Transcription
Starting a YouTube channel should be easy. We have more tutorials, resources, and success stories than ever before. But here's what nobody is telling you, and that is all this information is actually making it harder for people to succeed on YouTube. Because while everyone is breadcrumbming you random tips and tricks, no one's actually giving you a complete system on how to win on YouTube without charging you an arm and a leg for a course.
Before YouTube, I was a minimum wage coffee barista. and YouTube changed my life for the better, which is why I made this free course you're watching right now. This video is going to cover the psychology of how to succeed on YouTube, long-term planning, content ideas that convert, scripting that hooks viewers, efficient filming techniques, minimal equipment that looks professional, editing shortcuts, thumbnail design, and promotion strategies that help me grow my channel to almost a million subscribers. This is basically 10 mini courses packed into one. So, I created these chapters below. So, jump to where you're interested in or watch this entire video for the full breakdown on how to start and grow your YouTube channel successfully. And quick shout out to Descript, my favorite video editing software, for sponsoring this video. Later, I'm going to show how Descript completely simplified my editing and YouTube process, but for now, I'll link them in the description box below. Without further ado, let's get started on the first step on how to build your YouTube empire.
So, when it comes to starting anything that's new or unfamiliar, like a YouTube channel or a new business, it's less about the strategies you use. It's actually more about the character traits you either already have or that you're willing to build. And the three that I think are really important are hunger, resilience, and discipline. You're basically going to war and that war is against yourself.
So, when it comes to hunger, you have to ask yourself, why do you want this? And how badly do you even want this? Truthfully, your first 6 months to a year on YouTube are going to be tough. You're not going to get the results that you want. You're probably not making any money. You have people that doubt you in your life. And you probably get the ick at yourself. Not necessarily because YouTube or content creation is hard. It's that all of it is unfamiliar. Seeing yourself on camera is unfamiliar. Learning how to edit is unfamiliar. There's a lot of things that are unfamiliar. And so, it's going to be uncomfortable. But when you layer that discomfort of doing something new on top of your ego and not getting the results that you want and feeling publicly humiliated every time, you're not getting the views that you think you're going to get. It's going to be tough, but what's going to get you through those tough times is having a really strong why and reason on why you want this to work.
Now, my personal story is I had quit my corporate job to naively start this YouTube channel thinking that I was going to make money right away. I didn't. And so, I had to become a coffee barista working part-time at minimum wage to make ends meet while starting my YouTube channel. And the most humiliating, embarrassing part was I had to serve coffees and lattes to people who knew me, my colleagues, people who I went to school with. And it was really that hunger piece, having that chip on my shoulder, having that life that I've always wanted, reminding me every day, you know what, despite the circumstances, I'm still going to film that video. I'm still going to post because this is not the end for me. I I refuse to believe that this is the end for me. I have to make this work. And it was really that hunger piece that motivated me to post videos every single week despite the circumstances.
Now, the second thing when it comes to building an identity that is able to handle the weight of starting a new YouTube channel or starting a new business is resilience. And what's helped me build my resilience is reminding myself not to let my lowest views or my lowest income months get to my heart and not letting my highest views and highest income months get to my head. You're going to have videos or you're going to have days where what you're building is not meeting your expectation. And the worst thing that you can do is assume that that means something about you, that you're not cut out for this, that you should give up, that you don't have what it takes. On the other hand, you also will have times where maybe you have a viral hit or you have high views or you're having a really high income month, but then you let that get to your ego. You let that get to your head and now you automatically assume that your next video or your next project is going to get the same result. And a lot of times that's not going to happen and then you're going to be disappointed and you're going to be always hung up on your past success and that's going to take you away from the progress that you're actually making.
The truth is, the progress that you're truly making is likely between your videos that have the least amount of views and your videos that have the most amount of views. It's going to be in between those moments. It's really important not to just assume that you're making progress just because your videos are getting views. You have to look at each video and ask yourself, am I improving? Am I speaking to camera more clearly each time I post a new video? Is my editing improving? When I'm filming a video, is it actually taking me more time or less time? Those are the things that you should be measuring as progress as well.
Now, the last winning character trait I mentioned is discipline. And I think a lot of people don't realize that how you show up outside of YouTube is how you're going to show up on YouTube. Just because you decided to start a YouTube channel doesn't automatically turn you into the person that you aspire to be. It's actually going to reveal the level of discipline that you already have. And discipline doesn't just mean filming and posting videos on a schedule. It also means emotional discipline, mental discipline, spiritual discipline. Are you someone who sticks to a routine in your life even when nobody's watching? Do you know how to emotionally regulate? Or are you someone who gets triggered easily? How do you stay grounded even when you're not getting what you want, even when you're not hitting your metrics, even when someone's giving you critical feedback? Are you someone who constantly seeks external validation? Starting a YouTube channel, a business, or anything that is publicly facing requires you to become the person that can hold the weight of that visibility. This is why a lot of people don't fail just because of lack of strategy. It's actually their lack of discipline and their lack of investing in their personal development outside of YouTube. And so you have to remember that when you are starting a YouTube channel, you're also signing yourself up for a personal development journey.
Billionaires think in decades, millionaires think in years, and everyone else thinks in months. At the end of the day, YouTube is just a vehicle. If your lifelong dream is to be a YouTuber, you're not thinking big enough because one day YouTube can go defunct just like any other social media platform. So a better question to ask rather than asking how can I grow my YouTube channel is what am I using YouTube for?
So for example, if your big goal is you want to be a global taste maker, you want to be a lifestyle influencer, you want to work with brands, then you want to ask yourself already what brands do you want to work with? And who's already working with those brands? search up those creators and look at what type of videos they're making. If you want to be an influencer, you need people to be invested in your lifestyle, in your life, in your recommendations. And so, that's going to influence maybe the type of content that you make. Maybe you're going to lean towards making vlogs or doing more entertainment focused content or creating content within a specific lifestyle niche.
Now, let's say you're like, "Nope, I don't want to be an influencer. I just want to be a thought leader that changes the world and how people think." Well, now you're going to need to really double down on the perspectives that you bring to the table, and you're going to want to get crystal clear on what your principles and values are, as well as stories and lessons that you're going to bring to the table. This will also influence the way that you show up on camera as well. You may do more talking head videos, or you may do more podcast style videos where it's more conversational and you're also interviewing your thought leaders in the space.
On the other hand, you might be watching this and being like, I don't want to be an influencer. I don't really care for being a famous thought leader. Instead, I just want to grow my business or I want to start a business. Well, again, your approach is going to be different. If you don't have a business already, but you want to be an entrepreneur in the future, then start thinking about what is the product that you're going to want to launch and how can you build that customer base and validate that demand from day one or let's say you already have a business. Then now you're going to ask yourself, what are people searching for at each stage of the customer journey funnel? and how can I create videos at each stage of that process to bring people from being completely unaware of my product to now being aware of it, considering to buy my product and finally converting.
You're like, I actually don't want any of those three. I just want to do YouTube for fun. I just want it to be a creative outlet. I want it to be a fun hobby. Then my recommendation to you is to actually keep it fun. There's a lot of people that say they want YouTube to be a hobby and yet they take YouTube so seriously to the point where they forget why they even started and now it's affecting their mental health. And so if you truly want this to be a fun hobby, then make it a fun hobby and don't put so much pressure on the metrics and the views and the likes and instead do it for the sake of your art.
Coming up with video ideas can be really personal depending on the goals that you have and the niche that you're in. But regardless of these two aspects, here are the four steps that I would take to come up with new video ideas. The first step is to look internal before you look external. And you do this by creating a story bank. Now, you can go pen to paper and start reflecting on the major milestones that have happened in your life, the lessons that you've learned, and all the stories that shape who you are today. But one of the biggest advantages of being a YouTuber now versus years ago is the technology of AI. And so, here's one of my favorite prompts if you want to use AI to help you synthesize your thoughts. Pretend to be my personal branding coach and ask me 20 questions that can help me build a story bank with lessons I've learned in my life and significant events that have shaped who I am. Once you get those questions, you're going to want to dedicate a solid part of your day to answer those questions as if you're being interviewed already. A lot of content ideas should come up through this exercise. But if you're still stuck, you're going to want to attach your Google doc to your AI tool. My favorite is Poppy AI. And then follow up with this prompt. These are my raw stories and lessons. My goal is to be blank. So here you're going to want to put whatever goal that you have. What are the main themes that you see? And can you give me 50 video ideas based on these stories. What's going to happen is now you're going to have a full library of content ideas that you can work with that come from your personal stories and experiences.
Now if you are someone who is using Descript, my favorite video editing tool to edit your videos, what you can also do is go to new project. I'll call mine YouTube brainstorm. Hit enter and then at the bottom right hand corner you can use Underlord descript AI assistant to do the exact same story bank exercise. As you can see the questions are quite similar and that's because with Underlord you can choose whether you want to use Claude Gemini or Chat GPT. I've also attached the raw file of all of my stories answering these questions and then I'll use the exact same prompt to get the main themes and video ideas. And from here you can see that it did the exact same thing of coming up with themes or content pillars and 50 video ideas based on my stories. Now later on I am going to talk more about descript and how I use it to edit my videos. But for now just know that if you are already using descript double up the apps and you can do everything directly inside the platform.
After looking internally the second part is to look externally for inspiration. What I would do is list down the top five creators that I admire. Now, a mistake people make is they look at people's most recent videos after they've found success, after they've made it big. But what I like to do is I actually like to look at their oldest videos and study their come-up journey. What types of videos were they making when they started their YouTube channel and when they were in the exact position that I was in? By doing this, you can also see which videos truly shaped the trajectory of their channel. And success leaves clues. For even more ideas, I would search up the specific topics I'm thinking of doing, and I would pay attention to which videos are getting more views than the person has subscribers. You can easily do this by downloading the plug-in Vid IQ, because even with their free plan, you can see how many subscribers that creator has without clicking on the video, which is going to save you a lot of time. The reason why you want to pay attention to these outliers is because it indicates that it's a high growth topic. It's not just that person's subscriber base that's watching the video, it's actually a lot of nonsubscribers that are watching, too.
Aside from looking at high growth video topics, you also want to pay attention to when those videos were uploaded. For example, I wanted to make a video teaching people how to edit short form vlogs. And I noticed that this girl had a video that was doing really well on her channel. But the problem is this video was uploaded years ago. And so I knew that there was an opportunity for a fresher perspective, which is why I made my video. I also want you to know that having a fresh perspective doesn't mean adding new information to the table. I think a lot of new YouTubers put a lot of pressure on themselves to reinvent the wheel. And I want you to know by just you existing is already going to make a difference. Just you being you. When I started making social media videos 8 years ago, a lot of the videos were made by males, not going to lie. And so when I came into the space, it was a woman. It was someone that was Asian. It was someone that maybe delivered the information differently or had a different speech. That all made the difference. And so never feel the pressure to conform to a certain standard or feel like you need to change yourself in order to succeed on YouTube.
Another thing you can do when you're looking for new video ideas is not just looking within your niche, but also looking outside of it. There's a lot of title structures that you can learn from and adapt to your niche. So for instance, I see this video where the person has more views than they have subscribers, and the video title is how to be a better reader. Do this to your books. Well, I can adapt it to my niche and say how to be a better YouTuber. Do this to your videos. What I can also do is take a highly competitive topic and just make it more relevant by adding the year. And this is actually how I got my first mega viral video. I saw that there was a lot of videos about how to grow on Instagram and I knew as a new YouTuber I didn't stand a chance. And so what I did is I took the exact same title, how to grow on Instagram, and I added in 2021 or whatever year that I posted that video. Now, when people were in the search bar and they saw these other videos that had more views, they still clicked mine because it made them feel like the information was going to be more relevant.
Lastly, you can also take a very popular topic and make it more specific in order to get more views, especially as a new YouTuber. When I started, I saw that there were a lot of popular videos on why people quit their jobs, and I knew that I couldn't compete with that as a new YouTuber. So, I decided to niche down my video to a specific type of audience and instead I did why I quit my corporate job for millennials. And this was actually my first video that got tons of views on my channel.
Now, let's say you've looked for video ideas internally and externally and you're still feeling stuck. Well, I want to share that this is why being a YouTuber today is more advantageous than being a YouTuber years ago. And that's because of AI. So, if you're comfortable with using AI, I want to show you a really great way to actually come up with ideas that are still authentic to your personal story. When you're starting your YouTube channel or you're in a season where you want to grow your YouTube channel, you're likely watching a lot of videos like this one, teaching you the best practices, whether that's how to script, how to edit, how to package your titles, how to make the thumbnails. Now, earlier I mentioned my favorite tool being Poppy AI. And the reason why is because I can actually create a group and then I can paste all the videos that I'm learning from. I'll then link that entire group into a Poppy AI chat box and then ask Poppy to summarize all the learnings from those videos. Now I basically have cheat sheets on what makes a successful YouTube video. To take it a step further, I can actually use Poppy AI to create repeatable frameworks. So let's say I grouped all the top videos on how to come up with the best YouTube titles. I'll then ask Poppy to analyze the attached videos and come up with title frameworks and templates that I can apply to future videos. As you can see, based on these expert videos, Poppy's come up with some repeatable frameworks and templates that I can apply to my future videos. It's also really nice that it's included clear examples so that I have context as well. The best part is that a lot of this can be applied to any type of video I create.
So, what I'm going to do is I'm actually going to copy this entire structure. I'm going to create a new text box and then I'm going to paste that structure and I'll put it to the side. Next, I'm going to do the exact same thing, but this time it's going to be for scripting. Now, Poppy has given me another repeatable framework that I can use for future videos as a structure that I could follow based on expert advice. So, what I'm going to do now is I'm also going to copy this entire thing and create a new text box and paste what I've learned there. So, now I have frameworks for titles and scripting. Lastly, I'm going to repeat the process for thumbnails. Again, Poppy has come up with some frameworks that I can apply to any video that I make in the future. So, I'm going to take this and then I'm going to copy it and paste it in another text box like this. At this point, I basically have a YouTube brainstorm system. Not only do I have a library of video topics coming from my personal experience, but I also have frameworks and best practices on titles, scripts, and even thumbnails.
But the one thing that I think is really unique with Poppy AI is I'm going to go ahead and create a new group and then I'm going to paste six videos of mine that I feel represent my voice really well. The reason why you want to do six videos is so that Poppy has enough information. So now I'm going to link the group where I have the frameworks for title, scripting, and thumbnail into the Poppy chat. I'm also going to link my video idea library and I'm going to link my Vanessa's voice group. Within my video library, I'm going to pick one topic that I want to create a video on. In my case, I'm going to do how to pivot without losing your audience. Head over to the Poppy chat. Then in the chat, I'm going to say, I want to create a video about the topic, how to pivot without losing your audience. Can you please come up with high converting titles, create a script outline using my brand voice and also thumbnail copy suggestions. From here, you can see that Poppy has given me some title ideas based on the expert frameworks that I provided. It's also created a script outline using my voice specifically based on the videos that I attached. This includes the hook, the intro, some main points that I can follow, and then also an outro. Now, of course, you don't have to follow this to a tea, but it does help with how to structure your video. And you can rest assured that it's using core scripting frameworks that are pulled from some of your favorite YouTube mentors. And then finally, I not only got some copy thumbnail suggestions, but also visual elements that I can use to guide the design of my thumbnail. And so, as you can see, what I've created here is really an amazing YouTube brainstorm system that can still be authentic to your voice and give you the right structures and outlines so that you're not starting from scratch. Now, I will include this exact YouTube brainstorm system template in my description box below, which will include the exact title, scripting, and thumbnail formulas that I have. And by the way, if you want to learn more about how I'm using Poppy, you can also check out these two videos I have as well. I'll also link them in the description box.
Now, when it comes to scripting, it can really vary depending on the type of video that you're doing. But regardless if you're doing a vlog or a sit-down teaching video like this one, this is the general structure that I would follow. Your first 15 to 30 seconds of your video should make someone feel like they want to keep watching. Ultimately, they clicked on your video because your title and your thumbnail did a great job in peeking that curiosity. So, in the first 15 to 30 seconds, you really want to reassure your viewer that the video is actually worth watching. Now, there are tons of different ways that you can do hooks, but here are the top four that I really like using for my channel.
The first one is the preview hook. If you're doing a more teaching or talking style video, then you could say something like, "In this video, I'm going to show you exactly how to promise of the video." or keep watching because by the end of this video, you're going to be able to x result. Now, if you're doing a more vlog style video, you can actually tease the most important part of your video first, the climax. >> Looks like an atomic bomb was set off in here. Okay, that is Sunubu on my table, which will create a sense of curiosity so that people keep watching to figure out why whatever you're teasing even happened. Or you can also do a really short 15-second visual trailer of some of the parts of the vlog so that people get curious and want to keep watching. >> Baby, that was so lame. Even for more teaching style videos, I do this as well by really showing the different components of my video to show people that the video has a lot of value. Because not only am I going to break down step by step how to edit your videos easily and bring them to prolevel quality even if you have zero experience or don't have a lot of time, but I'm also going to share exactly why you'd want to make certain edits to retain your viewer.
The second type of hook I like using is the story hook. This type of hook feels less transactional and more story driven. For example, you could say something like, "Three months ago, I had no idea how to blank. But fast forward today, I finally know how to blank. And I'm going to show you how I figured it out in this video. Now, if you're doing more of a vlog style video, it's basically like journaling out loud. For example, you could open your video with a voice over that says something like, "I used to think that getting my dream job would solve all of my problems, but now I'm not so sure." A lot of people watching that may relate to that story and want to keep watching.
The third type of hook I like to use is the mistake hook. For example, I would say something like, "Everyone tells you to do X, but that's actually wrong. Here's what actually works. Most times, people want to avoid making mistakes. And so, if you're calling out a potential mistake that they're making, they're going to want to keep watching the video to solve that mistake. Again, if you are vlogging or doing more of a lifestyle video, here's how you can apply the same type of hook. You could say something like, "A couple months ago, I dropped $5,000 on this viral cloud couch, and it was one of the biggest mistakes I've made in my life." And then afterwards, you can proceed to share a day in the life or a week in the life, but the climax of your video is you realizing that you made a huge mistake dropping so much money on this viral couch.
The next type of hook I like using is the results hook. It's really teasing the result that someone can get by watching your video. For example, if you're doing a more teaching style sitdown video, then you could say something like, "This strategy got me x result in x time frame." And in this video, I'm going to show you exactly how you can do it. Now, let's say you're doing a vlog or a more lifestyle driven video. Then you could say something like, "So, last week I quit my job, and y'all, it was one of the best things I have ever done. And by the way, I did vlog the moments leading up to me handing my resignation. So, welcome to a week in my life before I quit my job." Already in this vlog style video, you're showing that, hey, I already quit my job. And so, the people who are watching and want to know how you quit your job, they're going to want to keep watching the video. Ultimately, the hook is designed to really pique that curiosity and have someone continue watching past that 30 secondond mark and hopefully till the end of your video.
Now, the next component is an optional intro. This should be about 30 seconds or less. Now, the reason why I say optional is you don't have to do this for every single video, but I do recommend it because if your goal is to grow your channel, the only way for that to work is if nonsubscribers are also watching your videos because new people are finding you and subscribing to your channel. And so, with that logic in mind, it means that whenever someone's watching your video, you can't assume that they already know you. And so, by including a short introduction about yourself, it's not only going to build resonance and authority, but it also gives people a reason why they should follow you. Now, if you want to have a loose idea on how you can bake an intro, regardless if it's a vlog or a sit-down teaching video like this one, here are some examples. If I was doing a vlog, I would do it like this. I was never a morning person. I usually wake up at 11:00 a.m., but lately, I've been waking up at 5:00 a.m. So, follow me along as I show you my morning routine and a week in my life. Oh, and by the way, I'm Vanessa, and I'm trying to make wellness accessible to everyone. So, if you're on a health journey, let's be besties. Anyways, my morning started off with, "So, you see how casual it is to slip it in."
Now, if I was doing a more professional talking head video like this one, this is an example of how I could introduce myself. This YouTube strategy got me 100,000 subs in less than a year. And in this video, I'm going to show you the exact road map on how I did it. I'm Vanessa and I'm an ex-corporate dropout turned social media coach. And I've helped thousands of businesses get visible with social media and paid with business strategies. So, let's dive in. And then from there, I would transition into my main content.
Now, the main body, you don't have to be as rigid or as strategic with it. But here are some few pointers that I have. If you are doing something that's more teaching style or lessons based, there's basically a bullet point of things that you want to say. My recommendation is to always frontload the juiciest parts of your video first, unless your video needs to be in chronological order, like this video that you're watching right now. The truth is, even if people get past the intro, they may not make it to the end of the video. So, the juicier your tips are in the first half of the video, the more likely that they'll keep watching thinking that the second half is just as good. My next best practice, especially for those of you who are doing tip based videos like this video right here, is to kind of avoid saying tip number one, tip number two, tip number three, and instead just keep saying my next tip is, my next lesson is the next thing that you want to do is. And the reason why is because after you're done filming, a lot of times when you're reviewing your footage, you may want to move some tips around or maybe you want to cut some tips entirely. If you've verbally numbered them, it's going to be a lot harder for you to change the structure of your video.
Now, my next advice is for those of you who are doing vlogs or more casual style videos. As someone who's done vlogs before, I noticed that if every single video is a week in my life, it kind of gets repetitive and boring, especially if you're doing the same routine over and over again. And so my recommendation for you is to actually have a central theme to your vlog. Here are four different themes that I think are really helpful for vlogs or lifestyle based videos. The first is a journey or challenge style theme. For example, your video could be centered around trying to be productive for 12 hours straight. Living like a minimalist for a week following my 5 a.m. morning routine. Not only does this signal that there's a lot of value in your video because there's a central story line or theme, but when you're vlogging now, you know exactly what you need to capture, and it gives you structure as well when you're filming.
Next is a learning or growth theme. For example, things like what I learned spending $500 at Whole Foods in one day. And then here it could be a grocery haul or you showing people your process on picking foods at the grocery store and reviewing each of them or making meals out of them. You could also do a casual vlog style video about why you almost quit YouTube and what changed your mind. And in the video, you're just documenting your week or day in the life as a content creator and the struggles that you go through and the lessons that you learned through those struggles. And then finally, there's relationship and social themes. For example, surprising my best friend after 2 years apart. And then here you're documenting your day surprising your best friend. Having the hardest conversation with my parents. Maybe this is you documenting your journey and the courage that you're bringing yourself to tell your parents that you quit your job or that you want to start a business. And then here's another fun one. What it's really like dating as a content creator. And then here you're documenting your journey and your dating life and talking all about that. When you actually have a central theme or structure, it's going to be easier for you to map out exactly what you want to film. Because a mistake that I made when I started vlogging is I would document everything because I had no idea what type of video it was going to turn out to be. But if you're actually proactive and you have a central theme or story line, now you can stay present in your day-to-day life and then whip out the camera for moments that you know will be included in your vlog.
Now, the last and second most component to your video is the outro. This is going to be the last 45 seconds to a minute of your video. If someone has made it to the end, they're invested. A lot of people don't actually make it to the end of the YouTube videos that they watch unless they're hooked. And so you want to take advantage of that moment of still having that person's attention and recommending them on what they should be doing next. So for example, let's say at the end of this video that you're watching, I could say something like, "Now that you've learned how to grow your YouTube channel, make sure you watch this video I have right here because I teach you step by step on how to edit your videos." Or let's say you have a morning routine vlog. Well, at the end of that vlog, you can say, "If you really like following me along for this morning routine, then make sure you watch this video because I actually have a day in the life where I show you my fitness routine." The reason why this is important is because YouTube rewards creators that are able to rack up the watch time and keep viewers on the platform. So, you're basically like your own little Netflix telling people what's the next episode they should be watching next. And if they actually take that action, you're going to be able to increase that watch time on your channel and YouTube will push out your videos more.
One more note about scripting is that everyone's scripting style is going to be different. and you're going to develop yours the more videos that you make. But for your reference, this is how I like to script my videos. I pretty much like to script my videos word for word, especially for sit-down teaching videos like this one. And the reason why is not because I'm trying to memorize it when I'm filming. I'm actually not referencing much of a script right now. But it's because when I write things out in depth, I'm able to understand the flow of my video. And because I've written it, I have a better chance of remembering what I want to say. However, when I'm actually filming, sometimes I'll loosely look at the script or I'll even condense it down to a bullet point version so that it's easier for me to reference.
Now, later in this video, I am going to cover some filming tips. But before we do that, let's talk about equipment first. Now, when it comes to starting a YouTube channel or making videos, we all know at minimum you need to have a camera, even if it's your iPhone. But I actually want to cover what are some things that are worth investing in. At the top of the list, I think it's really worth investing in storage. Even after eight years of content creation, I'm constantly buying new SD cards. And I think a mistake that a lot of beginner YouTubers make is not investing enough in storage. You're always going to be running out, especially doing long form content. So, at minimum, when you're looking for an SD card, try to aim for at least 256 GB. It may seem expensive, but trust me, it's an investment, and that SD card is going to last you for a very long time.
The next is software. A lot of people focus on cameras and microphones, but what they don't realize is investing in solid software can actually save you a lot of time so that you can make more videos to grow your channel. Because typically for YouTubers, most of your time is spent filming and then the rest of the time is spent editing. And editing can actually take longer than filming the video itself. 7 to 8 years ago, I had to manually edit all of my videos myself. And when I realized that that was actually stunting my growth, I decided to invest in someone to actually edit my videos. But then this was the next problem is that it would cost me multiple hundreds and even thousands of dollars per month. So if I wanted to post more videos, I would basically have to pay more and that really hurt my wallet. It wasn't until I discovered Descript where I started saving a lot of time and a lot of money and it's now easily become my favorite video editing tool. For example, when I'm done filming, I usually have over an hour of raw footage that I need to edit. But with the script, I'm able to reduce that raw footage down to half thanks to its AI features. For example, I can remove retakes. I can remove filler words so that I sound more concise in my videos. And I can also remove word gaps. With just these three clicks alone, I can bring my raw footage, which is over an hour long, down to 25 minutes or less. And later in this video, I'm going to show you all of my filming bloopers when we talk about filming. So that's why I really think that investing in software such as Descript or even the Poppy AI software I showed you earlier is worth it because it saves you a lot of time and now you have more time given back to you to make more videos.
Now when it comes to actual filming equipment, a lot of people tend to think that the camera is more important, but I actually believe the microphone is more important. So if you're limited on your budget, I would actually spend more money on getting a solid microphone before you splurge on a really nice camera because you can actually get away with not having the best visuals or quality on YouTube. But if your audio is not that great, most people aren't able to tolerate that and will exit your video immediately. And if you're looking to spend money on a microphone, I highly recommend the DJI Mic Mini. Now, I personally have used tons of microphones, but I have found the DJI Mic Mini to be the most versatile because not only can you use it for your camera, but you can also use it as a phone microphone and you can plug it into your computer as a microphone as well. Now, let's say you're someone who's filming on your phone and you don't necessarily have the budget to add on a microphone. Well, this is again why Descript is my favorite editing tool because you can use Descript Studio sound feature to turn your audio into something that sounds a lot more professional. The reason why this is important is because YouTube rewards creators that are able to rack up the watch time and keep viewers on the platform. The reason why this is important is because YouTube rewards creators that are able to rack up the watch time and keep viewers on the platform.
Once you've invested in a good microphone, the next thing is to invest in a good camera, especially if you have outgrown using your phone. The most important thing though is to invest in a camera that you actually feel comfortable using and you understand how to use. When I first started, I made the mistake of choosing the most expensive camera with all of the features. But I was still a beginner and I didn't actually use 90% of the features that I paid for. Now, if you're someone who's looking for a mid-range camera, I highly recommend the DJI Osmo Pocket 3 if you are someone that thinks you may be vlogging in your videos, or the Sony ZV10 Mark II, which is the camera that I had for a very long time. The reason why I like the DJI Osmo Pocket 3 is that it makes filming easy. And it's actually the camera that got me comfortable with vlogging in the first place after years of failing at vlogging because I was trying to use a fancy big camera. And especially if you're someone who wants to vlog, but you don't have anyone helping you to film, the DJI Osmo Pocket 3 makes it so easy because it's going to detect your body and follow you around. And then when it comes to the Sony ZV10, I really love that camera because I was able to swap out the lens, which is why I had that camera for a very long time. And as I grew in my YouTube journey, all I had to do was just buy new lenses to make it feel like I was upgrading. I also really love how it has intelligent auto, so I always have the right settings when I'm filming. Now, if you are someone who's watching this video and you do have a bigger budget, well, the camera that I'm using right now is the Sony ZV1, which is a step up from the Sony ZV10. And then I'll link this video right here where I cover all the cameras that I used in depth, including the ones that I just recommended.
Now, once you've got your microphone, your camera, the next thing I would say is lighting. Even right now, I don't have any professional lighting around. I'm literally just sitting in front of a window. However, I do think lighting can be important if you're someone like me living in an area that doesn't get a lot of sun in the winter time. It's really hard to film in the dark and it actually decreases the quality of your video if you don't have proper lighting. And so, I'm going to link the ones that I recommend in the description box below.
Now, in the last tier of things that you should be investing in is accessories. The truth of the matter is, yes, tripods are helpful, but when it comes to your audience, they're not even going to see the tripod that you're using. In fact, you could be stacking a bunch of books and boxes as your tripod and nobody would even notice. But if you do want a recommendation on the tripod I use and that I think is worth investing in, I'll link it in the description box below. In addition to all the other accessories that I find really helpful for filming, including battery packs, because when you're filming long form content, chances are you are going to run out of batteries. And the worst thing is stopping your filming flow just to wait for your battery to charge up. So that's why you always want to have a spare. And don't worry, I'll link everything in the description box below.
Now, when it comes to filming strategy, it really comes down to personal preference and the season that you're in. Some people love to batch film 3 months worth of content in just a couple of weeks, while other people like the cadence of filming every single week. Personally, I've done both approaches. And I always switch back and forth depending on the priorities that I have in my life, the energy that I have, and just the season that I'm in. But regardless of whatever cadence you choose, here are some filming tips that I have, regardless of what you decide. The first tip that I have is to film in sections. Instead of hitting record and trying to film an hour's worth of content in just a single sitting, I like to review my script. And usually I have my script on my laptop or my phone nearby. I'll read what I need to say and then I'll hit record and start saying the first few lines or up until how much I can remember and then after I'll stop recording. I really like this method because if I don't like what I said or maybe I made an irreversible mistake, I can just go back to my footage and then delete it from the clip so that when I upload all the clips into my editor, everything that I'm putting in is basically the exact clips that I actually want. This is also going to help you save on storage space because sometimes if you're just
Filming in a single sitting, that one clip can end up being an hour or 2 hours long, which is going to increase the amount of gigabytes it's going to be. Whereas, if you chunk it down and make it into multiple small clips, you're going to be able to save on storage space.
The next tip that I have is to really trust the edit. A lot of times when you're watching someone's video, you're watching the final product posted. The truth is, all of your favorite YouTubers mess up when they're filming. In fact, let me show you some raw footage of me filming this video that you're watching right now.
While some people like filming every single week, while some people film once a week and actually like while some people like to film once a week and prefer that cadence because they're able to stay on top, but even though I'm making mistakes, I just run it through Descript and remove all of my retakes in just one click. Oftentimes, I also forget what I need to say. So, there's a lot of long pauses in my footage.
When I first started my channel years ago and to this day is filming in sections. So what I'll do is I'll review my script, whether that's bullet points. So what I'll do is I'll s so what I'll do is so what I do is I usually have so oftentimes I'll have my script on hand but then I used a script and I can easily remove those word gaps.
When I first started my channel years ago and to this day is filming in sections. So, what I'll do is I'll review my script, whether it's on my computer, my laptop, or my phone.
The next tip that I have is to not be afraid to ramble in order for you to get comfortable on camera. The hardest part for me filming videos is the intro because I'm always so caught up in wanting the perfect hook. But what I actually do is when I start filming, I'll say, "What's up? What's up? My name is Vanessa. Welcome back to my channel. Today, I want to talk about how starting a YouTube channel should be easy. We have more tutorials, resources, and success stories than ever before. Starting a YouTube channel should be easy. We have more tutorials, resources, and success stories than ever before."
Now, obviously, the first part of me introducing myself and saying how excited I am isn't necessarily the best hook, but I need to say it in order for me to ease into filming. So after I'm done, when I actually go into Descript, I'm able to use their text-based editor where I can edit my video like a Google doc and just delete the parts that I don't actually want in my video. So never be worried if you're constantly repeating yourself on camera or that you're not sounding concise like your favorite YouTubers. A lot of us are just trusting the edit and doing a lot of the polishing after we're done filming. And don't worry, I'm going to cover even more editing tips later on in this video.
The next tip that I have is to not put so much pressure on yourself to perform. A lot of times when I struggle to film on camera, it's because I'm in my head. I'm trying to be an expert. I'm trying to be a guru. I'm trying to make sure whatever I'm saying is right. And when that tends to happen, I mess up the most. And so, what's really worked for me is to not only take a step back, ground myself, take a few deep breaths, but it's also to remind myself that I'm not here to teach, I'm just here to share. Even filming this video, I have to remind myself it's not how to start a YouTube channel, it's how I started my YouTube channel. And even just that mental shift allows me to put my guard down and make me feel a lot more comfortable on camera knowing that whatever I'm sharing doesn't have to be perfect. I'm not an expert. I'm not your guru. I'm just a guide and I'm just sharing my personal experience. And that alone takes the pressure off and makes all the difference when I'm filming.
Now, when it comes to editing, there's really three ways you can approach it. You could do it yourself, you could outsource, or you could do a mix of both. And I actually have two videos right here walking you through either one. Whether it's editing yourself step by step using my favorite editing tool, Descript, or hiring and outsourcing to a video editor. So, I'll link both of these videos in my description box below. But if you are starting out, I highly recommend that you at least edit a few videos yourself so you have a good idea on what you like and what you don't like and really understand what your style even is.
And if it's not obvious already, my favorite video editor of choice is Descript. So, let me walk you through how I use Descript to edit my videos. First, I like reducing my raw footage down to half with just a few clicks thanks to Descript with removing my filler words, retakes, and word gaps. What I also love is reviewing my edits like a Google doc. So, if there's something that I don't want, I can just strike through and it's going to remove it from my footage. But beyond that, I can set the playback speed to 2x or more, so I can breeze through my edits really quickly. Descript also has the layouts feature where you can apply pre-built designs to your footage. You can even update your brand kit with your brand colors and brand fonts so that all of your designs are consistent with your brand. For example, I can make lists, call to actions, sections, fancy screen recordings, and more. But what I love most about Descript is it's not like all the other AI video editing tools that's going to edit the entire video for you. Even though it can do that, I love that you can still customize anything that you want and treat it like a regular video editor. For example, I can add my own text, color, images, sound effects, music, all without leaving Descript. And if you don't have your own images or videos, you can not only access Descript's stock library, but you can also create images and videos from scratch using their AI assistant, Underlord.
Now, if you want a full 45-minute master class on how I edit my videos using Descript and also the editing strategies that I use to retain my viewer, then you can watch this video after you're done this one. And if you want to try out Descript for free, then I'm going to link them in my description box and in my pin comment below.
So, when I have a video idea, I'll typically search it up in search and then see what thumbnails are capturing my attention and then I'll screenshot that and put it in the same Notion page as my video idea. But when it comes to actually coming up with my own thumbnail, these are a few best practices that I follow. The first one is the copy in your thumbnail should not be the same copy as your title. I used to make the mistake where I would repeat the title in my thumbnail. But that's wasted real estate because you basically have two opportunities to hook someone. Your title and your thumbnail. Let me show you some examples. Let's say your title is "How I Got 100K Subscribers in 6 Months." Well, your thumbnail could be the before and after of your subscriber count to trigger curiosity because if someone sees that, they're going to want to know how you made that jump. Or let's say your title is "The Day in the Life of a Fashion Boutique Owner." Well, the copy in your thumbnail could be "My $10,000 Mistake," especially if your video is going to cover that topic. At the end of the day, your thumbnail needs to trigger curiosity or give additional context that's going to make someone want to click.
The next advice that I have is assume that everyone is browsing on YouTube on their phones. Now, this might not be true, but you want to design your thumbnails with that in mind. So, make sure that your text is large enough even if someone is browsing on mobile. Make sure you have high contrast in between your image and your actual text colors so that things aren't blending into one and hard to see. And then finally, if you are a personal brand and you're showing your face to camera, make sure in your thumbnail that you have your face in the thumbnail. I've actually experimented with this where I didn't have my face in the thumbnail and it didn't perform as well as when I have my face in the thumbnail because a lot of times people like to watch videos from people that they feel like they could relate with. For example, there's a thousand videos on how to start a YouTube channel. But maybe you clicked this one specifically because I'm Asian or because I'm a woman or because we look the same age. And so showing your face does help when it comes to attracting people to your video and why they would pick yours over others. But not only this, when I experimented with not showing my face, I actually got comments from my regular viewers that said when they saw my video on the feed, they didn't click on it because they didn't know that it was mine. And so having your face does help, especially if you want to grow your personal brand with YouTube.
Now, when it comes to taking thumbnail pictures, I'll reference the inspiration that I've screenshotted, and then I'll take a video of all the different poses. That way, when I go back to my computer, I can just scrub through the video and take screenshots of the best poses. Afterwards, I select all the poses at once and open them all at once so I can see them in one go and then compare all of them to see which ones I like the most. Afterwards, I'll drop all of my shortlisted poses onto Canva. And then most likely I'm using these features. The first one is Magic Grab where I'm going to grab my body out of the picture. So I can move it anywhere I want and I can change the sizing or even autocorrect the colors so that it's only making my face brighter but not necessarily the background. Because what I noticed is if the background's really bright and let's say I'm using a white text, then it's going to blend together and I don't like that. I also like using the blur feature so that my body stands out even more. For the text, my favorite effect is the lift effect so that it pops. To make my body stand out even more, oftentimes I'll add a drop shadow or I'll even add an outline.
Once I'm happy with the design, I'll start playing with the actual copy. Now, a little hack. If you are someone who is already using Descript to edit your videos, you can head over to Underlord and then ask Descript to come up with high-converting thumbnail text and copy options based on the video. As you can see, it's given us a lot of great options that we can test. Alternatively, you can also go to export, click on transcript, and then download the entire transcript of your video. Once you have the transcript, you can use any AI tool of your choice and upload your transcript and then ask for high-converting thumbnail text and copy options that way. In my case, because I already loaded up some core thumbnail formulas, it's following that exact system and giving me options there. The best part is YouTube Studio allows you to A/B test thumbnails. So, sometimes I'll load up two to three thumbnails to test.
Now, when I'm ready to publish my video to YouTube, there's a few things that I prepare. If possible, you always want to try to export in 4K because YouTube prioritizes videos that are in 4K. And if you want, you can link Descript to your YouTube channel and upload to YouTube directly.
Now, while I wait for everything to upload and process, I then start working on my description. Not only is the description one of the first few places that your viewers are going to check for resources and links that you mentioned in your video, but it's also a strategic place to add keywords. The more keywords that you put in your description, the more information that you're feeding to YouTube on what your video is about so that it can push your videos to the right people and potentially rank you higher in search. But this is another reason why I really like Descript because it already has so much context on what my video is about. All I have to do is ask Underlord for top-of-funnel keywords that I can use in my video. I'll paste those keywords within YouTube's keyword section, but I'll also ask Underlord to create a keyword-stuffed description that I can also paste in my description box.
The next part of my description is the chapters. Chapters are really important because not only is this an opportunity to also put keywords, but it also improves the viewer's experience, which will then lead to better retention because now people are able to choose what areas of the video they want to watch rather than not knowing what you're going to share and leaving the video entirely. And how you can create your chapters easily is either through Descript because it already has the context of your video or you can watch your video at two or even 3x speed and create those chapters yourself. Another tool that I also like using is TubeBuddy, where I can easily screen my video after it's uploaded and then do my chapters that way.
The next part of my description is making sure that I have all the relevant affiliate links or links of anything that I mentioned. Now, if you find yourself using the same links over and over again in your description or even having to link your socials every time, a little hack for you is to actually go into your YouTube Studio, head over to your settings, click on upload defaults, and then from there, you can add your description template with all of the links that you always have. This way, every time you upload a new video, that description template will always be there.
Once my video is uploaded and unlisted, my description is done. The next thing that I will do is add my end screens and then go to my video and add a pinned comment. The pinned comment is really important because you can ask a question to increase engagement in the comment section or you can link the most important call to action that you have. I like to do both. Once all that is done, I will then schedule my video.
When it comes to actually promoting my YouTube video, here are a few steps that I always do. The first one is I schedule a community post. Even if you don't have a lot of subscribers yet, there's a chance that your community post can still show up in someone's algorithm, even if they don't follow you. And so what I do is over on Descript, I take the most interesting part of my video and then I will create a new composition. I will change the composition to a square and then I will also add captions. Next, I will export that into a GIF and make sure it's a lower quality. Sometimes I might have to take that extra step of using a compressor to make sure my GIF is small enough to upload as a community post. Then I ask Underlord or any AI tool that I'm using to come up with a community post summarizing the most important points of my video and why people should watch. I'll paste that into my community post and then I will schedule it to publish a couple of minutes after my scheduled video.
Another way that I promote my videos is I repurpose my long-form video into short-form. So over on Descript, I'll watch my video at two or 3x speed and then look for all the sections of my video that could be a standalone short-form video. I'll highlight that section and then create a new composition. Once my video is in a new composition, I'll change the aspect ratio to 9x16 for short-form. And because it's short-form, I'll try to make my video more concise by deleting the extra fluff. Afterwards, I'll add captions. My favorite is the classic template. And then I'll adjust the font style, size, and colors if needed. And then once I'm done, I'll export the video in 1080p. And then I can repurpose that on Instagram, YouTube Shorts, and even TikTok. And an advanced strategy that you can consider using is investing in a tool like ManyChat where you can say, "Comment X and I'll send you the link to your video." This is how I drive traffic to my YouTube videos from Instagram.
The next thing that I do to drive more traffic to my YouTube videos is I leverage my Instagram audience by promoting my video over on Stories. What I typically do in my promotion sequence is the first story is usually a trailer of what my YouTube video is about. Because I know I always have to make a story teaser when I'm doing the hooks for all of my videos, I kind of say it in a way where it can be a teaser to my video. Let me show you an example. "If you're thinking of finally starting a YouTube channel this year, or you want to level up your current videos, but you can't quite afford a part-time video editor, then this video is for you. Because not only am I going to break down step by step how to edit your videos easily and bring them to pro-level quality, even if you have zero experience or don't have a lot of time, but I'm also going to share exactly why you'd want to make certain edits to retain your viewer and get better results on your videos. So, let's dive in." This is why using Descript is really easy because I will just take my hook, turn it into a new composition, add some fancy captions and text, and then that will be my actual story teaser that I post on Instagram with a link to my video.
The second story sequence that I do is typically me scrubbing through my video and going through all the chapters so that people get an idea of what's being taught or what's being shared in my video to pique curiosity. I create this by going to my YouTube app, turning on the screen recording feature on my iPhone, and then record myself scrubbing through the entire video. I will then crop my screen recording, and then add it to my Instagram Stories. What I'll also do is whenever I upload a new video, I always pin it to my channel. And so when I'm on mobile, I can just screenshot that and then also put that on my Stories. Typically, I'll even add some text on why people should watch the video. And then I'll link my video in the Stories and post it like that.
So, there you have it. That's everything you really need to know to start and grow your YouTube channel. And I know that it was a lot of information, but just remember, you don't have to get everything perfect from day one. Pick one or two things that you learned in this video, implement them this week, and bookmark this video so that you can refer to throughout the year. All my favorite tools and resources, including Descript, will be linked in my description box below. And speaking of Descript, if you want to learn how to edit your videos in a really easy way, then make sure you watch this video next. As always, guys, I appreciate you. Good luck with starting and growing your YouTube channel. And I'll see you in this video next.