Thinking of Starting a Youtube Channel?
Written by Gamer Geek 10 November 2023
When I first thought of starting a YouTube channel I was overwhelmed and a little bit afraid. Where would I start? How do you create and post videos? What kind of videos should I post? What would I name my channel? These questions and many more flooded my mind. So, where do you start when you are thinking of making a YouTube channel?
The first step you need to take is to write down some ideas for what kind of content you want to make. Is it going to be a gaming channel, an art channel, a how-to channel, a channel with advice on how to be a content creator? There are countless possibilities for a YouTube channel. But the most important step is deciding what your niche will be. This means that you need to decide what kind of content you’ll be creating and stick to it. You don’t want to simply have a channel with a lot of content that’s unrelated. Having a channel that includes gaming, video editing, and art would be targeting too many audiences at once and could cause your channel to be skipped over.
The next step after determining your niche will be to decide what area of that topic you want to concentrate on. Gaming channels are extremely popular on YouTube. So, creating one means that you will have a lot of competition. But that doesn’t mean that you can’t get monetized with the channel and your content. You will simply need to decide if you’re going to concentrate on game reviews, one specific game, a specific genre or simply create videos on games you enjoy when they come out. If you decide that you’re going to make a channel about how to create resin art pieces, will you simply show the process and finished work, or will the videos be a tutorial on how to create resin artwork?
After deciding on your niche and narrowing it down to the specific type of content you want to create, the next step is to plan out your first several videos. Honestly, this can be nerve wracking for some people. You will want to write a script for what you want to say and plan what you’ll be doing. Some creators try different things within the niche they decide on so that they can test these videos to see which ones are most popular. So, if you are creating a gaming channel, you’ll need to decide if you’re going to record the gameplay and commentary from your headset, or if you’ll be doing voiceovers afterwards, or even text overlays on the content. Planning out your content will be the best way to find your style and create good content.
One thing to keep in mind is that you will always be nervous or have doubts, but you just need to start. Once you start and post your first video, things seem less intimidating. All YouTubers start off the same way. Unsure and inexperienced. But as you continue to create and post content, that style I was speaking of begins to emerge. You learn more, you get advice from other creators or from the comment and community sections of your channel, and you grow. Seriously, check out your favorite YouTuber’s channel. Go look at their very first video. You’ll see the difference between them starting and where they are now as a content creator. Depending on your niche and how you network and use SEO (Search Engine Optimization) and keywords, your channel will grow slowly, but you may get subscribers quicker than a friend of yours.
Remember that creating a YouTube channel isn’t a sprint, it’s a marathon. People often create a YouTube channel and expect it to blow up quickly and become and overnight success. That simply isn’t the case. You need to promote your content on social media outside of YouTube. You need to learn how to use the tools available to help your videos be picked up by the YouTube algorithm. And you need to create GOOD content that is relevant to people. The most successful channels create what’s called “evergreen” content. This means that it is content that will never be obsolete. Evergreen trees are resilient and stay green all year round and live for an extremely long time. You want to make content that will continue to bring in viewers and money years later.
Now I know you’re asking, what if it’s a Gaming channel? Not all games last for years. The most popular ones such as Fortnite, Roblox, Minecraft, and Rocket League are highly saturated, so what do I do? Here’s the thing…I didn’t play the first Horizon Zero Dawn game until the end of 2021. That game came out in 2017. But I still checked out YouTube videos before I decided to buy it. I still had parts that I got stuck on and needed to see a walkthrough. The content was still relevant 4 to 5 years later. And a lot of people didn’t even know about the game until the second one came out. So, people who saw ads for Horizon Forbidden West became interested in the first game. See where I’m going with this?
Gaming channels do have “evergreen” content outside of those wildly popular games. The content may not be as popular and “evergreen” as a channel that focuses on tutorials on how to make a YouTube channel and information on how to become a successful YouTuber, BUT they are still relevant to people who wait to purchase games or hear about a game years later. You simply need to make good content and use the right keywords for tagging and titles. I use two different tools for my keyword and titles, TubeBuddy and VidIQ. (These are Affiliate Links. I may earn a commission at no additional cost to you on qualifying subscriptions.) They have free versions that limit what you can use or how many tag options it will allow you to get, but they are great tools. Once I began using the paid options, my videos started to get more traffic. My channel is still small and in the first year of life, but I grew quite a bit in comparison to some others that I know.
Do research on channels that have similar content. What tags are they using? How are their thumbnails? Do they have a lot of views on their videos? Now, I’m not saying that you should copy channels that have similar content. You shouldn’t do that! It’s going to cause viewers to become disinterested because you’re a “copycat”. However, researching another channel or two can help you to learn what they are doing and how to do it yourself as far as what tags to use, hashtags to put in descriptions, and how to make good custom thumbnails. This isn’t going to give you overnight success, but it will help you to learn and grow. Everyone evolves during their content creation career. Check out some of Mr. Beast’s early gaming videos and you’ll see what I mean!
With that, we will conclude this introduction to becoming a YouTube content creator. More in depth and specific articles will be coming in the next few weeks, so be sure to check back. If you’re visiting for the first time or coming back after a while, there may be new articles up already! Good luck, everyone. And remember, your YouTube career is a marathon. It doesn’t happen instantly. It takes work, consistency, and dedication. Don’t be discouraged!