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Before Starting Your YouTube Channel…Read This!

By Phil/Kords | Published 7 March 2020 | No Comments

Do you want to start a YouTube channel but do not know where to go? You clicked this link because you preferred to read rather than watch tons of videos on YouTube — which may get you confused. I thank you for clicking the link leading you to my site and taking the time to read what I have to say.

Why should you listen to me? First, I have my channel running for two years at the time of writing this post. Second, I made some mistakes and do not want you to repeat them. I will not be talking much about them in this post. This will be a long post so please be patient. Start by asking the right questions to yourself. So, here goes:

Why do you want to be a YouTuber?

Not many asks this question to themselves. There are many reasons why you should if you have not yet asked this question. The primary reason is Money, isn’t that obvious? But, one thing what every money maker no matter on what platform he or she chooses forgets is it takes hard work and patience to reach that far. Stop keeping expectations that your channel will inadvertently blow out which is a rarity. What guarantees exist that your channel may blow out in days, weeks or even months as compared to tons of other channels starting there?

I’m sure no one can answer that question unless you have money to invest initially to develop your channel. What I am talking about owns your studio. Chances are, you are not that person who wishes to own a studio in the initial phases. Most creators do not wish to break up their monetary earnings; some of them do not have a choice.

This is the most important thing you should do. Make sure you remove all such unrealistic expectations mentioned above. Money should not be your first objective — that should be your end goal.

Is YouTubing for you?

Once you have made yourself clear on why you need to be on YouTube, understand, YouTubing is not a trend. Creators YouTube because they want to add value. What do I mean by that? My example, I launched a YouTube channel because I wanted to display my love for gaming. I could not make a career into gaming so to re-live my dream in some or other form — I decided to launch my channel. This was in the works for many years and lack of preparation is what got it delayed.

It is important to understand — it is never late to start YouTubing but there is no excuse for coming in much unprepared as I was. I did hardly any research because I was in the dark about the things, skills and the hardware needed to start a successful channel. More on this in future posts.

Let me get to the point: what do you want to convey with your channel? Giving my example again — I want to convey — gaming strategies and tactics what most gamers do not know where to look for. I want them to look at my YouTube channel and read them online like you are doing right now.

Content consumption occurs in three ways: read (blogs), watch (visual) or listen (podcast/audio). How do you want your audience to consume your content? Once you answer this question, you can have several or one avenues of making your online presence felt. “

Only YouTubing is not only one of them. Make a careful choice in this regard. Because this will decide where you will be in a few years and how fast you can grow.

Choose your destiny:

You need to understand that whatever you choose to do you should love doing it. By doing what you love makes sure that success will come to you eventually. Yes, competition does exist and succeed in the short run is never a guarantee.

Should you worry about the competition? Yes and no. Yes because you are not the only one with the channel avenue displaying your niche. No, because chances are, depending on the niche you choose; you may have less competition. Competition exists no matter what niche or domain you choose, that is not the point, the point being – doing things the right way.

What you should know?

Research, research and research your niche. Take notes-keep them safe for reference in the future. Watch channels about your niche. See how they function, what do they do unique that makes them stand out. What can you do to stand out? If possible outline how do you want your channel to be? Get an idea with least expectation. Focus more on quality rather than quality. This is because you don’t know how things may or may not work out initially.

Know what kind of investment you require. Your initial investment should be minimal. You can edit videos on your mobile or your PC. Understand what kind of hardware you will need. Once you have that sorted, comes the software bit. You may need to buy a new software. Free software does not always guarantee quality output. Don’t cringe nor compromise on the things you would need to buy. This is important to deliver quality.

I started my channel on my phone, at the time of writing still record, edit and upload videos from my smartphone. I lack a system in place to deliver quality the way I want and how I want. Yes, I should have focused on that first but I was naïve when venturing into new territory. I lacked the finance of setting up a good system.

Figure this; you learn to drive from a driving school. It is only after you are perfect, confident and know the traffic rules that you can drive your car. YouTubing works similarly. You learn and research from YouTube.

Make you have a dedicated system in place before starting. Trust me it is worth it.

Should you start alone, with family/friends or launch a studio?

This is a very subjective question. It specifically depends on the niche you wish to get in. Running a studio will require some investment depending on the number of people you wish to hire. Let us not get into the studio thingy this early. That is because I do not have a studio nor do I plan to run one in the near nor distant future.

Reasons are aplenty but I will not get into those in this post.

One other thing you would need if you are planning to build a studio – you will need a dedicated place, more hardware and support system in place. So, if you have the money then by all means – build a studio.

For those of you who wish to be a one-man or one-woman studio – read on! What kind of hardware you should look for?

This again depends on your niche. But here are some questions that will help get answers: how much editing do you need for your finished video? Do you need basic title animation, basic editing and basic video making features? You can do this on the phone. In other words, less work – use your phone. Do not get me wrong, for heavy editing work; you can use your phone. However, why I do not encourage you to do that because video editing on a PC is more convenient than a phone.

If you have a PC on which you can even do even if a little editing work is needed then use the PC.

Get a good mic. Get a dynamic mic if you wish to reduce ambient noise and a condenser mic if little or no ambient noise exists. You could also consider a USB mic to hook it to you PC. Do some test recording and hear how it sounds. Show it to your trusted friends to gauge their views and take suggestions. Their initial impressions will reveal how much harder you will have to work and it’s reception.

Learn how to use audio editing software. Audacity is the only software you would need for all your audio needs.

Next comes the software part. Go for the Shotcut video editing software, it is free and has most things you will need for basic editing. You can also do advanced editing but most of the time you will not need them. Paid software are equally good, I would strongly recommend you to check the features before making a decision. That is because if you will not be using most of the features then it will not be of any use to you. Simply put, you are using a tank to swat a fly! Use a fly swatter to kill a fly. Why use a tank? Is not that an overkill?

When to go live?

Okay, so now, you have your system in place, you have the hardware and your niche is decided. Do not launch your channel just yet. After you think you have everything in place, make your video. If you have not yet guessed it, show it to your friends and again, gauge their reactions and views. Ask them to be brutally honest even if it makes you feel bad. Remember, true friends will always speak the truth to help you and not to put you down. Let go of your ego.

Chances are you may have to re-work on your video. Face it. This will happen. Take help from your friends. It is okay to make mistakes and it is natural. The idea is to not repeat them but learn from them. This is what will help you grow. Do not seek to be perfect. Perfection will destroy you and your chances of making it big. Instead, concentrate on quality. Concentrate on achieving 99% quality. Aiming for 99% will help you touch 85% at least.

After you have reworked on your video and you realise you do not need any more re-works, make your video live. How long should it be? Honestly, it does not matter. If you make videos for 5 minutes then make sure it is worth your audience’s 5 minutes.

Thumbnails are another aspect which you need to decide on. This is best reserved for a later topic. Will hyperlink the text once it is up.

Repeat the process and keep making your videos live at least once per week. This will be a good start. Make sure you schedule your videos due for next week in your current week. Giving yourself a head start will leave room to work on future videos.

Remember: Everyone has enough time, not everyone makes the best use of it.”

All the very best.

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