optimize for the eye

YouTube is a very visual search engine. People are more likely to click on a video with an eye-catching thumbnail. Think of the thumbnail as window-shopping: the more catchy and attention-grabbing it is, the more people will watch your video.

The most optimal thumbnail should be designed in your brand colors, include a photo relevant to the content of the video, and a catchy phrase that makes the viewer want to know more.

To optimize your videos for SEO, change the thumbnail, and edit other details, use YouTube studio.

Step 7: Promote your channel

Once your YouTube channel is set up and you've got a few videos recorded and published, it's time to start promoting it.

Sure, you can count on the YouTube algorithm to do the work and start showing your videos to potential viewers who might be interested in them. And if you've optimized your videos well for YouTube SEO, you'll start seeing great results fast.

However, leveraging different promotion methods can help you speed up this process and start getting more views on your videos in a shorter span of time.

Here are the three most effective ways to promote your YouTube channel.

Use YouTube ads

Using YouTube ads can be a powerful way to promote your channel. This is an excellent solution for bigger companies and entrepreneurs who have the budget to invest on a monthly basis into running ads.

As massive as YouTube's platform is, it's an immense opportunity for you to reach a wider audience and raise awareness for your channel and, most importantly, your brand and your products or services.

There are different types of YouTube ads, from non-skippable, 5-second videos to skippable, longer videos. You can also go for display or overlay ads.

Share with your social network

Another great way to promote your YouTube channel is by sharing it with your social network. By now, we all know how powerful social media can be! Even if you don't have a big following, you can still leverage your existing network to get more eyeballs on your channel.

Share each new YouTube video on your social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and even Pinterest. If you do it consistently, you'll start seeing results in no time.

Run a YouTube giveaway

Running a YouTube giveaway is an excellent and fun idea to get more traffic for your channel and get people excited about engaging with your videos.

A YouTube giveaway is a contest where the entrants have to perform certain actions to be eligible for winning prizes. People can enter the contest by leaving comments, liking videos, subscribing to the channel, sharing videos on social media, etc.

Wondering how to run a YouTube giveaway? The best way is to use a giveaway app such as Socialman.

Socialman is a powerful giveaway software that allows you to run YouTube giveaways effortlessly. With Socialman, you can create a giveaway, add a schedule, add entry options, track entries thanks to YouTube analytics, and ultimately, choose the giveaway winner.

In other words, Socialman allows you to run YouTube contests quickly and effortlessly with a few clicks.

Let's Wrap It Up

Whether you want to start a YouTube channel to promote your business or share your passion, there's no reason not to do it! With the right mix of creativity and growth strategies, you can create a successful channel that you'll eventually be able to monetize.

There is no perfect formula for getting traction on YouTube. Every creator has their style and strengths and will pursue a strategy that works best for them.

But there are some universal keys to success: build an engaged audience, be consistent with your content, and don't get discouraged.