YouTube and social networks are the future. How do you start your way into video blogging? How to open a channel, what niche to occupy, what to shoot for, how to promote oneself – all these questions frighten the beginners and very often the desire to become a blogger never turns into action.

We have prepared a mini-guide that will answer your questions and help you create a channel from scratch – read the article to the end.

What does it take to create a successful youtuber blog – sorting out the steps.

How to start your own YouTube channel

Anyone with a Google account can start a channel. If you don’t have an account – start one at Google.com or straight through YouTube (go to the video hosting site, click “Sign in – Create account” and follow the instructions).

After registering an account, log in to YouTube and create a channel – find “My Channel” in the menu.

Technical subtleties:

• the channel name is tied to your Google account name/surname, accordingly, to change the channel name, open your Google account and make changes in it;
  you can create more than one channel in your current account-no need to create separate accounts;
  if you plan to connect official monetization in the future – avoid content for children, since 2019 there are restrictions on such channels, for example, they can disable the chat function and donations in it or prohibit the display of personalized advertising. For a full list of restrictions, see Google Help;
  stick to one topic – jumping from topic to topic is bad for promotion;
  Security basics (how to protect your YouTube channel from hacking):
• Set up two-factor authentication – when logging into your account or Gmail, you will need to enter a password that will come to your phone linked to your mailbox.
• -Specify your cell phone in the channel settings.

Where to begin – the concept of the channel

We’ve covered the technical points above, but that’s not enough for a successful blog- you need an idea. First, you need to think through the concept of the channel in full: what it’s going to be about, the name of the channel, what you are going to fill it with, and what sections it is going to have.

Topic. What the channel will be about.

What topics will be popular in 2022-2023:

• Interviews in all niches;
• Political topics and news channels (always in demand);
• channels on earnings;
• channels about marketing and promotion;
• social videos;
• animated videos and cartoons;
• channels about show business;
• any entertainment topics;

Important: in addition to the subject matter, the quality of the material, the quality of the shooting, and the charisma of the author of the blog are important. Choosing the right subjects helps to solve only part of the problem.

It’s impossible to say that some niches have an advantage over others, and if you start a channel on a certain subject, it will be 100% successful. Channels about politics and show business are popular because there are constant events in these areas that capture the attention of society.

You can come up with more than 100 topics for YouTube and each one has its own audience.

Fact: Some writers take topics they know and are interested in. Others take what they think is in demand, what’s trending, and what will be easier to monetize. Successful bloggers try to combine all these factors. You should not take up a subject that does not interest you at all just because you think you can make money on it.

Proper choice of subject matter consists of three important things: you are interested in it, the viewers are interested in it, you are knowledgeable in it.

Name

The name of the channel also affects its popularity. It must reflect the essence of the channel, be not too long and be remembered. It should also not infringe on someone else’s copyrights and repeat the name of an existing channel.

Options for the name:

• Your real first and last name;
• alias;
• wordplay;
• Abbreviations and acronyms;
• a key word in the title;
• a word or phrase that reflects the channel’s theme (it can also have a keyword, but this is not necessary);
  a stable expression or an excerpt from a quote – Let’s Talk?

Content – what to shoot, how to present the material.

You have to choose a topic you can create content on for a long time – months or years. Then you need to decide on a format (we’ll talk about them below).

Tips:

• Put out the first 2 videos, and then make a content plan for a week or a month;
  after the first videos, determine how much time it takes to write, shoot and edit – from that, decide how often to release new videos;
• use a task-planner like Trello or Google Calendar – this will help you control your work on the channel;
• It is better not to make your videos too long, the most popular videos last up to 10-15 minutes, but it all depends on the audience reaction to your videos; Important: in the past the placement of ads in the middle of the video was available for videos
• lasting from 10 minutes, but in the end of July 2020 this rule has changed – the required length of the video was reduced to 8 minutes.
• When creating a video, focus on the interests of your target audience – work with comments, ask questions, ask what topic your new video should be about;
• you can use a keyword search service to choose your topic.
• Make up your own unique feature that will make you different from other bloggers.

What to shoot for the YouTube audience

The channel can have a main rubric or several playlists. What to shoot youtubers and how to blog (choose your format):

• a vlog about your life;
• travel blog;
• how-to’s and master classes – these channels usually have a lot of views and subscribers;
• challenges;
• unmasking
• reviews and reviews;
• unboxing;
• educational content;
• a channel about myths, history, inventions;
• videos about your hobbies, where you show the process and tell interesting facts – fishing, auto, martial arts;
• a searcher’s blog – abandoned houses and villages, searching for antiquities, searching with a metal detector
• a blog about construction and repair;
• a blog where you make something with your own hands, and you do not have to make a video, like a smart trick, you can just
• show the process and the result;
• streams;
• interviews;
• sketches;
• experiments;
• planning – like how to live on $50 a week;
• recipes;

What to make videos for your YouTube channel

You can start with minimal investment. For example, you can shoot your first videos on your smartphone camera. There are bloggers who shoot all their videos with iPhone camera, and the quality of their video is not inferior to the ones shot with expensive cameras. An example is Red Lamp channel which uses two iPhones for shooting.

Some video bloggers shoot video on an external web-camera, but you need to pick up a good resolution. A good webcam is the Logitech Webcam HD Pro C920 (you can pick up another one from Logitech).

Webcam for movies

You’ll need a tripod monopod for your smartphone. If you’re not filming indoors, a selfie stick will do.

Lighting. The most budget option is a selfie ring Led. By the way, nowadays they sell rings with built-in holder for your phone, so you can save on a tripod.

Lighting for taking videos

Background. If you shoot indoors, the background can be a wall in the room, a closet, a table with objects. If you live in an older apartment and don’t want to show your surroundings, you can shoot on a monochrome background.

Chromakey

Sound. You need a good microphone and, preferably, an external sound card. You can also use a looping microphone instead of a stationary one.

Microphone

You will also need video editing software. Your choice depends on the complexity of the montage. If you just want to agglutinate fragments, make simple color correction, add titles and low thirds, linear editors like Movavi or Premiere Pro will do. You can also use online video editors. The price, respectively, will depend on the software you choose.

Total expenses for the equipment for shooting:

• $400-500 – smartphone (if you specifically buy an iPhone, respectively, more expensive).
• $100 – webcam (you don’t have to buy one);
• $40 – monopod tripod;
• $130 – lighting;
• $100 – background (not necessary to buy);
• $150 – microphone + external sound card;
  + editing software.

How to promote your channel

Basic ways to promote your channel, a checklist:

• Optimize your channel and video – use keywords in the title and description, add tags and hashtags.
• SEO-optimize YouTube videos.
• Make attractive covers for your videos.
• Use video seeding on social media.
• Determine the best time to post videos.
  Include a link to the channel on all social networks and on the website (if any).
• Encourage viewers to be active by liking, subscribing or commenting.
• Buy advertising for your channel (optional).
• Use special services (optional).
• Hold contests on your channel (optional).

Analytics

You can also promote yourself through video hosting algorithms. What indicators YouTube pays most attention to when promoting your video in search and recommendations:

• CTR. How many times users opened the video after showing the cover.
  Audience retention. How many minutes viewers watch the video, which videos they watch to the end, at what point they close the video.
• Depth of viewing. YouTube is interested in keeping viewers on the video hosting site as long as possible. A good signal to algorithms if your videos are watched one by one, go to your channel, subscribe, click on the bell to receive notifications about new videos – in short, interested in your channel’s content, not just one video.
• You can analyze these three basic metrics in Creative Studio in the Analytics section. This will allow you to work out an effective promotion strategy.

How to earn on a blog

The main ways to earn income from your channel:

• Official YouTube monetization + you can connect to alternative monetization services;
• Advertising – through direct contact with advertisers or through advertising exchanges;
• Sale of goods – their own or on dropshipping;
• sale of services;
• sale of expert content – books, webinars and courses;
• collecting donates at the streams or just under the videos.

Most often, channel owners earn income from multiple sources, such as monetization + advertising or advertising + affiliate links, or advertising + their own merch.

Conclusion

To become a successful blogger on YouTube, you first of all need to work hard – to find an interesting topic, prepare content, create and design the channel as well as the videos themselves, conduct optimization, promote your videos everywhere you can and, finally, go monetize.

It is important to remember that there is no magic button – it can take a long time from creating a channel to receiving the first money, but it is worth it.