How to Create a YouTube Channel in 3 Easy Steps!

OK, so this step should take about an hour or three. Should not take 17 weeks and should not be 5 minutes or less. At this time, you can change the name of the YouTube channel and possibly others, but it is better to select a solid name now and roll with it. (Note: Try not to use hyphens (-) in your name or use strange spellings like "nrg" instead of energy unless that is part of the plan.

First step is to write down the primary goal of your YouTube channel. Let’s say you are starting a bass fishing channel and your primary goal is “to teach the world to fish in rivers”, so maybe your channel name is JimSmithBassRiverFishing or maybe you want to keep it more open so in the future you can open up to more species, so JimSmithRiverFishing. Or you could go broader such as JimSmithFishing, FishingWithJimSmith or even more broad in case you open up to other stuff than fishing… JimSmithOutdoors.

URGENT… Next step is to check if the full vanity URL / name is available on YouTube and while you do this, check Facebook, Twitter and Instagram too. It is better to FOCUS ON ONE SOCIAL CHANNEL, BUT you WANT to get these names on all social platforms NOW! It would be sad if you grow a popular YouTube channel and decide to expand to other social platforms only to find someone took your name on FB, IG or others. So, to check just enter…

YouTube.com/JimSmithFishing and hit enter.

Facebook.com/JimSmithFishing and hit enter.

Instagram.com/JimSmithFishing and hit enter.

Twitter.com/JimSmithFishing and hit enter.

Again, don’t take 17 weeks… so take an hour and… Just Name It! Now that you have decided on a custom / vanity URL, go into each social platform and create these accounts. Lots of YouTube tutorials on this step.

FYI… YouTube and Facebook want to make sure you are for real before they grant you the full “personalized” page. So, at first when you create JimSmithFishing on YouTube the actual name will be...

YouTube.com/jimsmithfishing0020230034326640 or something like that.

Once you get 100 subscribers, then IMMEDIATELY go into your YouTube account and claim the full “personalized” page of YouTube.com/JimSmithFishing

This is the same for Facebook, but you only need 25 to Like your page.

There are many videos on YouTube to show you how to do this.

OK, now that you have the name it is time to build-it! There are three parts.

A. Create your channel artwork and layout

OK, let’s keep this basic and later you can make it even better. For the channel artwork you don’t need Photoshop (but cool if you do) just head over to Canva.com and start an account. This website rocks and easy to click “create” and choose YouTube channel art. In 30 minutes, you can create something that looks beautiful and Canva might charge $1 or $5. Pretty cool. Or if you have the perfect picture, you can just try that. Just get some artwork in your channel.

Layout: Use the layout that YouTube opens with, as our goal is to get videos posted NOW.

B. Shoot some video or use video you already have.

Biggest thing here is to wip out your cell phone and turn it sideways (landscape) and crate an intro video. Say “Hi, guys this is Jim Smith and thanks for visiting my YouTube Channel. I’m here to teach the world to bass fish in rivers and that is no easy task. Please comment below what you would like to see or ideas for future videos. Speaking of that… PLEASE hit the SUBSCRIBE button, comment and share our posts RIGHT NOW. Thank you!” Get this video done NOW. You can reshoot it tomorrow or the next day, but POST THIS NOW.

Ok, let’s talk about equipment. As you grow you can get better and better equipment. For now, use your GoPro Hero 5, 6 or 7, VIRB XE or Ultra30 on 1080p60 in 2.7k Linear so it looks like a camera. (older GoPro’s will work you just have to take out of the case. Yes, 1080p60 is ok too.) Or just use your cell phone in landscape. You can get better audio by checking with the manufacturer and getting a long hard wire lapel mic or a wireless mic, but DON’T spend weeks doing this. We believe you can get better over time, so just GET STARTED! There are a ton of FREE editing software. For Mac you have iMovie and for PC there is VSDC. There is great paid software, but that will take time and we suggest spending that time listening to your viewers and making more video.

C. Post-it NOW!

Yep, we just said that, but just post your intro video and then make your first actual video and post that too. Then simply rinse and repeat.

1. PLAN THE NEXT THREE VIDEOS

2. SHOOT VIDEO

3. EDIT VIDEO

4. POST VIDEO and ask viewers to comment on what they like and what to work on. Don’t be embarrassed. Over the next few months you will get better and better. Ask for the viewer to please subscribe, comment and share. Tip: When you get to your 4th video, you can actually shoot the 4th and 5th video at the same time. As you get better and better you can become more efficient.

Here is a link for some details on this step, but don’t let it slow you down. https://blog.bufferapp.com/create-a-youtube-channel

The first step to market-it is to get your Intro video up and share this with all your friends. Don’t be embarrassed. Ask them to subscribe. Don’t forget you MUST get to 100 subscribers FAST, so you can claim the vanity URL. (There are YouTube videos that show you how to claim your vanity/personalized URL.) Ask your friends to subscribe, comment and share the video. Share the link on your personal Facebook page, your spouse, girlfriend, boyfriend, all your friends. Get 100 NOW.

Log into your YouTube channel and start subscribing to as many similar channels as you can. We don’t recommend you subscribe to political channels or anything that might offend folks, unless that is your goal.

Here are the top five things you can do to get more subscribers to your channel.

1. Fresh content. Post videos about every 1 to 6 days. NEVER go more than 7 days, unless this is more of a hobby. Subscribers want to see what you are up to and when in doubt, post another video.

2. Be consistent POST VIDEO, ALWAYS ASK & RESPOND TO EVERY COMMENT!!! Always include… Please subscribe, comment and share on every video. Then make sure you read every comment on your posts and respond by thanking them and thoughts on their comments.

3. Learn. From the comments and from you watching the video… learn as much as you can and make changes to the next video you shoot.

4. Think about monetizing the channel. Whatever products are in your videos, get affiliate agreements with the companies, so you can post links to EVERYTHING you can. Then when your subscribers click on those links to buy product, YOU GET 2% to 10% OF EVERY SALE. Yes, you can get paid by YouTube once you are getting thousands of views, but in the beginning getting a cut of the action is a quick way to get some cash. Click on this video and look just below the video on the left, click "More" then see everyone of the links on this page could be affiliate links where the visitor clicks on the link and you get PAID. Make sense?

5. Subscribe to other channels in your area and others that make sense.

From here it is really the rinse and repeat. Post video with the ASK, read all comments, respond, learn, plan new videos, shoot new videos, create the video, place your affiliate links in the video and POST.

Let us know when you start your channel and we will subscribe right away. We can’t wait to see you GET STARTED TODAY and how you grow in the coming months.

Much success!

Team YOLOtek