How to Create a YouTube Channel from Scratch

How to Create a YouTube Channel? 

1. Create your Google Account 

Since Google is YouTube’s parent company, both of these accounts are connected so you need to create a google account if you don’t already have one to set up your YouTube channel. Don’t worry, it’s very easy to create a google account. 

All you have to do is;

• Open google

• Create a new account 

• Pop in the details like an email address (preferably a new one), password, your birthday etc. 

• Your google account is created.

See how simple was that?

2. Create your YouTube channel

• Open YouTube and click on Sign in on the top right corner

• Select your google account you just created and enter the details 

• Your google account will be connected to YouTube and now you can create your channel 

• Click on your profile picture on the top right corner and select “Create Channel”

• After that, you just have to upload the profile picture you want for your channel and type in the name of your channel

• After uploading your profile picture and selecting a name for your channel, click on “create channel” in the bottom right corner of the page.

3. Verify your phone number 

This step is important because it unlocks features like creating videos that are longer than 15 minutes, ability to live stream and custom thumbnails. These features are essential for creators who want to grow their channel and start earning money from it as soon as possible. To verify your phone number, you have to;

• Click on your profile picture and select YouTube Studio 

• Then click on settings> channel> feature eligibility> intermediate features 

• Click on verify phone number under intermediate features

You have now successfully created your YouTube account. 

4. Personalize your account 

Now that you have created your channel, it’s time to personalize it. You can do so by adding a banner and video watermark to your channel. 

Adding a channel banner is important because it’s the first thing the audience looks at when they click on your channel. Your banner should define what your channel is about and what kind of videos you are going to post. It should also be visually appealing to make a good first impression. 

A video watermark is like a small logo or an icon that protects your content from unauthorized use of your videos. It can also be used as a button to subscribe your channel directly from the video instead of clicking on the subscribe button below the video. A watermark also increases your visibility and your channel is then recognised by that watermark. 

To add a banner and a video watermark, you have to follow the following steps; 

• Click on YouTube Studio> Customisation> Branding

• Under branding, you will get the option to upload your banner and watermark

Strategies to Grow and Improve Your YouTube Channel

Creating the channel is not the tough part but how to maximize its potential is. There are a number of things you should be aware of when you start your YouTube journey. 

1. Target Audience 

When creating the channel, you should know who your target audience is. It is the group of people you are creating content for. If your channel consists of videos of poems and cartoons, your target audience would be children, if your videos are of food recipes, your target audience could be chefs or housewives. So when you define your target audience like that, it helps you decide how to create content that will resonate with  them. It enables you to determine what kind of language you have to use, what colours you should use in your videos, the duration of your videos etc. 

Furthermore, your target audience can change as your channel will grow and evolve. Through feedback, you can get to know what type of people follow you so you can change or adjust your content accordingly.

2. YouTube Niche 

Niche determines what your channel will be about. You have to have a niche decided for your channel as your channel can not be about everything. You should research which niche can be monetized easily in the future and also has more potential to grow. 

You can improve your YouTube presence if you focus on a niche within a niche. It means instead of choosing sports as your niche, you can make your channel specifically about cricket or football. With a focused niche, it’s easier to stand out as there will be less competitors and it will also help you build a community of people with similar interests.

3. Content Calendar 

Creating a content calendar helps you stay organized and consistent in posting content. If you make your calendar at the start of the month, it will save you a lot of time. You can schedule and decide when to upload each video. If you stick to your posting schedule, it is more likely for you to attract a loyal audience. 

4. Know about your Competitors

You should know who your competitors are and not necessarily compete with them but to see what kind of content they are creating and how people are engaging with it. It’s possible you get inspired by something and you then try to improve that in your channel. Healthy competition is always good as it pushes you to do better. 

5. Optimizing your content 

If you want people to find your content, you need to optimize your titles and descriptions. You can do that by using relevant keywords meaning the phrases your audience is most likely to search for when they are looking for your content. It is advisable to keep your titles short and crisp as they are easier to read and understand. 

6. Promoting your Channel 

It’s important to promote your channel using different strategies to help grow your channel quickly. 

• Paid promotions can help you to reach your target audience in less time. By collaborating with influencers on social media, you can promote your channel through social media posts or stories. 

• Collaborating with other creators of similar niche will expose your channel and content to a new audience. 

• Use visually appealing thumbnails as it will increase the click through rate. It should be short and accurately describes the content of your video. Your thumbnail should not be misleading as it frustrates the audience and you might lose subscribers. 

• Regularly post about your channel on other social media platforms such as Facebook and Instagram. Upload a small snippet of your videos on these platforms and add a link of the full video below it so if people are interested in that content, they can follow the link and watch your videos. 

7. Feedback 

Feedback of your content is very important if you want to keep growing. You can get the feedback by engaging with your audience through comments or live streams and ask for their opinion on your videos and what you can do to improve. You can also ask them for suggestions about what kind of content they would be interested in watching. It will help build you a loyal community and also improve you as a creator. 

8. Equipment

Having quality equipment to record your videos is important for providing your audience with a better experience. You should invest in a good microphone, camera and lighting equipment. It is a one time investment and will be proven beneficial for you once you monetize your account. 

That’s all. Hope this article was helpful for you to understand how to set up a YouTube account and how to enhance it.