Author: Alan Spicer - YouTube Certified Expert

UK Based - YouTube Certified Expert Alan Spicer is a YouTube and Social Media consultant with over 2 Decades of knowledge within web design, community building, content creation and YouTube channel building.

Does Monetization Increase Views?

Post author By Alan Spicer - YouTube Certified Expert
Post date 9 July 2020

Should I Start a New YouTube Channel or Keep My Old One? 1

Every YouTuber with any kind of ambition naturally wants to find any edge they can get when it comes to increasing their viewership. Hopefully, those edges are all above board. So when theories start flying around about things that potentially affect your views, it’s perfectly natural to want to know if those theories are correct. In this case, the theory is that YouTube monetization can increase your views.

Many YouTubers shun YouTube monetization for several reasons. Perhaps they don’t feel the inconvenience to their viewers is worth the revenue it generates. Perhaps the YouTuber is very brand-conscious and doesn’t want to run the risk of having ads that would not mesh with their brand running alongside their videos. It could also be because the YouTuber has signed a brand deal with a third party and part of the deal is they can’t run YouTube ads on their sponsored videos.

Whatever the reason, it would certainly be interesting to see how many of those YouTubers might change their mind about not monetizing their videos if they knew that it cost them views.

But does monetization increase views? – Monetization does not affect your views. Not directly, at least. They are two completely different systems. However if you was demonetized for not safe for advertiser content you make have also been restricted or aged gated, which will impact views.

But as with many topics relating to YouTube, there is more to explore. If you’d like to know more, keep reading.

Why People Think Monetization = Views

The idea that YouTube monetization might lead to more views is not a ridiculous one. YouTube spent much of its early life as a notorious money pit, struggling to make back the money it cost to keep this enormous platform of video content afloat.

It stands to reason that YouTube would place earning money quite highly on its list of priorities. And, if that were the case, it would quite naturally follow that videos that are monetized would get more of a push from the YouTube algorithm than videos that aren’t. After all, it is not just the creators that aren’t earning anything—videos that aren’t monetized don’t make any money for YouTube, either.

Not only do they not make any money for YouTube, but they also cost them money. Every video uploaded means more storage, more server capacity, more money.

So it makes sense that YouTube would want to push those videos that are going to earn them money over those that aren’t. Especially considering that the videos that are allegedly being buried are costing YouTube less money when they are not actively being watched.

As we said, the theory makes perfect sense. But we also said this wasn’t the case, so let’s get into that next.

Why YouTube Monetization Doesn’t Increase Views

The simplest way to understand this concept is to think of YouTube and Google Adwords as two separate entities. Yes, we know Google (technically Alphabet Inc.) owns YouTube and Adwords, but for the sake of understanding, pretend for a moment that they are a completely unrelated company.

Now, YouTube does not earn money, per se, Google does. Google is essentially YouTube’s sugar daddy in that it pays for YouTube to keep running, but from a monetary standpoint, the money made through YouTube goes straight into Google’s coffers.

Additionally, YouTube and YouTuber have no more control over the ads shown on their platform than a regular blog with an Adwords account does. In short, the two companies are operating almost entirely independently of each other.

Google likes to compartmentalize. Adwords is a platform for delivering advertisements across a variety of different mediums. YouTube is a platform for publishing video. Google is a search engine, and so on.

The critical factor here is that YouTube’s mandate has nothing to do with monetization as such; it has to do with watch time. Now, granted, the more watch time there is, the more opportunity there is to serve ads, and the more money will get made. But from YouTube’s point of view, watch time is the endgame.

Correlation is not Causation

There is more to it, as always, when you think about how YouTube’s motives might affect video plays. For example, YouTube will promote videos that garner more watch time harder than they will promote videos that don’t do as well in the watch time department.

Videos with considerably more watch time are typically worth more and have a better higher likelihood of being monetized. The fact that these videos are monetized and get more of a push from Google is unconnected, however. It is the watch time that drives both.

Similarly, one of the main reasons for videos not being monetized is ineligibility for the YouTube Partner Programme, either through not having enough views or subscribers or because of community guideline violations. Videos that fall into this category are often less engaging, either because they have offensive content, their creator is inexperienced, or the content is just bad. In these cases, those videos will not receive the same kind of push from YouTube that a monetized video will, but it is not because of the monetization.

If you need help in understanding how to get monetized on YouTube I did a deep dive blog highlighting all the hoops to jump through.

Another point of correlation can be found in sensitive content. Advertisers are increasingly shying away from certain types of content—anything offensive, violent, political, and so on. At the same time, YouTube is less likely to push the content of this nature because it may cause offence and upset. In this case, once again, the videos that are demonetized are pushed less by the algorithm. But it is the content of the video that causes both things to happen independently of each other.

It is important to remember that YouTube’s goal of more watch time is largely geared towards serving more advertisements. So it stands to reason that their criteria will be somewhat similar to the requirements Adwords has with regards to showing an ad on a video (or webpage for that matter).

It may seem a pointless distinction at times—if the two aspects of the equation are so closely aligned, what difference does it make if they are directly interacting or not?

But if you want to stack the odds in your favor maybe consider I have a whole page of tools, websites and software I use to make my videos super profession for next to nothing.

Why This Matters

If your goal is purely to make money, and you are already part of the YouTube Partner Programme, it won’t make much difference to you. Your content will still need to adhere to whatever criteria advertisers are enforcing if you want to monetize your videos. And if that criteria closely aligns with what YouTube wants in terms of algorithm-friendly content, all the better.

Similarly, if YouTube is just a video hosting service to you—if you neither need nor care about YouTube promoting your content, none of this is relevant. All you would need to do is avoid breaking YouTube’s community guidelines so as not to get taken down completely.

Where it does make a difference, however, is with video content that is intentionally not-monetized, or videos that are not part of the YouTube Partner Programme.

By knowing that it is not monetization that is causing videos to get more views, but the underlying metrics that drive monetization, you can ensure that your content meets the necessary criteria to get promoted by YouTube, monetization or not.

If you are not part of the YouTube Partner Programme but would like to be, knowing this will help you get the views and watch time you need to join the programme.

Do I Need Monetization To Make Money?

The next question that usually follows this type of conversation is whether or not YouTube monetization is necessary, and what the alternatives are. You may be surprised to learn how many new YouTubers are unaware of other monetization methods.

If you are one such YouTuber, don’t worry; you’re not alone.

There are several ways you can monetize your YouTube channel without using YouTube’s monetization system. One of the more popular ones being crowdfunding

With this method, your viewers would voluntarily said you money as a thank you for your content. The idea is that they would like to see more of your content, and by donating some cash to you, they will help to ensure that more content happens. The most popular example of this kind of model is Patreon, which allows recurring payments, similar to a monthly subscription. There are alternatives, however, such as Ko-Fi, which functions a little more like a tip jar than a subscription service.

Another method of monetization is through brand deals and product sponsorships – I did a deep dive on affiliate marking on my blog that drill down into potential earning anyone can get with a little hard work.

This is where a company approaches you independently (or through an ad network) and pays you to promote their product or service, or review something, or sometimes just wear a t-shirt or drink from a particular mug.

You will typically need to have a good following with substantial viewing figures before this kind of deal will present itself. This kind of arrangement is usually the most lucrative kind of monetization you can get on YouTube channel.

Another option is selling merchandise using print-on-demand services. These services allow you to supply products to your viewers without having to order in bulk upfront and store large amounts of product. Many companies offer this service, and YouTube even has its own alternative for YouTubers with over 10,000 subscribers.

Can Monetization Hurt My Views?

The first thing to note here is that monetization certainly won’t hurt your views from the standpoint of viewers being pushed to your content. If your videos are advertisement friendly, they have already met a lot of the criteria for the kind of video the YouTube algorithm likes to push. Of course, there’s more to it than that, and it’s what happens after a viewer lands on your video that makes or breaks it.

More watch time and engagement will lead to a video being pushed more by YouTube, and it is here where monetization has the potential to hurt your views.

There are situations when a pre-roll ad will result in the viewer clicking away before they ever get to the video—particularly in the case of unskippable ads. This tends to happen more on casual content, such as funny videos and memes—the kind of videos people end up watching when they are idly browsing through YouTube with no real aim in mind. These viewers are not particularly invested in the content, and so the little barrier to entry that a pre-roll ad presents can sometimes be enough to scare them away. This affects smaller channels in particular, as every view is essential in those early days.

Another example of monetization hurting views is when a video is overstuffed with ads. If a viewer gets the sense that they are getting advertised at too often, they may click away out of frustration. A viewer clicking away halfway through your video doesn’t directly hurt your views—after all, they have already been counted as a view. What it does do is harm your videos standing in the YouTube algorithm.

It will see users clicking away from your content and see that as a warning sign that perhaps your videos are not suitable for a recommendation.

Content First

While it is impossible not to consider things like monetization and YouTube’s algorithm if you are hoping to make a significant success out of your YouTube channel, the content you produce remains the best way to ensure success.

If you are creating content in one of the shadier area of YouTube (as far as the algorithm is concerned) such as politics, you may need to accept that monetization is not a practical option for your channel. There are other methods by which you can monetize your content, of course, but the common denominator is that you will need good content to do so. If you want to get monetized, you will need sufficient watch time and subscribers. If you’re going to attract brand deals, you will need a substantial following.

If you’re going to pursue a crowdfunding model, you will need to produce good enough content that people will be willing to donate to you of their own volition.

The key to success on YouTube always boils down to good content—making quality videos is the foundation of all YouTube success. Knowing how the algorithm works only helps you steer yourself in the right direction while making that good content.

Top 5 Tools To Get You Started on YouTube

Very quickly before you go here are 5 amazing tools I have used every day to grow my YouTube channel from 0 to 30K subscribers in the last 12 months that I could not live without.

1. VidIQ helps boost my views and get found in search

I almost exclusively switched to VidIQ from a rival in 2020.

Within 12 months I tripled the size of my channel and very quickly learnt the power of thumbnails, click through rate and proper search optimization. Best of all, they are FREE!

2. Adobe Creative Suite helps me craft amazing looking thumbnails and eye-catching videos

I have been making youtube videos on and off since 2013.

When I first started I threw things together in Window Movie Maker, cringed at how it looked but thought “that’s the best I can do so it’ll have to do”.

Big mistake!

I soon realized the move time you put into your editing and the more engaging your thumbnails are the more views you will get and the more people will trust you enough to subscribe.

That is why I took the plunge and invested in my editing and design process with Adobe Creative Suite. They offer a WIDE range of tools to help make amazing videos, simple to use tools for overlays, graphics, one click tools to fix your audio and the very powerful Photoshop graphics program to make eye-catching thumbnails.

Best of all you can get a free trial for 30 days on their website, a discount if you are a student and if you are a regular human being it starts from as little as £9 per month if you want to commit to a plan.

3. Rev.com helps people read my videos

You can’t always listen to a video.

Maybe you’re on a bus, a train or sat in a living room with a 5 year old singing baby shark on loop… for HOURS. Or, you are trying to make as little noise as possible while your new born is FINALLY sleeping.

This is where Rev can help you or your audience consume your content on the go, in silence or in a language not native to the video.

Rev.com can help you translate your videos, transcribe your videos, add subtitles and even convert those subtitles into other languages – all from just $1.50 per minute.

A GREAT way to find an audience and keep them hooked no matter where they are watching your content.

4. Learn new skills for FREE with Skillshare

I SUCK reading books to learn, but I LOVE online video courses.

Every month I learn something new. Editing, writing, video skills, how to cook, how to run a business – even how to meditate to calm a busy mind.

I find all of these for FREE with Skillshare – Sign up, pick all the courses you want and cancel anytime you need.

5. Shutterstock helps me add amazing video b-roll cutaways

I mainly make tutorials and talking head videos.

And in this modern world this can be a little boring if you don’t see something funky every once in a while.

I try with overlays, jump cuts and being funny but my secret weapon is b-roll overlay content.

I can talk about skydiving, food, money, kids, cats – ANYTHING I WANT – with a quick search on the Shutterstock website I can find a great looking clip to overlay on my videos, keeping them entertained and watching for longer.

They have a wide library of videos, graphics, images and even a video maker tool and it wont break the bank with plans starting from as little as £8.25 ($9) per month.

Tags get more views, money, more views on youtube, views, youtube view, youtube views

DEEP DIVE ARTICLE HOW TO GET MORE VIEWS ON YOUTUBE TIPS & TRICKS YOUTUBE

How Much of a Song Can You Use on YouTube Without Copyright?

Post author By Alan Spicer - YouTube Certified Expert
Post date 4 July 2020

Music is a powerful tool in video editing. It can add emphasis, emotional impact, and generally change the whole tone of a scene or clip. There is a wealth of free music available, of course.

YouTube itself has a significant library of free-to-use music that you can choose from. But there are times when royalty-free music won’t do.

Whether you’re reviewing songs or you just need a particular song for your content, you’ll no doubt be aware of the minefield that is copyrighted music. You may even be aware of fair use, but don’t worry if you’re not; we’re going to get into all of that soon.

Most YouTubers are aware that you can’t just grab copyrighted music (or any content, for that matter) and put it in your video. At least, not without inevitable consequences. At best you will lose your ability to monetize that video, at worst you will get a copyright strike against your channel, and enough of those will lose your channel entirely!

So, how much of a song can you use on YouTube without copyright coming to bite you in the backside? – The short answer is none! You will need a buy a license to use popular tracks or will need to enter into revenue shares with some artists if they are part of the YouTube Audio Library. If you want music in your videos it is best to use royalty free services or make your own music.

The answer more honest answer is, it complicated – so if you’re with us, we’re about to dive a little deeper.

What is “Fair Use”?

As we’re about to get into a subject matter that strays a little close to legal advice, we must stress that is emphatically not legal advice.

Always seek the advice of a qualified law professional before doing anything that might potentially land you in legal trouble. Now, with that out of the way, let’s get into what fair use is.

Fair use is the name given to the use of copyrighted material in some instances where the use is limited or transformative. You may be wondering what “transformative” means, and you wouldn’t be alone. Inordinate amounts of money have been spent trying to find a clear definition of what constitutes transformative but to no avail.

Established examples of a transformative use of copyrighted material include commentary and criticism, such as news programs showing clips of something accompanied by commentary about that thing. Another example is parody videos.

There is a common myth or misunderstanding that you are allowed to use a certain amount of copyrighted content—a few seconds, say—and you will be protected by fair use. Unfortunately, that is not the case. Fair use covers how copyrighted content is used, not the amount of it.

While it is highly unlikely, it is theoretically possible that the use of copyrighted material in its entirety could be protected by fair use. It would be tough to justify, of course, and the less of a piece of copyrighted material you use, the easier it is to claim that you are using it for transformative means, rather than just stealing it.

It is here that the myth of using only a few seconds comes from; most successful examples of fair use on YouTube are short clips, but the shortness is not what makes them a successful example of fair use. We’ll get more into what these successful examples look like shortly.

To avoid falling into dangerous waters I always use licensing companies like LickD – I pay a small fee per track and know I am covered from all the legal potholes. Go check LickD out, they have a wide selection of popular song and chart music on their website and you can even get one track free!

Fair Use is Not Protection

The main trap people fall into when dealing with fair use is in thinking that it is some kind of protection against copyright claims or lawsuits, but this is not the case.

Fair use is a defence, not a protection. There is no one-size-fits-all application of fair use that a company like YouTube could apply to your usage of copyrighted material. As such, fair use is decided on a case-by-case basis…

…in court.

Yes, unfortunately, the only way to prove you are using copyrighted content within the remit of fair use is by going to court and having them agree with you. And, unless you have a lot of spare cash and time on your hands, the only way that is likely to happen is if you get sued by a copyright holder. Not ideal.

An unfortunate side effect of this is that large copyright holders tend to bludgeon smaller entities with copyright take-downs, knowing full well that the average YouTuber will not have the means to challenge the claim on a legal footing. Combine this with increasingly automated copyright infringement detection employed by YouTube, and you have a scenario in which it is very difficult to use copyrighted content in any capacity.

There are even instances of YouTubers creating cover versions of popular songs using household objects—such as couch cushions and doors—getting copyright claims against them by the owner of the song they are covering.

If you are struggling for places to find free to use and completely safe music – I made a deep dive video on all the places you can find music for free online.

How Much of a Song Can You Use on YouTube Without Copyright Issues?

Now that we’ve taken a deeper dive into how fair use works, we hope it makes more sense when we tell you that the answer to how much of a song you can use without copyright problems is, practically speaking, none.

The reason we say this is because the music industry is particularly aggressive when it comes to protecting its intellectual property. They are not interested in the fair use arguments and will go after any use of their music that they become aware of. Couple that with YouTube’s automated copyright infringement detection, and you have a situation where any attempt to use copyrighted music will likely get flagged.

If the infringement exists (that is, the copyright holder attributed does, in fact, own the copyright to the material in your video), then your only recourse would be to take that copyright holder to court.

It would be extremely unlikely to reach a point where the copyright holder would take you to court, however, as YouTube has plenty of mechanisms in place to protect their interests. From monetizing your video and sending them the proceeds, to removing your channel from the platform entirely.

YouTube will not allow you to infringe copyright continually, so it would take an extremely keen legal department at some music label to see you in taken to court before YouTube resolves the issue for them.

Examples of Fair Use

Copying works across a variety of different mediums, including broadcast, is permitted when the use is for examination or instruction, in an academic or industry setting, as long as it meets certain guidelines. Obviously, this is unlikely to apply to your average YouTuber.

An example more relevant to YouTube, however, is using copyrighted content for quotation, critique, or review. Of course, if you post an entire album with little to no commentary, you will struggle to make an argument for fair use. The amount of copyrighted content should be quite limited, and only just enough to get whatever point you are trying to make across.

Other criteria for this kind of fair use include the copyrighted material being publicly available and the source of the content being acknowledged

You can also use copyrighted material of reporting current news, though the situations in which copyrighted music would fit into this category are rare.

Parody, as we mentioned earlier, is also a form of fair use, but this is another area where the boundaries for what constitutes parody are far from clear. Any borderline case may need to be tested in court to receive any kind of definitive decision on the matter.

The final example of fair use involves text and data mining, which clearly doesn’t have any bearing on a discussion about using music in YouTube videos.

Can You Use Music in YouTube Videos at All?

There are certainly situations where you could use music—even copyrighted music—in your YouTube videos. If you were to obtain the permission of the copyright holder, for instance, you would be legally allowed to use that music as long as you stuck to whatever terms you agreed, of course.

As we mentioned earlier, there is also non-copyrighted music or music with an open license such as Creative Commons. YouTube provides an impressive library of such music for the very reason of helping YouTubers make their content without falling afoul of copyright strikes. Remember, they want you to succeed.

Finally, you could, of course, use your own music. If you make music and you have not given the rights to that music to anyone else, you are free to do with it as you please.

Should I Use Copyrighted Music in my YouTube Videos?

The only truly safe option when considering using music in your YouTube videos is to use royalty-free music that is licensed for commercial use.

The commercial aspect is important even if you do not monetize your videos, because you may decide to monetize them someday, and, in any case, some people may disagree with your idea of commercial. They may even be wrong, but you don’t want to have to go to court to prove that.

If you can get permission for the music you should be okay to use it in theory, however, it is worth noting that YouTube’s copyright infringement detection is something of a firehose when it comes to seeking out violations.

There are many examples in the past of YouTubers going to great lengths to obtain permission to use copyrighted material, only to have YouTube flag it as a violation.

In some case, copyright holders themselves have fallen afoul of this system. It has not been uncommon for YouTubers who are part of a content network upload a video of one of their own songs on a private channel and get flagged for copyright because their song was initially played on the content network’s channel.

It is far from a perfect system.

What Happens if I Get Caught Using Copyrighted Music?

The consequences vary depending on things like if you are a repeat offender, or how the copyright holder wants to handle the situation. If you are caught infringing copyright, and it is your first time, you will likely just receive a strike against your account. Enough of these strikes, however, and your account could be removed entirely.

In some cases, the copyright holder will opt to leave your video alone, but monetize it and claim the earnings. In those cases, you will not be able to monetize your video yourself, even if the offending music only makes up a small portion of your video. Unfortunately, this is a risk you will have to accept if you want to use copyrighted music.

As mentioned above, it is unlikely you would ever see a courtroom from infringing copyright on YouTube. But, as mentioned even further above, nothing in this post should be considered legal advice. The fact that it is unlikely that you will end up in court should not be seen as a guarantee that you will not end up in court.

Conclusions

The world of YouTube copyright is a bit of a minefield when it comes to knowing exactly what you can and can’t do.

The only way to be genuinely risk-free is only ever to use royalty-free music that is licensed for commercial use. Any time you use copyrighted material, even if it is as clear cut fair use as it gets, could see you receiving copyright strikes against your channel, or worse.

If you do have to use copyrighted music, however, remember the guidelines for what constitutes fair use. Only use the absolute minimum of copyrighted music required to get your point across. Make sure the focus of the video is not the content.

Even with some additional commentary, if the point of the video is very clearly just to listen to the music, it will not be considered fair use.

But, most importantly, remember that fair use is not a protection against legal action. If a copyright holder gets a bee in their bonnet about your use of their music and decides to get the lawyers out, you will not be able to hide behind fair use.

You will need to go to court and convince a judge that your use of the content was fair use. It may not be a likely scenario, but it is one you will have to consider if you insist on using copyrighted music in your videos.

Top 5 Tools To Get You Started on YouTube

Very quickly before you go here are 5 amazing tools I have used every day to grow my YouTube channel from 0 to 30K subscribers in the last 12 months that I could not live without.

1. VidIQ helps boost my views and get found in search

I almost exclusively switched to VidIQ from a rival in 2020.

Within 12 months I tripled the size of my channel and very quickly learnt the power of thumbnails, click through rate and proper search optimization. Best of all, they are FREE!

2. Adobe Creative Suite helps me craft amazing looking thumbnails and eye-catching videos

I have been making youtube videos on and off since 2013.

When I first started I threw things together in Window Movie Maker, cringed at how it looked but thought “that’s the best I can do so it’ll have to do”.

Big mistake!

I soon realized the move time you put into your editing and the more engaging your thumbnails are the more views you will get and the more people will trust you enough to subscribe.

3. Rev.com helps people read my videos

You can’t always listen to a video.

This is where Rev can help you or your audience consume your content on the go, in silence or in a language not native to the video.

Rev.com can help you translate your videos, transcribe your videos, add subtitles and even convert those subtitles into other languages – all from just $1.50 per minute.

A GREAT way to find an audience and keep them hooked no matter where they are watching your content.

4. Learn new skills for FREE with Skillshare

I SUCK reading books to learn, but I LOVE online video courses.

Every month I learn something new. Editing, writing, video skills, how to cook, how to run a business – even how to meditate to calm a busy mind.

I find all of these for FREE with Skillshare – Sign up, pick all the courses you want and cancel anytime you need.

5. Shutterstock helps me add amazing video b-roll cutaways

I mainly make tutorials and talking head videos.

And in this modern world this can be a little boring if you don’t see something funky every once in a while.

I try with overlays, jump cuts and being funny but my secret weapon is b-roll overlay content.

They have a wide library of videos, graphics, images and even a video maker tool and it wont break the bank with plans starting from as little as £8.25 ($9) per month.

Post feature image by Richard Clyborne of Music Strive

Tags fair use, fair use on youtube, how much, how to use music on youtube, music, music copyright, music fair use, use music on youtube, youtube fait use, youtube music, youtube music copyright

TIPS & TRICKS VIDEO YOUTUBE

How to Record YouTube Videos at Home

Post author By Alan Spicer - YouTube Certified Expert
Post date 2 July 2020

With all the success that people from all walks of life have been able to find on YouTube, it’s no surprise that more and more of us want to find a way into this seemingly endless community.

Regardless of how obscure or specific your interests are, there will undoubtedly be a YouTuber making content you want. And if there isn’t, you can always become that YouTuber yourself!

The convenience of ubiquitous inter-connectivity and high speed Internet has brought us to a point where we no longer have to choose from a limited selection of entertainment, all geared towards the lowest common denominator in a bid to capture the most market share. And that door swings both ways, because any content you feel the urge to make, there is a strong chance you will find an audience for it.

That being said, getting started on YouTube can be a little daunting, especially if you have never done anything like this before. Even knowing what hardware you need, what software to use, can be confusing, never mind how you get to actually publishing a video.

Fortunately, we are here to help. Keep reading for a thorough grounding in how to record YouTube videos at home.

Planning

If you are planning just to make YouTube content for your own enjoyment, and genuinely do not care if other people watch it, you can probably skip this bit. If, on the other hand, you have any ambition to grow your YouTube channel, you need to put a little thought into how you might go about it.

Now, you don’t need to have a detailed plan covering every single aspect of your YouTube career from now into the distant future, but merely turning the camera on and hoping for the best is unlikely to breed success. At least, not as quickly as having a plan will.

The first thing to think about is what market your videos will be aimed at. Finding your niche is perhaps the most critical thing you can do to ensure success—after making good content, of course.

The more focused your niche, the better your chances of attracting an audience.

This is because smaller markets tend to have less competition and more engaged audiences. So, while the potential size of your audience is much lower than a broader niche, you will be able to attract a higher portion of that possible audience, and they will be more invested in your content.

For this reason, you should attempt to drill down into the topic you are interested in making videos about, and find the most specific version of that interest that you are comfortable with.

For example, if you are a keyboard enthusiast, and plan to make videos reviewing different keyboards, consider focusing on a specific subset of keyboards, such as mechanical, gaming, ergonomic, or any other attribute that narrows the focus of your videos.

Once you know the boundaries of your niche, you can gear any promotion, related social media accounts, and SEO towards it.

Getting Started: Content

I’m sure you’re expecting this, and we both know it has to be said, so let’s do this first.

Content. Is. King.

The content you produce is the foundation upon which your YouTube empire will be built. You can use cunning tactics to build that empire and sustain it, but if your foundations are weak—if that content is not attractive to your viewers—it will all come tumbling down eventually. It is only a matter of time.

Getting Started: Equipment

Let’s start by simply saying, if you have a relatively recent smartphone, you already have all the hardware you need.

Sure, you can buy something a little more professional (and we’ll get to that in a moment) but if you don’t want to put that kind of financial commitment into your channel just yet, any mid-to-high-end smartphone from the past few years will do a more than a passable job. But let’s talk about taking it to the next level.

To simplify this topic a little, we are going to break YouTube videos down into two main types: onscreen and offscreen. Onscreen videos, as the name suggests, will feature you in the video itself, on camera. This is probably the most common form of YouTube video. A popular example of this would be a vlog, where the YouTuber talks to the camera as though it were the audience.

The other type—offscreen—where you are not on camera, is common in software tutorials, and list videos that are made up of a series of clips from movies or other videos.

If you need ideas for channels or videos where you are not on screen I have a blog with 12 YouTube Channel Ideas Without Showing Your Face – The perfect way to make a channel if you don’t want to be to be the “face” of the brand.

The difference, of course, is that you do not need a camera to make videos where you are not onscreen. What you do need, regardless of whether you are on screen or not, however, is decent audio.

While high-quality video is definitely better than poor quality video, viewers tend to be forgiving if the quality of the video is not critical to the content, as it would be in a software tutorial. What they are less forgiving of is poor quality audio. Whether it’s excessive background noise, clicking and popping, interference, or any number of other things. This kind of thing can really grate on people in the same way that many people don’t like the sound of fingernails on a chalkboard, or cutlery scratching a plate.

With that in mind, the first piece of equipment you should focus on upgrading is your microphone.

Audio

For the most part, a decent USB microphone will do the job just fine. Blue, in particular, make some great USB microphones spanning the price spectrum.

If you want to take it a step further, you will almost certainly need to get hold of an audio interface as well. Audio interfaces can come in many shapes and sizes, from small and inexpensive to multi-channel beasts that cost the same as a small computer.

Audio interfaces provide crystal clear, low latency audio input for your professional-grade microphones (or other instruments), as well as provide the necessary power to run those microphones.

I personally use a Boya BY-MM1 microphone and works wonders with my phone and camera – I even did a deep dive blog on the Boya-BY MM1 it and it has a very cool sound improving feature.

Video

When you start getting into camera upgrades, things can get very expensive, very fast. There are not many budget options that will give you better quality than a typical iPhone or high-end Android phone.

Just be sure to do your research, do not put too much stock in the various numbers manufacturers like to put on the box. Things like resolution and framerate aren’t the be-all and end-all of camera quality. And, remember, if something looks too good to be true, it almost certainly is.

One thing to note is that you shouldn’t be afraid to use less conventional means if they work for you. One such example would be using an HDMI capture device to turn a standalone camera into a webcam of sorts.

The Rest

Regarding other equipment, we could talk about when getting your perfect YouTube set up together; there’s too much to cover in this post. Needless to say, things like acoustic treatment and lighting are essential to producing the best content possible.

Lighting, in particular, can do wonders for your video quality. A great camera can still produce poor video in a bad light; however, even a mediocre camera can do good work if accompanied by good lighting.

Finding a Location to Film In

Finding a somewhere in your home to film is a topic that could fill a post of its own, but we’ll do our best to cover the basics. Your priority should be finding somewhere you can set up permanently. That is, somewhere you wouldn’t have to remove your gear in between videos.

This will allow you to set up things like lighting and acoustic treatment—things you can’t easily put up and take down every time you want to record a video. A permanent location can be anywhere from a spare room or your bedroom, to a closet or the garage. Anywhere that won’t upset anyone you might be living with.

Need inspiration for places to record in around your house? I have been making videos for over 8 years so I have pulled together a list of some of my favorite places to film in my home – some are very imaginative!

If you can’t find such a spot, you will have to try and make your YouTube set up portable so that it can be moved in between recordings. Consider things like getting a microphone with a tighter pickup pattern, so that it picks up less background noise. Opt for a smaller, more portable lighting rig. And, obviously, a laptop over a desktop computer.

Your Set

Having an interesting backdrop to your videos is by no means essential, but it does help to give your videos a little extra flair, not to mention a touch of personality.

The key to an excellent backdrop is to make sure it does not overpower the focus of the video, whether that focus is you, some product you are showing off, or anything else that you want the viewers to be paying attention to.

Be sure to keep things relevant, as well. If you are running a straight cooking channel, it would be confusing if your backdrop had a guitar mounted on the wall. Lighting is an excellent tool for this purpose, but the lighting should not overpower your camera lighting. If you can afford a camera with near-focus, dialing the focus to give the background a slight blur can help to keep the attention on what’s important.

Once you have been making videos for a while, try to incorporate things into your backdrop that speak to the history of your channel. For example, if you were running a craft channel, where you show your viewers how to make things, have some of your more impressive builds in the backdrop.

Little touches like this not only show what your channel is about, they create a sense of connection with long time viewers, who know what these elements of your backdrop represent.

Recording Times

Choosing when to record a video can be a little tricky, especially if you live with others, or have neighbours with thin walls. Most new YouTubers will be making their videos around a job or school. This severely cuts down the time available to record in.

Factor a social life, spending time with your children, being a child, and you may quickly find the main reason many YouTubers end up quitting.

How much time you dedicate to your channel will depend entirely on how seriously you want to take it. If you have big plans for your YouTube career, we recommend setting aside time solely for working on your channel. That time could be spent writing a script, editing, researching and, of course, recording. You shouldn’t work yourself into the ground, of course.

Be reasonable with your scheduling. But the more you treat your channel like a job, the more likely it is that it could one day become one.

Do Not Be Afraid to Scrap Content

Once you have started filming your videos, the next step is to upload them… or is it? Not every video is gold; even experienced YouTubers occasionally make a video they are not happy.

One of the curses—and blessings—of YouTube is that content can have a shelf life far greater than the few days or weeks after you upload it. That is great because it means your videos have the potential to reach new viewers much farther down the line. But it can also be detrimental because first impressions are a big deal.

If you upload poor content, the chances of a new viewer stumbling across that content and becoming a subscriber are pretty slim. It won’t matter that the video was a one-off and most of them are top-notch. Or that it was a long time ago and you’ve improved since then. Most of the time, they will assume that this what your content looks like, and move on.

That is why you need to be honest with yourself about your content. Get friends or family to watch for second opinions if you have to, though you will know if you are honest with yourself.

We know a lot of work goes into a video, but if that video ends up being below par, you have to let it go.

Tags bulk, content creation, home, make content, recording, recording from home, recording video, video, work from home, youtube

TIPS & TRICKS YOUTUBE

Is it Legal to Download YouTube Videos?

Post author By Alan Spicer - YouTube Certified Expert
Post date 28 June 2020
1 Comment on Is it Legal to Download YouTube Videos?

Given the nature of this topic, we must state upfront that nothing you read here should be considered legal advice.

We will do our best to lay out what is known about the legalities of downloading YouTube videos, as well as giving any relevant examples for context, but we are not legal professionals.

If you are not comfortable with the potential risks, our only advice is; do not break YouTube’s terms of service!

Whether or not it is legal to download YouTube videos is one of those questions that is very simple to answer from a rigid, technical standpoint, but deserves exploring more from a practical perspective.

Is it legal to download YouTube videos? – The short answer to this question is, if you have uploaded a video, then you are allowed to download that video via the tools provided in YouTube’s channel management. Downloading YouTube videos via any other means is breaking their terms of service, regardless of the license on that video.

That means that even if a video is listed as creative commons, or is a public domain piece, you are still not allowed to download it if you didn’t upload it, to begin with.

That is the absolute, black and white, no grey areas answer to “is it legal to download YouTube videos?”. If you do not want to risk falling afoul of YouTube’s content policies, that is all you need to know.

That being said, we mentioned there was more to explore on this subject and explore is precisely what we are going to do.

Can YouTube Ban You for Downloading Videos Against Terms?

The short answer is yes, but that is because YouTube can ban you anytime they like for anything they want. They are a private company and have complete discretion over who they allow on their platform. There are laws and regulations they must adhere to, of course, but these mainly relate to things like user data.

Theoretically, YouTube could also bring a civil lawsuit against anyone who breaks their terms of services.

Now, YouTube has never exercised either a ban or a lawsuit over breaking their terms by downloading video, but that would be little solace should they decide to make you the first their first case.

They did consider suing a video downloading service once but ultimately decided against it. So their past actions (and lack of actions), as well as rhetoric, suggest that they have no real desire to start banning people for downloading videos. Still, you should not assume that just because they have never exercised their right to before, they won’t do it in the future.

After all, money is a big motivator, and if a significant enough content network decided to put pressure on YouTube to stamp out this kind of thing, it wouldn’t be surprising if they did.

Now if you want to download videos to add b-roll to your videos then maybe consider something like storyblocks – I use them for all my cut away content. They have a range of plans to help you add eye catching and stunning visuals to your content.

Can YouTube Tell If You Download Video?

There is no automatic way for YouTube to tell if you are downloading videos. The services that allow you to download videos are more easily identifiable, and YouTube sometimes make changes to their platform that prevent these from working, though there is no way of knowing if it is a coincidence that the services stopped working, or YouTube specifically intended for that to happen. But there is no way for YouTube to tell that you are downloading a video using those services.

It is likely for this reason that YouTube does not make an effort to put a stop to this kind of activity.

For content that exists in other places—such as public domain video—it is almost impossible for YouTube to definitively say that any duplicate uploads were created with footage downloaded from their platform.

YouTube could infer that content has been downloaded, of course. If you were to download a video that is unique and only exists on YouTube and then reupload that video to their platform. However, with the amount of content that is uploaded every minute, it would be challenging for YouTube to find instances like this, even if people were willing to report this kind of terms breaking.

We say you would have to upload it to their platform because if you are not a registered user of YouTube, the only recourse YouTube would have for breaking their terms of service would be a lawsuit. Proving that any particular content was initially downloaded from YouTube against their terms of service would likely be difficult, and not worth the time and money it would cost.

Especially when YouTube can just remove the video and ban you.

Is it Ever Legal to Download Youtube Videos?

Other than downloading videos you uploaded in the first place, yes, there are situations when it is legal to download YouTube videos. The essential factor here is that YouTube’s terms of service are not law.

Breaking their terms does inherently mean you have broken the law—which is not to say there are never legal consequences for violating terms of service.

Again, we must stress that even though YouTube has never taken anyone to court for downloading videos, the possibility is there.

What this means is that for there to be legal ramifications of downloading video from YouTube, then YouTube themselves must bring a lawsuit against you. Proceeding on the basis that YouTube is unlikely to do so, you are only breaking the law if you download copyrighted content. Downloaded content that is creative commons or public domain does not violate any law, only YouTube’s terms. There is a caveat here, but we’ll get to that in a moment.

With regards to YouTube potentially bringing a civil action against you, remember that they need to be aware that you have broken their terms of service. As we mentioned, YouTube has no way of knowing who is using the various tools for downloading videos, so the only way they could possibly know is if you then put that content online somewhere. And even then, the chances of YouTube ever noticing it are practically non-existent, unless it is a high profile situation.

If you are downloading YouTube videos and keeping them to yourself, the chance of ever facing legal consequences are so remote that they may as well be non-existent. That being said, we must stress once more that it the risk does exist. If you break YouTube’s terms of service, you run that risk.

Regional Laws

We mentioned above there was a caveat to breaking terms of service not being illegal. While that is true (always check your local laws, however), the practical reality of situations like this are not so clear cut.

For example, there was an incident in 2006 where a woman signed up to MySpace under a fake identity for the purposes of bullying a friend of her daughter. That friend later committed suicide. Obviously, this was a terrible tragedy, but it is the manner in which the prosecution went after the woman that is relevant here.

Giving false information was against MySpace terms of service, and an attempt was made to prosecute the woman under the Computer Fraud and Abuse Act, claiming that she had gained “unauthorised access” to MySpace’s services by breaking the terms of service. After initially being found guilty, the woman was later acquitted in appeal after a judge decided the precedent was troubling.

The important thing to note here is that, while breaking the terms of service itself was not illegal, it was still used as a means to justify prosecuting someone under a different law.

Now, granted, the death of a thirteen-year-old girl is very serious, and not in any way comparable to downloading videos from YouTube, but it is essential to paint a full picture. We can tell you that breaking YouTube’s terms of service is not illegal, but the law is not always as straight forward as that.

How Do You Download YouTube Video?

There are several free online services that allow you to download YouTube videos. Simply searching “youtube video downloader” will typically turn up a good number of such services.

They all work in more or less the same way. You first enter the URL of the video you wish to download. The service will check the link, and, if it can do it (not all videos are downloadable), you will be able to select from various options regarding the format and quality of your download.

Some services even offer rudimentary editing tools, such as trimming, and cropping, though most will just present you with a download to the untouched video.

It is usually possible to download just the audio from a video, which is particularly useful if the thing you are downloading is sound effects, or music. Though it should be noted that downloading copyrighted music from YouTube, while still not breaking the law in terms of the act of downloading itself, is definitely breaking the law in terms of music piracy. And the music industry is not shy about enforcing those laws.

As mentioned above, YouTube periodically changes the way things work behind the scenes. Sometimes, this results in YouTube video downloaders no longer working. Whether YouTube does this on purpose or the changes are unrelated and breaking the downloaders is just a coincidence, is unknown. Regardless, when this happens, you can try a different service as some services take longer to adapt to changes by YouTube than others. But if none of them can grab the video, you may have to accept that you won’t be able to download it if you can’t find it elsewhere.

Browser Plugins and Standalone Software

There are alternatives to the online services mentioned above. When you stream a video, you are essentially downloading it to your computer temporarily. It is possible to take advantage of this and keep the downloaded video permanently. Browser plugins, in particular, add a level of convenience that the online services can’t.

It should be noted, however, that using something like a browser plugin or a standalone piece of software may expose you. When you use an online service, as far as YouTube can see, that service is accessing their content. It doesn’t matter who is downloading the video; YouTube will still see the same service as the one who is doing the downloading.

When you download a video from your computer, YouTube can see you specifically. Whether or not they can tell that you are downloading, rather than streaming, is a question we can’t answer. But if they have a means of telling the two apart, it would make it more likely that they could identify you, if they ever decided to.

Are There Alternatives to Downloading YouTube Videos?

If you are looking for a specific video that is only available on YouTube, your options are very limited. In fact, the only way to get around breaking YouTube’s terms of service here would be to contact the uploader and ask them if they could send you the video.

Obviously, for this to work, you would need to have a good reason for wanting the video, as they are unlikely to help you out if your goal is just to reupload it somewhere else and monetise it.

If the content is licensed under creative commons or public domain, there is a good chance you will be able to find it elsewhere on the web, and YouTube’s policies will have no bearing on how you obtained your content. Though it should be noted that their policies on re-using content may come into play if you attempt to monetise something that already exists on the platform.

Just remember that, while YouTube has never taken action against individual YouTubers for downloading YouTube video, and while the act of doing so technically doesn’t break any laws, the possibility of YouTube doing so is there. As is the mechanisms by which they could come after you.

So, is it legal to download YouTube videos? No. Doing so would only violate YouTube’s terms of service, and that in and of itself is not illegal. But that doesn’t mean there is no risk of legal repercussions, and you should consider that before downloading any YouTube content.

And, once again, this post does not claim to offer legal advice of any kind. If you are unsure about the ramifications of your actions, consult a licensed legal professional first.

Top 5 Tools To Get You Started on YouTube

Very quickly before you go here are 5 amazing tools I have used every day to grow my YouTube channel from 0 to 30K subscribers in the last 12 months that I could not live without.

1. VidIQ helps boost my views and get found in search

I almost exclusively switched to VidIQ from a rival in 2020.

Within 12 months I tripled the size of my channel and very quickly learnt the power of thumbnails, click through rate and proper search optimization. Best of all, they are FREE!

2. Adobe Creative Suite helps me craft amazing looking thumbnails and eye-catching videos

I have been making youtube videos on and off since 2013.

When I first started I threw things together in Window Movie Maker, cringed at how it looked but thought “that’s the best I can do so it’ll have to do”.

Big mistake!

I soon realized the move time you put into your editing and the more engaging your thumbnails are the more views you will get and the more people will trust you enough to subscribe.

3. Rev.com helps people read my videos

You can’t always listen to a video.

This is where Rev can help you or your audience consume your content on the go, in silence or in a language not native to the video.

Rev.com can help you translate your videos, transcribe your videos, add subtitles and even convert those subtitles into other languages – all from just $1.50 per minute.

A GREAT way to find an audience and keep them hooked no matter where they are watching your content.

4. PlaceIT can help you STAND OUT on YouTube

I SUCK at making anything flashy or arty.

I have every intention in the world to make something that looks cool but im about as artistic as a dropped ice-cream cone on the web windy day.

That is why I could not live on YouTube without someone like PlaceIT. They offer custom YouTube Banners, Avatars, YouTube Video Intros and YouTube End Screen Templates that are easy to edit with simple click, upload wizard to help you make amazing professional graphics in minutes.

Best of all, some of their templates are FREE! or you can pay a small fee if you want to go for their slightly more premium designs (pst – I always used the free ones).

5. StoryBlocks helps me add amazing video b-roll cutaways

I mainly make tutorials and talking head videos.

And in this modern world this can be a little boring if you don’t see something funky every once in a while.

I try with overlays, jump cuts and being funny but my secret weapon is b-roll overlay content.

I can talk about skydiving, food, money, kids, cats – ANYTHING I WANT – with a quick search on the StoryBlocks website I can find a great looking clip to overlay on my videos, keeping them entertained and watching for longer.

They have a wide library of videos, graphics, images and even a video maker tool and it wont break the bank with plans starting from as little as £8.25 ($9) per month.

Tags 4k downloader, download, download videos, download youtube, Download YouTube Videos, how to download videos, keepvid, y2mate, ytmate

DEEP DIVE ARTICLE HOW TO GET MORE VIEWS ON YOUTUBE YOUTUBE

Should I Start a New YouTube Channel or Keep My Old One?

Post author By Alan Spicer - YouTube Certified Expert
Post date 27 June 2020
1 Comment on Should I Start a New YouTube Channel or Keep My Old One?

Building a successful brand is not an easy process, and doing it right often takes time. There are ways to buy subscribers, but any YouTuber who knows their business will tell you that buying subs is a shortcut to failure.

Unfortunately, building an audience organically takes time, so when you get the itch to start something new, it’s understandable to wonder whether you should use an existing channel if you have one, or start entirely from scratch.

Should I Start A New YouTube Channel Or Keep My Old One?

If you are looking to wildly change the type of content on your channel and the channel was inactive, it could be easier to rebrand and keep the channel. If the channel still gets lots of views and has a subscriber base it maybe best to start a new separate channel.

There’s no clear yes or no answer to this question, however. The best course of action for your situation will differ significantly from that of another YouTuber.

In other words, we can’t tell you which way to go, but we can help you make that decision – lets walk you through your options.

Channel Merging

The first and easiest situation to judge is when you have an existing and active channel, and you are considering starting some new content while still producing your original videos.

If your new content is in the same—or at least very close to—the niche your existing content is in, you should consider sticking with your current channel. As mentioned above, building a new audience is hard, and if your new content is similar enough to your existing content, there’s no sense in going through that process again.

On the other hand, if your new content is significantly different from your existing content, you could damage your channel’s discoverability by muddying its focus. If YouTube can’t make a clear decision over what your channel is about, it is less likely to recommend it to viewers, which is obviously less than ideal.

Repurposing Old Disused Channels

So, you have a channel from a previous project that you don’t use anymore? You wouldn’t be the first one.

If that channel has some leftover subscribers, it makes sense that you’d want to use it that rather than starting again. After all, they are your subscribers who you worked hard to gain.

This can work to your advantage, but again, it depends on your situation. If you just want the subscriber numbers, then it should be fine. If you are looking to build a meaningful, engaged audience, then using a channel with existing subscribers will not help.

Subscribers who are subscribed to your old channel won’t necessarily be interested in your new content. And any notifications YouTube gives may only serve to remind the viewer to unsubscribe as they are no longer interested in your content.

That being said, there is no real harm to re-using an old channel. You may find those original subscribers falling away, but it shouldn’t be a hindrance to you from gaining new subscribers.

Divergent Content

Something that happens to many YouTubers—particularly after long periods on the platform—is the organic divergence of your content into multiple distinct things. A typical example of this would be setting up a second channel to post vlogs to, or behind the scenes content of the videos from your main channel.

In these cases, you will need to weigh up the popularity of this additional content.

If it is significant enough to warrant its own channel, then go for it! If hardly anyone watches them, however, it may make more sense to keep them where they are.

Rebranding Your Existing Channel

Sometimes there is no new or extra content. It’s human nature to want to change things up every so often, and YouTubers are just as prone to this as anyone.

If you feel the urge to rebrand your channel, whether it is a considered and researched move or a whim, plain and simple, then whether you should start over with your channel depends on your current channel’s status.

If you have problems with that channel, such as copyright strikes (see below) or you have found yourself with a toxic subscriber base that you would rather distance yourself from, then a new channel would be an excellent option.

When I wanted to keep my channel and give it a face-lift I needed a new channel banner, end-screen and flashy intro. I am not the best with graphic design so I used PlaceIt to make them for me. They offer easy to edit templates from free to as little as $15 – go check out their website and give your channel a new look to wow your subscribers.

Reviving a Dead Channel

It doesn’t have to be a tale of two channels, of course. Perhaps you have an old channel that you abandoned for one reason or another but have since become reignited by the premise of that channel. In this case, the situation is mostly the same as mentioned in the above scenarios.

If your old channel is in good standing, you could look to reboot it, bringing in new viewers and getting things off the ground once more. If your channel has a spotty history, it might be best to leave that history behind.

Another thing to think about is your channel’s reputation with consistency. YouTube viewers like consistency; they like to know their favorite YouTubers are putting weekly or monthly videos out. And if you have a channel that started strong and then went radio silent for a long time, your viewers may be skeptical about whether any rebrand attempt will last.

Buying a Channel

The vast majority of the time, this should fall into the same bin as buying subscribers. It is possible to purchase channels that already have subscribers and a history behind them.

These can come in two primary flavors;

Legitimate channels that are no longer wanted
Channels that were created just to sell

With the latter, there will almost never be a case where this is a good idea. Subs for channels like this are typically unfocused. They will not translate into any kind of meaningful audience as their interests in no way align with whatever the channel was purported to be about.

On the other hand, you might be considering a legitimate channel in which the owner has decided to quit and is selling their channel. While subscribers on a channel like this will have matching interests with each other, you will need to find a channel with a similar niche to yours if you hope to translate that purchase to viewers of your own directly.

Other Things to Consider

There are some other things to consider that apply regardless of the state of your existing channel, or how the content of that channel compares to your new idea.

Is There Anything to Save?

If an old channel is completely dead; no subscribers, no links, no views, then there isn’t really any point to rebranding it. There might not be any harm, either, if the channel is in good standing. But there will likely be no benefit.

In this case, it is entirely up to you. It could come down to something menial, such as not wanting another YouTube account to manage. Whatever the reason or path you decide to take, you should be fine.

Copyright and Community Guideline Strikes

YouTube isn’t always the most forgiving of platforms when it comes to rule-breaking. If you have an account—even one with a lot of followers—that has some black marks on its permanent record, it is probably best to abandon that channel as a base for your new venture.

Of course, we’re sure you have no intention of breaking any rules going forward. But with a platform such as YouTube, where the rules are continually changing, accidents can happen. You don’t want to fall afoul of an unfortunate incident, only for YouTube to obliterate your channel because it has a history.

Link Authority

One of the main reasons you would want to rebrand a channel rather than start over is to take advantage of the established reputation of that channel in the eyes of search engines. There are two main things to consider here.

Firstly, if you are revamping the content of the channel, the authority of any links leading to old material may be weakened. Secondly, if you are entirely rebranding the channel and removing or making the existing videos private, you should completely disregard any existing link authority to this channel, as it will soon disappear.

In the latter case, not only will search engines stop viewing the channel as relevant to those links, but any people who click on those old links will be frustrated to find that the video they wanted isn’t there any more!

How to Revive a Dead Channel

If you do decide to bring an old channel back from the dead, the approach is largely similar to starting from scratch… but not exactly. The main differences lie in old channels that had something of a following. Re-engaging with subscribers after your channel has been AWOL is tricky business. Many subscribers will immediately forgive and forget. Others will have forgotten they were subscribed to your channel and immediately unsubscribe once you remind them with a new video.

Make sure you are up to date. Take a look at videos from competitors channels to see if anything has changed significantly since you were last making videos for this channel. If it has, consider incorporating these changes in your revived content.

If you still have an audience on this channel, think about talking to them, asking them what they would like from your new content. Again, you run the risk of merely reminding some people that they were subscribed, causing them to unsubscribe promptly, but there isn’t much you can do about that.

You should strongly consider giving your revived channel an overhaul when it comes to artwork, even if you still like the original design. By starting over with the design, you can do your into what YouTubers in the same niche are doing, and incorporate some of those elements into your branding. It will also help to give the channel a fresh feel.

Think carefully about how far you want to take any rebranding. For example, do you want to change the name of the channel you are reviving?

If so, are you at risk of losing out on any brand recognition that your channel’s old name might command? Similarly, are there any negative connotations to the old name?

This doesn’t have to mean universally negative, but rather negative in relation to the new content you plan to release. For example, a channel that covered political issues might struggle to attract a crowd from the gaming section of YouTube, as it is typically hostile to this type of content.

Content is King

It gets said a lot but it always worth reiterating; no matter how many times you rebrand a channel, no matter whether you are starting from scratch or reviving a popular dead channel; content is the ultimate dealbreaker.

If your content is poor, your channel’s performance will also be. There is simply no getting around this universal truth. A channel with little to no advertising can do really well with good content, whereas a channel with a hefty advertising budget will always be fighting a losing a battle if the videos it puts out are below par.

Always be prepared to put as much effort as you can spare into your content, as it will pay off in the long run. You don’t have to spend money to get seen just share your videos in the right places – I did a blog the the best places to share your videos for more exposure.

Conclusions

For the most part, any advantages you might think you’d get from using an established channel to kickstart a new premise will probably not apply, unless the channel happens to have the exact same kind of content as your new videos.

And, if that were the case, you would have to wonder if rebranding was necessary when you have the ideal set up already in place.

When you are sticking with the original premise of the content and are just looking to breath new life into a forgotten channel, overhauling the look of the channel can help. Still, ultimately it will be your content that will bring new viewers to the party.

Having said all of that, if you only take away one piece of advice from this posts, let it be this; buying subscribers—either outright or as part of purchasing an old channel—seldom works. Even if you get lucky and manage to find a channel for sale in a similar niche to you, there are no guarantees that the viewers will respond to you as favourably as they once responded to the previous owner of the channel.

And that’s assuming those viewers are real!

Get your viewers the old fashioned way. You’ll thank yourself later.

If you need help to pick the right titles, optimizing your descriptions, tags and giving your videos the best launching pad they need then check out VidIQ – I use them to optimize all of my videos and their browser plugin is free to download on their website.

Top 5 Tools To Get You Started on YouTube

Very quickly before you go here are 5 amazing tools I have used every day to grow my YouTube channel from 0 to 30K subscribers in the last 12 months that I could not live without.

1. VidIQ helps boost my views and get found in search

I almost exclusively switched to VidIQ from a rival in 2020.

Within 12 months I tripled the size of my channel and very quickly learnt the power of thumbnails, click through rate and proper search optimization. Best of all, they are FREE!

2. Adobe Creative Suite helps me craft amazing looking thumbnails and eye-catching videos

I have been making youtube videos on and off since 2013.

When I first started I threw things together in Window Movie Maker, cringed at how it looked but thought “that’s the best I can do so it’ll have to do”.

Big mistake!

I soon realized the move time you put into your editing and the more engaging your thumbnails are the more views you will get and the more people will trust you enough to subscribe.

3. Rev.com helps people read my videos

You can’t always listen to a video.

This is where Rev can help you or your audience consume your content on the go, in silence or in a language not native to the video.

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5. Shutterstock helps me add amazing video b-roll cutaways

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Tags new, new brand, new channel, old, old vs new, old youtube chanel, reboot vs rebrand, rebrand, rebrand on youtube, rebrand your youtube channel, relaunch

DEEP DIVE ARTICLE TIPS & TRICKS YOUTUBE

Good Places to Record Videos in Your Home

Post author By Alan Spicer - YouTube Certified Expert
Post date 27 June 2020
5 Comments on Good Places to Record Videos in Your Home

YouTube might be an excellent medium for expressing your creative side, educating people, and even just making money.

Still, it is not exactly a low footprint medium when it comes to creating those videos. At least, not all of the time. We’ll get into that.

Finding a space to make your YouTube videos can be tricky, especially if you live with other people, or have a small home. Or both! Fear not, however, there are always options. They’re not always free options, but there are options.

In this post, we’re going to go into detail on how to choose and prep a place for recording your videos. What makes a great space—and what you need to do to prepare it—will vary greatly depending on the kind of video you make.

The right equipment can make a huge difference to how and where you can record – but it doesn’t have to cost the earth. That’s why I made a deep dive blog into YouTube Equipment on a Budget – spend a little, get a lot of freedom in your recording options.

Before we talk about the types of video, let’s go over some of the attributes that make good places to record videos in your home.

What to Look For

If you are lucky enough to be in a position where you have a large room to yourself, a spare room you can make use of, or even the ability to build something new, then you’re already most of the way there. For the vast majority of us, however, we have to make do with what we got.

The first thing to consider when looking for a place to record your videos is permanency. That is, somewhere you can set up recording equipment and leave it in place.

Granted, this might not be an option, but if it is, it should be a strongly considered option. A space that may seem far more appropriate for recording videos isn’t necessarily the best choice if you have another area that you could set up permanently.

For one thing, it makes the time required for recording a new video considerably shorter, because you don’t have to worry about setting up or tearing down your equipment.

An example of this would be a large room with nice acoustics and natural lighting that you could use, but couldn’t leave your equipment in versus a tiny room—even a closet—that you could claim for the long haul.

The larger room would undoubtedly be better, but you could make the small room work. As with many things in life, it is a matter of deciding what best suits your situation.

The next thing we would recommend you consider before moving your gear into a particular area is how much control you have over that area. Similar to the previous example, a space that you can modify may prove to be better for you than a space that you can’t, even if it doesn’t look that way, to begin with.

After that, the main things to consider are environmental. For example, areas that are subjected to a lot of noise, perhaps from traffic. There are things you can do to mitigate that, but if you have other options, maybe consider something with less noise.

Camera-less Videos

Not all YouTubers need a big, adequately lit set up. If you make software tutorials where you’re not on camera, such as list videos that consist of clips and still images, or any other type of video where you are not actually filming yourself, you have a higher degree of flexibility in terms of the areas you can record in.

As your primary concern will be the quality of your voice over recording, it will actually benefit you to record in a smaller space, such as the closet we mentioned before.

Your main goal for the recording space should be to cut down on acoustic reflection and in a smaller room. This is much a much easier prospect. For one thing, you can always coat the entire space in acoustic foam tiles, which will all but eliminate reverb and echo.

If you do not have such a space—a common situation for YouTubers is recording in their bedrooms—then you will need to be smarter with your preparation. Thick packing blankets can act as excellent acoustic insulation and can be draped over any number of household objects to create a capable acoustic screen around your recording area.

Having issues with echo? You’ll be amazed what you can do from home for next to nothing to make your videos sound professional. For a more comprehensive guide to soundproofing check out my deep dive blog.

Shared Spaces

Now, assuming you are on camera but you don’t have anywhere you can claim in the name of YouTube, what are your options? Firstly, if you are going to have to pack up your gear when you’re not using it anyway, you may as well opt for the best spot you can find.

This may mean recording at inconvenient times so as not to irritate family members or roommates. Not to mention avoiding having people walking through your shot in their dressing robe!

You will be a bit limited in terms of your “set”, as the people you share a the space with won’t necessarily be happy about you putting up acoustic treatment and set dressing while they’re trying to watch Netflix!

One thing you can do in these cases is to use the room as your set. It might require doing a bit of tidying up, but most people wouldn’t complain about that. Even a drab looking space can be a serviceable YouTube set with the right focus and a bit of lighting.

Dual Purpose Spaces

This is the kind of situation most YouTubers find themselves in; you have somewhere to yourself, but you can’t dedicate it to your YouTube exploits.

The most common instance of this being a bedroom. Sure, you have the bedroom to yourself, but you do have to sleep in there. The good news is it’s your space, and you can do as much to it as you can endure.

You’re probably not going to want to hang set dressing over your bed, forcing you to take it down anytime you want to go to sleep. But you can certainly put things on the walls, arrange lighting in a way that suits the video, and move furniture around.

The Attic

…or loft, depending on what you call it.

Unless we’re talking about a converted attic, the chances are you’re going to need to do a lot of work to get things going up there. You will need lighting, acoustic treatment, and you will probably be sharing your recording space with decades of accumulated boxes.

The good news is, if you can get all of that sorted, you have a secluded space all to yourself. Just bear in mind that you will have to climb in and out of the attic any time you need to record, which isn’t always the easiest prospect depending on how the is laid out property.

Of course, if we are talking about a converted attic, there is no reason to treat it differently to any other room in the property.

Garages and Sheds

Let’s face it; nobody uses garages for cars anymore. And garden sheds are being converted into secluded getaways all the time. If you have access to such a thing, it can make a great recording space. But there are things to consider that you wouldn’t have to think about in a regular house or apartment.

Firstly, in the case of a typical garden shed, it is considerably easier to break into. If you leave a bunch of expensive recording equipment in there, you will have to weigh up the risk of it being stolen.

You can add security to the shed, remove the equipment when you’re not recording, or just hope that you never face that problem.

Another concern to think about with garden sheds (and, to a lesser extent, garages) is things like damp. These structures are not designed for use in the same way a typical home is, and they are prone to things like condensation and leaking. As you can imagine, this isn’t ideal when you have a potentially expensive computer, and a bunch of recording equipment sat there.

The other problem you will face is acoustics and set dressing. Having your own dedicated little space is great, of course, but your typical garage or garden shed is terrible from an acoustic point of view, and not exactly pretty to look at. Be sure to factor all of this in before moving your gear in.

Think Outside the Box

While not strictly in your home, gardens can provide an excellent backdrop for a video (depending on the video, of course).

You will need to do a little research into your gear if you want to record outdoors, as getting the best video and audio in the midst of Mother Nature is not quite the same as getting it in your bedroom.

The weather may also be a factor. If you live in a particularly wet region, the garden might not be very practical when you have to wait for the one dry day a month to shoot a video!

And The Rest…

It is also essential to put some thought into the rest of the video-making process, as you will need somewhere to do this as well. If you have set up a nice little audio recording booth in a closet somewhere in your house, it may not be the best location for slaving over endless hours of editing. Assuming, of course, you edit your own videos, but things like scriptwriting can go down in this category as well.

If you can split the various aspects of YouTubing across multiple machines, it might be worth having a dedicated device for the recording that can be left in place. If not, portable devices such as laptops are always great for those times when it’s not possible or feasible to edit and record in the same place.

Of course, if your set up is a big, roomy desk with a nice, comfortable chair, there’s no reason not to use that same location for your off-camera work.

Essentials

Any space you choose can be made into a serviceable YouTube recording space with a few essential tools.

Firstly; lighting. The amount of difference lighting makes to a video cannot be overstated. It is often the case that a cheap camera with good lighting can do a far better job than an expensive one with poor lighting. Lighting doesn’t need to be expensive, and it can come in very portable form factors, and with the right placement, it can be used to effectively remove the background entirely. Perfect if you are recording somewhere with a less than ideal look for your videos.

Acoustic treatment is also essential, though a little trickier to make portable. If you have a dedicated space, consider getting some acoustic foam tiles on your walls and ceiling, and perhaps a thick rug for your floor.

If you need more help in soundproofing your newly discovered record set I have a deep dive in my blog on soundproofing tips for youtubers – this should get you started and can be amazingly cheap!

If your setup needs to be portable, thick packing blankets are always a good option. Draping them over something around your recording space will make a massive difference to the acoustics, and you will be able to easily take them down afterwards.

Finally, for those times when the space is just not fit for screen time—or just because you want to—there is a green screen. Green screens can be picked up relatively cheaply on Amazon, or sites like Wish, and there are free options for implementing Chroma Key (the name of the green screen effect) either live or in editing.

Don’t Be Discouraged

It is essential to remember that, ultimately, it is the content you produce that will make or break your YouTube career, not the space you are recording in. If you can’t make a great looking set to record in, do not let that stop you from making videos.

Just do the best that you can do with what you have and then set about creating great content. Always be on the lookout for ways you can improve your recording space, of course, but don’t wait until it is ready, because it may very well never be ready. Especially if you are a bit of a perfectionist.

Viewers will forgive you for less than perfect backdrops, or subpar video quality. And as you progress, if your content is good enough, you may well find that is financially practical to upgrade.

Tags film making, how to make better videos, how to make better videos on youtube, make videos from home, making youtube videos, youtube, youtuber

DEEP DIVE ARTICLE HOW TO GET MORE VIEWS ON YOUTUBE TIPS & TRICKS YOUTUBE

Soundproofing Tips for YouTubers

Post author By Alan Spicer - YouTube Certified Expert
Post date 26 June 2020
1 Comment on Soundproofing Tips for YouTubers

Soundproofing can be the secret weapon in a new YouTuber’s arsenal.

If you were to ask a significant sample of YouTube viewers whether they would prefer better video or audio from their YouTubers, the answer might surprise you for a video platform.

While there are undoubtedly channels where good video quality is essential (software tutorials spring to mind), there are a considerable number of channels where the video element really isn’t as important as you might think.

Vlogs, educational content, interviews, list videos, we could go on. The point is, for a vast chunk of YouTubers, sound quality is considerably more important than video quality (within reason, of course). This is because hearing is the primary sense being used.

Don’t believe us?

Think about all the times you’ve put a YouTube video on and ended up doing something else while it plays. Maybe browsing the web, writing an email, checking your phone.

Not only that, but think about how many times audible cues have grated on your last nerve. People chewing while they talk, tapping, distant car alarms—audible cues can be very annoying. This is especially true when it comes to unwanted echoes, artefacts, and overall poor audio quality in YouTube videos.

Many things contribute to poor audio quality, but we’re not going to get into microphones and audio interfaces here; that deserves a post of its own – or you can watch my deep dive video on my youtube channel.

So, before we get into some tips on soundproofing your recording space, let’s quickly go over why you might want to do this.

Why Soundproof for YouTubing?

The most obvious reason, of course, is to get rid of external noise. No YouTuber wants to have to edit out the sounds of planes flying overhead, cars driving by, the next-door neighbour engaging in some late-night DIY or anything else of that nature. And your viewers certainly don’t want to listen to those noises.

Soundproofing can significantly improve your recording if you record somewhere that tends to have a lot of noise going on. But the benefits to soundproofing are not one-way.

In almost all cases (the exception being ASMR videos) whispering or quiet-talking should be avoided. At best, it’s just a little difficult to hear, but at worst it can be very annoying to some viewers (think the opposite of ASMR).

This shouldn’t be confused with low volume—it’s not the level of your audio we’re talking about. When you whisper or talk quietly, your voice is different. The quality that some people find annoying is not remedied by turning the volume up in your editing software.

But what does this have to do with soundproofing? Well, the most common reason for unintentional quiet-talking is environmental. For example, if your recording setup is in the room next to your parents, partner, or roommate, and you record late at night. The chances are, there’s not a lot you can do about the when and where you record.

But by soundproofing the space you record in, you will be able to make much more noise when you make a new video without worrying about annoying anyone around you.

Soundproofing Tips for YouTubers

We should state upfront that a number of these tips relate to the construction of the space itself—things like the walls, and floorboards. We understand that most people will not be able to implement all of these tips.

You would have to be building a studio from scratch, or tearing a room down completely to do that. Just know that implementing any of these tips should improve your situation with regards to soundproofing.

Squeaky Floorboards

You might be thinking, “but I don’t walk around when I record YouTube videos.” That may be the case, but very few of us sit or stand utterly still when we make videos. A creaking floorboard can be extremely annoying mid-video.

Unfortunately, there are no products you can go out and buy that will fix this problem, so you’ll have to get the tools out if you want to put an end to it. The first thing to check is what is causing the squeaking. If it is just a matter of loose boards themselves, you can usually remedy the problem with a few screws.

We say screws and not nails—as is probably currently holding your floorboards in place—because screws will not slide over time as nails do.

If it is the joists and noggins (the big pieces of wood your floorboards are attached to), then you might need some professional help. You will certainly need to lift your floorboards. They can usually be fixed with some L shaped brackets at the corners. If you do have to lift your floorboards, you may as well take this opportunity to re-attach them with screws.

Dotting and Dabbing: Don’t Do It!

Unfortunately, this tip is only going to be useful to people who are doing some serious renovation or perhaps building from scratch. “Dot and Dab” is a method of attaching drywall (or plasterboard, depending on where you are from) to the outer structure of your room.

It involves dabbing a healthy amount of adhesive in places (this would be the dotting) and then pressing the drywall up to it. As a means of attaching the drywall, it is inexpensive and effective.

Unfortunately, it creates a significant amount of hollow space behind your walls. In a room that has been wholly drywalled, this would essentially mean one large continuous echo chamber surrounding the place!

Acoustic Insulation

If you are renovating or building a new space and the walls will be framed out, you can take this opportunity to fill the spaces between your studs with acoustic insulation.

Acoustic insulation is denser than regular thermal insulation. It will provide you with built-in soundproofing that will stop sound from getting in or out of your recording space. There are different thicknesses available, and the width you need will depend on the thickness of your studs.

Resist the urge to buy insulation that is too thick and cram it into your walls. That could cause problems later down the line, as well as reduce the acoustic insulation properties of the material.

Windows

Birds, traffic, police sirens, inconvenient helicopter flybys—there’s a lot of unwanted noise that can get in through your window. It may not be ideal in hotter parts of the world, but the first thing you should be doing is making sure that window is closed before you record.

The cheapest solution would be nice, thick blinds or curtains. They won’t cut out all the noise, but they will make some difference.

If you’ve got a little more money to throw at the problem, consider getting a secondary glazing system, which is essentially a second window inside your existing window. The cavity created between this window and your current window makes for excellent sound dampening.

Noisy Appliances

Washing machines are loud. We get it. Some washing machines could be at the other end of your home and still get picked up on a recording.

Unfortunately, the overwhelming majority of us do not have the option to simply move the washing machine—or our recording space—to get around this problem. Though if you do, that would be the best solution.

Assuming you’re stuck, however, the first thing to consider is an acoustic mat under your washing machine. It will not cut the sound completely, but it will significantly reduce it. If your washing machine (or other noisy appliance) is not right next to your recording space, this might be enough.

If not, we’re sorry to say that your only practical option is to plan your recordings so that any noisy appliances are not running.

Change Your Microphone

You might also consider a new microphone that is less prone to picking up the background noise. It should be stated that any built-in or inexpensive USB microphone will likely need upgrading as a matter of course.

But if your mic is picking up a lot of background noise, there may be an alternative model with a tighter pickup pattern.

I use a Boya By-MM1 on my DSLR Camera and this is great when I am stood in front of it recording in stable environment – I did a hands on review video and blog of the Boya BY-MM1 microphone with some interesting facts about its pick up pattern – You’ll me amazed the difference you can make when you match the right microphone to your set up.

In the same realm as a new mic, you could also consider turning your microphone’s input level down and having the mic be closer to your face, or speaking more forcefully. Or both.

If you do decide to go down this route, be sure to have a pop shield on your mic. It’s good practice to have one anyway, but if you’re going to be putting the mic closer to your face and speaking louder, you definitely need one.

Use a Noise Gate

A noise gate is a term given to software or hardware that cuts off audio completely when it gets below a specific volume. Using this, you can cut away the background noise by setting the gate to just above the level of the noise. It will then let the audio through when you speak, pushing the sound level above the gate.

There are a few different ways to employ a noise gate on your recordings. The simplest—yet most expensive—is to get an outboard noise gate device. You would run your mic signal through the gate directly, where it would gate the audio before sending it into your recording software.

Another alternative is live VST (Virtual Studio Technology) noise gates—a software alternative that works as you are recording. This has the advantage of giving you that live feedback, but it also adds strain on your computer.

And, finally, you could apply the noise gate after the fact. This is the cheapest option—free audio editor Audacity has this functionality built-in—but also the most time-consuming.

It is worth noting that if you have unusually high levels of background noise, a noise gate may not be the best option. The louder the gate has to be to cut the noise out, the more obvious it is when it activates. Not to mention, the noise will still be present when you are speaking.

Acoustic Foam Tiles

The more initiated of you are probably yelling, “that’s not soundproofing!” right now. And you are right. Those eggbox-like foam tiles you see on YouTuber’s walls are not soundproofing. The job of acoustic tiles is to kill things like echo and reverb in a space.

Imagine you have a bouncy ball. If you bounce that ball on some smooth concrete, you’ll get some good height. If you take that same ball and bounce it on long grass, you’ll be lucky to get any height at all. Now imagine the ball is a sound wave, hitting the wall and bouncing off. Foam tiles work a lot like the grass.

By strategically placing foam tiles around your recording space (or just covering every surface if you can afford that many tiles), you reduce the amount of sound reflection.

If you can only get your hands on a limited amount of foam tiles, consider what kind of microphone you have before placing them. Many microphones have limited pickup around the back, so reducing reflections coming from that direction would be a waste of your tiles.

Carpets or Rugs (or Both!)

A good, thick carpet or rug can address issues raised both in the squeaky floorboards section, and the previous section on acoustic foam tiles. Like foam tiles, a thick carpet or rug will significantly reduce sound reflection, meaning less reverb and echo when you record.

It will also reduce the amount of noise made by you moving around the room. It won’t fix squeaky floorboards, but if you didn’t fancy pulling your floor up, a thick carpet or rug would muffle the noise it makes.

You could also take this one step further by installing some acoustic underlay, which will significantly reduce the amount of noise that gets through your floor.

Microphone Shielding

Our last tip is ideal for people who can’t (or don’t want to) attempt any of the previous tips. Using a product like Kaotica’s Eyeball (or one of the considerably less expensive Chinese alternatives) you can isolate your mic from the outside world significantly.

These products are essentially a hollow ball of acoustic foam that your mic sits inside, blocking noise from all directions except the front. You will still need to worry about reflections from behind you, but the amount unwanted sound getting to your mic is significantly reduced. Just be aware that these are not compact items. You will need plenty of space around your microphone.

If you need any help in finding some of these upgrades then check out my resources page where I have selected some great discounts on products, soundproofing, microphones and more.

Tags audio, better audio, free soundproofing, how to fix audio quality, how to improve sound quality, how to make my youtube videos sound better, how to soundproof for free, improve sound quality, sound, sound quality, soundproof your home, soundproofing for youtubers, youtuber soundproofing

DEEP DIVE ARTICLE HOW TO GET MORE VIEWS ON YOUTUBE LISTS TIPS & TRICKS YOUTUBE

12 Youtube Channel Ideas Without Showing Your Face

Post author By Alan Spicer - YouTube Certified Expert
Post date 25 June 2020
8 Comments on 12 Youtube Channel Ideas Without Showing Your Face

If you’re like many people then you don’t like having your picture taken. Never mind recording yourself speaking on video!

Yet you still want to launch a YouTube channel and earn cash while not showing your face. Don’t worry! There are plenty of ways to make videos for YouTube, even if the thought of speaking on camera makes you blush.

Many of the ideas only need you to record your voice over stock images or b-roll video. Others let you tap into a skill you already have.

Start Now – Get Good Later.

Don’t worry about being too polished when you start. Many of the following examples show how successful channels started out.

As you’ll see many of their first few videos have poor production quality. The critical thing to remember is that they stuck with it. You have to grind and persist in the early days while your channel grows.

You can always improve your production quality as you go along.

So let’s get started with 12 ideas for YouTube channels you can launch without showing your face.

Remember if you need help with graphics, banners, subtitles or many other of my secret weapons to grow faster on YouTube then check out my resources page – dozens of tools I couldn’t live without.

OR if you need help of thinking of youtube video ideas without showing your face – there are 13 direct examples of what you can make RIGHT NOW!

Gaming

With over 100 million subscribers, PewDiePie has one of the biggest channels on YouTube. Run by Swedish gamer Felix Kjellberg, he uploads a blend of comedy, gossip, and gaming content.

When Kjellberg launched the channel in 2010 though, he started with short, simple clips of him playing games like Minecraft.

Are you a gaming great? If you can do with your thumbs what others can’t, then you too could launch a channel demonstrating your skills. Not that good at gaming? Flip it around and show gaming fails instead.

Make your clips compelling by adding a funny commentary, or show how to defeat a tricky boss. Remember, it’s all about adding value to the viewer.

Here is the first video PewDiePie uploaded.

Cooking

People are always on the lookout for tasty new recipes and cooking guides. And as the focus is on the food, you can film from overhead only showing your hands.

It doesn’t have to be gourmet cuisine; you could create a channel based on quick meals to build muscle or easy breakfasts to make before work.

Below is the first video created by a popular channel showing how to make Nepali food. Yummy Food World has over 600k subscribers, and it looks like they shot their first videos on a smartphone.

They don’t even have voice commentary, just some basic captions. Below is the video they got going with.

Life Hacks

Do you think you could make a good living filming your hands doing some simple life hacks? That’s precisely what the owner of the channel 5 Minute Crafts has done.

Attracting over 67 million subscribers, they show how to use everyday items in canny ways. While their early videos don’t show any faces, they have more recently used models to demonstrate the hacks.

Take a look at one of the early videos from them, showing you smart ways to peel fruit. The production level is quite good for a first video, but nothing you couldn’t manage yourself with a little practice.

Restoration

Are you handy in the workshop? Another popular niche on YouTube is restoration videos. These types of videos film the process of repairing old, tired and worn out items. Some people find them therapeutic, almost a mindfulness practice and they have become are very popular.

Along with some filming equipment, you will need the tools and workspace to restore the items. One of the popular channels in this niche is Black Beard Projects. He restores knives and vintage tools to their former glory and has over 1.6 million subscribers.

Here is one of his first videos, with 133k views, it’s low production, and shows him removing rust off an old anvil.

Nail Art

Beauty has always been popular on YouTube – there are plenty of Youtubers making a good living doing makeup tips. If you are not ready to show your face, how about starting a channel demonstrating Nail Art?

Simply Nailogical is a channel that started with low budget how-to videos for nail art. A channel showing a mixture of pictures, static video, and simple captions, has grown to over 7.6 million subscribers.

When you show others how to do something, you also have other ways to earn money. Add in affiliate links in the video description for products you have used and make extra earnings.

Meditation

One niche that is very popular on YouTube is meditation videos. In today’s hectic world, many people seek out a moment of peace through mindfulness and meditation.

Meditation videos come in several different formats. Some have a voice guiding the mediation, and others have only calming music. Additionally, there are even some with only the sound of a bell marking the beginning and end of a timed meditation period!

So, you could create these videos with stock images and music, and could even outsource the writing and audio recording of guided mediation on Fiverr.

You can see from the first videos from Meditative Mind that they started with just stock photos and sounds. They didn’t even loop the videos into the longer lengths which are popular today.

Time-Lapse

Turn a camera on, point it at a piece of fruit, and let it rot. Whoever came up with this concept must have got a few blank stares when pitching the idea to a friend.

But this is precisely what Temponaut Timelapse did when they started their channel 11 years ago. To be fair to them, it’s not all rotting fruit; there are also time-lapses of clouds, flowers, and cityscapes.

But, the concept has proved to be popular, and the channel has grown to 1.2 million subscribers. You can even shoot your first videos on a smartphone or GoPro. Here is one of their earliest videos of a rotting Strawberries.

Animation

When faced with something we don’t understand, we often look for an ‘explainer’ video to quickly tell us what it’s all about.

If you can explain complex ideas in an entertaining way, then you could launch an animated education channel on YouTube.

Now, you might be thinking you could never create an animated video. But, you can make professional animations using a tool like Animaker for $30 per month. You could even outsource the whole job on Fiverr for very little investment.

Below is an early video from the channel CGP Grey. It explains the dull topic of a voting system using jungle animals to make it enjoyable. You can see that it’s mostly pictures, editing, and a little animation.

Now that the channel is a success, they have invested some of their earnings into better quality animation.

Luxury

When it comes to numbers of followers on Instagram, the rich and famous beat everyone else hands-down.

Tap into this hot niche by launching a channel that caters to the demand for knowledge about the lifestyles of the mega-rich. Don’t worry, you won’t need to own a Rolex or a Porsche; you can use content already freely available on the web.

One channel you can draw inspiration from is Alux. Launched in 2014, they edited some photos together and recorded a commentary over it. But as you can see from their first videos pictured below, they weren’t even that long either.

Today their videos have better production value but are still mostly stock video footage, text animation, and a voiceover.

Alux now has almost 3 million subscribers.

Unboxing & Reviews

Most of us enjoy the online shopping process. Checking out different products and making a final choice. We often look at reviews to help us make up our mind.

You may think the internet is awash with reviews, who needs yet another review channel?

But many reviews are poorly filmed or miss out on the necessary product information. And the injection of some personality can make you stand head-and-shoulders above other reviewers.

You don’t even have to show your face – you can film a product from above using only your hands.

Do you have specialist knowledge of certain products? It could be something as simple as emery boards or fountain pens. If so, start by reviewing the products you own, borrow others, and if they are cheap, buy a few new ones too.

As you grow your channel, companies will start to contact you and ask you to review their products which they might even send to you for free.

If you don’t have specialist knowledge film unboxing videos instead. Some people like to see exactly what’s in the box of a product they want to buy before they purchase it.

Unbox Therapy has 16.7 million subscribers built around the idea of taking items out of retail boxes. He does show his face today, but when he started, he used an overhead camera in a fixed position filming his hands.

Here is one of his first videos.

‘How to’ Tutorials

People ask the internet ‘how do I…’ millions of times per day. It’s the first place people go when they need help with a problem.

Use your knowledge to set up a how-to channel yourself on something you are good at. You’ll find there are plenty of niches out there where you can educate others without needing to show yourself on video.

For example, do you know a piece of software as well as anybody? Screen-record yourself doing something on your computer; there is always someone on the lookout for a helpful video.

Do you hand-make your own jewelry? That is something that many people would like to learn to do and is perfect for an overhead shot of only your hands.

The channel Beadaholique has 500k subscribers and shows viewers how to hand-make jewelry. And they started nine years ago with simple short videos like the one shown below—just a static camera showing their hands making jewelry.

Where to find stock images and video.

So, as you can see there are lots of ways you can make money on YouTube without showing your face. If you aren’t filming your hands doing something and want to create videos by editing together stock images and b-roll footage.

Then Pexels, Pixabay, and Unsplash offer images and video you can use free of charge and without attribution.

But if you are looking for engaging video that you can add voice overs to or to illustrate your points in a video I use storyblocks – For an example of how this could work check out my video with 25 More Ideas for Channels without showing your face.

Conclusion.

From voiceovers on stock images to filming quick and tasty recipes; there are many ways to launch a YouTube channel without showing your face.

Maybe you are camera shy and need a little boost to get started. Have you been thinking about making a YouTube channel for years but worry about putting your face on camera? I talked to one of my clients about this exact issue in a consultation call – the video below might help you too.

Most of the channels covered in this post started as one person, with basic equipment, recording a simple video. So there is no reason you can’t do it too.

Success won’t happen overnight. To make a lot of money, you need to upload compelling, fresh content regularly. But, don’t let the dislike of showing your face on camera hold you back.

Just remember you might want to make it easier for your audience to focus on the visuals you do give them. If they can’t read your lips they might want to read subtitles in situations where playing a video out loud isn’t possible – that is why I use Rev for my subtitles from as little at $1.50 per minute of video!

Find your niche and make a start. Good luck!

Top 5 Tools To Get You Started on YouTube

Very quickly before you go here are 5 amazing tools I have used every day to grow my YouTube channel from 0 to 30K subscribers in the last 12 months that I could not live without.

1. VidIQ helps boost my views and get found in search

I almost exclusively switched to VidIQ from a rival in 2020.

Within 12 months I tripled the size of my channel and very quickly learnt the power of thumbnails, click through rate and proper search optimization. Best of all, they are FREE!

2. Adobe Creative Suite helps me craft amazing looking thumbnails and eye-catching videos

I have been making youtube videos on and off since 2013.

When I first started I threw things together in Window Movie Maker, cringed at how it looked but thought “that’s the best I can do so it’ll have to do”.

Big mistake!

I soon realized the move time you put into your editing and the more engaging your thumbnails are the more views you will get and the more people will trust you enough to subscribe.

3. Rev.com helps people read my videos

You can’t always listen to a video.

This is where Rev can help you or your audience consume your content on the go, in silence or in a language not native to the video.

Rev.com can help you translate your videos, transcribe your videos, add subtitles and even convert those subtitles into other languages – all from just $1.50 per minute.

A GREAT way to find an audience and keep them hooked no matter where they are watching your content.

4. Learn new skills for FREE with Skillshare

I SUCK reading books to learn, but I LOVE online video courses.

Every month I learn something new. Editing, writing, video skills, how to cook, how to run a business – even how to meditate to calm a busy mind.

I find all of these for FREE with Skillshare – Sign up, pick all the courses you want and cancel anytime you need.

5. Shutterstock helps me add amazing video b-roll cutaways

I mainly make tutorials and talking head videos.

And in this modern world this can be a little boring if you don’t see something funky every once in a while.

I try with overlays, jump cuts and being funny but my secret weapon is b-roll overlay content.

They have a wide library of videos, graphics, images and even a video maker tool and it wont break the bank with plans starting from as little as £8.25 ($9) per month.

Tags channel ideas, faceless youtube channels, youtube channel ideas, youtube channels who do not show their face, youtube ideas, youtube niches, youtune niche ideas

DEEP DIVE ARTICLE HOW TO MAKE MONEY ONLINE TIPS & TRICKS YOUTUBE

Do YouTubers get paid if you skip ads?

Post author By Alan Spicer - YouTube Certified Expert
Post date 20 June 2020
1 Comment on Do YouTubers get paid if you skip ads?

As users of the Internet, we have something of a love/hate relationship with advertisements.

Most of us understand that the blogs we read, the videos we watch, the content we consume—is made possible by the revenue generated from ads. At the same time, we see those very same ads as an inconvenience and an annoyance.

Indeed, many people use adblockers to remove them from our screens altogether – and this might harm a YouTuber long term, as discussed in my deep dive article.

For creators of that content, it is a difficult concept to come to terms with. On the one hand, you want your viewers to watch ads on your videos. Still, it’s hard not to empathize with their desire not to be bothered by commercials for Fiverr, Monday.com, or whoever is turning the advertising firehose on your viewers lately.

In the case of YouTube, it’s not as clear cut as getting an ad view or not—YouTube often gives viewers the option to skip ads after the first few seconds. As welcome as this tool may be to viewers, it can leave YouTubers wondering if they get paid for those first few unskippable seconds.

We’re going to get into this subject in-depth, but do YouTubers get paid if you skip ads? Short answer is, no. However, the answer isn’t as clear cut as we might have liked. Generally speaking, no, YouTubers don’t get paid for skipped ads. However, there are situations in which a skipped ad will still result in some earnings for the YouTuber.

Let’s get into the details so you can understand when you are—and when you aren’t—getting paid.

YouTube’s Ad Options

Here, we are talking specifically about YouTube’s in-stream ads. These are ads that show up in your actual video, before (pre-roll), during, or at the end. There are other advertising options for YouTubers to monetise their videos, and we’ll touch on those later, but you can’t “skip” a display ad, so for now, we’re going to stick to the video ads.

YouTube has two options when it comes to in-stream advertising campaigns. The type of ad that gets shown on your video determines whether you get paid anything on skipped ads.

YouTubers may be able to choose what TYPE of adverts to show but there is a debate whether YouTubers can choose the ADVERT itself that is shown – you’ll be surprised with the facts outlined in my blog on choosing adverts.

TrueView for Reach Ads

For YouTubers who have been around for a while, this could be considered the “traditional” YouTube advertising model. In TrueView ads, the advertiser pays per engagement.

The definition of engagement (or “completion”) is watching at least thirty seconds or interacting with the ad. If the ad is shorter than thirty seconds, then the viewer will have to watch the whole thing for it to count as an engagement.

If your viewer doesn’t meet one of these requirements, the advertiser is not charged and you, the YouTuber, don’t receive anything for the ad.

These are the ads that typically allow the viewer to skip after the first few seconds, which tends to be what happens a lot of the time. There is no CPM (cost per thousand impressions) model for these ads. As such, the number of people seeing those first few seconds of an advertisement is of no benefit to the YouTuber whose videos they are being shown on.

Should a viewer click on one of these ads, however, it is typically worth more to the YouTuber than the non-skippable bumper ads that we’re going to cover now.

Non-Skippable Bumper Ads

Like TrueView ads, these can show up before, during, or at the end of your videos. Unlike TrueView ads, these are only ever six seconds long, and cannot be skipped by the viewer.

These ads are charged (and, subsequently, paid) on a CPM basis. That means that, rather than earning you money every time a viewer clicks on the ad, they earn money for every 1,000 views they receive. Bumper ads are designed to gain exposure, rather than encourage the viewer to perform a specific action. That makes the number of people who have seen the advertisement is the more critical metric.

It is still possible for a non-skippable ad to not count, such as if a viewer hits the back button when the ad starts. But YouTube is using the industry standard of two seconds for an impression to count. That means the viewer would have to immediately leave your video for their view to not count.

I you want more in-depth tips on how to increase your earnings and boost YouTube Channel and even blog CPM, I wrote a deep dive into what can positively and negatively effect ad rates and earnings in my blog.

Do YouTubers Get Paid if You Skip Ads?

Hopefully, the answer is a little clearer now.

Technically YouTuber’s get paid almost any time a bumper ad is played, however, these ads are unskippable. Also, as they pay per 1,000 views, the effective amount you earn for one view is tiny compared to engagement on a regular ad.

With the more traditional TrueView ads, a YouTuber will earn money if the ad is watched for at least thirty seconds, assuming the ad is longer than thirty seconds. So, a viewer can skip an ad and still count as an engagement.

For viewers that skip before those thirty seconds are up, however, no money is paid by the advertiser, and so no money is earned by the YouTuber.

Other Types of YouTube Ads

In-stream ads are not the only option for advertisers on YouTube, and, as such, not the only way YouTuber’s can earn money.

There are presently two other ways for advertisers to get their message across, so let’s take a look at them.

Non-Video Ads

Non-video ads are the ads that show up in the form of a small banner overlay in the video or a display ad in the sidebar. These ads are minimally intrusive, which is a double-edged sword in terms of viewer engagement.

On the one hand, they are less irritating to your viewers, meaning they are less likely to click away because of an ad. On the other hand, they are considerably easier to ignore, meaning there is less chance of engagement and, subsequently, less chance of revenue.

As a YouTuber, you can choose which kinds of ads you allow on your monetized videos, though not the content of those ads. So, it may be worth doing research and testing to find which ads work best for you and your audience.

Discovery Ads

Discovery ads, while they are clearly marked as an ad, show up in organic search results and watch feeds in the same style as the regular search results and recommendation videos around them.

This type of advertisement is ideally suited to YouTuber’s themselves, as it is designed to drive traffic to a particular video. The ad will show among related videos as though it were an organic result, meaning the people seeing the ad were already looking for that kind of content to being with. It is worth remembering that, as mentioned, the ads are marked as promoted content.

These ads are unobtrusive and, by their very nature, tailored towards the viewer’s interests because the viewer is already looking for the type of content being promoted in the first place.

Other Options for YouTuber’s to Earn Money

YouTube’s advertising platform has its strengths and weaknesses as a revenue source. Still, it’s not the only option for YouTuber’s to turn their channel into an income generator.

Brand Deals

For channels with enough interest, it is possible to cut out the middle man and go directly to the advertiser. Several brands have been open to making deals directly with content creators. That number continues to grow as the power of platforms like YouTube becomes increasingly evident.

With a brand deal, you will have to work out the details with the advertiser yourself, including price negotiations, but this added work comes with rewards. Namely: revenue.

The earning potential from brand deals is considerably higher than that of YouTube’s monetisation program. Of course, the barrier to entry is higher as well. You only need 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 hours watch time to qualify for YouTube’s Partner Programme, but brands will require a considerably larger audience before they think about offering a channel a deal.

It should be noted that, if you do get a brand deal, you are required to inform YouTube via the “contains paid promotion” checkbox of your video details.

Getting started on YouTube can be hard so I wrote a deep dive step by step guide on how to start a YouTube channel on my blog – I even added pictures!

Crowd Funding

For YouTuber’s with an invested audience, crowdfunding is a great way to earn revenue from a relatively small audience. Traditional advertising does not pay very well with low viewing figures. Often earning pennies per 1,000 impressions, or more per click when only a small percentage of viewers ever click, you need a lot of views to make decent money.

With an engaged audience who like your content and are happy to send you a little cash to support you, you can earn considerably more revenue.

Crowdfunding suits smaller channels particularly well, as viewers are more likely to support a creator they feel connected with. It is easier to maintain that kind of relationship when you don’t have millions of subscribers.

Responding to every comment is feasible when you have a few thousand subscribers, but that’s not the case when you have a few million.

This dynamic extends to YouTube advertising as well. With a small, dedicated audience, you are more likely to receive ad revenue because your viewers are more likely to be interested in the ads. For larger channels with more casual viewers, this is not usually the case. It is this relationship that is why some YouTuber’s can go full time with an audience of around twenty thousand subscribers, while other YouTuber’s with ten times that amount of subscribers still have to work a regular job alongside their channel.

Affiliates

Affiliate marketing is usually thought of as a supplemental revenue source—rather than a primary earner—when talking about YouTube channels. Affiliate programmes will pay you a commission for actions carried out through your referral—a typical example of this being you sharing an Amazon affiliate link in your description. Amazon then pays you a percentage of the sale when one of your viewers buys something through that link.

Affiliate programmes are particularly useful for channels that feature products, such as unboxing videos and product or service reviews. If a viewer watches your video and decides they want to purchase the product or service being featured, they can click through your link, and you will earn a small commission.

Using affiliate marketing when it doesn’t organically tie into your content is unlikely to generate revenue, however. Worse still, it can sometimes be seen by your viewers as a cynical money grab and may turn some people off. And, on that note, always be upfront with your viewers about affiliates, brand deals, and product placements.

Most viewers won’t care if you are getting paid to talk about a product, but they will care if you aren’t honest with them about it.

Affiliate marketing has made me $1000’s over the last few years. It can be as simple as making content and picking the right links. But to help you get started I have written a Beginners Guide to Affiliate Marketing in this blog – It’s surprisingly simple once you get started!

Eyes on the Prize

At this point, it is worth enforcing the point that content is what matters. If you focus on making the best possible content for your audience, meeting a need they have, the opportunities to generate revenue will come.

If you are concerned over whether you earn money from skipped ads, you may not have your head in the right place for success. Many YouTubers consider the YouTube Partner Programme a poor option for revenue generation, and certainly not a good bet for your primary source of income. Obsessing on details such as whether you get paid for a few seconds of watch time on a skipped advertisement is not the best use of your mental energy.

Put that energy into your content. Find ways to expand your audience, or drill down further into your niche and become an authority. Consider other methods of monetisation when the time is right. There is no point in starting a Patreon with fifty subscribers, for example. Well, unless they are very dedicated subscribers.

YouTube monetisation has long been an unreliable source of income for its creators, with continually changing terms and multiple “adpocalypses”. The best way to approach this is not to think about it. Simply turn monetisation on when suitable, and forget about it. Focus on your content and other revenue sources. That way, any income you do make through YouTube’s Partner Programme will feel like a nice bonus.

And you won’t be caught short the next time YouTube changes their rules, and your revenue takes a hit.

Top 5 Tools To Get You Started on YouTube

Very quickly before you go here are 5 amazing tools I have used every day to grow my YouTube channel from 0 to 30K subscribers in the last 12 months that I could not live without.

1. VidIQ helps boost my views and get found in search

I almost exclusively switched to VidIQ from a rival in 2020.

Within 12 months I tripled the size of my channel and very quickly learnt the power of thumbnails, click through rate and proper search optimization. Best of all, they are FREE!

2. Adobe Creative Suite helps me craft amazing looking thumbnails and eye-catching videos

I have been making youtube videos on and off since 2013.

When I first started I threw things together in Window Movie Maker, cringed at how it looked but thought “that’s the best I can do so it’ll have to do”.

Big mistake!

I soon realized the move time you put into your editing and the more engaging your thumbnails are the more views you will get and the more people will trust you enough to subscribe.

3. Rev.com helps people read my videos

You can’t always listen to a video.

This is where Rev can help you or your audience consume your content on the go, in silence or in a language not native to the video.

Rev.com can help you translate your videos, transcribe your videos, add subtitles and even convert those subtitles into other languages – all from just $1.50 per minute.

A GREAT way to find an audience and keep them hooked no matter where they are watching your content.

4. Learn new skills for FREE with Skillshare

I SUCK reading books to learn, but I LOVE online video courses.

Every month I learn something new. Editing, writing, video skills, how to cook, how to run a business – even how to meditate to calm a busy mind.

I find all of these for FREE with Skillshare – Sign up, pick all the courses you want and cancel anytime you need.

5. Shutterstock helps me add amazing video b-roll cutaways

I mainly make tutorials and talking head videos.

And in this modern world this can be a little boring if you don’t see something funky every once in a while.

I try with overlays, jump cuts and being funny but my secret weapon is b-roll overlay content.

They have a wide library of videos, graphics, images and even a video maker tool and it wont break the bank with plans starting from as little as £8.25 ($9) per month.

Tags ads, adverts, how to make money, make money online, money, youtube, youtube ads, youtube faqs, youtube help, youtube money

DEEP DIVE ARTICLE HOW TO GET MORE VIEWS ON YOUTUBE HOW TO MAKE MONEY ONLINE YOUTUBE

Do YouTubers Get Paid for Likes?

Post author By Alan Spicer - YouTube Certified Expert
Post date 19 June 2020

In 2019, the YouTube video with the most likes was Despacito by Luis Fonsi. Although the video was uploaded in 2017, it has ridden the wave of competition and is still at the top of the list, unbeaten, in 2019. Currently, it has 6 billion views and 38 million likes. This is every YouTuber’s dream – to go viral.

When Fonsi wrote Despacito, he never dreamed it would be such a massive hit. He released the song anyway because he believed in it. You, as a creator, never know which of your videos will become a sensation. You just have to keep making videos and putting your best out there.

So, What is the significance of YouTube likes? Do YouTubers Get Paid for Likes? – YouTubers do not get paid for likes. However, a like is a form of engagement that can help the video do better in the long term. The more likes, comments, and shares a video gets the higher it can rank. A good rank in search can mean more traffic to the video, more advert views and clicks.

How YouTube Likes Work

Up till 2012, videos on YouTube were ranked according to how many views they got – the view count.

This was a good metric, but if a video had a misleading title, people would only watch a few seconds of it then leave. A marketer who had attached their advertisement to such a video would feel short-changed, as their advert would not get watched. Marketers also objected to some of the content being uploaded.

A lot of the popular videos aired controversial topics like racism and terrorism. Marketers who didn’t want to be associated with such videos pulled out, leading to loss of revenue for YouTube.

This was bad for business. To stop this exodus, YouTube had to police the platform and suppress objectionable channels by not recommending them regardless of how popular they were.

YouTube then changed its metric to how much time viewers spent watching a video. Videos that captured viewer attention for longer time periods now got ranked higher. This was good for marketers as it would ensure that their product was seen by the viewer. This, however, meant that creators now had to spend more resources trying to make their videos longer while still retaining the viewers’ interest. Creators started delaying the core message of their videos for as long as they could without annoying the viewer.

They also had to change the frequency and content of uploads so as to make longer videos. This was not easy. An example of how this changed things for creators can be seen in this video. Longer-duration videos also meant more resources spent on making and editing new videos.

Ultimately, two main factors now determine how often a video will appear in search results and recommendations:

· Behavior

· User Queries

Behaviour

The YouTube algorithm tracks viewer behavior for the purpose of making recommendations based on what they watch.

This is why your YouTube homepage will never be similar to someone else’s homepage. Your activity determines what other videos YouTube recommends to you.

Factors determining how YouTube recommends and ranks videos that you need to know include:

· What people watch

· Consistency in uploading videos

· Time spent on watching a video (retention time)

· How fast a video gains popularity

· What videos don’t get watched

· How new a video is.

· How people engage with a video- likes, dislikes, shares, and comments

· Explicit feedback i.e. not interested.

User Queries

YouTube will rank videos according to how often users search for them. A commonly searched for video is obviously popular, so YouTube will rank it at the top of search results and recommend it as well.

This is because the goal of YouTube is to keep you on that platform for as long as possible because it increases your chances of seeing advertisements.

The goal of YouTube is to ultimately recommend videos that viewers want to watch. Its algorithm will, therefore, use the metrics above to determine whether or not to recommend a video and how often the video will appear in search results.

This means that your video not only has to be good, but it has to match keywords used in searches.

Can YouTubers Make Money from Likes? – Not directly. Likes show how good your video is, measuring its popularity. Depending on their number, the only effect is to increase the frequency of visits to your channel. When a viewer likes your video, they are ‘teaching’ YouTube that your video is good and should be recommended more often.

This is why YouTubers encourage their viewers to like, share, and subscribe to their content. The more the engagement, the higher the rank of the video, the more it will appear in results and the higher the number of viewers will increase.

So don’t underestimate the importance of YouTube likes. If anything, try to get as many as possible. Below you can see a number of things you can do to increase them.

How to Get More Likes on YouTube

Now that you know likes can be fuelling your channel growth, its time to start getting more of them!

Ask for them

At the end of your video, request your viewers to like your video. Don’t assume that they’ll like it anyway. Encourage them by also explaining how the likes will help your channel grow.

Make it easy

In addition to verbally asking for likes, include prompts at various points in your video to remind your viewers. Just be careful not to overdo it as your video will end up looking tacky.

Invite subscribers

Having subscribers means that your content is so good people want to receive more of it. In a way, you are assured that you will have a number of likes because your videos will have a dedicated pool of viewers.

It also teaches YouTube that your channel is popular and should be recommended frequently.

Social media

Promote yourself on other platforms- share your videos on other social media networks. People who may like your work may not be frequent users of YouTube, so go out there and look for them. Don’t wait for them to find you.

If you need help to promote your videos on social media I wrote a huge article on the best places to share your youtube videos for more views on my blog.

Advertise

If you can afford it, advertise. Some creators advertise their new uploads for a short period of time to increase their fan base. Cast your net wide.

Now that we have seen how important likes are and how they increase our chances of getting noticed on youtube, let’s see how we can turn that into money.

How YouTubers Make Money

The more money you make on YouTube the more you can invest back into content, growth and success. Making money on YouTube can be a burning desire but you don’t always have to use the YouTube Ads program.

I make a good chunk on my income from affiliate marketing and I wrote a huge deep dive into Affiliate Marketing for Beginners on my blog – it explains all the jargon and steps you through everything you need to do to get started.

Advertising Revenue

Channel owners can link their channels to advertisers and earn revenue based on how many people view the adverts. An example is Google AdSense.

This is a feature of the YouTube partner program, which enables you to monetize your channel. To make money from AdSense, you have to have at least 1000 subscribers and more than 4000 watch hours in the last 12 months.

This is why consistency in video uploads is important. Few uploads equal few watch hours. Lastly, you have to live in a country where Google AdSense is available. You can choose what ads will come with your video, and where they will appear.

When someone clicks on an ad or watches your video for at least 30 seconds, you earn revenue depending on the advertisers’ bid, the length of the video, and the type of content.

Affiliates

A company could approach you and ask you to endorse their product on your channel. You then talk about it, describe its features, and encourage your viewers to buy the product. You include a link in your video description where people can buy the product. To encourage a purchase and also reward their viewers, a number of YouTubers, in collaboration with the company, offer discounts for viewers who purchase a product through their channel.

Every time a purchase is made a percentage of that revenue goes to you as the owner of the channel.

Still, you don’t have to wait for a company to approach you. You could approach companies whose products are related to your content and make a deal with them. For example, if you have a food channel, you can advertise products for a company that produces spices.

Selling Merchandise

YouTubers with a substantial following and a well-developed brand also make revenue through selling merchandise. Once you have a dedicated base of subscribers, you can begin to make merchandise related to the subject content of your videos.

You can make branded t-shirts and caps or sell products like makeup kits. If you upload how-to videos, you can offer more information through a premium subscription service or sell a how-to manual in text form.

Ensure your products are unique and high quality, as disappointed customers will spread the word about you and this could affect your popularity on YouTube. You want to go viral, but not for controversial reasons.

YouTube Premium

Many people find it annoying to have a video they are watching interrupted by advertisements. Well, this is the price we pay to enjoy YouTube for free.

HOWEVER, if you really cannot stand constant interruptions, why not try YouTube Premium? This is a paid ad-free service offered by YouTube as a response to our grumblings against advertisements. Viewers can watch videos and listen to endless playlists without interruptions.

If you have a channel on YouTube premium, you earn revenue every time your video is watched. Viewers can also download your videos to watch offline, and this will still contribute to your watch times.

Donations

Donations are not necessarily a revenue stream, but they can support up and coming creators until they have enough views to generate their own revenue. When you make really good content, you gain many committed fans who wouldn’t mind supporting you financially so you can continue making more content.

To this end, MANY creators have a Patreon account through which fans make donations. Although Patreon takes 10% of this money, it can still be enough to keep your channel going.

Creators in turn offer their donors (patrons) extra content like behind-the-scenes footage as a reward or thank you for their support. Patreon is also a great platform for creators who need financial support for their work but want to maintain their independence.

So instead of signing contracts with commercial companies that will exploit their talent, they upload content on YouTube and earn revenue through their channel and the support of their Patrons.

Make Long Videos

Make your content as interesting as possible for as long as possible, at least for up to 10 minutes. The longer time people spend on your video, the higher the chances of earning more revenue, and the higher it will rank among search results.

Remember, YouTube wants people to spend time on videos so they can see adverts.

Collaborations

You can reach out to creators who post similar content to yours and suggest a collaboration. Not everything needs to be a competition, and we can also grow together. Collaboration will open up new horizons for your viewership and get your subscribers from a different niche category than the one you cater for.

A good example of collaboration was that of Lindsey Stirling, a violinist who dances while playing the violin and the Piano Guys, a group of men who make original instrumental music and do classical-style covers of popular songs. Their collaboration was actually demanded by fans and was a huge success, opening up new markets for both groups.

Targeted Content

Make your videos with a certain target market in mind. This will establish your niche, and also enable you to propose a brand endorsement to a company that targets that particular group of people. For example, if you have a food channel, you can focus on organic recipes and built viewership based on this.

You can then approach an organic food company and offer to advertise their products.

Use Targeted Keywords

Use top keywords in your video titles, descriptions, and video tags. Specific keywords attract different viewers with different interests. The type of viewer you attract will also determine the type of advertisers you attract.

Keywords that attract advertisers who pay more for adverts will also earn you more money.

Conclusion

In summary, likes will not directly earn you revenue on YouTube, but they will increase your channel’s visibility to raise your chances of earning marketing revenue.

If you need help in making better videos to get you more likes then maybe check out my resources page where I show you all my equipment, secret tools for amazing graphics and youtube seo tools!

You can follow these tips discussed in this article to get more subscribers and more likes. So keep creating!

Top 5 Tools To Get You Started on YouTube

Very quickly before you go here are 5 amazing tools I have used every day to grow my YouTube channel from 0 to 30K subscribers in the last 12 months that I could not live without.

1. VidIQ helps boost my views and get found in search

I almost exclusively switched to VidIQ from a rival in 2020.

Within 12 months I tripled the size of my channel and very quickly learnt the power of thumbnails, click through rate and proper search optimization. Best of all, they are FREE!

2. Adobe Creative Suite helps me craft amazing looking thumbnails and eye-catching videos

I have been making youtube videos on and off since 2013.

When I first started I threw things together in Window Movie Maker, cringed at how it looked but thought “that’s the best I can do so it’ll have to do”.

Big mistake!

I soon realized the move time you put into your editing and the more engaging your thumbnails are the more views you will get and the more people will trust you enough to subscribe.

3. Rev.com helps people read my videos

You can’t always listen to a video.

This is where Rev can help you or your audience consume your content on the go, in silence or in a language not native to the video.

Rev.com can help you translate your videos, transcribe your videos, add subtitles and even convert those subtitles into other languages – all from just $1.50 per minute.

A GREAT way to find an audience and keep them hooked no matter where they are watching your content.

4. Learn new skills for FREE with Skillshare

I SUCK reading books to learn, but I LOVE online video courses.

Every month I learn something new. Editing, writing, video skills, how to cook, how to run a business – even how to meditate to calm a busy mind.

I find all of these for FREE with Skillshare – Sign up, pick all the courses you want and cancel anytime you need.

5. Shutterstock helps me add amazing video b-roll cutaways

I mainly make tutorials and talking head videos.

And in this modern world this can be a little boring if you don’t see something funky every once in a while.

I try with overlays, jump cuts and being funny but my secret weapon is b-roll overlay content.

They have a wide library of videos, graphics, images and even a video maker tool and it wont break the bank with plans starting from as little as £8.25 ($9) per month.

Tags how to youtubers make money, likes, making money, money, rank, rankings, youtube likes, youtube money, youtube rankings

DEEP DIVE ARTICLE HOW TO MAKE MONEY ONLINE YOUTUBE

How Much Does it Cost to Start a YouTube Channel?

Post author By Alan Spicer - YouTube Certified Expert
Post date 18 June 2020
3 Comments on How Much Does it Cost to Start a YouTube Channel?

PewDiePie, Dude Perfect, Whinderssonnunes, and Badabun: what do they have in common? They are the world’s top four YouTubers.

Between them, they have over 50 million subscribers. Their success on YouTube has inspired countless people to want to start their own YouTube channels. Many people, however, stop at the ‘wanting’ stage, and never really get to do it. They’ll give excuses such as “I don’t have time” or “I don’t have money” or “I don’t have the equipment.”

Stories about successful YouTubers only tend to focus on where they are at present and don’t mention how they started out. Nobody starts out successfully in their career. Success comes after years of hard, anonymous and thankless work, until one day that one video that you make goes viral and you become a sensation.

Even so, this doesn’t happen for everybody. Most people will plod along that road to success slowly, but constantly, until one day they look up in surprise and find themselves at the finish line. The key is to start.

In this article, we will look at some basic aspects of YouTube, what you need to start a channel, and how much it costs.

So, How Much Does it Cost to Start a YouTube Channel? – It can be surprisingly cheap. All you really need is a cheap device to capture video, this can be a smartphone, a webcam or a compact camera. This could start from as little as £30/$40 these days second hand. Video editing apps can be free, and uploading costs nothing!

YouTube – A Brief History

YouTube was started by three former PayPal employees after they were frustrated by their inability to find videos that they were looking for online.

It is a video-hosting platform that enables users to upload, view and share videos. True to YouTube’s mission to give anyone and everyone a voice, anyone could upload a video on YouTube.

YouTube’s popularity was such that Google noticed it and, with laudable foresight, purchased it for $ 1.65 billion. With the rise of terrorism and other hate crimes, this has changed, but only because hate crimes are illegal and no one should have the right to share videos about them anyway.

Why YouTube?

There are many reasons why you should have a YouTube channel. Some of these are:

Large audience- YouTube has a large and diverse audience, and is used by over one billion people all over the world.
Due to the wide-ranging nature of its content, YouTube also reaches a wide demographic of users, from teenagers looking for the latest musical sensation to middle-aged women looking for cooking recipes.
The ease of access of this platform also makes it desirable both as a search engine and a form of entertainment.
Uploading videos to YouTube is a simple process. All you have to worry about is producing the video.
Monetizing- Videos with enough views get monetized. YouTube has thus become a source of livelihood for many creators.
Marketing- Investors have also tapped into the business potential of YouTube. Organizations have started their own channels to market their products and penetrate new markets.

Who Can Start a YouTube Channel?

Anyone, and it’s free. If you have a Google account, you can sign into YouTube using your account details.

With these, you can watch videos, subscribe to them, and save videos to watch later.

However, to upload a video, you need a YouTube channel. You can easily create one while signed in to YouTube. Just attempt an action that requires a channel, like commenting on a video. You will get a prompt to create a channel.

If you need help in starting a YouTube channel and opening an account I wrote a full deep dive tutorial in my blog.

For your viewers to know more about you, complete your profile and description. Market your brand in a simple, attractive manner. You can also include additional links about yourself or your content here. Make sure your profile picture is clear and appealing.

In addition to a cover photo, you can also add cover art as a background for your profile picture. Again, it has to capture attention. Your channel is now ready to use.

So far, all you’ve spent creating your channel is the cost of your internet connection (if any) and time. We will now look at the basic items you need to run your channel.

What You Need To Run A YouTube Channel?

A Camera

Since YouTube is about making videos, you need some form of video recording equipment. If you are starting out, you probably don’t have a lot of money. Due to the growing population of video bloggers, or vloggers, a number of companies now produce cameras specialized for vlogging. This website gives a list of cameras you can get for not more than $100. Not to worry.

Start with what you have. Many YouTubers began their channels with nothing but a smartphone camera. Don’t wait until you can buy a good camera to start creating, because your channel will remain dormant. For your channel to grow, you need views.

If you need help in picking a some good starter equipment check out my resources page where I list my equipment and give you a few tips on tools you may find helpful too.

Tripod Stand

In addition to a camera, you need something to hold it steady while making your videos.

Shaky videos can be quite disconcerting to watch. A tripod stand is a three-legged piece of equipment with a head for mounting a camera. It helps to keep the camera steady during filming and maintains the right angle and height for optimal results. A suitable tripod stand can cost about $170 including shipping.

However, if you don’t have one yet, never fear! You can improvise with a stack of books placed on a desk or a table.

A Microphone

People lose focus when they can’t hear a speaker properly. No matter how good your camera is, without good sound, it will not hold your viewers’ attention.

Aim to own a good external microphone as mobile phones and laptops don’t have very good ones. A good microphone can cost upwards of $150. However, in the meantime, use your phone or laptop microphone. Remember, consistency is key!

I use the Boya BY-MM1 for filming on my camera. Its easy and cheap, great quality sound. I did a deep dive blog into the Boya BY-MM1, its features and how it works, youll be amazed how different microphones work.

Lighting

Lighting can make a great difference to your video. With good lighting, even videos and photos shot from a smartphone can look highly professional. Simple lighting equipment can go for about $110, with the cost rising as the equipment becomes more complex.

If you’re starting out, you probably won’t be able to afford quality lighting. Work on making your videos outside, during the day, as the quality of natural lighting is far better than the lighting in your room.

Video Editing Software

Established YouTubers have professional teams of video editors. Video editing can turn a simple mundane video into a piece of art. You won’t start out with a team of experts, but you can do your video editing yourself using video editing software available online. A good place to start with this is Movavi, an easy to use video editing software that comes with features like color filters, animated transitions, and captions.

I use however use, Adobe Premiere Pro. Its reliable, top of the industry tool with some great, easy to use features. I am not a video editing pro but I can make some great looking videos. The software starts from as little as $10pm and they even offer discounts. Why not check out their website for more details, discounts and deals.

A Screen- Capture Tool

This is software that enables you to take a screenshot of your entire screen or a part of it. If you plan to make how-to videos, this would be a useful investment to make.

A good screen capture tool is Camtasia, which enables you to record an audio as you capture the screen. You can get it at a one-time cost of $249. It also comes as a 30-day free trial. Alternatively, you can use the inbuilt screen-capture feature inn your PC, although the effect won’t quite be the same.

What if I can’t afford to make videos? Or what if I want to have a YouTube channel but I don’t want to use videos of myself? Well, enter Doodly.

Doodly

Depending on the content of your videos, you may not even need a camera, to begin with. For example, if you plan to upload explanatory videos, instead of making a video of yourself talking, you can use video tools.

A good tool you can start with is Doodly. This is a desktop software that allows you to create explainer videos using existing templates that you can suit your needs. It comes with a number of features that can turn you from a YouTube amateur to an expert.

Features that make Doodly an ideal companion for beginners on YouTube include:

Drag and drop- You can add images simply by dragging them onto the application.
Variety- Doodly uses a variety of boards as a background for the function of explaining. You can choose between whiteboard, blackboards, green board, and glass board.
Quality- Doodly offers low to high-quality videos so you don’t have to worry about how your videos look.
User-friendly- Doodly is designed to be used by people with little or no technical knowledge about making videos, so you don’t have to worry about lack of IT or video editing experience.
Voice recording- You can record your own voice while making the video, or upload a pre-recorded voice.
Extensive music and Image Library- Music and images can turn a dull video into a masterpiece. Doodly has a large library of free music and images that you can use to make your video more attractive. You can also add your own images to your video, which Doodly incorporates seamlessly into the presentation.
Different hand styles- Doodly has both right and left-hand styles to cater for everyone.

You can purchase a standard Doodly version for $39 per month with basic features. A yearly plan is cheaper and goes for $20 per month. A more advanced version, Enterprise, goes for $ 69 per month, or $40 per month for a yearly plan.

Reaching Your Audience

You now have basic knowledge of how you can start a YouTube channel. You can make high quality, entertaining and educative videos. How will your audience know about you?

First, you have to link your YouTube channel to all your other social media accounts, so that every time you upload a video it is seen on multiple platforms. As you consistently upload videos, more and more users will see your channel, and YouTube will begin to recommend it frequently.

You can also amplify your visibility on YouTube using Search Engine Optimization Tools. These are tools that increase your chances of getting more views by optimizing your presence online.

Successful YouTubers have made use of these tools to grow their audience and penetrate niches they would never have been able to reach. A good SEO tool you can use for this is TubeBuddy.

TubeBuddy

This is an extension you can add to your browser to help you manage your channel, is used by more than 3 million creators. It enables you to know the trending keywords relevant to your channel and how to maximize their use to amplify your channel visibility. With TubeBuddy you can ‘spy’ on your competitors and learn which keywords they use, search for relevant keywords, and constantly update your channel with the best selection.

Using numerous inbuilt templates and tools, you can also save time spent in publishing your videos. TubeBuddy comes with tools that amplify your channel presence across the web, making you rank higher in search results.

Thumbnails are crucial in getting your video quickly noticed. TubeBuddy has a feature that improves them to make them more appealing. The best thing about TubeBuddy is that it is free.

Conclusion

We have looked at the basic items you need to make a video for YouTube. We’ve seen that you don’t really need much money to start your own channel.

You don’t even need a formal location, like a production studio. You can do this from your basement or any other spare room in the house. We’ve seen why you should have your own channel and even how you can optimize it to increase your views and rank high on search results.

There is no shortage of easy to use tools to help you make professional, appealing videos. If you have your ideas ready and you know who you want to target, there is no reason why you shouldn’t have your own channel.

Investing in the items listed here will only bring you positive results quickly but it’s also possible to start your own channel even if you don’t have these things yet.

Start creating.

Tags how much, how much does youtube cost, income, money, youtube income, youtube money, youtuber

HOW TO GET MORE VIEWS ON YOUTUBE SEO TIPS & TRICKS YOUTUBE

How to promote YouTube videos on Facebook

Post author By Alan Spicer - YouTube Certified Expert
Post date 15 June 2020
1 Comment on How to promote YouTube videos on Facebook

If you have been creating YouTube videos but not promoting it across other social media channels, you are missing a real trick.

First thing you need to do is go and read about the best places to share your YouTube videos for all of the ideas, and then come back here and we can run through just how important Facebook is to catapulting your YouTube views and traffic.

Why Share YouTube Videos on Facebook?

Why should you be promoting your YouTube videos on Facebook?

Well I think you should be sharing your videos on every social media platform you have! But Facebook is particularly important for several reasons:

6 Billion monthly active users
Leading non video social platform reaching over 60% of internet users
Over £17 Billion earned in ad revenue in Q1 of 2020

Stats source: Orbelo

With those huge ad numbers and high active users you really can’t afford to miss out Facebook in your YouTube promotions, plus the platforms work together in a really effective way making it super easy for you to promote your new content

Native Videos or Embedded Videos

When deciding to share your YouTube video on other social media platforms you need to decide whether you want this to be native or embedded.

Native videos are hosted on that particular platform, for example you would download your video on YouTube and then reupload it to Facebook, so the video is then also hosted on Facebook. This is good for sharing a related video or a shorter promo clip.

Native video uploads will not increase your YouTube views directly but can help you direct traffic to the full video

Embedded Videos are where you are effectively sharing your existing YouTube video to another platform using YouTube share functions. It is still hosted on YouTube so the views you receive from other platforms will increase your YouTube video views

How to embed your YouTube video on Facebook

Embedding your YouTube video on Facebook is really simple here is a quick step by step guide to help you embed your video

Find the YouTube video you want to share and click into the thumbnail, this makes sure you are on YouTube’s distinct URL for that video
Scroll down to directly underneath the video, you will see the thumbs up / down buttons and a share button, click the share button
You should now have a list of social platforms you can share your video to, click the Facebook button
Add any text or captions you want sharing along with your video, this is a good place to explain what the video content is as embedded videos do not auto play so will require someone to click.
Click the blue post to Facebook button and that is it! Your video should now have shared across to Facebook

How to upload a native video to Facebook

Uploading a native video to Facebook is slightly more complicated but it does have it’s pro points too, first of all it’s important to note that it goes against YouTube’s terms of service to use a 3rd party app to download YouTube videos they want you to stream directly from their own servers.

But as you are creating content you will not need to use a 3rd party app because you should already have the video created and saved before you originally uploaded it to YouTube. Here is a quick guide to uploading a native video:

Locate your video file on your computer and check the files format, you want this to be an MP4, if it isn’t already then you can quickly Convert to MP4
Open the Facebook URL or app and find the standard ‘What’s on your mind’ for sharing new content. Directly underneath the text should be a button that says Photo/Video
Click Photo/Video and find the video you want to upload in your files and click open
Add text or a caption to your post, again this is always important it is a way of selling your video to stop the scroll
Finally click the blue post button and voila! You have now uploaded your video directly to Facebook.

Which should I use?

This is a trickier question and entirely depends on what your marketing goals, traffic goals etc might be. There are pros and cons to both video options and direct comparisons too which can help you decide which is right for you

Embedded video links tend to show as a smaller thumbnail whereas a native video will show at the width of the news feed making it more eye catching and noticeable when scrolling through
Auto play only works on native videos, with an embedded video the audience will need to click to get the video to play
Native videos tend to keep users on Facebook, understandably it’s a competitive field in the social media game, so where they can Facebook will keep it’s audience on it’s own platform, this isn’t good for you if you’re trying to increase your views specifically on YouTube in order to hit goals to monetize your channel.
Whether it’s natively uploaded or embedded Facebook posts are not usually crawled by search engines so it’s unlikely to increase organic search traffic, but it obviously does open up your video content to a whole different audience than the YouTube audience
The lifespan of a Facebook video is relatively short in comparison to YouTube where videos can continually perform.

How do I get the benefits of both?

There are pros and cons to both methods of sharing your YouTube videos to Facebook so it’s important you experiment with both methods to get a good feel for your Facebook audience, determine which they prefer and monitor which type of video gains you more views / click throughs.

A good way of getting the benefits of a native video but the YouTube traffic and increased channel views is to utilise both methods. Try full videos for both, but a common method for gaining traction is to create specific promo videos or a sneak peak video for Facebook.

This allows you to share a short video clip natively that will pique interest and make your Facebook audience want to click through and watch the full video on YouTube

Did you know you can also monetize your Facebook Page using your videos, pictures and blog posts? I even made a video about it on my youtube channel – You’ll be amazed how simple it is!

Promo Videos

When creating a promo video use a tool such as Adobe Spark, this allows you to cut video clips and add shorter clips while also adding slides and overlay text to your video.

This promo video can then be shared across your various social media channels with a link through to your YouTube video therefore gaining strong click throughs and increasing your YouTube views and subscriptions.

Promo videos are an excellent way of gaining the right audience, and an audience that will stick around. If they are interested enough to click through to the full YouTube video the likelihood is that the content resonates with them and they are going to watch the full video

How are you sharing your videos?

Top 5 Tools To Get You Started on YouTube

Very quickly before you go here are 5 amazing tools I have used every day to grow my YouTube channel from 0 to 30K subscribers in the last 12 months that I could not live without.

1. VidIQ helps boost my views and get found in search

I almost exclusively switched to VidIQ from a rival in 2020.

Within 12 months I tripled the size of my channel and very quickly learnt the power of thumbnails, click through rate and proper search optimization. Best of all, they are FREE!

2. Adobe Creative Suite helps me craft amazing looking thumbnails and eye-catching videos

I have been making youtube videos on and off since 2013.

When I first started I threw things together in Window Movie Maker, cringed at how it looked but thought “that’s the best I can do so it’ll have to do”.

Big mistake!

I soon realized the move time you put into your editing and the more engaging your thumbnails are the more views you will get and the more people will trust you enough to subscribe.

3. Rev.com helps people read my videos

You can’t always listen to a video.

This is where Rev can help you or your audience consume your content on the go, in silence or in a language not native to the video.

Rev.com can help you translate your videos, transcribe your videos, add subtitles and even convert those subtitles into other languages – all from just $1.50 per minute.

A GREAT way to find an audience and keep them hooked no matter where they are watching your content.

4. Learn new skills for FREE with Skillshare

I SUCK reading books to learn, but I LOVE online video courses.

Every month I learn something new. Editing, writing, video skills, how to cook, how to run a business – even how to meditate to calm a busy mind.

I find all of these for FREE with Skillshare – Sign up, pick all the courses you want and cancel anytime you need.

5. Shutterstock helps me add amazing video b-roll cutaways

I mainly make tutorials and talking head videos.

And in this modern world this can be a little boring if you don’t see something funky every once in a while.

I try with overlays, jump cuts and being funny but my secret weapon is b-roll overlay content.

They have a wide library of videos, graphics, images and even a video maker tool and it wont break the bank with plans starting from as little as £8.25 ($9) per month.

Tags facebook, how to get more views on youtube, promote youtube videos, promote youtube videos on facebook, youtube, youtube promotion, youtube views

HOW TO GET MORE VIEWS ON YOUTUBE SEO TIPS & TRICKS YOUTUBE

How to Write a YouTube Title

Post author By Alan Spicer - YouTube Certified Expert
Post date 12 June 2020
15 Comments on How to Write a YouTube Title

Creating YouTube videos is easy right?

You just set your camera up and go. But what about gaining the traffic to your video? From a search engine perspective, the title and description of your YouTube video is equally as important as the actual video content.

A professionally written title can be the decision as to whether someone clicks to watch or keeps on scrolling

YouTube categorizes it’s video like any other web page on the internet, each video has its own unique URL and meta tags are created to help search engines like Google categorize your video and make them searchable.

The title of your YouTube video becomes the title tag for search engines. A bad title will mean you will not show up in search engine results and therefore traffic will not find you. A good title will hugely improve your click through rate and traffic.

So how do you write a good YouTube title?

Title Length is crucial

Before you begin creating your title you need to consider that Google truncates titles around the 60-character mark simply due to the pixel width limit. They attempt to truncate at the nearest word break to 60 characters.

What you need to remember in regards to YouTube is that every video that appears in search also contains the phrase “YouTube – “ which uses up roughly 10 characters leaving you 50 characters to play with to create a compelling clickable title

Do your keyword research

Creating your YouTube title will require a small amount of research to make it as successful as possible. To begin this, have a good idea of what keywords you want to include, what words you want your video to appear for on google search.

For example let’s say you’ve created a cookie recipe video you probably want to rank for the words “cookie recipe” plugging that into Google’s Keyword Planner shows that there are roughly 100k – 1M searches a month and a whopping 2642 related keyword searches.

Utilise this to find keywords with low competition, ideally a search between 1k and 10k to begin with as this will be easier to rank for. Use various keyword tools such as Google Trends and Keyword Sh*tter to help you define a title with a distinct identity that you think will rank

A little tip if you do have extra characters remaining is to include the word ‘video’ – this really helps search engines distinguish that your content will contain a video, and in certain niches such as cooking, baking, how to guides many people will search specifically for a video so it can help you rank higher and get high quality click throughs from people intending to watch a video.

Boost your click through rate (CTR) on your YouTube Title

You have a solid idea of the keywords and phrases you want to use in your title, you know how long your title needs to be and you know to add the word video if you have the character space.

Now you need to create the full title that will increase the chances of people clicking into your content.

Include your keyword as close to the beginning of your title as possible, YouTube places more weight on this and therefore your video will appear higher in searches for that phrase and increase the likelihood that searchers are actually looking for the content you’ve created.

For the remaining characters in your title there are other tools such as including a number in your title – this has been proven to increase CTR.

Using emotive language and descriptive adjectives will compliment your keywords and increase the likelihood that your audience will want to click into the video.

One thing you need to avoid is clickbait titles, YouTube has cracked down on this in a huge way if you get a high number of clicks and then drop offs YouTube will assume your title is misleading and viewers are not actually finding what they expected.

It is highly likely YouTube will then bury this video and think twice about recommending your videos to new viewers in the future so play by the rules and keep on the right side of emotive when creating your title.

If you need help with mastering the right keywords, descriptions and tags to help you rank your videos higher on YouTube why not try TubeBuddy and VidIQ – Since I added them to my tool kit I have tripled my channel growth.

Learn from others in your niche

If you are struggling with your YouTube title why not look around your niche?

Plug into YouTube what you think you would search to return your video and take a look at the competition, are the views what you would like on your own video? What about videos that have not performed as well is there something you can learn from their mistakes?

Do not ever directly copy your competitors but I recommend doing this for each video you upload, it’s a good learning exercise on what titles and keywords are working in your niche and what are not

Analyse your YouTube Title

By this point you should have a fully optimized YouTube title of approximately 50 characters, this should contain the keywords you want to rank for and descriptive emotive language around this keyword. Ready to publish? Wait right there. Before you hit publish why not use a Headline Analyser to check over your YouTube Title.

The CoSchedule Headline Analyser is a free tool which is perfect for helping you craft the best YouTube title possible.

The Headline Analyser gives you a whole heap of data to work through, it gives your current headline a score and helps you improve it by explaining which type of words you’re missing with categories of common, uncommon, emotional and power. It also demonstrates a preview for both Google search and Email results to help you craft the best Title.

As you continue creating and crafting YouTube Titles the keywords research should become easier and you’ll start getting analytics results to understand which words and phrases are working well for you and which words you should continue using.

Each niche is different, so it is important for your first few videos you follow the above steps and then combine the advice with your analytics to reach your perfect audience every time

If you need more help with your channel why not check out my resources page where I list all my secret tools and websites I use to super charge my channel growth.

Tags how to write a title, seo, video seo, video titles, youtube seo, youtube video titles

HOW TO MAKE MONEY ONLINE TIPS & TRICKS YOUTUBE

Do you get paid for YouTube?

Post author By Alan Spicer - YouTube Certified Expert
Post date 10 June 2020
2 Comments on Do you get paid for YouTube?

YouTube is the kingpin of social media; it remains the leader amongst all social media channels and consistently receives the highest traffic, so it makes sense that everyone now like the idea of having their own YouTube account.

Here is a quick overview of YouTube user stats to help inform your video creation:

2 billion logged in monthly users
Each visitor spends just over 11 minutes a day (so make your videos snappy!)
Over 70% of views are on mobile
70% of videos viewed are determined by YouTube recommended algorithm
50% year on year growth of channels earning over £10k per year

So, looking for a quick answer? Do you get paid for YouTube? – Yes! You can get paid many ways on YouTube. The most direct way is from the YouTuber Partner Program that needs 1000 Subscribers & 4000 Hours of Watch Time to apply. You will then get paid a small fee per 1000 advertisements displayed (CPM). You can also integrate affiliate links and sponsors.

But first you need to set up your channel and find your niche.

The audience is already present on YouTube, you just need to tap into their habits and create exciting and interesting content to capture them and ensure you are the video they’re spending 11 minutes on a day.

It’s clear to see that consumption has turned more mobile, and that YouTube still have a huge say in who’s successful on their channel but there is absolutely no reason why you can’t be the next channel earning over £10k per year.

There is every opportunity to get paid for being a YouTube creator and you don’t really need anything special to begin your journey, many of the most popular YouTube videos returning ad revenue every day were shot on mobile phones you just need to capture your audience and hopefully get your videos viral or a steady returning audience to increase your YouTube growth.

How do I start getting paid for YouTube?

YouTube has various methods for you to start earning money from advertising revenue, channel memberships and more. Each method has differing eligibility requirements whether that is a certain number of subscribers or views.

Before you’re able to apply to monetize your content and join the YouTube Partner Programme you need to have gained 1000 subscribers and have had 4000 public watched hours over the last 12 months.

To achieve this you need to make sure you’re creating high quality content, promoting your YouTube channel and sharing your YouTube videos to bring an audience to your videos.

Hopefully utilizing those tips and tricks you’re at a level where your channel is garnering views and you’re ready to monetize, your first step is to have an active Google AdSense account – Google owns YouTube so this is where your adverts will come from. You can now enable the monetization feature within YouTube and connect your AdSense account, this basically lets YouTube know that you are happy for adverts to be included on your videos.

What Adverts will I get paid for?

If you have joined the Partner Programme you’ve told YouTube that you are looking to make money on their platform and that you’re happy to include adverts on your videos.

These adverts can arrive in a variety of methods, each earning you different amounts. The main two methods are CPC (cost per click) or CPM (cost per mile). CPC is what it says on the tin, the ads are charged per click meaning that you get paid the more clicks you get on those adverts.

CPM is slightly different; these are usually if a viewer has watched an advert on your video and you will get paid a set amount for every 1000 views of the ad. The amount differs per advertiser so there is not a definitive answer, but it can be anything from 5p upwards. Within the two main advert methods are 4 different formats that become available to you

Pre-roll video ads (CPC) – These videos are shown before your video and can last up to 30 seconds
In Stream ads (CPM) – Very similar to Pre-roll video ads however the viewer can skip the ad after 5 seconds
Bumper ads (CPC) – 6 seconds non skippable clip that will be shown before your video
In Display Ads (CPM) – These adverts are not included on your video they can be found in the sidebar so are a bit more discrete

You can personalise what types of adverts you’d like to be included on your videos as a whole and also on individual videos which is really good for driving the adverts onto your most popular videos and making sure your balance of content / advert is how you’d like it.

Adverts are the most passive method of getting paid for YouTube, once its set up you can pretty much leave it in the background earning you money.

How else can I get paid for YouTube?

There are many other ways you can earn money and get paid for YouTube.

Depending on your content and niche you could reach out to brands within your niche for product placement campaigns, this would involve ticking the ‘paid promotion’ box when uploading your video but you can advertise the product and depending on the agreement you have you could earn a commission for sales via your video

In a similar vain you can use affiliate links throughout your video or in your description to earn via people clicking your links. Let’s say you are creating a recipe video; you could link the equipment you use in the description using an affiliate link. This should generate income via your affiliate network by utilizing your YouTube audience

If you want a deep dive into affiliate marketing and how to get started – check out my monster blog post on affiliate marketing for beginners.

If you have a loyal following and audience and a catchy slogan or name you might even, consider creating your own items and merchandise to sell. This gives your viewers a way to purchase an item you have created and if it’s branded can drive off site traffic to your YouTube channel – win win

When will I start earning?

Becoming a YouTube creator isn’t a get rich quick scheme, I’ve highlighted a couple of ideas for earning, There are a plethora of other ways to get paid for YouTube but don’t run before you can walk, gain your audience, set up your adverts and start building your YouTube empire.

It is important your focus remains on your content and keep a healthy balance of unsponsored content as well as paid advertorial campaigns. Your audience want to see you and followed you for your authentic voice so ensure you maintain that credibility throughout. Your audience are likely to stay longer if they trust you and don’t think you’re selling out for a quick buck.

Let your passive income build while you develop and build your YouTube account. Your AdSense must hit £60 before you can withdraw anyway so expect a slow burn

How close are you to monetizing your YouTube account?

Tags do you get paid for being on youtube, Do you get paid for YouTube?, do youtubers get paid, how do youtuber get paid, making money, making money online, youtube, YouTube Monetization, youtube money

YOUTUBE

Are YouTube Videos Public Domain?

Post author By Alan Spicer - YouTube Certified Expert
Post date 10 June 2020
3 Comments on Are YouTube Videos Public Domain?

Is It Legal to Make YouTube Videos from Books?

YouTube has a veritable cornucopia of content available on its platform, with the overwhelming majority of it being created by regular YouTube users, not large corporations. This can often lead to the misconception that content on YouTube is “free”, or in the public domain as it is officially termed. The truth is a little messier than that, but we’ll walk you through everything.

So, are YouTube videos public domain? – This can be a grey area and depends on the copyrights given by the video owner and the age of the content itself. But the quick answer is, no. Most public domain content has no owners or the copyright has expired. Most YouTube content is fairly new works and therefore covered by assumed copyright.

Of course, we’re assuming you’re interested in whether a video is in the public domain because you wish to use the video for something. If that is the case, there are other options to consider.

Now, onto the details!

What is Public Domain?

Public domain is the term used for creative works that have no exclusive intellectual property rights. If you were to use material that is in the public domain, nobody could lawfully claim ownership of your content—though it won’t necessarily stop someone from trying.

Creative work can find itself in the public domain for several reasons. The creator of said work can waive intellectual property rights, for example, and release it into the public domain from the beginning.

There are also certain kinds of works that are simply not allowed to be copyrighted, an example of which being the formulae of Newtonian physics. Many works were created before any meaningful copyright law existed, and so were never protected, to begin with. There was no copyright registry when Shakespeare was writing his plays, for example.

Finally, there is a time factor involved in the passing of intellectual property into the public domain, but this is a little tricky to detail.

Books and Software

For example, any computer software created before 1974 is deemed public domain.

Meanwhile, books typically pass into the public domain a certain amount of years after the author’s death. For America, this term is 95 years; however, it is 70 years for many other countries.

All of this means that for America in 2020, any book published before 1925 is in the public domain. You’re probably starting to see why it’s a little tricky to cover all the bases here.

If you want to learn more about making YouTube videos from books then check out my deep dive blog into what can you and can’t do without getting in trouble.

Music

Moving on to music, there is typically a clear distinction between musical compositions and musical recordings.

Compositions (essentially, the melodies and lyrics) are subject to broadly the same copyright terms as books. This is what led to the infamous case of Warner/Chappell suing people for singing “Happy Birthday to You”. Recordings, on the other hand, can be thought as more akin to property.

If you’ve ever heard of stories like Michael Jackson owning Beatles songs, this is how it was possible. The owner of the recording has the ownership rights of that recording; however, the artist is still free to perform their music, and will typically earn songwriter’s royalties.

But how does this translate to music in the public domain? Well, for the most part, you are free to cover music that is not in the public domain.

You should be aware that anything sounding too close to the original recording will likely get flagged by YouTube’s automatic copyright protection. Still, you won’t actually be doing anything wrong.

Copyrighted recordings, on the other hand, while still subject to an eventual transition to the public domain, have not been around long enough for there to be any public domain recordings. In 2020, the 95-year time limit on copyright extends back to 1925. In 1925, musical recordings were almost entirely classical music, and were still being outsold by sheet music! Some recordings will start going into the public domain in 2021, however.

When it comes to using music in my videos I use LickD. They have a wide range of popular tracks and artists. They have a simple fee system and you pay based on how many views you get on average. There is more information on their website.

Movies

Movies and film, in general, follow the same rules as books, though the terms will vary from country to country.

For America, the term of copyright is once again 95 years, and anything produced before 1925 is automatically considered public domain. That term is rolling, meaning that in 2021, anything created before 1926 will be in the public domain, and so on.

There are several works of film that are in the public domain because the creator has intentionally released their movie that way. Or, in the case of the cult classic, Night of the Living Dead, accidentally released into the public domain as the distributor forgot to file a copyright notice!

Public Domain on YouTube

YouTube does not presently have a means of flagging videos as containing public domain works. As such, there is no clear way to identify public domain content short of going off and researching yourself.

It is important to remember that the descriptions are not always accurate. If someone posts a video claiming it is public domain, and you then use that video and get sued because it is not public domain, the fault will still be with you.

You may be considering using public domain works in your monetized videos, and you have every right to do that. You could post an unmodified public domain work in its entirety on YouTube, and you would not be breaking their terms and conditions or any copyright law. You should be aware, however, that YouTube does have specific other rules in place that could affect you. For example, they have a policy on re-using content.

This essentially prevents people from just reposting existing work and monetizing the video, even if they are legally allowed to use the work.

One example of this would be a music compilation video made up of songs that are in the public domain. Another example would be uploading a public domain film.

The point of this policy is to prevent YouTube from being flooded with opportunistic attempts to make money for little effort. If a video is in the public domain, there is little other reason to post such a video. If you are modifying the video in a significant way, however, you should be safe from YouTube’s policies.

YouTube’s Standard License

We’ve covered what you can do with public domain works, but what about YouTube’s standard license?

From the uploader’s perspective, YouTube’s standard license grants broadcasting rights to YouTube. Basically, this means that the video is only licensed for watching on YouTube, and cannot be reproduced or redistributed without your express consent.

In agreeing to this license, you are also agreeing to YouTube’s terms regarding uploading videos. Still, the most significant factor is that you have control over your video when it comes to other people re-using it.

You will be entirely within your licensing terms to deny—or grant—permission for any use of your video. This applies equally to small individual YouTubers and multi-million dollar media companies.

If you are not the uploader, and you are considering using another YouTuber’s content, you will need to get permission from the uploader unless it is Creative Commons. We’ll get to that shortly.

Now, the reality of the majority of YouTube videos is that using a small sample of another video will not result in any legal action taken against you. For one thing, a small enough sample would be considered fair use, and not worth arguing over for the creator. But also, most YouTube creators cannot afford the expensive legal fees of attempting to sue someone.

If you use significant portions of another YouTuber’s video—or the whole thing—expect to get your video taken down unless you have the permission of the uploader. For larger corporations, such as record labels and media companies, using even a few seconds of their content can be enough to get a video automatically penalized.

For such companies, you are unlikely to get permission, or even a response if you request it, so it would be best to consider that a non-option.

Creative Commons

So, we mentioned that public domain and just grabbing content and hoping for the best weren’t your only options for re-using YouTube video. When a YouTube video is uploaded, the uploader can choose between the standard YouTube license and a Creative Commons license.

There are many variations of the Creative Commons license; however, YouTube only offers one of those variations. This is known as a CC BY license, but what is it?

Let’s start with Creative Commons as a whole. Creative Commons is a non-profit organization that makes sharing and re-using original works and knowledge easy and free. There is a lot to this organization beyond their licenses, but this article is not about Creative Commons, so we’re going to stick the licensing.

By using a Creative Commons license, you have a properly worded, completely legal document that lays out the licensing terms of a given piece of content.

Using this kind of license makes sharing content easier because there is no ambiguity or uncertainty about whether content can be used. The answer is yes; the only question is what is required of the entity using the material.

For example, CC0 is their base-level license, and, practically speaking, is the same as public domain. There are no requirements of compensation or attribution on CC0 works, and there are no restrictions on how you can use it. Other versions of the license do have limitations on how the work can be used, or requirements in order to use it.

Still, we’re only going to go into detail on the license that YouTube allows you to choose.

CC BY License

The CC BY License allows for the sharing, copying, and redistribution of the licensed material in any medium or format. You are free to transform, remix, and add to the material for any purpose, including commercial.

Perhaps most significant is the fact that the creator of the material cannot revoke any of the freedoms you have been granted. This only applies as long as you follow the terms of the license, however.

The only requirements under this license are that you must give credit to the creator, link to the complete license, and make it clear if any changes were made (and what they are). It is also essential that you do not make it appear as though the creator endorses your work.

Another facet of Creative Commons licenses is that you may not place any restrictions on CC BY licensed material. One example of this would be taking CC BY content wholesale and putting it behind a paywall.

The situation regarding using CC BY licensed video (or other content) in your YouTube videos is the same as with public domain. You are free to do so, however, merely finding creative commons works and reposting them will fall afoul of YouTube’s re-use policies. That will almost certainly see your videos disqualified from monetization.

If your content is sufficiently transformative, or if you only include the CC BY content as a relatively small part of your video, you should be fine.

Conclusions

Are YouTube videos public domain? Unfortunately not. At least, most of the time they’re not. The critical thing to remember when considering the use of existing YouTube content—as well as any content on the Internet—is that you need explicit consent in some form from the creator. That is if you want to use that content without running into problems further down the line.

As a general rule, assume that any content for which a large corporation owns the copyright is a no go. It will almost certainly get taken down, and some companies are more litigious than others.

And, remember, if you want to monetize your content, you need to add something to it. You can’t just upload an existing public domain or Creative Commons video. Well, you can, but YouTube will flag it under their re-use policy and disqualify it from monetization. Add something of value for your viewers to the content, and you should be good to go.

And, if you see some recent content that you really want to use in a future video; you can always wait 95 years for the copyright to expire!

Top 5 Tools To Get You Started on YouTube

Very quickly before you go here are 5 amazing tools I have used every day to grow my YouTube channel from 0 to 30K subscribers in the last 12 months that I could not live without.

1. VidIQ helps boost my views and get found in search

I almost exclusively switched to VidIQ from a rival in 2020.

Within 12 months I tripled the size of my channel and very quickly learnt the power of thumbnails, click through rate and proper search optimization. Best of all, they are FREE!

2. Adobe Creative Suite helps me craft amazing looking thumbnails and eye-catching videos

I have been making youtube videos on and off since 2013.

When I first started I threw things together in Window Movie Maker, cringed at how it looked but thought “that’s the best I can do so it’ll have to do”.

Big mistake!

I soon realized the move time you put into your editing and the more engaging your thumbnails are the more views you will get and the more people will trust you enough to subscribe.

3. Rev.com helps people read my videos

You can’t always listen to a video.

This is where Rev can help you or your audience consume your content on the go, in silence or in a language not native to the video.

Rev.com can help you translate your videos, transcribe your videos, add subtitles and even convert those subtitles into other languages – all from just $1.50 per minute.

A GREAT way to find an audience and keep them hooked no matter where they are watching your content.

4. Learn new skills for FREE with Skillshare

I SUCK reading books to learn, but I LOVE online video courses.

Every month I learn something new. Editing, writing, video skills, how to cook, how to run a business – even how to meditate to calm a busy mind.

I find all of these for FREE with Skillshare – Sign up, pick all the courses you want and cancel anytime you need.

5. Shutterstock helps me add amazing video b-roll cutaways

I mainly make tutorials and talking head videos.

And in this modern world this can be a little boring if you don’t see something funky every once in a while.

I try with overlays, jump cuts and being funny but my secret weapon is b-roll overlay content.

They have a wide library of videos, graphics, images and even a video maker tool and it wont break the bank with plans starting from as little as £8.25 ($9) per month.

Tags appeal copyright, copyright, creative commons, public domain, youtube copyright, youtube videos

TIPS & TRICKS YOUTUBE

Is It Legal to Make YouTube Videos from Books?

Post author By Alan Spicer - YouTube Certified Expert
Post date 8 June 2020
1 Comment on Is It Legal to Make YouTube Videos from Books?

“The video was taken down due to copyright infringement”. This is a phrase we have heard any number of times about a video that is no longer available on YouTube.

What does it usually mean? Why do videos get taken down? If I read a book on BookTube, will the video get taken down?

Wait, BookTube?

You read that right. BookTube is the unofficial name for YouTube channels that discuss everything bookish.

BookTubers upload videos about their favorite books, favorite authors, characters, reading habits, and anything related to books. Book clubs like Bookmarked have channels that discuss books monthly.

BookTube is now so popular that publishing houses have even taken notice of it and they use it when considering what marketing strategies they will use for their books.

Coming up with something creative takes up a lot of time, energy, and even money. Original work is often like a child to the creator and they naturally feel very protective of it as a lot of work has gone into producing it.

Often, creators don’t mind sharing their work for no pay, as long as they get credit for it. However, many people intend to make money or make a living out of their creations and therefore they protect it as one would protect a house or a car. It is their intellectual property.

This applies to films, songs, and written materials like books. This is where copyright comes in.

What Is Copyright?

Copyright is a collection of rights automatically owned by a person who originally creates an original work, for instance, a song, movie, book, or even software.

The rights include the right to distribute the work, make copies, reproduce it, derive other works from it, and make money from it. Copyright law exists to encourage creators to produce work by ensuring that their work is protected from theft and that they can make money from it.

It encourages creativity and makes available these creative works to the general public. For a piece of work to be protected by copyright, it has to be:

Creative: It must be innovative.

Original: It must belong to the person. It cannot have been copied from somewhere else.

Fixed: It must be affixed to some medium of expression. It should be available for viewership and should have the ability to be reproduced.

If you came here finding an answer to whether you can make videos from published books, you have come to the right place.

So, Can I Make YouTube Videos from Books?

Published books are copyrighted material, and so you are bound by the very grey areas of law. By the strict black and white wording, blindly reading a book on camera – no. But if you get permission from the owner to make an audio/video version of the work, then – yes!

So really the question should be: to what extent can I use this book in my channel without breaking the YouTube copyright regulations?

Remember that original work is important to the creator and you have to respect their intellectual property rights.

Still it is sometimes possible to use copyrighted material without infringing on the owners’ rights. Before we get into this, we should understand a few concepts about copyright.

Fair Use

Simply put, fair use is a set of exceptions to copyright restrictions. It’s like an open backdoor into a locked room.

These exceptions allow people to use copyrighted material without attracting the ire of copyright police. The fair use lines are, however, blurred, and sometimes it takes a judge to define whether a particular case is a fair use or a violation of copyrights.

To be on the safe side, if possible, get a lawyer to look at your content if you can. Note that the information given here does not constitute legal advice.

Some common guidelines usually given when considering whether something is fair use are:

What You Are Doing With the Content

If you are going to change the content substantially, you may fall into the fair use category. For example, parodies can get away with using copyrighted material, because they change the original content by ridiculing it.

Sometimes parodies even generate more views for the original content. Mashups of songs involve combining different songs in a creative way to make up a relatively new song, so they can also fall under fair use as they significantly change the original versions.

Criticisms or reviews of books or movies can also be fair use provided the critic uses very short clips of what they are reviewing.

The same goes for giving a video or book tutorial with commentaries. However, it all still boils down to creators. They can still complain to YouTube if they feel that their rights have been infringed on. If you aren’t so sure, ask a lawyer.

The Nature of the Content

Non-fictional or factual material is more frequently allowable under fair use than fictional, original material.

How much of the Original Material you are Using

You should use just enough of the material to make your point. Too much would be a violation.

Still, according to YouTube, sometimes even a small amount of the original work can be considered a violation if it constitutes the very core of the work.

For example, if you wrote a work of fiction based on a powerful evil ring that must be destroyed, you would be using the central theme of JRR Tolkien’s entire Lord of the Rings trilogy, even if your story is completely different.

Will it Substitute the Original?

If your work will lead to reduced sales or views of the original material it will definitely be considered as an infringement and will not be protected under fair use.

As mentioned earlier, fair use is complicated. Videos that have complied with fair use can still get reported for infringement and the uploader usually has to defend their work. They have to be really sure of their case.

Some myths about fair use exist and it is important not to get taken in by them in order to avoid an infringement claim.

It’s not Infringement if I Give Credit

Crediting the original creator does not protect you from copyright violation. This cannot be your only claim to your video’s eligibility.

Still, even if your work falls under fair use and is not an infringement, it’s always good to credit the original creator.

It’s Alright if I Use Less Than 30 Seconds of Copyrighted Material

There is no specific amount of duration of content used given for something to fall under fair use. As mentioned earlier, it just has to be reasonable.

It’s Not Fair use if I’m making money out of it

As long as your content falls under fair use, you can still make money out of it.

It’s Fair Use If It’s Only For Entertainment or For Non-Profit

This does not automatically give you fair use status. A court will look at each situation before deciding, always with the interests of the content owner in mind.

If your content reduces the creator’s target audience it won’t matter whether or not you intend to profit from it. Out it will go.

Adding My Original Material to Someone Else’s Copyrighted Work Makes It Fair Use

Adding some original material of your own to someone else’s work does not automatically make it fair use. This is because it still may not substantially change the original, and may in fact make it look worse, hence affecting the creator’s target market or reputation.

I can Decide Fair Use for Myself

Fair use has many grey areas, so it would be risky to push your boundaries as this may get you into trouble with YouTube.

In certain cases, however, when copyright owners demand for videos to be taken down, YouTube protects the content creator under fair use guidelines, for the purposes of encouraging creativity and educating on fair use. This video is an example of such a case.

So, Can I Use Books on my YouTube Channel?

When YouTube was formed, it was originally meant to be a content sharing platform. For years, users uploaded videos containing both original content and content owned by third parties.

Although this attracted a lot of backlash from creators, it took quite some time for YouTube to develop its copyright policy. In the meantime, many people became famous for videos that contained third party content.

One example is Alex Day, who would post videos of himself reading large chunks of Stephanie Meyer’s Twilight books and making funny and sometimes derisive comments about them.

A blatant copyright violation.

His videos eventually got taken down once the platform’s copyright policies came into effect. These policies changed how people uploaded content about books as they could no longer read out texts without violating the policy. Even if they credited the authors.

However, some channels have managed to maintain their success. KidTimeStoryTime and Brightly Stories are two such examples.

Their success is due to the fact that they have collaborated with the copyright owners when producing their content. Both channels do read-along of books on their videos but with consent and in collaboration with publishers or authors of the books they feature.

It then becomes a win-win situation.

The channel can make money from the content they use, and the copyright owners benefit through the marketing of their books.

What Happens If I’m Accused of Copyright Infringement?

One of two things can happen if you violate someone’s copyright. These are discussed in the lines to follow.

Content ID Claim

Companies that own copyrights like music and film production companies issue Content ID for all the material they produce. This enables them to quickly identify their content on YouTube. YouTube has a system that scans every video uploaded against an existing database submitted by copyright owners.

If a match is found, YouTube will automatically file a copyright claim for the original content owner. If it was a mistake on your part, you can appeal on those grounds to YouTube. Still, the final verdict will lie with the copyright holder.

If they insist and can prove you have infringed their copyright, you will have to take down the video, or have it taken down by YouTube.

Some content ID claims will only prevent material from being available in some parts of the YouTube community, or may allow it to remain on the platform but insist on directing any revenue earned by the video to the copyright owner rather than the uploader.

Sometimes the phrase “included copyrighted content” will be displayed with the video to track the video but not actually block it. It also does not negatively affect your YouTube status.

You’ll know of a claim against you in the copyright notice section of your channel’s video manager. In some cases, you get notified via email.

Take-down Notice

This happens when a copyright owner notifies YouTube of a copyright violation with legal consequences. If the complaint satisfies all legal requirements, YouTube takes down the video.

The video will display the phrase “Video taken down: copyright strike”. If you get three copyright strikes, you get a lifetime ban from YouTube. Yikes. Worse, even after that, you would not be able to recover your videos.

Once you get a copyright strike, YouTube requires you to take a short course and do a quiz on copyright regulations to refresh your memory. Something else to note is that a strike doesn’t last forever.

It usually lapses after six months, and once that happens your slate is clean. Still, you don’t want to have a reputation as a copyright violator. Lastly, you can still negotiate with the copyright owner to keep your video up with certain conditions, such as limiting viewership in certain regions.

Conclusion

Always keep in mind that the YouTube algorithm is very good at finding copyright violations, including something as simple as background music.

Although you can licence music much easier with companies like LickD who have a wide library of tracks to use – check out their site.

So even if the original owner doesn’t notice it, YouTube definitely will.

To have good standing in the YouTube community, make sure you avoid getting caught on the wrong side of this law. It’s usually fairly easy to get permission from a content owner to use their content if you ask nicely and can prove that your use of their content will not in any way hinder the distribution of their work.

So go ahead and make those books, but be careful, and remember, when in doubt, ask a lawyer.

Top 5 Tools To Get You Started on YouTube

Very quickly before you go here are 5 amazing tools I have used every day to grow my YouTube channel from 0 to 30K subscribers in the last 12 months that I could not live without.

1. VidIQ helps boost my views and get found in search

I almost exclusively switched to VidIQ from a rival in 2020.

Within 12 months I tripled the size of my channel and very quickly learnt the power of thumbnails, click through rate and proper search optimization. Best of all, they are FREE!

2. Adobe Creative Suite helps me craft amazing looking thumbnails and eye-catching videos

I have been making youtube videos on and off since 2013.

When I first started I threw things together in Window Movie Maker, cringed at how it looked but thought “that’s the best I can do so it’ll have to do”.

Big mistake!

I soon realized the move time you put into your editing and the more engaging your thumbnails are the more views you will get and the more people will trust you enough to subscribe.

3. Rev.com helps people read my videos

You can’t always listen to a video.

This is where Rev can help you or your audience consume your content on the go, in silence or in a language not native to the video.

Rev.com can help you translate your videos, transcribe your videos, add subtitles and even convert those subtitles into other languages – all from just $1.50 per minute.

A GREAT way to find an audience and keep them hooked no matter where they are watching your content.

4. Learn new skills for FREE with Skillshare

I SUCK reading books to learn, but I LOVE online video courses.

Every month I learn something new. Editing, writing, video skills, how to cook, how to run a business – even how to meditate to calm a busy mind.

I find all of these for FREE with Skillshare – Sign up, pick all the courses you want and cancel anytime you need.

5. Shutterstock helps me add amazing video b-roll cutaways

I mainly make tutorials and talking head videos.

And in this modern world this can be a little boring if you don’t see something funky every once in a while.

I try with overlays, jump cuts and being funny but my secret weapon is b-roll overlay content.

They have a wide library of videos, graphics, images and even a video maker tool and it wont break the bank with plans starting from as little as £8.25 ($9) per month.

Tags book youtube videos, booktube, can i record books in youtube videos, can i use books for youtube videos, canon 200d, copyright, fair use, is it legal, law, legal, reading, youtube copyright, youtube law, youtube videos

DEEP DIVE ARTICLE HOW TO GET MORE VIEWS ON YOUTUBE SEO TIPS & TRICKS YOUTUBE

Are YouTube Tags Important?

Post author By Alan Spicer - YouTube Certified Expert
Post date 7 June 2020

YouTube is the second largest search engine on the internet, after Google. Over 3 billion searches are processed by YouTube in a month, with up to 500 hours of videos being uploaded every minute.

This means that if you have a YouTube channel and you want to get viewers, you have to work really hard to make sure your video appears at the top, or near the top, of search results.

You may have better content than your competitors but success is not just about working hard. It’s about working smart. In addition to producing quality content, you also have to make sure your channel is visible. With so many people uploading content all the time, this can prove daunting. This is where Search Engine Optimization (SEO) comes in.

So do YouTube Tags Matter? – YouTube Tags are a throw back to the old days of Website SEO. Tags used to be used to summarize a web page’s content. YouTube tags are not as important as they used to be BUT can be valuable meta data for smaller channels to help categorize content when they first upload videos.

What is SEO?

Search Engine Optimization (SEO) is the practice of optimizing your content such that the search engine, in this case, YouTube, ranks it as one of the top results in search results.

This makes your video visible and increases the quantity of traffic to your site.

Why is it Important?

According to a State of Inbound report in 2018, 45% of marketers invested more in YouTube that year than in any other channel. This means that for you to attract marketers, you have to attract many users who will actually spend time looking at your content because they are interested in it, and are not just passing through.

This is why SEO for YouTube is important. Different search engines have different optimization techniques and YouTube is no different.

We are interested in YouTube tags here but some other techniques are also worth mentioning because they are related to tags.

Finding Relevant Video Keywords

For you to create content that will attract viewers to your site, you need to know what your audience is interested in and how they talk about it. You can do this by simply typing a keyword in the YouTube search box. As you do so, the autocomplete feature will suggest popular searches related to what you’ve just typed in.

You can also use different tools for this like TubeBuddy and Ubersuggest – Tubebuddy can help you deep dive into keywords and maximize your titles for better breakthroughs – you can download the plugin on their website.

You can also compare how frequently different keywords are used so you can know which keyword is most likely to appear at the top of search results.

A free, accessible tool you can use for this is Google Trends, which has a YouTube search option for specific keywords for YouTube. Once you know what your target audience is interested in, you can then create your content to suit their needs.

Choosing the Title

While your title should communicate what your video is about, it should also grab attention. Use concise, catchy phrases that resonate immediately with your audience.

Remember to incorporate keywords as naturally as possible into your title without deceiving your viewers.

YouTube Video Description

The description helps you expand on what your video is about and enables you to add additional links and information about you.

Like the title, it should be concise and attractive. Keep in mind that while Google allows up to 1000 words in the description, only the first about 100 words will appear above the “show more” link, so you have to make the first part of your description compelling and convince the viewer to look at the rest of your description.

Include relevant keywords here as well.

Using Thumbnails

This is the image that appears with your video. A great video could lose potential views if it has an unappealing thumbnail. A thumbnail is just as important as a title in grabbing and holding attention.

YouTube has auto-generated thumbnail options that you can use, but for better results, a custom thumbnail would be more effective. 90% of the best performing YouTube videos have custom thumbnails.

Note that for you to use a custom thumbnail your channel has to be verified by YouTube.

Putting Your Video in a Category

You can link your video to others with similar content by adding a category to your video in the Advanced Settings.

This increases its chances of winding up in different YouTube playlists and will in turn increase your channel’s visibility. Do some research to see who else is in the category you’ve picked. In addition, check whether your target audience also follows those creators.

Finally, check how the creators in that category make their videos to know whether your content is a good, or better than theirs. The Creators Academy at YouTube takes users through a comprehensive process to help them determine what best category to put their video in.

Renaming Your Video File Using A Target Keyword

Before you upload your video, you can incorporate your top keyword in the video file. Because YouTube won’t actually watch your video to know its content, it will use your keywords, so you want to put them in places they can be detected by YouTube.

This way, the YouTube algorithm will read your keyword in your video’s file name along with the code.

Encouraging Subscription

Make it as easy as possible for your viewers to subscribe to your channel, or to watch similar videos by you by having the option very clearly displayed in the video.

Using Video Tags

Finally, we come to YouTube, or video tags. These are words or phrases which you can use to give more context about your video and let YouTube and your viewers know what your video is about.

Using video tags helps to rank your videos higher in search results. They are thus an important search SEO tool.

Although some studies have shown that tags play a small role in ranking a video, this doesn’t mean that you shouldn’t spend some time on them. For famous celebrities who have constant streams of visitors to their pages, tags may not be necessary.

However, for creators with a niche audience, or who are just starting out on YouTube, tags can effectively boost the ranking of the video, leading to more visitors, which in turn raises the ranking of the video further.

Tags are also important if your name as a creator, or your subject content, constantly gets miss-spelled.

Finally, tags teach YouTube that you belong to a certain category.

This will remove you from the large number of anonymous creators constantly uploading content and place you in a smaller niche which will increase your chances of visibility as there will be less competition in your category.

How to Add Tags to YouTube Videos

Beginning in the channel dashboard, where things like your subscribers and revenue appear. On the left-hand side of the screen, click on settings.

Click on channel below settings. This where your tags are. To add a new tag, click on the white empty space, type something and click enter to make it a new tag.

Now we’ll look at some tips on how you can tag your videos for better visibility on YouTube.

Make Your Primary Keyword Your First Tag

The tags you use have to actually relate to your video, otherwise you’ll be deceiving your viewers.

Therefore, since YouTube pays a lot of attention to your first tag, try as much as possible to have it as your primary keyword.

Use Common Keywords from High Ranking Videos

If you want to know how your keyword ranks online, you can search for your keyword on YouTube. Open the top 3-5 videos that are most closely related to your content.

The videos you pick don’t have to rank at the very top, but they have to be relevant. Check the tags on these videos and pick the ones that most relate to your content.

Having tags similar to top ranking videos will increase your chances of visibility.

If you find it difficult to think of keywords, you can use different online tools to generate keywords. Here are some examples.

Keyword Keg

This tool gives different statistics like search volume, competition, SEO difficulty, trends, keyword power, suggested keywords, off-page, and on-page difficulty.

Once you enter the target keyword these different parameters come up. It also has the option of filtering results according to country and language.

VidIQ

This tool shows keywords related to your target keyword, the related score, the search score, search volume, and overall score, which is a combination of all these.

A powerful plugin that combines productivity tools with deep dive stats to super charge your rankings and views.

VidIQ is creator focused and continues to add and improve its tools including recent add-ons like fast title and description translations to help you rank in foreign languages. You can get their free plugin by going to their website.

Keyword.io

This tool gives you other related keywords once you’ve typed in your target keyword.

In addition to these, it also provides their search volume, trends over the past 12 months, and suggested hashtags and prepositions you can use with your keyword.

Use Keywords with a High Search Volume

Some keywords are more commonly used in search for particular content. Using commonly used keywords for your tags can serve to amplify your visibility to YouTube. Of course, they have to be relevant to what you’re creating.

You can use Ahref’s Keywords Explorer for this. Simply set the search Engine to YouTube and type in some keywords.

The estimated search volume for the month for each keyword will be displayed in percentages in descending order. From the list, you can pick out relevant keywords with substantial search volume.

Use Specific Categories of Tags.

I tackled this is a video before – You can can categorize your tags to get the most out of them.

Video Specific Tags – Your first tag should be very specific and should have the aim of describing exactly what the video is about.

This will directly place you in the niche your target audience are interested in.

Video Category Tags – Your next tag can be slightly broader and describe the category your video falls under. This will relate it to videos that talk about the same thing and will widen the base of your audience.

Your video can then be recommended along with other videos in a similar category, hence increasing your chances of being seen by more people.

Channel Level Tags – Lastly, you should have a tag that directly mentions your name or the name of your channel. This will link your video to other videos you’ve done that may not be related to your current video but will still be of interest to your viewers.

It will introduce your viewers to other work you’ve done.

Use Phrases Instead of Words

Keywords by themselves are important but sometimes they may be so general that they still hide your video in a long list of other related videos. Using a phrase that is more specific to your content together with the keyword increases your chances of standing out.

This is because your video will now be in a less competitive category. For example, instead of just using the word “make-up” for your video, you can use “how to do make-up” instead.

Don’t be too wordy

Although the maximum characters you can use for tags is 500, you don’t have to use all of them.

You don’t want to look spammy. The optimum number of characters, according to Briggsby, is about 200-300.

Be Relevant

The fact that a keyword has a high search volume doesn’t mean it should be used indiscriminately. Use tags that are relevant to your content.

Don’t Be Deceptive

Avoid using unrelated keywords to trick users to view your content. This could actually get your content removed by YouTube. For example, don’t use the names of famous celebrities or brands just to get people to watch your video.

Don’t Place Your Tags in the Video Description

This is another violation of YouTube policy that could get you in trouble as it can be considered as an intention to mislead users.

Tracking Your Progress

Finally, did you know that you can track your ranking in search results?

You can use different tools for this, and you can track your progress and see how the different SEO techniques are working for your channel. This is an important step to see which of your efforts are actually bringing positive results.

In conclusion, tags alone may play a small role in substantially increasing your views, but, when used together with other SEO techniques, can boost your channel’s visibility.

Upload content consistently and see your rankings rise. After all, even famous celebrities started small before they blew up.

Tags do tags matter, do youtube tags matter, seo, tags, video seo, video tags, youtube seo, youtube tags

DEEP DIVE ARTICLE LISTS TIPS & TRICKS YOUTUBE

How to Grow a YouTube Channel (30+ Ways)

Post author By Alan Spicer - YouTube Certified Expert
Post date 4 June 2020
1 Comment on How to Grow a YouTube Channel (30+ Ways)

“They say a picture is worth a thousand words, but what about videos; I’d say they are worth a trillion words.”

You cannot deny it anymore; videos are now everywhere and video marketing is on the rise. It has grown even more prominently than just a few years ago and is convenient for brands to reach their customers.

You can argue that popular social media sites like Facebook, SnapChat, Instagram, Twitter, and others are good places to promote your content, but the truth is YouTube reigns supreme. People spend trillions of hours every day looking at videos.

I’m going to share with you 30+ proven tactics, tips, tricks, and hacks that are going to help you grow your YouTube channel.

Know Your Audience

One of the first things to do before you go about making your videos is to know what your audience, viewers, or customers want. You should be asking yourself questions.

Asking questions will help you to understand and make better videos for your audience, customers, consumers, or viewers.

Keywords & Research

Now that you’ve had a chance to know their requirements, you can start with subject / content research and gather keywords. When YouTube is concerned, keyword research is important. I cannot stress this enough.

Choosing the CORRECT keywords skyrockets your videos to the top. Choosing the WRONG keywords buries in heaps of search results.

Engaging Titles

This is another one of the important factors that make-or-break your YouTube video’s popularity. Literally, titles are what makes or breaks your video’s engagement and performance.

You have to craft engaging titles and grab your viewer’s attention without using “clickbait” headlines. People want entertaining content, and not one that says something but delivers something else.

Trailers, Trailers, Trailers

Before you run off and make your first YouTube video, create a video introducing yourself, your brand, and what your channel is about. This is a mini trailer to show to non-subscribers and persuade them to stick about and even subscribe to your content.

Need help with make a good trailer? I make a video all about that on my YouTube channel – check it here.

Content – Quality, Reformatting, Sustainability, Trending

Rule #1 – Quality, Quality, Quality; Content, Content, Content

Rule #2 – Read Rule #1 Period.

You know your audience, done your research, and have gotten that optimized video title, but now what? Now, you start to form the content of your videos.

If your video is not what people want, they’ll be lost in the infinite sea of other videos that nobody wants to see.

You have to create content that lures viewers, meaning videos on trending content. You can also repurpose an old article or blog post and create an engaging video your viewers will love.

Make Eye Catching Thumbnails

YouTube grabs a screenshot of your videos and uses these as thumbnails. Most times the image is blurry or you do not want this. Use specific fonts and styles so that it’s consistent with your brand’s look and feel. Use tools like Canva to create thumbnails.

Also, don’t make thumbnail to clickbait. You’ll lose subscribers in an instant. Thumbnails give a good first impression to your viewers of you and your channel, so make it eye-catching.

Put Yourself On Camera

Are you running your YouTube channel yourself or as a small business or start-up, then it’s better to put yourself in front of the camera. Putting a face to the brand lets your viewers easily associate with you.

This is particularly true for solo entrepreneurs; business, fitness, or life coaches; and bloggers. Also, use your photo instead of your logo on your YouTube channel if you are one of the above.

Win The Click

If your video is based on a project, show the final result at the start. A stunning result makes people more interested to see how you achieved it. This is a winner for makeover, beauty, home improvement, and DIY videos.

Telling stories is another fabulous way to tempt your viewers’ emotions. We all want to hear stories.

Viewers want to know what happens at the end of a story, so start with one.

Also, a personal story will endear you to your viewers.

Upload Videos Consistently

Just making videos with great content and then not doing it anymore is not enough. You have to be sustainable, meaning you have to do it regularly.

Doing it once is GOOD, doing it again is GREAT, but doing it again and again is FANTASTIC for you (brand or otherwise) and your viewers.

Stay Focused

AVOID nonsense and ramblings, don’t take long pauses, jump around topics, or be boring. This makes your viewers look at the recommended video section for interesting stuff. Make sure your videos are engaging visually or use stories.

Do not give your audience a chance to click away.

Engage Your Audience

Make sure the content you make is what your viewer wants. Ask your viewers for suggestions. You need to engage your subscribers and reply to their queries and comments on your videos.

Don’t forget to reply to negative comments also. It shows you are listening and active. You can use this to convert your audience into possible leads.

Brand Yourself and Your Channel

Don’t make your video look fake as this affects your viewers’ perception of your channel and you. Also, make sure your channel is visually appealing. You have to make it look authoritative. Branding a channel helps users to recognize it in a sea of content.

Be sure to match your channel to your website or blog’s look and feel; do not differentiate between them.

Cross Promote Your Videos

Cross promoting make you look more professional and uniform. You don’t know the subscribers you’ll get just by promoting on Instagram, Facebook, LinkedIn, and Pinterest, etc

Use the following tips to cross promote on social media:

Make and promote teasers
Release behind the scenes videos.
Alert your subscribers to new video uploads
Links in video description to nudge viewers to take a look (call-to-action)

End Screens and Info Cards

You might be thinking what is a Card? It is nothing but an interactive “panel” that slides in and out as your video is nearing the end. This is to nudge viewers with interesting content that they might like.

You’ll be able to add 5 panels, make the most of this. You can add text, images, or clickable links.

Subscribers, Subscriptions & Newsletters

Use your site’s email newsletter to grow your channel. Send embedded preview videos or links to new content and bring them back to your channel. You can always ask your audience to subscribe to your channel.

Do not ever pay for subscribers. This brings down the engagement and your authenticity is at risk in the long term.

End Screen Promotions

Use interactive graphics to link to another playlist, video, web page, or channel, or prompt them to subscribe to your channel.

You’ll be able to add them at then end 20 seconds of the videos. Plan this out, and make sure you know where they will appear.

Chase Trends

Check out your competitors and see which videos are ranking higher with better engagement. Keep checking out and refining the topics and workflow until you have a process that is well-oiled.

There isn’t any replacement for hard work. Always search for patterns like subject, editing style, or delivery system and create videos like those.

Improve Your “Watch Time”

Make your video as long as your topic requires. Nowadays, longer videos result in more watch time. This boosts your videos in YouTube’s algorithm.

Do not make videos longer just to make them longer. You will lose viewers. Generally, 7-15 minute videos perform better.

Content Mix Strategy

Always try to make videos that serve you channel’s community, perform well in search, and are shareable. You can post regular videos for your product, service, brand, or other things.

You need to mix the types of videos as well.

Along with the regular ones you can have videos that contain responding to comments, answering questions, interacting via live video as well.

Make Bingeable Videos Series

Make a video series so you can convert one time viewers into subscribers. Find specific keywords or topics and optimize your content for search.

These help you in establishing yourself as a thought leader or an influencer.

Creator and Brand Collaborations

Collaborating with another YouTuber will help you grow your channel as it helps in doubling your audience.

You will have two channel’s subscribers seeing your videos meaning more subscribers, viewers, and reach. Collaborate with guests or co-hosts that fit your niche only.

YouTube Video Optimization

Don’t only do SEO for your site, blogs, or articles. Use it to rank your videos on YouTube.

To get subscribers and growing your channel, you need SEO. YouTube results actually pop-up before other traditional blogs, articles, or websites.

Some fantastic tools for YouTube SEO are TubeBuddy and VidIQ – They help with keyword research, ranking and even your thumbnails – check out my resource page for more tools to help with SEO & Branding.

Search Engine Results Page (SERPs)

YouTube is making a killing when SEO is concerned. You shouldn’t just create videos for search engines and not people.

Do how-to’s, product reviews, and long-form (7-15+ minute) videos covering specific topics to rank higher.

Giveaways and Contests

Hosting giveaways is a one of the quickest ways to gain subscribers. Base your giveaway on your channel’s niche.

YouTube viewers love giveaways. Host giveaways or contests and encourage people to subscribe and engage with your channel.

Embed Your Videos

YouTube does not give you options to promote videos. This is why you need to have a website. Make a detailed blog or article that coincides with your channel and gives people the ability read, watch, or do both.

Embed your videos in your website or blog post and promote it to your email subscribers. Add a video widget to your blog post or website as well.

Creating, Organizing, & Promoting Your Playlists

With the increase in videos you’ll create, people will find it more difficult to navigate your channel.

This is why playlists are critical. Playlists allow you categorise and organize your channel. This allows your viewers to binge watch all videos in that category increasing watch time.

Be Interactive – Go Live!

This is a great option to boost engagement without spending much time. Live-streaming does have a learning curve. After you have learned it properly, it is the easiest way of creating video content. On YouTube, live-streaming is called YouTube Live.

It provides splendid engagement opportunities as you can communicate directly with your viewers. You can so some live streams on topics such as Q&A Sessions, Webinars, Tutorials, Product Demonstrations, etc

Should I Try Paid Adverting?

Just using organic growth is good, but you’ll have to add paid promotion at one time or the other to speed things up. Create an ad campaign and help drive subscribers and viewers to your page.

This is similar to Facebook Ads, but is tailored towards YouTube.

Deep Dive Into The Community

Other than promoting your videos to grow your channel, you need to be active in the community. This allows you to get feedback, network, and share interests with people having the same goals.

Attend events like Content Marketing World or VidCon and meet other creators like yourself and promote your videos.

Analytics, Analytics, Analytics & There’s Data Too

YouTube’s analytics and reports are crucial to your success. Your analytics are tailored to your channel and provides an opportunity for you to improve.

Do not stay away from analytic because it feels overwhelming. If you avoid it, it will not help you to understand it.

Publish to Social Media

Last, but not least is publishing to social media and promoting the hell out of it. This is no secret that video kills it with engagement and boosting performance in terms on social media.

Regularly promote your channel and videos to your followers and encourage them to become subscribers.

As soon as you upload your video, let your followers on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram, Pinterest, and LinkedIn know. Create previews or snippets for each social media platform and link it to an accompanying blog post or article on your website.

Conclusion

Driving participation using quality content is what makes up for engaged followers who advocate your brand to others. Always be true to yourself and your brand, and be in constant communication with your viewers.

Develop quality content, make thumbnails to grab viewer’s attention, deliver as promised, start videos using a strong hook, and keep things interesting. Overall, you’re creating an experience to keep your viewers’ engaged.

Did you like my post on “How to grow a YouTube channel?” Did you try any of these in your videos? What results did you get?

Top 5 Tools To Get You Started on YouTube

Very quickly before you go here are 5 amazing tools I have used every day to grow my YouTube channel from 0 to 30K subscribers in the last 12 months that I could not live without.

1. VidIQ helps boost my views and get found in search

I almost exclusively switched to VidIQ from a rival in 2020.

Within 12 months I tripled the size of my channel and very quickly learnt the power of thumbnails, click through rate and proper search optimization. Best of all, they are FREE!

2. Adobe Creative Suite helps me craft amazing looking thumbnails and eye-catching videos

I have been making youtube videos on and off since 2013.

When I first started I threw things together in Window Movie Maker, cringed at how it looked but thought “that’s the best I can do so it’ll have to do”.

Big mistake!

I soon realized the move time you put into your editing and the more engaging your thumbnails are the more views you will get and the more people will trust you enough to subscribe.

3. Rev.com helps people read my videos

You can’t always listen to a video.

This is where Rev can help you or your audience consume your content on the go, in silence or in a language not native to the video.

Rev.com can help you translate your videos, transcribe your videos, add subtitles and even convert those subtitles into other languages – all from just $1.50 per minute.

A GREAT way to find an audience and keep them hooked no matter where they are watching your content.

4. PlaceIT can help you STAND OUT on YouTube

I SUCK at making anything flashy or arty.

I have every intention in the world to make something that looks cool but im about as artistic as a dropped ice-cream cone on the web windy day.

Best of all, some of their templates are FREE! or you can pay a small fee if you want to go for their slightly more premium designs (pst – I always used the free ones).

5. StoryBlocks helps me add amazing video b-roll cutaways

I mainly make tutorials and talking head videos.

And in this modern world this can be a little boring if you don’t see something funky every once in a while.

I try with overlays, jump cuts and being funny but my secret weapon is b-roll overlay content.

They have a wide library of videos, graphics, images and even a video maker tool and it wont break the bank with plans starting from as little as £8.25 ($9) per month.

Tags Grow a YouTube Channel, how to grow a youtube channel, youtube, youtube growth