YouTube was created in 2005 by ex-PayPal employees – Carl Hurley, Jawed Karim, and Steve Chen.  What started off as a small video sharing channel soon transformed into a platform that attracts over 2 billion monthly users, and 30 million visitors a day, watching almost 5 billion videos.

There is no doubt that YouTube is the undisputed leader when it comes to online videos and is the second biggest search engine globally.  Not only that, YouTube is a great income generator for YouTubers. There are hundreds of ordinary people making six figure incomes from YouTube. 

If you love making videos and want to start monetising them, then this guide will give you all the information you need to start a YouTube channel and how to earn money from it.

 

Content

• Why you should set up a YouTube channel
• How to setup a YouTube channel and become a youtuber
• Steps to creating your channel
• Becoming a youtuber, the ultimate checklist
• Steps to creating engaging YouTube videos
• These tips will help you engage your audience quicker and for longer:
• The types of videos that help engage audiences include.
• Top youtubers in different sectors
• How to monetise your YouTube channel
• How to promote your youtube channel and increase subscribers
• How often to post on youtube
• Youtube top tips and tricks
• Conclusion

 

 

WHY YOU SHOULD SET UP A YOUTUBE CHANNEL

A YouTube influencer is someone who has a following online and their audience listens to their recommendations and is influenced by them.

Here are some reasons why you should set up a YouTube channel today:

 

• Your target audience is on YouTube right now 
• Videos are the content choice of your viewers
• Your audience wants more content 
• You can build closer connections with your audience
• Your videos act as an additional source of traffic
• You can link it back to your website, blog and other social media platforms
• It’s a creative outlet
• Content marketing is king
• Unlock income and revenue streams

As an app,YouTube is installed on most mobiles, TV’s and computers in the UK. This means that your target audience is probably watching YouTube right now.  If you want to generate an income online, then the first thing you need is a loyal and attentive audience. We are living in an increasingly audio-visual world and videos are central to drawing in viewers and income.

Not only is YouTube a huge platform in its own right in the UK and globally, it has also been bought out by Google and this means it is constantly indexed and optimised on Google searches. This enables YouTubers to reach a wider and more consistent audience on a daily basis.

Evidence shows that audiences prefer video to reading lengthy text. Videos are more engaging and more successful when it comes to advertising and marketing. YouTube influencers with loyal audiences are wanted by businesses (large and small) who want more exposure for their brands.

Videos also help your audience build familiarity and a relationship with you.  Sharing compelling and authentic content engages your audience and helps you build your own brand and reputation online. This is effective content marketing and can achieve a very high return on investment for you.

 

 

HOW TO SET UP A YOUTUBE CHANNEL AND BECOME A YOUTUBER

There are various ways in which you can set up as a YouTuber, and whilst it sounds simple, the key is consistency. You need to ensure that you are consistent with your messages, posting, engagement and scheduling. The most successful YouTubers are those who commit to their channel and keep working on it. 

 

Steps To Create Your Channel:

1. Start by creating a YouTube account, and remember to think carefully about your channel name. 
2. When creating a YouTube account you will have the option to customise your channel with layout, branding and information.  When doing this think of how best to optimise your channel information.  Use descriptive keywords and check out other similar niche accounts to see what information they are using.
3. Create a YouTube video based around your subject
4. Upload your video – you can do this by clicking CREATEin the top-right corner of your YouTube account:
5. Optimise your channel so that more people see it and subscribe.  You can do this by using concise and relevant titles, include keywords, add a table of contents with timestamps, add relevant tags, and always choose quality over quantity.
6. Cross promote – this is important if you want to ensure that your videos are linked to your other social media platforms and profiles. Link your YouTube content to your Instagram and Facebook pages, your website and anywhere else you are online.

 

 

Becoming a YouTuber – The Ultimate Checklist:

• Focus on a niche
• Research your niche and what content is out there already 
• Develop goals for your channel
• Build a content schedule 
• Create your channel and optimise it 
• Upload content and start building relationships with your viewers

 

 

STEPS TO CREATE ENGAGING YOUTUBE VIDEOS

When it comes to YouTube, the longer you can keep a viewer’s attention, the higher your videos will rank in the YouTube algorithm.  A viewer needs to watch a video for at least 30 seconds for that to count as one view, so make that first 30 seconds engaging.

 

 

These tips will help you engage your audience quicker and for longer:

• Research your niche and zero in on it
• Create content that is not already out there 
• Get to know your audience
• Track your metrics – which videos are doing well and which ones get low viewers
• Tell viewers in the first 10 seconds why they should stick around
• Be energetic and compelling
• Headlines and descriptions matter to spend time on them

The key to engaging videos is to know your audience and capture their curiosity.  One way of doing this is to select the best bits of the video and do a little trailer at the beginning so the viewer knows what to expect and wants to know more.

It is really important to hold the viewer’s attention, so don’t start off slow and speak without enthusiasm.  Speak clearly and concisely – no waffling or pauses!

Analyse your comments and audience behaviour.  Check to see if your viewers are leaving likes, and if they are subscribing.  Use polls to work out what you can improve on and what your audience wants, and make them feel valued and important.

 

 

The types of videos that help engage audiences include:

• Explainer videos
• How-to videos
• Reviews and testimonials
• Live streams
• Product descriptions
• Video blogs (vlogs)
• Interviews (partner up with other YouTubers)

 

 

TOP YOUTUBERS IN DIFFERENT SECTORS

Over 35 million adults in the UK watch YouTube videos daily, with 35% of the population being active users of the platform. Millions of UK YouTubers post content on the site every day. The range of content creators is diverse and caters to a global audience.

Some of the biggest YouTube creators include Ryan Kaji (earnedapprox. £22 million), Rhett and Link (£12.3 million) and Dude Perfect (£16 million). The biggest YouTubers from the UK include DanTDM and KSI.

Most of the successful YouTubers tend to find a niche and the most popular content creators in the popular niches include the following:

• Beauty: Rachel Levin and Michelle Phan are two of the most successful creators in the beauty niche and have 14 million and 8 million subscribers respectively.
• Gaming: PewDiePie has the accolade of being the most followed YouTuber and gamer of all time.  He has 110 million subscribers and the number keeps rising. 
• Comedy: this niche is huge on YouTube and is dominated by creators like Ryan Higa and Jenna Marbles who have 21 million and 20 million subscribers respectively. 
• Family: vlogs for YouTube families draw huge audiences.  Both the Shaytards and Bratayley families have about 5 million subscribers each.  
• Tech: Unbox Therapy is one of the most popular tech channels on YouTube and has 18 million subscribers. 
• Fashion: this niche continues to grow in popularity. Ingrid Nilsen and Zoella are big players in this niche having earned millions from brand sponsorship and collaborations.
• Travel: despite the pandemic, this niche continues to grow. Exploring with Josh has over 4 million subscribers who love to follow the adventures and travel of Josh. 

There are many other niches that are popular including DIY, health and fitness, cooking and music. YouTube is a diverse platform catering for a diverse audience so anyone can join and create enjoyable content.

 

 

HOW TO MONETISE YOUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL

There are a few different ways to make money as a YouTube influencer. Typically, UK YouTubers can make about £1 per 1,000 views.

As long as you have an audience who are engaged with your content then there are a few different ways of monetising your channel and starting to earn money.

 

1. Advertisements

YouTube introduced its Partner Program in 2018 and what it means for YouTubers is that if a channel reaches 4,000 viewed hours in a 12 month period and 1,000 subscribers it becomes eligible to join the YouTube Partner Program.  This enables YouTubers to monetise their videos and generate income from ads that are played during their content.

 

2. Sponsorship

Brands often sponsor content creators to include their products in their videos.  Sponsorship is a huge income generator for YouTubers who are paid in return for showcasing brand’s products and services.

 

3. Patreon

Patreon is like an online jar for tips.  YouTubers use Patreon to encourage their loyal followers to support them via Patreon by paying a small amount to the YouTuber every month. Some YouTubers offer exclusive content for Patreon payers.

 

4. Affiliate links

Like sponsorship, affiliate links involve working with brands to showcase their products.  Affiliate links are popular in the fashion and beauty niches.  They require followers to click on specific affiliate links and if a sale is made the YouTuber is paid commission by the brand.

 

5. RevSocial

Earn commissions on each sale easily with a free, automated technology which streamlines the placement of affiliate links on videos and images. All you need to do is select the Affiliate niche of interest and the products you want to earn from, the rest is taken care of.

 

6. Brand Collaborations

Collaborations with brands are the main income generator for many YouTubers.  A collaboration is when a brand pays a YouTuber money to make videos specifically about their products.

 

7. Merchandise

A lot of YouTubers have their own merchandise deals that include items such as shirts, phone cases, posters and stationary.  Merchandise is very effective at generating income for YouTubers and also help to raise awareness of the individuality and brand reputation of the influencer.

To see an in-depth, actionable guide on how to monetise your YouTube channel visit this blog.

 

 

HOW TO PROMOTE YOUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL AND INCREASE SUBSCRIBERS

For any YouTuber to be successful and start earning money through their channel it is important to increase the views and subscribers.  Some of the things you can do to promote your channel include the following:

For any YouTuber to be successful and start earning money through their channel it is important to increase the views and subscribers.  Some of the things you can do to promote your channel include the following:

• Optimise your videos 
• Cross promote across all your social media channels
• Links to your channel from your website 
• Partner up with other influencers in your niche
• Target audiences by researching who they might be
• Expand your reach by running giveaways
• Embed YouTube content on your website
• Add Calls To Action for increased engagement 
• Offer value to your audience

These are just some of the most popular ways to promote your channel.  In addition to the points mentioned above, you should also ensure that you use Google Ads Keyword Planner to find the best keywords.

Applying SEO principles when you create any content will help to increase your reach. See a full in-depth guide on SEO for YouTube here.

 

 

HOW OFTEN TO POST ON YOUTUBE

Whilst everyone approaches YouTube differently, the consensus seems to be that if you want to achieve quick growth then you should upload content regularly, daily if possible.  The key is to be consistent with your posting.  

The more content you upload, the faster you will grow.  However, the quality of your content should be good, so even if you upload weekly, make sure your video is relevant and worth uploading.

 

 

YOUTUBE TOP TIPS AND TRICKS

• Optimise your keywords in titles and descriptions
• Use eye catching art and thumbnails
• Choose a good logo 
• Make sure you have completed the basics such as ‘About’ section and up to date contact information 
• Create a trailer for your channel 
• Create a playlist for your audience to keep then on your channel
• Create consistent, high-quality content 
• Transcribe your videos
• Have a good schedule planned in advance 
• Understand and appreciate your audience 
• Build the relationship with viewers – respond to comments, make reaction videos, reward loyalty
• Remind viewers to like, share and subscribe

 

 

CONCLUSION

It is clear that YouTube provides a platform for anyone who wants to create content and post it online.  Using the tips and tricks mentioned above will help you create your channel and build it up.  Knowing your target audience and creating engaging content means that you can monetise your channel.  YouTube is a unique platform and helps influencers and content creators to generate income through views, advertisements, sponsorships and subscriptions.  The best thing about it is that just about anyone, from anywhere in the world, with any level of skill, can start a YouTube channel and start to build a following.  What are you waiting for?  Let’s go……