Written by: Gamer Geek  

 17 January 2024

Most of us are a little confused when we begin our YouTube Channels. We aren't seasoned, we have zero subscribers, save a few friends and family, and we have no clue what we're doing. But that's okay! We learn as we go. One piece of advice that I always see is to keep learning and strive to improve. Though my channel was created in mid-March of 2023, I didn't begin posting until the end of March. I've climbed to 385 subscribers in that time. While this isn't a large number for many people, for others, it's a huge accomplishment in a short amount of time. One thing that I do most is network with other creators, support other creators, and LEARN. While I'm nowhere near a pro level at YouTube, I've been learning and implementing as I go. Some of these tips have helped people I know, so I want to share them with you! 

One of the most important things that you need to remember when reading these articles is that these are things I'm learning and sharing. Every person has some sort of success with each of these tips in all of the articles that I write. However, your YouTube journey is YOUR journey. Define what you want from your channel when you decide to create it. Is your goal to become monetized within a few years? If so, following these tips and strategies more closely will help with that. Is your channel more of a hobby? Are you wanting to get a full-time income out of your channel or is it something that would bring in some extra money eventually. 

Making a plan will help you not only create your channel, it will give you goals and help drive the content you create. You don't have to have fancy intro and outro sections, titles, voice commentary or text overlays. You don't even need to make fancy thumbnails. If your channel is your hobby, you'll figure out what works for you! The point of these articles is to learn and grow by learning new things and getting new ideas. Whatever you decide to do with your channel, just make sure you're having fun! Now...Let's get into some advice for Gaming Channel success. 

• When you're creating your video title, ALWAYS include the name of the game your video is about. 

1. For example, you want an eye catching title. Something that draws interest. It could be something like, 'How to Defeat Gannondorf',  'My First Big Quest', or 'My New Favorite Game?'. 

2. Once you have the key title of your video, you'll want to add which game you're playing. So, it may look something like this: 'My New Favorite Game? | The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom'. 

3. If you decide to add what part of the series you're doing, this could help viewers. I don't typically add what part for the whole series, but I do break things down in sections. For example, 'R.P.D. Parking Garage Pt. 1 | RE2 Leon's Run'. 

4. Another important thing to keep in mind when you're making a title for your video is the character. In my example above, I added 'Leon'. In Resident Evil 2 (2019) as well as the original from 1998 on PS1, you play as both Leon and Claire in different campaigns. So it is important to add which character you're using in a game that has more than one option. 

5. That leads me to my next title suggestion. With all of the amazing remakes we have in gaming right now, it's important to write which game it is to avoid confusion. You may even want to put which system you're using in the title. For most modern games that are on multiple consoles, this isn't an issue. However, games such as Resident Evil 2, The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past, and others, the remakes are on different systems than the original. For my videos on the remake for Link to the Past, I'll title them something like this: 'The Legend of Zelda: A Link to the Past | Nintendo Switch'. The game released in 2019, so I may even title it like this: 'A Link to the Past (2019)' instead. 

6. If you want to add parts for the whole series, that may help viewers figure out where to go next. I have all of my playlists in order, so I don't typically write parts for every video. The choice is up to you!

• Using broadly titled videos, such as, 'My First Big Quest', 'My New Favorite Game?', etc. can let viewers know that they don't need previous knowledge of the game to watch and understand your video.

1. Starting new games is always fun for gamers. But some people want to see gameplay and hear about a game before they decide to make a purchase. Others simply want to enjoy seeing the game because they can't play for one reason or another. Titles will allow viewers to see what your video is about. Sure, descriptions are great, but Titles are what draw them in. (And Thumbnails...but we'll get to that in a moment!)

2. Adding the Game Title, obviously, tells viewers what game the video is about. It's important to add this in. A lot of channels forget to do this. 

3. Including the Game Title will also allow YouTube to tag the video to the game page and tags the game to your video. This can help your video be recognized directly from the Game's page. This works more for some videos than others, but it's still a best practice!

• Let's be honest...we all look at the video thumbnail before the title (at least most of the time). This is the eye-catching bread and butter of your video. Titles AND Thumbnails are important to your success. 

1. Make your thumbnail with a related part of the game that you're video is about, if you don't choose to use the same picture each time, like some creators do. If you're playing Tears of the Kingdom and focusing on finding a treasure chest, make Link going to the chest the picture.

2. Another option is to have a specific picture that you use for all of the videos in the series. I've seen some people have one of Leon S. Kennedy in a certain pose for all of their Resident Evil 4 Remake videos. They just change the title and maybe add some key item to focus on.

3. Speaking of key items...if your video focuses on finding something in particular, such as a treasure chest, a key, jewels, etc., highlight that on your Thumbnail. Add the item and highlight it in white. Adding a 'neon' glow around it will also help it stand out.

4. You can even add a picture of yourself into your videos, but don't make it huge. 

5. YouTube itself recommends a consistent theme across your videos when it comes to Thumbnails. Once you find your style, you may need to go back and re-do older ones.

6. Make sure you have consistent branding across the video series for your Thumbnails. For example, my Tears of the Kingdom videos have the same branding and theme (https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLchnEIAkxI47mAsUepRJdT12j1FB16kVV&si=0H8J0cZUOJ8z6Yyz), and my Resident Evil 2 (https://youtube.com/playlist?list=PLchnEIAkxI44-ZF9X4qygylOk8Oc946Dg&si=-E067191gaUZnK3z) videos do as well. You can click the links to see examples of this. 

7. Make sure your Thumbnails for God of War look different than your Legend of Zelda ones. Each series should have different Thumbnails. They can follow the same theme and format, but make each series it's own!

8. Thumbnails can quickly become overwhelming. You want to make an eye-catching Thumbnail, but you don't want to add too much to it. A good rule of thumb (haha) is to shrink your thumbnail down once it's complete to see how it will look on a mobile device since most viewers are searching from their phones.

• Make sure you're checking your Analytics in YouTube Studio regularly. This will give you valuable information on your content, performance, and audience. 

1. This essentially tells you how many people are clicking on your video based on your Thumbnail.

2. You want to pay particular attention to your Click-Through Rate (CTR) on each video. For example, you'll see 4.5%, 8.2%, 10.9%, etc. Check the percentages on your videos to see what number you're usually at. Look for your higher CTR's so that you can explore those Thumbnails and Titles. It will help you to find your best practice when it comes to titling and thumbnails based on what your viewers are finding appealing.

3. Click the 'See More' link on the bottom of the page to view all of your video CTR's. The higher the CTR, the more appealing the video is based on your Thumbnail and Title.

• The Gamer Space is very big, both in general and on YouTube. Creators often simply use their Gamer-Tag as their channel name. This isn't a bad thing, but it may not capture your brand, so to speak. 

1. For example, I wanted my channel to encompass who I am and what I want from it. I'm a gamer geek that loves video games. I also wanted my channel to be a place to come "hang out" and interact with each other. So, Gamer Geek Lounge was born. I may change it to Gamer Geek's Lounge soon. I'm still not sure. But my gamer-tag is nowhere in my channel name title.

2. When you are making a name change, you don't want to make it too drastic or something you can't find. For example, if my channel name was Zelda Geek, but my channel had multiple games, I may want to change it. So, I could change it to Gamer Geek. You'll want to make sure, at least for a time, to have the old name in there as well. The new name would look like this: Gamer Geek [Zelda Geek], while my viewers and subscribers get use to the change. Later I would remove the [Zelda Geek] part. 

3. Remember, changing your channel name will confuse viewers. They will have no idea who this new channel in their subscribers list is. To avoid as much confusion as possible, you need to let your subscribers and other viewers know that the change is coming!

4. Use your Community Tab to update your subscribers and other viewers that the channel name will be changing. A quick update post letting them know that the change is coming and the new channel name will be extremely helpful. Make sure to do several posts over a few weeks to a month to let them know that the change is coming.

5. Update all of your social media and put out annoncements of the channel name change and when it will occur. Once the new name goes into effect, make sure to update it on your socials and Community Tab.

6. Mention the coming name change in your upcoming videos as well. Once you change the channel name, make sure to do a call back to the former channel name in the next several videos so that viewers are aware that this is the correct channel but the name has changed.

• Help:

1. This is your content that is very searchable and aimed at your viewers' questions and their answers/interests. This content is usually evergreen, meaning that it is relevant for many years.

2. The content under this section could include how to install a hard drive expansion in your gaming system, how to apply themes, how to fix common controller problems, etc.

3. It can also include in-game help, such as how to do a specific task. 

• Hub:

1. This is your bread and butter content, meaning, the primary content on your channel. This is oftentimes your gaming walkthroughs, reviews, or whatever your primary content is.

2. This is the regularly scheduled content and format that keeps your viewers engaged.

3. It's the content that viewers are here for and what they've subscribed to watch.

• Hero:

1. This is content that has a mass appeal. It's likely focused on something that's very popular right now or has a trending popularity. 

2. Content like this is broadly appealing and sharable contnet that's meant to drive new audiences to your channel. However, sometimes it can take a long time to produce. It just depends on what it is your creating.

3. In gaming, these types of videos don't usually take long to produce at all, and it can really help bring in more viewers and subscribers.

4. For example, you could simply cut down a live stream and create highlight videos. 

5. These videos could be Shorts that show some sort of exciting part of a game, something entertaining or funny, etc.

6. YouTube Shorts are an excellent way of grabbing the attention of new viewers or busy viewers. This has helped me gain many subscribers over the last several months. Try using a newly released game, since it will be trending. 

7. Creating Shorts and highlight videos can really help you with channel growth. Try playing around with this type of content so that you can get more YouTube exposure!