Tag: youtube

5 Ways To Find the Best Tags for Ranking Your YouTube Videos

Post author By Alan Spicer - YouTube Certified Expert
Post date 25 September 2020
2 Comments on 5 Ways To Find the Best Tags for Ranking Your YouTube Videos

There are 720,000 hours of video added to YouTube every day. So the chance of your latest offering being watched by a large audience is pretty slim.

Building a following on YouTube can be a challenging task; so you have to use every tool at your disposal to promote your video.

When considering how to promote your video, it’s essential to understand that YouTube is a search engine. The second biggest search engine after Google, in fact. So the meta-data you add to your video when you upload it (title, description, and tags), can play a part in attracting some initial views.

This post looks at one part of the meta-data – Youtube tags. What they are, how to add them, and gives you five ways to find the best tags for ranking your YouTube videos.

Here we go.

What Are YouTube Tags?

In their help section for content creators, YouTube says the following about tags;

“Tags are descriptive keywords you can add to your video to help viewers find your content.”

YouTube is plainly stating that tags are keywords. Should your tags match with the keywords a YouTube user searches for, then you have a chance of appearing in the search results.

However, they then go on to say;

“tags play a minimal role in your video’s discovery.”

Hmm, it sounds like you don’t need to use them then?

Well, if you are a top YouTuber and receive thousands of views in the first few hours after uploading a video, then maybe tags aren’t as important for you. However, if you have a smaller channel, you need to seek every edge, no matter how slight, to drive initial traffic.

The right 4 or 5-word tag added when you upload new content, can kickstart your views.

Once you gain that initial traffic, metrics like watchtime and engagement take over, and YouTube can choose to suggest your video in viewer’s feeds.

Tags Help YouTube Categorise Your Video.

Tags also play a role in helping YouTube decide the precise topic of your video. The English language is a wonderful thing, but it can sometimes be confusing – some words have more than one meaning. So tags can be used to tell YouTube the topic and purpose of your video.

Here’s an example. The video below is about ‘irons’. An iron can be a household item or a golf club. But, the title of the video doesn’t convey to YouTube which kind the video is about.

But, YouTube can use the tags and other video meta-data to help categorise the content. The tags for this video leave no room for doubt that it’s about a household iron.

How Do You Add YouTube Tags?

You add YouTube tags in the video details section of your YouTube Studio. Navigate to your list of videos and click the ‘Details’ icon.

Underneath the ‘Audience’ section, there is a text entry box to enter your tags. Tags can be more than a single word; type in the tags hitting return after each one. Alternatively, you can paste in a list you prepared elsewhere.

How Many Tags Should You Use on YouTube?

This one is a little tricky. On the one hand, YouTube permits entry of up to 500 characters in the video tag section. On the other hand, YouTube warns against adding excessive tags in their help section:

A study conducted by briggsby.com concluded that ideally, you should use less than 300 characters. Which, assuming you are using 3-4 word keyphrases, puts the ideal number of tags at 30-40.

One of the key takeaways of the study recommended that as long as you stay relevant to the video topic, use as many characters as you can manage.

What Should You Use for Your YouTube Tags?

The tags you choose for your video should ideally be 3-word or more keyphrases that describe the overall topic of your video AND the content more precisely.

For example, if you uploaded a video reviewing steam irons, then some of the tags might be;

Best steam iron
Top steam irons
Best steam iron for clothes
Rowenta steam iron
Tefal steam iron for clothes

As you can see, these tags anticipate the kinds of phrases someone might use when looking for reviews of steam irons. It’s also a good idea to use some related brand names in your list of tags if appropriate.

Using some 5-word or more key phrases in your tags is recommended too. Unless your YouTube channel is a powerhouse with thousands of subscribers, you are unlikely to rank in the search results for shorter 2 or 3-word key phrases.

You can, however, appear in the top results for longer keyword search phrases, though these will have lower search volumes and drive smaller traffic.

5 Ways To Put Together a List of YouTube Tags.

So how do you put your list of tags together?

It’s best if you produce a long list of many possible tag key phrases first, then whittle it down to the best 30 or so. Start a new document or spreadsheet and as you collect potential tags, add them to the list.

You may be able to use some of the tags in another video you are planning; keeping tag ideas together in a file is not a bad practice.

As promised, here are five ways to find the best YouTube tags for ranking.

1.Brainstorm

One way to come up with a list of tags for your YouTube video is to brainstorm a list of keywords that someone might use to search for your video.

Imagine you know little to nothing about the details included in your video. What might a person in that situation type into a search engine to find the information?

It may sound like a silly idea, but you can come up with some out of the ordinary key-phrases using this method. Pretending you know nothing about your video topic can draw out some keywords that your competitors may not be using.

It’s worth a moment of your time before you use the same tag suggestion tools that everyone else uses.

2.YouTube Autocomplete

Autocomplete is a feature that predicts search terms when a user begins typing in the search bar.

It is there to save the user time. Google says that autocomplete reduces typing by 25% and collectively saves over 200 years of typing-time every day!

Because autocomplete predicts what users are going to type it also supplies a useful list of multi-word key phrases.

Here is an example using the steam iron keyword. Adding in extra words, or even a single letter, will reveal lots of keywords you can use in your tags.

3.Rapidtags.io YouTube Tag Generator

Rapid Tags is a YouTube tag generator that suggests a list of tags based on a seed keyword. You can copy all the suggestions with one click and add them to your list of possibles.

Rapid Tag does say in their about section that some tags may not be totally suitable for you purposes and you should remove any that don’t describe your video well.

4.vidIQ

vidIQ is a tool designed to help creators build an audience on YouTube. The software has multiple tools for YouTube channels; one being their Google Chrome plugin. The plugin displays additional information about a video directly within the desktop version of YouTube.

Part of the information displayed is the tags used by a video. So, you can view some videos similar to yours and harvest the tags from those videos to add to your list.

5.Ytubetool.com

Ytubetool is a free tool you can use to harvest tags from a video if you don’t want to use vidIQ, or can’t install a Google Chrome plugin.

Simply add the URL of any YouTube video, and the tool will display a list of tags used by the video. With one-click to copy; it’s more potential tags ideas to add to your master file.

Conclusion.

Using tags in your YouTube meta-data is not the most significant factor in ranking a video on YouTube. However, tags can play a small part in attracting initial traffic to your video.

Tags can also help YouTube to categorise your video, especially if the words in your title have more than one meaning.

YouTube themselves admit that tags only play a small part in your video discovery. So perhaps tags are best thought of as the finishing touches to your YouTube SEO. Necessary, but don’t obsess over it.

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. 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 do tags matter, how to tag youtube videos, keyword research, keyword research for youtube, tags, vidiq, youtube, youtube tags

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

How to Make Money on YouTube Using Other People’s Videos

Post author By Alan Spicer - YouTube Certified Expert
Post date 14 August 2020
1 Comment on How to Make Money on YouTube Using Other People’s Videos

Making money on YouTube with other people’s content is certainly possible, though, as you might expect, there are ethical considerations depending on how you go about it.

If you just re-upload someone else’s content wholesale, without any kind of modification, and pass it off as your own, there is no question that it is wrong in every sense of the word, including YouTube’s rules and guidelines.

So, not only would you be doing something generally unpleasant, but you would also likely fall afoul of YouTube’s policies, and lose any monetary gain you might have had.

That being said, there are ways to make money using other people’s content on YouTube that are entirely within YouTube’s terms, and you can do it in ways that won’t have the YouTubers whose content you are using wishing ill fortune on you.

So let’s dive into how to make money on YouTube using other people’s videos!

Stealing Content

There isn’t much more to say about this that we didn’t cover in the intro, but just to reiterate; taking another YouTuber’s content and re-uploading without their permission has very little going for it as a money-making tactic.

It will not make you many friends, you will be competing with the original video for views, and it will almost certainly be a short term thing as YouTube will eventually shut you down when they find out you are stealing content.

It’s best to steer clear of this method entirely.

Getting Permission

We’re going to discuss some methods here that, strictly speaking, could be done without permission from the YouTuber whose content you are using, but it’s always worth getting permission if you can, regardless of whether you need it.

If you can somehow get permission for it, even the above method of just taking someone else’s content and re-uploading it would be fine. We can’t think of many situations where the original creator would be okay with that, but it would be perfectly fine if they did.

But, as a general courtesy, it is nice to ask YouTuber’s if you can use their content, even if it’s only a small clip. And, who knows? They may even share your video.

Getting the permissions itself can be tricky, especially if the YouTuber doesn’t check their spam folder too often.

You should be able to find a contact email address for them in their channel’s “About” page (you may have to prove you’re not a bot in order to see it), though the existence of an email address doesn’t mean anyone is looking at the inbox.

You can also try pinging them on social media. What you want to avoid, however, is spamming them with a barrage of messages across different platforms.

Try to leave a little bit of breathing space between attempts to contact them, as waking up to dozens of notifications in different apps all from the same person may be a bit off-putting.

In your messages, be polite, and it can’t hurt to throw in a compliment about their content. After all; you are wanting to use it. Y

ou should also let them know what you are planning to do with the content you are seeking permission to use, and be honest. Nothing can burn bridges like getting permission to use someone’s content for one thing and then using it for something else, especially if the thing you end up using it for is something the original creator would object to.

Reused Content

As this post is talking about making money specifically, we need to address YouTube’s stance on reused content.

There is a lot of content on YouTube (and other parts of the web) that are fair game for you to use on your channel from a legal standpoint. Creative Commons content and content in the public domain being the main examples of this.

However, being legally allowed to use content does not mean YouTube will let you monetise it. Their monetisation policies specifically call out “reused content” as something that cannot be monetised.

What this means in practical terms is that even though you are allowed—both legally and under YouTube’s terms—to take a video that is licensed under Creative Commons (as long as you give full attribution) and post it on your channel in full, YouTube will not allow you to monetise it unless you have made sufficient modification to it. How these modifications might look is a significant part of the rest of this post, so keep reading.

What About Fair Use?

Fair use is a convention through which copyrighted material can be used without the express permission of the copyright holder or a licensing agreement to use the content in some circumstances.

The content you produce must be “transformative”, which can include commentary and parody, as well as some other kinds of content.

Fair use is often misunderstood to be some kind of shield to protect you against copyright strikes, but that is not how it works. Fair use is a defence—not a black and white policy—and it is determined on a case-by-case basis. That means that, even if you were entirely within the spirit of fair use, you would still have to go to court and make your case if you faced a copyright owner who is aggressive enough with their legal team to take it that far.

One of the problems with fair use on YouTube is their automated content recognition system, which has no concept of fair use and will flag your videos regardless if it recognises copyrighted material.

As sad a state of affairs as it may seem, it would generally make your life much easier if you steered clear of copyrighted content altogether.

How to Make Money on YouTube Using Other People’s Videos

Now that we’ve told you what you can’t do, let’s get into what you can do.

Here we are going to outline some different ways you can make money on YouTube using other people’s videos, as well as how you would go about it and any other relevant information.

Reaction Videos

Reaction videos are more popular than ever and are not limited to movie trailers. Just about any viral video can be good fodder for a reaction video, though it can help to stick within a particular genre or type of video.

For example, Stevie Knight is a popular reaction YouTuber who reacts to rap songs specifically. For the super famous YouTubers, reaction videos can be about anything because the audience is there to see them, whatever they are doing. But for us mere mortals, it’s probably best to find a niche and stick to it.

One of the critical aspects of reaction videos, as obvious as it sounds, is reacting. If you sit and watch a nine-minute video, pulling the occasional face and barely saying anything, you’re not going to make much of an impression.

And you may fall afoul of YouTube’s reuse policy, as they could deem it not to be sufficiently different from the original video.

Needless to say, this type of video is more suited to YouTubers with a lot of personality.

You are banking on people wanting to see you. They can go and watch the original video easily enough, or check out one of the other reaction YouTubers covering this video, and if you are bland and unentertaining, they may do just that.

Be yourself, as well.

Being a reaction, YouTuber will quickly fall apart if you are putting on a persona. Try not to worry about pleasing everyone; it’s an impossible task.

Just be yourself and be consistent with your videos.

Breakdown Videos

Breakdown videos are very similar to reaction videos but a little more technical in nature.

Where a reaction video is all about the… well… reaction, breakdown videos go into detail about the content itself. In fact, the YouTuber we mentioned above, Stevie Knight, would be a good example for this kind of video as well, as he doesn’t just react to rap music, he breaks down the lyrics.

Breakdown videos are also common for political and social commentary, as well as movie trailers and speeches. The aim of a breakdown is either to respond to things in the video or to give your unique insight to the viewers.

If you decide to go down this path, you make sure you have something to offer.

Unlike reaction videos, where a lively personality and a bit of comedy can be enough, a breakdown video needs to add something to the conversation. If you are breaking down the latest Marvel movie trailer, make sure you are well-versed in Marvel lore, so that you can spot things that regular viewers may miss.

Clip Videos

Clip videos can be on a range of topics, such as “Top 10” videos, or “This Week In…”. An example of this can be found on GameDevHQ’s channel, where they have a weekly series that lists off some of the most interesting projects being developed in the Unity game engine.

This kind of video is very appealing to those more camera-shy YouTubers out there, as it doesn’t require you to be on-camera to make content. It would typically take the form of a series of clips with voice-over narration saying something about each clip.

In these cases, as long as the clips are not too long, you can usually claim fair use with regards to your use of the clip, however, as we stated above, fair use, even when used correctly, is no guarantee that you will be free to use the content.

It would be best to get permission from the content owners first, but if you keep the clips short, you should be okay.

Become a Music Content Aggregator/Promoter

This one is a little less conventional, but you could become a channel for promoting unknown musicians.

The idea here would be that you are putting the music videos out on a channel that has more exposure—benefitting the artist—while you run advertisements on those videos.

Whether or not you cut the artists in on the revenue would be up to you, although it will undoubtedly be easier to get artists on board if you are going to pay them.

The main problem with this kind of channel is that it is challenging to get off of the ground, as you need a significant number of subscribers to draw in more popular artists.

One trick could be to use Creative Commons music in the beginning. You would not be able to monetise these videos due to YouTube’s reuse policy, but you wouldn’t be able to monetise in the beginning anyway due to the requirements for joining YouTube’s Partner Programme.

The goal would be to build the channel’s reputation and following up to the point that you can entice up and coming artists to release music through your channel, and hopefully reach a point where all of the content you publish is original.

You can even use cover songs to get your foot in the door and leverage attention. If you need help in making money from cover songs then check out my deep dive blog where I break down the legal points, the fast traffic tips and some great tweaks you can use to get the maximum impact for minimal impact on your pocket.

Mashup Videos

This one requires quite a bit of ability with audio editing software, but you could make mashups of existing music videos.

These tend to be popular when the original videos are from contrasting genres, making the final result something of a novelty that will interest fans of both genres.

One of the most well-known examples of this kind of video is an interesting mashup between Justin Beiber and Slipknot. The less similar to the original songs, the better, or you may get hit with YouTube’s Content ID.

It should be noted that there are legal obligations when using copyrighted music, even if it is only small samples.

You probably won’t end up in a courtroom if you get caught—it is far more likely you’ll get a copyright strike or your ad revenue diverted to the copyright holder—but the possibility is always there when you break copyright law.

What we’re saying here is, strictly speaking, you should get the proper licensing sorted with any copyright holders before creating mashups video. This blog does not endorse doing anything that breaks the law.

You could always license a song from a music supplier such as LickD where you can make cover-songs or mashups and not have to worry about revenue share or copyright clam for the audio. They have a wide selection of popular tracks and you even get your first track for free when you sign up.

Conclusions

You may have noticed that there is still quite a bit of work involved in these various methods.

Unfortunately, there is no way of making money on YouTube with other people’s videos that is simultaneously allowed by YouTube, legal, and does not require some effort on your part.

However you could always try stock video content (for example I use storyblocks for all my b-roll) to pad out your creations and all you have to do is talk over the clips – you wouldn’t even need to show your face.

If that sounds perfect I have 12 Channel Ideas Without Showing Your Face just for you!

Tags copyright, income, make money on youtube, make money online, money, youtube

TIPS & TRICKS

Do Dislikes Matter on YouTube?

Post author By Alan Spicer - YouTube Certified Expert
Post date 11 August 2020

Do dislikes matter on YouTube? In 2026, far less than you’d think — and less than ever before.

Since YouTube hid the public dislike count in 2021, dislikes no longer shame you publicly, they’re only a weak signal to the algorithm, and they don’t touch your monetisation. Their real job now is quiet feedback for you. Here’s the full picture.

Why trust this? I’m Alan Spicer — a YouTube Certified Expert with two decades on the platform and six Silver Play Buttons. I’ve watched dislikes go from a public scoreboard to a private metric, and I’ve helped hundreds of creators stop worrying about the wrong numbers.

Worried about a video’s reception? Book a free discovery call.

📌 Jump to a section:

The 2021 change
Do dislikes affect…?
Dislikes & the algorithm
Dislikes & your viewers
Dislikes & monetisation
Dislikes as feedback
Common causes of dislikes
FAQ

⚡ QUICK ANSWER: Do dislikes matter on YouTube?
Not much. Since YouTube hid the public dislike count in November 2021, dislikes create no public social proof against you. They’re only a weak signal to the algorithm — watch time, click-through rate and retention matter far more — and they have no direct effect on monetisation. Only you, the creator, can still see your dislike count in YouTube Studio, where it’s really useful as feedback.

The Big Change: YouTube Hid the Dislike Count

Any answer to this question has to start with what changed. In November 2021, YouTube made the public dislike count private across the platform. The dislike button still exists and still works — viewers can hit thumbs down — but nobody except the creator can see the total anymore.

Why? To curb “dislike attacks” — coordinated campaigns to mass-dislike a video and hurt a creator, which YouTube’s own research found disproportionately targeted smaller channels. The knock-on effect for everyone else is huge: the old fear of a visible dislike ratio damaging your reputation is simply gone. That single change makes most of the old advice about dislikes obsolete.

Do Dislikes Actually Affect…?

Does a dislike affect…	Verdict	Why
The algorithm / your reach	⚠️ Very little	A weak signal; watch time & CTR dominate
What other viewers think	❌ No longer	The public count is hidden
Your monetisation	❌ No	Revenue tracks watch time & ads, not dislikes
Your understanding of the video	✅ Yes	Useful private feedback in Studio

Dislikes and the YouTube Algorithm

This is where the myths live. A dislike does register as a form of engagement, and it does feed YouTube’s recommendation systems — mainly as a hint to show that particular viewer fewer videos like it. But as a ranking factor for your video overall, it’s weak. YouTube’s systems care overwhelmingly about watch time, click-through rate and audience retention. A video with strong watch time and a handful of dislikes will keep getting recommended; a video nobody finishes won’t, no matter how many likes it has. Dislikes are not a death sentence — for a fuller picture, see how the algorithm actually works.

Dislikes and Your Viewers

This is the part the 2021 change rewrote entirely. In the old days, a visible dislike count acted as social proof — a high ratio could warn viewers off before they even watched. That effect is gone. With the count hidden, a new viewer landing on your video has no idea whether it has ten dislikes or ten thousand. The judgement now comes from your title, thumbnail and the first few seconds — not a public thumbs-down tally. In practice, that protects creators, especially smaller ones, from being pre-judged.

Dislikes and Monetisation

Straightforward: dislikes have no direct effect on your monetisation. Ad revenue is driven by views, watch time, ad formats and advertiser demand — not by your like-to-dislike ratio. A heavily disliked video that still pulls strong watch time can earn perfectly well. If you want to understand what really moves your income, that’s a different conversation entirely.

Dislikes as Feedback — Their Real Value Now

Here’s the reframe: since only you can see them, dislikes have become a private feedback tool rather than a public verdict. A dislike means someone reacted — and a spike in dislikes on a particular video is a signal worth investigating. The smart move is to open that video in YouTube Studio analytics, look at the dislike count alongside your retention graph and comments, and work out what viewers objected to. Did a title overpromise? Did people drop off at a certain point? That’s far more useful than the raw number.

🔍 How to see your dislikes: open YouTube Studio, select a video, and check the engagement section in Analytics. You’ll see your exact like and dislike counts and the ratio over time — visible to you, hidden from the public.

Chasing the wrong numbers?

On a free discovery call we’ll focus on the metrics that actually grow a channel — and ignore the ones that don’t.

Book Your Free Discovery Call →

Common Causes of Dislikes

If your dislikes climb, the reason is usually one of these:

A title or thumbnail that overpromised. Nothing earns a thumbs down faster than clickbait the video doesn’t deliver — tighten your titles to match the content.
A weak or slow opening. Losing people early frustrates them; strong retention reduces dislikes.
Production or audio issues. Poor quality reads as “not worth my time.”
Controversial or divisive topics. Some dislikes are just disagreement — and that’s fine.
Dislike attacks. Coordinated brigading — now largely defanged, since the count is hidden anyway.

So, Should You Worry About Dislikes?

Honestly? No — not on their own. In 2026 a dislike is a quiet, private data point, not a public black mark. Use them as one input among many, focus your energy on watch time, retention and giving viewers what your title promised, and let the thumbs-down look after itself. If your channel’s growth has stalled, dislikes almost certainly aren’t the cause — run it through the growth diagnostic and build from a real growth strategy instead.

Dislikes on YouTube: FAQ

Do dislikes matter on YouTube?

Less than most people think — and less than ever since YouTube hid the public dislike count in 2021. Dislikes are a weak signal to the algorithm compared with watch time, click-through rate and audience retention, they no longer create public social proof against you, and they don’t directly affect monetisation. Their real value now is as private feedback for you as the creator.

Can people still dislike YouTube videos?

Yes. The dislike button still works — viewers can still hit thumbs down. What changed in November 2021 is that the dislike count became private. Viewers can dislike a video, but nobody except the creator can see the total anymore.

Can creators still see their dislikes?

Yes. Creators can see their exact dislike count for their own videos inside YouTube Studio analytics. YouTube hid dislikes from the public, not from creators — though it has never shown creators who specifically disliked a video, only the total number.

Do dislikes hurt your YouTube ranking?

Not much. Dislikes feed into YouTube’s systems as a weak engagement signal, but watch time, click-through rate and audience retention carry far more weight. A few dislikes on a video with strong watch time rarely dent its reach. Dislikes are not a death sentence for a video.

Why did YouTube hide the dislike count?

To reduce ‘dislike attacks’ — coordinated campaigns where users mass-dislike a video to harm a creator. YouTube’s research found smaller channels were disproportionately targeted, so in November 2021 it made dislike counts private across the platform while keeping the button itself.

What should I do if a video gets a lot of dislikes?

Treat it as feedback, not a crisis. Check the video in YouTube Studio alongside audience retention and comments to work out what viewers objected to — often a title or thumbnail that overpromised, or a section where people dropped off. Fix that pattern in your next video rather than panicking over the number.

Final Thoughts

So, do dislikes matter on YouTube? A little, quietly, and mostly to you. The public scoreboard is gone, the algorithm barely weights them, and your revenue doesn’t feel them. What’s left is a small, private feedback signal — useful when you read it next to your retention and comments, worthless as a source of panic. Point your attention at the metrics that actually move a channel — watch time, retention, click-through — and treat the thumbs-down for what it now is: one quiet opinion among many.

📚 Keep reading — engagement & growth:

Focus on the metrics that grow you.

A free discovery call gets you a two-decade head start on reading your real data — and ignoring the noise like dislikes.

Book Your Free Discovery Call →

A note on this guide: the November 2021 dislike-count change is documented on YouTube’s official blog. Algorithm behaviour reflects YouTube’s stated guidance and creator experience current at the time of writing (July 2026); the platform updates its systems periodically.

Tags dislikes, do dislikes hurt videos, do dislikes matter?, do thumbs down matter, marketing, seo, social media, thumbs down, views, youtube, youtube dislikes

SOCIAL MEDIA TIPS & TRICKS YOUTUBE

Am I Too Old to Start a YouTube Channel?

Post author By Alan Spicer - YouTube Certified Expert
Post date 7 August 2020

Absolutely not.

Okay, that’s not really the end of the post; we’ll dive into this topic as we do with all things YouTube, but if you’re looking for the quick answer to “am I too old to start a YouTube channel?”; – No. You are not too old to start a YouTube channel. Whatever your age. As the saying goes, “It’s never too late to start something new”.

It is, however, perfectly natural to worry about being too old to jump into something that, from the outside, looks very much like a young person’s game.

There several reasons why you might think it’s not for you, and we’re going to lay the biggest ones out for all to see, and then tell you exactly why they shouldn’t stop you from starting up your own channel.

Let’s Talk Numbers

It can help to get over your fear of being “too old” for YouTube if you know some of the numbers around age on the platform. For example, even though YouTube is thought of as a very young person’s platform, you might be surprised to learn that the average age of a YouTuber is closer to thirty. Twenty-seven, to be exact.

Of course, that’s still pretty young, but remember; that’s the average age. That includes extremely popular YouTuber’s that are as young as 16. And, though not strictly in keeping with YouTube’s terms of service, there are YouTuber’s like EthanGamer, who started his channel at seven years of age and had hit a million subscribers by the age of ten!

We realise that highlighting these incredibly young YouTubers may seem counter-intuitive to the point of this post, but remember, we’re discussing the average here. YouTuber’s like Ethan—who even now is only fourteen years old, bring that average age down considerably. For the average to be up around twenty-seven years old, there has to older YouTubers to balance it out.

YouTubers like ThePianoGuys—one of whom is over fifty years old—and Adam Savage—fifty-three years old—prove that you don’t need to be a baby to get going on YouTube. And those are just popular examples. ThePianoGuys rank inside the top 100 YouTube channels (discounting organisations like VEVO), and Adam Savage has over five million subscribers.

There are YouTubers like Gamer Grandma who has a much more modest—yet still very impressive—410k subscribers for her gaming channel. She is ninety years old. And there are many more YouTubers like her who, while not as successful in terms of subscribers counts, are nevertheless enjoying plenty of popularity in a wide range of niches, such as Peter Oakley, an eighty-six-year-old autobiographical vlogger.

It’s also worth noting that YouTube’s reputation as a platform for younger people stems from the earlier days when it really was a platform for younger people. But YouTube has been around for a while now, and those more youthful people have grown up. For example, YouTube veteran, Philip DeFranco, started YouTubing at the tender age of twenty-one years old.

These days he is thirty-four years old and still going strong. To illustrate this, we’ve picked out a few YouTubers from the top fifty channels by subscriber count. Obviously, we’ve left out the large organisations and YouTube channels for big celebrities. Nobody should be looking at T-Series, Eminem, or Ed Sheeran for examples of how to succeed on YouTube.

Who?	Age	Subscriber Count (2020)
PewDiePie	31	106 Million
Knondzilla	31	58 Million
HoySoyGerman	30	41 Million
Filipe Neto	32	39 Million
Fernanfloo	27	36 Million
Luisito Comunica	29	33 Million

So, let’s get to those reasons why you might feel too old to start a YouTube channel, and why you shouldn’t let them stop you.

Personality Clash

As we get older, we tend to become more conservative. Not in a political sense—well, actually, in a political sense as well—but in the sense that we become more introverted as time goes on.

It’s perfectly natural, and it happens to most of us, but on a platform full of bright-eyed, cheerful souls all gleefully welcoming viewers to their videos with bubbly optimism, it is easy to feel intimidated by the prospect of joining that world yourself.

Fortunately, there are many ways to put your videos together, and there is absolutely space for more introverted YouTubers. Many successful channels feature quiet, reserved personalities, people who don’t show themselves on camera, even videos where the YouTuber in question never features at all!

The main ingredient to a successful YouTube channel is providing content that people want to see, and the way you deliver that content is the seasoning. Your particular seasoning maybe to some people’s taste and not to others, but it is the main ingredients that will be the primary determiner of success. So, focus on those main ingredients, and don’t worry about whether you come across as cheerful enough.

And, besides, putting on a personality that just isn’t you is a surefire way to burnout and lost the desire to make videos altogether.

Viewer Demographics

Even if YouTubers themselves are trending older, the people watching YouTube are still young, right?

One of the key aspects of building an audience is being able to appeal to that audience, and there has always been a natural culture-gap between younger and older people.

Not an insurmountable one, of course, and as we mentioned above, the main content of your videos is a more significant factor than the way you deliver it, but it is there nonetheless.

It is certainly not impossible to appeal to people outside of your age bracket, but you might be surprised to learn that 35+ and 55+ are two of the fastest-growing demographics when it comes to people watching YouTube.

Again, it is not impossible to appeal to other age groups than your own, but if you are firmly locked into your own age demographic, there are plenty of viewers for you attract.

Topics

Another reason older people might be dissuaded from creating a YouTube channel is the lack of ideas for engaging content.

Some of the most popular videos on YouTube involve young, handsome people dropping heavy things onto trampolines from a great height, or makeup tutorials, gaming videos, or any number of other things that are decidedly younger in scope.

It can be very easy to look at these videos and think that you have nothing to offer.

However if you need some guidance I have pulled together a list of “older” youtubers within the silver surfer bracket that command huge audiences and prove that age is merely a number and not a road block.

The first point of order here is that you should not let arbitrary limitations hold you back. We’re not saying start-up a parkour channel at the grand old age of eighty-five, but anything you are physically capable of doing should not be considered off the table. Grandma Gamer, who we mentioned earlier, is a prime example of that.

That being said, even if you don’t want to tackle something that might be considered a little young for you, there is no shortage of topics and ideas and niches on YouTube. We mentioned earlier about the growing number of older watchers, and those older YouTube viewers have interests that are similarly skewed.

Don’t get bogged down trying to appeal to a younger audience if what that audience wants isn’t something you are interested in. YouTube viewers span a broad spectrum of interests, from gaming channels to life hacks, from keyboard modding videos to reviews of historical military rations.

Finding Your Place

We have talked about not getting held back by misconceptions of age on YouTube, and what kind of content you could make, but how do you go about finding your voice and choosing your niche on YouTube?

The first thing to address is why you want to make content in the first place. If you have no clear motive, you will struggle to maintain any kind of momentum in your YouTube career. It would, of course, be immensely helpful if that motive aligned with your own interests.

Not only are you far more likely to stick at it if you are genuinely interested in your content, but you are also more likely to make more engaging content in the first place.

Now, there may be other factors in play as to why you are starting a YouTube channel. Perhaps it is a companion channel to something else, such as a blog, a podcast, or a business. Unfortunately, not every venture is a labour of love.

And even if you are making content around a subject you are passionate about; it might sometimes feel like hard work, but there is no sense in making life harder for yourself than it has to be.

There are also people who just enjoy the act of making YouTube content itself, and perhaps you are one of them. People like this often end up vlogging because talking about yourself is a subject we can all be experts in. However, combine a simple desire to make YouTube content with the introverts we mentioned above, and you have a recipe for internal conflict.

If it is the process of making content that appeals to you, but the thought of sitting in front of a camera and talking about yourself a few times a week is unappealing, consider making your videos about something you like, even if you are not an expert in that thing.

YouTube viewers can be very forgiving as long as you are honest with them. And, if you are open about your lack of expertise, you may even find viewers helping you out from time to time.

It can help to do your research before getting started. If you have a particular type of content in mind, find successful channels that are making that kind of content and see what they are doing. Of course, you shouldn’t be looking to copy anyone, but if you see common themes across different channels in your desired niche, there may be a reason for it. That being said, don’t blindly copy themes just because you’ve seen them crop up a lot.

Always try to understand why people are doing what they are doing before using that method yourself.

And, since age is the focal point of this post, it may help to study channels by other YouTubers your age, and see what they are doing. Do they have a young audience? And if so, how are they engaging that audience? Or, if their audience is more on par with their own age, how are they approaching things differently to the younger content creators?

YouTube may still be young, but has been around for a long time in Internet terms, and there it is full of examples of success from all walks of life.

Also, while we would never advocate you starting a channel on something you don’t like, if you do like something that might be considered a typically younger interest, there is plenty of clout to be had in the novelty factor of older people doing younger things, as people like former Vine star and current YouTuber, Jason Nash, have shown.

Jason has essentially made a successful career out of being “too old”, and now has a very popular channel, as shown by the three million subscribers he currently has. In this case, Jason’s age has not only not held him back, but it has also played an active part in his success.

Embrace Your Age

Growing older is a natural part of life, and one we all have to come to terms with eventually.

However—continued advances in medical science, not to mention a much better awareness of health concerns in the workplace and at home—have led to us not only living longer lives on average but living fuller lives in our later years.

People are increasingly taking up—and excelling at—new professions in their forties and fifties. Pensioners are discovering new hobbies in their retirement. And we’ve already talked about the eighty years and up YouTubers who are enjoying great success on the platform.

The paradigm of working your whole life so that you could enjoy a few nice holidays in your retirement are long past, and lots of people are finding fulfillment in their golden years.

If you suspect YouTube could be part of that fulfillment for you, don’t let any stigma about your age get in the way.

Tags oap, oap youtuber, oaptuber, old, older youtuber, silver surfer, too old, too old for youtube, too young for youtube, too young for youtuber, youtube, youtuber

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

How To Promote Your YouTube Channel [4 Free Places]

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

When you start out as a YouTuber, you are trying to achieve many things at once.

Most of your time is spent on thinking about content ideas, filming it, and learning how to edit it into a great video. With, perhaps, a bit of time dreaming about what you’ll spend your YouTube earnings on too!

But, eventually, you get to a point and think ‘hang on, how do I promote my youtube channel?’

You’re working from a standing start. You don’t have the budget for ad buys or an existing following from another platform to leverage.

So how do you promote your YouTube channel for free?

Well, to get the ball rolling, and the subscribers racking up, you’ll need to spend a little elbow grease. Do some hard work. Because at the start you need to do all you can to get your name out there.

This means cross-promotion on social media networks. You need to be your own distribution network at the start, and create a spiderweb of content to catch your viewers. Then, well, it’s down to the quality of your content to then turn those initial viewers into long-term subscribers.

This blog post covers the big-four social media platforms you should be cross-posting your content on, how often you should do it, and what kind of material to publish.

Let’s get going.

A Brief Word of Caution.

The following tips won’t work unless you are a consistent YouTuber.

You can undertake all the promotional activity you like, but if you don’t regularly upload compelling content to YouTube, then your channel is set for failure. Mr Beast uploaded content for five years before his channel took off. Five years!

It takes dedication and consistency to be a successful YouTuber.

Promote Your YouTube Channel on Twitter

Twitter is the first platform you should be cross-posting on. There are 186 million daily active users, tweeting about every conceivable niche. So you can definitely find an audience for your content here.

The content you’ll post to Twitter has a very short shelf life, in most cases, only a matter of hours. So it’s fine to post out lots of links to your content.

Look for a few popular hashtags that tend to trend frequently, rather than one-offs that happen to be trending at any particular moment. Don’t copy spammers and use hashtags that are not related to your content. You’ll only end up annoying Twitter users.

While following hashtags on Twitter is not possible, people do have favourites that they regularly look up so they can see the latest.

If users see your content under that hashtag, and it’s excellent, then you may get a new follower. Once you gain followers, then you can post out links to your channel and invite them to watch your content over on YouTube.

Think about what you tweet, though. Before you tweet, think carefully about what you’ll write – ask yourself ‘why would people care about this tweet?’ You have to engage people.

Look at the example below, posted with the phrase ‘New Vlog is up!!!’. Who cares!? Maybe his mother, but not anyone else.

Instead, give the Twitter users a reason to click on your link. The illustration below is much better.

Also, make sure to separate your link from the hashtags. Both are hyperlinks. So if your content is next to the hashtags, then fat thumbs can mean you could miss a potential viewer.

Promote Your YouTube Channel on Facebook

Two excellent places to share your new content on Facebook are on your own Facebook branding Page and in Facebook groups.

Create your own brand page. You won’t have any followers, to begin with, but post your videos there anyway. It won’t help your video to rank on YouTube but can help your video to rank for Google searches

The place to post your videos to promote your Youtube channel is in the Facebook Groups. With over 1.5 billion daily users and 100 million hours of video watched daily, there is certain to be an audience for your content there.

The best part is that Facebook has already niched down the audiences for you. Whatever topic area you make your videos around, there is a place for you to share them on Facebook.

If you need more tips on how to promote your videos on facebook check out my deep dive on facebook marketing and how it can explode channel growth.

Tips for Promoting Youtube Content in Facebook Groups

When searching for groups to post your content to, make sure it contains enough people to engage with. There are plenty of groups with only a handful of members; keep searching until you find a large one.
For some Facebook Groups, activity drops over time. So, even if there is a large membership for a group, check the frequency of posts to make sure that it is worth your time to engage with it.
How you act in a group, once you have joined and been given access, matters. You have to engage with the group and be helpful. There is no point in joining a group to spam a link to your videos every once in a while. Instead, participate in the conversation, be helpful where you can, and when it’s appropriate, then share a link to your content. If you don’t, you’ll likely end up banned from the group.

Promote Your Youtube Channel on Instagram

Instagram is an ideal place to help build your YouTube audience.

Depending on the type of content you make for YouTube, you may be OK with using your existing Instagram account. If you don’t want to mix up your content with your personal Instagram usage, then create a new one specifically for your channel.

But it’s up to you. If you are the main focus of your YouTube channel, and ‘behind-the-scenes’ content might be valuable to followers, so use your existing account. If your YouTube channel is in a niche where you don’t show your face, then set up a fresh account.

Use Instagram to build up a following in your topic area. Spend some time browsing relevant hashtags to get an understanding of the type of content that is popular, then set out to emulate it.

Create Youtube Teasers

One of the best uses of Instagram to promote your YouTube channel is to create short 15-second teaser clips. Teaser clips can intrigue and draw Instagram users over to your YouTube channel.

Why should you take the time to create a teaser clip? Well, if you only share a thumbnail or a link to your YouTube video, then users can’t see if your content is right for them.

A teaser is different and operates like a film trailer made by the big Hollywood movie studios. You intrigue and invite your potential audience to watch the full thing.

So, after you finish editing your latest video for YouTube, create a cut down version as well for Instagram.

You can use your video editing software, or even better use a tool like Placeit to produce a compelling teaser. Placeit lets you quickly create teasers for Instagram (and other platforms) with handy templates and stock graphics.

Promote Your YouTube Channel on TikTok

The new kid on the block. Tik Tok divides opinion, some love the brash new social sharing platform, others criticise child safety and privacy issues. But, no-one can deny its reach.

It’s the new Vine, the platform to share short snappy videos, and there is a massive audience on this hot fresh platform.

TikTok has experienced incredible growth since its launch in 2016. The TikTok app has been downloaded over 2 billion times and now has over 800 million active users.

Use TikTok to post 15-second teaser clips like the ones you made for Instagram. Make sure to add a link to your YouTube channel in your bio, and direct people to your bio in your teaser clip.

Once you become as popular as Mr Beast, you can forget the profile link and afford to be sassy instead.

Conclusion

When looking for ways to promote your YouTube channel, don’t overlook the free options. Yes, it can be tempting to spend money you don’t have on ads and try and spend your way to success.

But YouTube is a long-term undertaking. You have to do the right things, regularly, to make a success of your channel. You’ll run out of advertising budget before you attract enough followers to make your channel a cash earning machine.

Look instead to the big social media players. There are millions of daily active users on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and TikTok. Get strategic and make promotional content for your channel to post on those platforms.

And make sure to do it right. You can spot spam posts yourself, so make sure not to post spam for others to ignore. Become a part of the conversation, help out other users, and when it’s right, direct them to your channel on YouTube.

Get the above right and you can give you channel the kick start it needs on YouTube.

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.

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!

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.

Get More Views on Social Media Fast

Tags get more views, how to get more views on youtube, Promote Your YouTube Channel, youtube, youtube growth, youtube promotion

DEEP DIVE ARTICLE SOCIAL MEDIA TIPS & TRICKS YOUTUBE

YouTube Equipment on a Budget

Post author By Alan Spicer - YouTube Certified Expert
Post date 24 July 2020
2 Comments on YouTube Equipment on a Budget

You do not need expensive gear to start a great YouTube channel — you need the right cheap gear.

This is the 2026 budget equipment guide: the best value cameras, microphones, lighting and accessories, the spend-priority that actually matters, and ready-made £100, £250 and £500 starter kits you can buy today. Spend smart, and cheap gear looks a lot more expensive than it costs.

Heads-up: some links below are affiliate links — if you buy through them I may earn a small commission at no extra cost to you. I only recommend budget gear I’d actually tell a client to buy.

Why trust this? I’m Alan Spicer — a YouTube Certified Expert with two decades on the platform, six Silver Play Buttons and 500+ creators coached. I’ve kitted out channels on every budget from zero upward, so I know exactly where cheap gear shines and where it falls down.

Want a personalised budget kit for your channel? Book a free discovery call.

🔑 Key takeaways

Audio and lighting beat the camera — spend there first.
Your phone is the best budget camera you already own.
A clean £100 kit is enough to start; £500 looks properly pro.
Cheap staples: Logitech C920, Blue Snowball, Neewer lights.
Don’t overspend on the camera and starve the rest.

📌 Jump to a section:

The golden rule of budget gear
Budget cameras
Budget microphones
Budget lighting
Just use your phone
Budget accessories
£100 / £250 / £500 kits
What not to waste money on
FAQ

⚡ QUICK ANSWER: What budget gear do you actually need?
Four things — a camera, a mic, a light, and a stand. On a budget, spend on them in reverse order of what most people expect: microphone and lighting first, camera last (your phone is fine). A complete starter setup runs about £100, a solid one £250, and a professional-looking one around £500. Bad audio loses viewers faster than average video ever will.

▶️ Setting up a YouTube channel on a budget — the essentials

The Golden Rule of Budget Gear

Here’s the mistake almost everyone makes: they blow the whole budget on a camera and leave nothing for the rest. Then they wonder why the footage still looks amateur. The truth is that audio and lighting do more for perceived quality than resolution ever will. So spend your money in this order:

Microphone — viewers tolerate average video, but bad audio makes them click away.
Lighting — a soft light flatters any camera, including your phone.
Camera — the last thing to upgrade, not the first.
Stability & accessories — a tripod, a stand, an SD card.

This is the same priority I teach in the full Creator Equipment Guide and the budget allocation rule — get the order right and cheap gear punches well above its price.

Budget Cameras

You have three good budget routes — a webcam, a compact/mirrorless, or (best of all) your phone.

Webcams — cheapest dedicated route

For talking-head videos, tutorials and streaming, a good webcam is more than enough to start. The Logitech C920 remains the budget benchmark — clean 1080p that looks great with decent lighting. If you can stretch, the Logitech Brio adds 4K.

Budget mirrorless — when you want the “real camera” look

If you want shallow depth of field and room to grow, an entry-level mirrorless is the sweet spot without going pro-priced. The Canon EOS R50 and Canon EOS R100 are superb value with excellent autofocus, and the Sony ZV-1 is a brilliant pocket vlogging compact.

Action cameras — durable and tiny

For anything active, a GoPro Hero or DJI Osmo Action gives you rugged, stabilised footage in a pocket-sized body.

Option	Best for	Rough £
Your phone	Everything, if you already own it	£0
Logitech C920	Talking head, tutorials, streaming	£
Canon EOS R50 / R100	The “real camera” look, room to grow	£££
GoPro Hero	Action, travel, durability	££

Not sure whether to buy a camera at all yet? Read phone vs camera — when to upgrade and how to choose a camera first.

Budget Microphones

This is where your money works hardest. A cheap mic used well beats an expensive camera used badly.

USB microphones — plug in and talk

For desk-based content, a USB mic is the simplest upgrade. The Blue Snowball iCE is the classic budget starter, the FIFINE K669 is astonishing value, and the Maono PD100 steps you up toward broadcast sound.

Shotgun & on-camera mics

Filming away from a desk? An on-camera shotgun keeps your audio tight. The Rode VideoMic GO II is the budget favourite, and the tiny Boya BY-MM1 punches way above its price (I reviewed it — it’s a steal).

Lavalier (clip-on) mics — the cheap secret weapon

For talking to camera on a phone, a clip-on lav is the best few pounds you’ll spend. Look at the Rode smartLav+ or a budget Boya lavalier.

▶️ My Rode VideoMic GO review — is it worth the money?

For getting the most from a cheap mic, see how to record clean audio and better audio without a treated studio.

Budget Lighting

The best-value upgrade there is. Good light flatters any camera — even a phone.

Ring light — the cheap classic for talking-head and beauty content. A Neewer ring light costs very little and instantly cleans up your image.
LED panel — more flexible and softer. The Neewer 660 LED panel is a creator staple; two of them give you proper control.
Softbox kit — the softest, most flattering light for the money. A Neewer softbox kit is brilliant value.
Natural light — free. Face a big window and you have soft, flattering light at no cost.

Go deeper in the best LED panel lights roundup.

Just Use Your Phone

Really — the best budget camera is the one already in your pocket. A modern smartphone shoots crisp 4K, and paired with a clip-on mic and a window for light, it beats a cheap dedicated camera every time. Add a small tripod or phone mount and you’re filming professionally for almost nothing. Here’s how to get the most out of it:

▶️ Getting cinematic 4K out of the phone you already own

Budget Accessories That Matter

The small stuff that makes everything else work:

Tripod / phone mount — stability is free-looking professionalism. A Neewer tripod or a phone clamp does the job cheaply. For dedicated cameras, see the best tripods.
SD card — don’t cheap out here; a reliable SanDisk Extreme card saves you from corrupted footage.
Mic boom arm — for USB mics, a boom arm tidies your desk and improves mic placement. More in the best boom arms guide.
Backdrop — a cheap collapsible backdrop or a tidy shelf instantly lifts your set.

Not sure what to buy for YOUR channel?

On a free discovery call I’ll recommend the exact budget kit for your niche, goals and budget — no upsell.

Book Your Free Discovery Call →

Ready-Made Budget Kits: £100 / £250 / £500

Don’t want to piece it together yourself? Here are three complete setups at three price points.

Kit	What’s in it	Best for
~£100 Starter	Your phone + clip-on lav mic + ring light + phone tripod	Absolute beginners, zero-risk start
~£250 Solid	Logitech C920 + Blue Snowball + two Neewer LED panels + tripod	Talking-head, tutorials, streaming
~£500 Pro-look	Canon EOS R50 + Rode VideoMic GO II + softbox kit + solid tripod + SD card	Creators serious about growing

Want the next tier up? See the starter kit under £1,000 and the full Creator Equipment Guide.

What NOT to Waste Money On

Budget discipline is as much about what you don’t buy:

An expensive camera before a mic and light. The classic budget-killer.
Cheap no-brand “bundle” deals that bury a bad camera in useless accessories.
Pro audio interfaces you don’t need yet — a USB mic is fine to start.
Gimmicks and gadgets before you’ve posted consistently for months.
The newest model when last year’s is half the price and 95% as good.

See the full list of pitfalls in 10 creator equipment mistakes to avoid.

Budget YouTube Equipment: FAQ

What equipment do I need to start YouTube on a budget?

You need four things: a camera (your phone counts), a microphone, a light, and something to hold it all steady. On a tight budget, prioritise audio and lighting over the camera — a clean mic and a soft light do more for perceived quality than an expensive camera. You can start well under £250, or with £0 using the phone you already own.

What is the cheapest way to start a YouTube channel?

Use the smartphone you already have, film near a big window for free soft lighting, and record your voice with a cheap clip-on lavalier mic. That combination costs almost nothing and beats a cheap camera used badly. Add a basic tripod or phone mount for stability and you have a complete free-to-cheap setup.

Should I spend money on a camera or a microphone first?

Microphone first. Viewers will forgive average video, but they click away from bad audio almost instantly. A good budget microphone improves retention more than a camera upgrade, so on a budget your money is better spent on sound and light before you touch the camera.

Is a webcam good enough for YouTube?

For talking-head videos, tutorials and streaming, a good webcam like the Logitech C920 is absolutely good enough to start, especially with proper lighting. It won’t match a mirrorless camera’s depth of field, but paired with a decent mic and a soft light it produces clean, professional-looking results on a small budget.

Do I need lighting for budget YouTube videos?

Yes, and it’s the best value upgrade you can make. Good lighting transforms perceived quality more than any camera. The cheapest option is free — film facing a large window. Beyond that, an inexpensive ring light or a Neewer LED panel dramatically lifts your image for very little money.

How much does a basic YouTube setup cost in 2026?

You can build a genuine starter setup for around £100, a solid one for about £250, and a setup that looks properly professional for roughly £500. The exact figure depends on whether you use your phone or buy a dedicated camera, but you do not need to spend thousands to make great-looking videos.

Conclusion

Budget is not the barrier people think it is. Spend in the right order — microphone and lighting before the camera — lean on the phone you already own, and you can produce content that looks and sounds far more expensive than it was. Start with the ~£100 kit, upgrade one piece at a time as your channel grows, and put your energy into making videos rather than buying gear. The best camera is the one you actually use, and the best setup is the one you can afford to start with today.

📚 Keep reading — gear guides:

Start now, upgrade later.

A free discovery call gets you a two-decade head start on building a channel that grows — whatever your budget.

Book Your Free Discovery Call →

A note on this guide: product links are Amazon search links (rel=”sponsored”) and I may earn a small commission on purchases at no cost to you. Recommendations reflect good-value budget options at the time of writing (July 2026); models, prices and availability change over time, so always check current specs and reviews before buying.

Tags budget youtube, budget youtube equipment, cheap youtube equipment, youtube, YouTube Equipment, youtube for beginners, youtube on a budget

DEEP DIVE ARTICLE HOW TO GET MORE VIEWS ON YOUTUBE YOUTUBE

8 Tips to Grow Your YouTube Channel From Zero

Post author By Alan Spicer - YouTube Certified Expert
Post date 12 July 2020
1 Comment on 8 Tips to Grow Your YouTube Channel From Zero

8 Tips to Grow Your YouTube Channel From Scratch or Zero 13

Growing a YouTube channel from scratch can be challenging and frustrating.

All that time, planning, recording, and editing content, and when you finally upload it to your channel – tumbleweeds. You may as well have filmed paint drying for all the good it’s done you!

Fear not. There are techniques and tips for growing your channel from zero. Methods you can use to pull in viewers, get more subscribers, and turn those tumbleweeds into roses.

This article gives you eight handy tips you can apply today to grow your YouTube channel, even if you’re starting out from zero.

Let’s get going.

Tip 1 – Make A Start!

To grow a successful YouTube channel from zero means you have to shoot, edit, and upload engaging, entertaining videos regularly.

Thinking about your channel is not the path to success, you need to sit in front of the camera, hit record, and start talking.

You won’t know if you are on the right track for your channel until you’ve uploaded several videos to YouTube, monitored feedback, and made optimised changes to your content.

And don’t worry if you are not that polished at the start. If you take a look at the earliest videos of now successful channels, you’ll see how rough and they were when they first began.

Uploading videos regularly is an absolutely critical step. The crucial factor of feedback comes in several forms; likes and dislikes, comments, and some vital analytics found in your YouTube account.

When you find out what works, you can use the information to make better videos.

But when you start out, resist the temptation to go on a filming frenzy pumping out one video after another. Think about the fable of the tortoise and the hare.

Long term consistency wins over unsustainable short term intensity every time. Slow and steady progress is much better.

Tip 2 – Focus Your Channel on a Single Niche

YouTube channels that jump from topic to topic often confuse people. Viewers are used to channels being about one subject only. So make sure that you make videos that focus around one niche and compliment other content in your channel.

For example, If you like both football and scary videos create a separate channel for each. But if your channel is about beauty, then it’s OK to have videos for nail polish, hair, or skin cleansing, as they all fit under the beauty umbrella.

One of the significant benefits of making your channel about a single niche is the possibility of building viewer feedback loops. That may sound complicated but actually refers to how YouTube works to keep viewers hooked on the site and watching more videos.

As a user watches content, YouTube shows a list of recommended videos (even autoplay them) to keep viewers hooked. YouTube wants to keep people on the site and is good at guessing what a viewer wants to watch next.

If your channel is all about a single niche, then you can take advantage of this.

When a viewer is watching one of my videos, YouTube determines that the user will probably want to see more videos about YouTube education. So other videos from my channel are displayed for them to watch next.

Tip 3 – Model What Is Already Working

Learn the rules of what makes a video successful and stick to them. Over time, through trial and error, Youtubers have learned how to best combine content, editing and presenting styles into winning videos. Model your self on a popular channel and don’t get experimental – understand the rules before you break them.

Emulating a successful channel does not mean copying one though. This famous quote illustrates the point nicely.

Find 10 popular channels currently uploading in your chosen niche. Next, look at the 10 most popular videos for each of those channels and start writing down a list of content ideas. Just because the concepts have already been covered doesn’t mean you can’t take the same idea then do a better job.

Think about how those channels present their content. Is most of the presenting face on, or maybe they have footage of their hands from overhead? Perhaps they have lots of computer screen recordings?

Take the best bits of the successful channels, mix them together, then put your own spin on it.

And you must try to make evergreen content. Evergreen content is videos that will be relevant for a long time in the future. Your aim should be to build up an extensive back catalogue of content that viewers find useful and compelling, even when they discover your channel a year from now.

If you made a gossip style video about the latest spat between your two favourite singers, you might get a short-term spike in traffic. Still, no-one will care in a year when everyone’s moved on.

Most YouTube videos fall into one of two categories – education and entertainment. If you can manage to do both, even better.

Tip 4 – Work Out How to Keep People Watching for Longer

YouTube makes money when viewers watch adverts. So YouTube strives to keep audiences watching content for as long a possible. It follows then that a significant factor for YouTube in deciding how to rank and recommend videos is by a metric called watch time.

Most people won’t watch a video on YouTube all the way through. There are too many distractions nowadays, and attention spans are at an all-time low. So YouTube wants viewers to watch videos that are proven to hold their attention.

As a result, they serve up search results and video recommendations from channels with proven good watch times.

There are steps you can take to keep your viewers tuned into your content, and you’ll probably recognise a lot of them from your YouTube browsing. Everyone uses them because they work and play a big part in keeping viewers engaged.

Keep Intros short and sweet. Try to keep your intro screen and any welcome message under 20 seconds.

Signpost content in longer videos. If your content is over 10 minutes, think about telling people what’s coming up in the next segment to keep them hooked in.

Tease the most compelling part of your video. Place the highlight of your video towards the end, but let the viewer know what’s coming and why they must watch the whole video first.

If you can get 50 percent of your viewers to watch over 50 percent of your videos on average, then you will be doing well, and your channel could be on its way to success.

Tip 5 – Create Clickable Titles and Thumbnails

Your channel can only start to grow if people watch your videos. Yet, people will only watch your video if you have a snappy title and a compelling thumbnail for it. Let’s take a more in-depth look at both.

Titles

Your titles need to present a promise to the viewer, usually in one of the three following categories:

Intrigue – Don’t give the game away with your title, use phrases like ‘why was this’ and ‘might surprise you’ to build a compelling reason to click on your video.

FOMO – Fear of missing out. This usually works best with new information. This type of title plays on the human desire not to be out of the loop. Or even better, know something that no-one else knows.

Best Top Worst! – Another peculiar human trait is our need to rank things. Everyone does it. From Tennis players to chocolate cookies, we all have an opinion or would like to find out what is best, top, or worst.

Don’t use a title like ‘My favourite digital cameras’ – ‘The top 10 DSLRs ranked definitively and which one you should buy?’ will outperform it every time.

Thumbnails

Thumbnails need to be amazing too. It’s the shop window for your video. You’ll usually want to include a picture of yourself on the thumbnail, especially if you are going to be presenting on camera.

Add in text too – some people are more visual and won’t read your title. A short four or five-word headline that summarises the video helps people narrow down what to watch next. Avoid using fonts with fancy styles and keep your text clean and clear, so it’s easy to read.

Make sure you keep all the elements of your thumbnail big. Don’t forget that people also watch YouTube on mobile, so your thumbnail will still need to work on smaller smartphone screens.

If you need help in leveling up your thumbnails I have check you my YouTube Thumbnail Pack – 75+ easy edit YouTube Thumbnail designs to help you make eye catching, professional looking thumbnails – improve click through rates and get more views.

Tip 6 – Optimise Your Content Based on Analytics

70% of all the videos watched on YouTube are those recommended by the YouTube algorithm. YouTube understands what engages viewers and knows what videos to recommend next to keep them on the platform.

One of the significant factors for getting your videos recommended is how long the average viewer watches your content. Known as Watch Time, it’s an important metric that you should understand and keep a close eye on.

To improve average watch time, use audience retention analysis. This metric shows second-by-second when your audience stops watching your video. In the screen-grab below you can see the audience starts at 100% then quickly drops off to just around 55%.

This means that the video in question may have had a lengthy introduction that viewers found annoying, or the content didn’t live up to the promise of the title. So some users navigated away to find another video.

There are lots of ways you can use analytics to improve and grow your channel. Read this post to find out more about using analytics for channel growth.

Tip 7 – Build Traffic Funnels

When you start getting traffic to your channel, there are several ways to hold on to that traffic and funnel it to your other videos. It’s better than letting to go to other channels, right?

Create a series.

If you have a content idea that is relatively broad, think about creating a series of videos for the topic, like in the example below for a Microsoft Teams software tutorial.

As long as you don’t give away the lion’s share of the information in the first video, viewers are more likely to watch the next in the series. Set up teasers about what’s in the following video in the series to help funnel the traffic over.

Make sure that the content in a series of videos works on a standalone basis as well. Briefly recap the lessons from previous videos before you begin the content of the next in the series, so viewers know the context.

Create Playlists

If you don’t have content that works as a series but has a similar theme, consider building a channel playlist. 5-Minute Crafts’s channel has thematic playlists containing hundreds of videos with hours of watch time in each.

When a view hits play all, Youtube shows one video after another on the playlist – ensuring good watch time (and ad revenue).

Use Cards

Cards are the term given to grey boxes you can set to display in the corner of your video.

You can use cards to link to other channels, websites, or polls. But, perhaps the best use for them is to link to your other video content.

If you found a place in one of your videos that your audience retention analytics showed some viewers dropping out. Set up a card just before this point to funnel the traffic to other complementary content on your channel.

Find out more about adding cards in YouTube Studio.

Use End screens

When a viewer gets to the end of your video, use an end screen to promote another video. It’s best if you only suggest one video. Having a single call-to-action is better than adding multiple links to lots of your videos and hoping the viewer clicks one.

This tip works even better if you plan ahead. Trail the video you will link to in the end screen of the video you’ll place it on.

Find out how to add and end screen.

Tip 8 – Don’t Give Up!

It takes time and dedication to build up a successful YouTube channel. And when you get started, it can seem like you are trying really hard for little reward. YouTube is peppered with channels where the creator burned out and stopped after only uploading six or seven videos.

There is a concept for entrepreneurs that is illustrated by the ‘S’ curve. When a new venture begins, frustration builds as little happens. And it’s not uncommon to think that you’ve wasted your time and everything is destined to fail.

But there comes the point, known as the inflection point, where things start clicking into place. Suddenly the venture rockets away, and it becomes successful.

8 Tips to Grow Your YouTube Channel From Scratch or Zero 12 — Image Source: innospective.net

Most people quit before the inflection point, which is why it pays to stick with your plan and keep on working hard. Commit yourself to upload at least a video per week for six months.

Monitor feedback from the comments and analytics and use it to improve and make better videos. Don’t give up!

Conclusion

Growing a successful YouTube channel isn’t easy – but it’s not impossible either. Those that are successful know that achieving success takes time. It requires careful planning, listening to feedback, and interpreting channel analytics.

There are tried and tested techniques you can use to attract and keep viewers watching your videos.

Experiment using the tips above in your videos, and see what difference it can make to your channel. There are tens of thousands of people making a living from YouTube. Will you become one of them?

Tags Grow a YouTube Channel, grow a youtube channel from scratch, how to grow a youtube channel from scratch, how to grow on youtube, how to grow youtube channel, how to grow youtube channel from zero, youtube, youtube channel grow

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

YouTube Analytics Explained And How to Use Them for Channel Growth

Post author By Alan Spicer - YouTube Certified Expert
Post date 10 July 2020
1 Comment on YouTube Analytics Explained And How to Use Them for Channel Growth

There are over five billion videos on YouTube. So, if you’ve been creating videos with clickbait titles in the hope of going viral, you may as well buy a lottery ticket – it’s no plan for channel growth.

Growing a YouTube channel is a long-term venture. Best achieved by regularly uploading quality videos that give your audience more of what they are looking for.

When you are trying to grow, it’s natural to want to compare yourself to other channels, but resist the temptation! YouTube channels exist in viewer bubbles – it’s your unique combination of content, presentation and production values that keeps your viewers watching.

But you don’t nail it every time. So how do you figure out what it is your audience likes most about your channel? Sure you can keep an eye on your likes, dislikes, and comments, but these don’t give you the full picture.

Fortunately, YouTube provides you with a sharper view, with lots of in-depth analytics about your channel.

This post looks at how you can use your analytics to better understand your audience and how you then use that knowledge to grow your channel. First, though, it’s crucial to know how YouTube ranks videos and why clickbait doesn’t work.

How YouTube Ranks Videos

Before 2012, YouTube ranked videos based solely on view count. It didn’t matter if a viewer watched one second or five minutes, both counted as a view.

This led to an increase in YouTubers using clickbait titles to try and game the system. YouTube had to do something – video content frequently wasn’t delivering on the promise of the title.

So after 2012, Youtube added in watch time and session duration to its ranking algorithm, resulting in an improvement of content quality. Today, YouTube also puts ranking weight on how engaged viewers are with content. Relying on things like watch time, likes and dislikes, and subscribes, amongst other factors.

YouTube wants to keep users on the platform, consuming content and viewing paid advertisements.

And did you know that 70% of all videos viewed on YouTube are those suggested by the YouTube ranking algorithm? If you want to grow your channel and appear more in the YouTube recommended video lists, then you need to find out what parts of your content users like most, and plan more of it.

But, before you use your analytics to make content decisions, make sure you have uploaded a minimum of 20-30 videos. Data on only five or six videos will not be helpful enough to draw conclusions from. So if you have only uploaded a few videos so far, first work on recording and uploading more videos.

Where to Find YouTube Analytics

To access your analytics, first, log in to your YouTube account. Next in the top right of the screen, click on the small circle showing your profile picture or first initial. Then, from the drop-down menu, select ‘YouTube Studio’.

When the channel dashboard loads, on the left-hand menu, select ‘Analytics’.

The main Analytics screen then loads.

How to Use YouTube Video Views Analytics.

You may think you know what your audience wants. But, until you see how viewers actually interact with your channel, you can’t be totally sure. To start the process on the main analytics screen, make sure you have the ‘Views’ tab selected and click ‘see more’.

This loads up a more detailed list of your videos and some headline analytics. First, make sure that you have all the ‘lifetime’ data of your channel showing by selecting the data function in the top right corner of the screen.

Then from the drop-down list, select the ‘Lifetime’ option, which will show all the analytics data from the time your channel started.

Next sort your videos in descending order of views so that your most-watched videos are at the top.

Use this list to gauge what your audience likes about your channel. Figure out why your popular videos are doing better than ones that fell flat. See if there’s a pattern. Are your most popular videos a hot topic? Maybe useful tutorials or when you live streams.

Whatever the reason, the content of those videos is the kind that your channel viewers find most compelling. Look for these trends then aim to make more videos like them.

For example, I made a video about how to make a playlist on YouTube which was well received. When my analytics showed me how popular it was, I created another one, this time showing three ways to make a playlist.

YouTube Impressions and Click-Through Rates Explained.

In the same analytics section as Video Views, further along there are two other columns titled ‘impressions’ and ‘impressions click-through rates’.

These data in those columns indicate:

Impressions. The number of times a video thumbnail has been seen, either from a search or by YouTube suggestion.

Impressions click-through rate. The percentage of times a viewer saw your thumbnail and clicked on it to watch your video.

Now, say that your click-through rate is 2%, if you can get that up to 4% then you will double your video viewers. So the impressions and impressions click-throughs measure how good your thumbnail and titles are.

Re-order your click-through rate column, again by descending order, and take a look at your best performing titles and thumbnails. What makes the top ones stand out from other titles and thumbnails? Perhaps a thumbnail was well composed, or it could be the title was snappy.

Use this feedback to improve your existing thumbnails and titles, then use what you’ve learned when you create them for your new content too.

If you need help getting started with Thumbnails, why not check out my Thumbnail Pack where I give you 75+ easy to edit psd template files to help you level up your thumbnail game and get more views!

Use Your YouTube Subscribers Analytics to Plan Content

Now let’s take a look at subscriber analytics and how you can use them to grow your channel. In the same ‘see more’ section you used for the video view count locate the column headed ‘Subscribers’.

Make sure the time period is showing the lifetime data again and order the data in descending order.

Follow the same process as before and examine the top videos to see what the common factors were. Did they have a certain length, content topic, or presenting style? Maybe you made a request or showed an extended caption asking viewers to subscribe in a different way to your other videos.

Whatever the factor, plan new content that replicates it. Whether it’s similar, updated, or complimentary, the analytics are telling you that certain content you make turns a section of your viewers into subscribers. Do it again.

If you make a successful video about knitting a jumper, make one for knitting a hoodie. If you made one showing how to find a weapon in a game, make one for how to use it.

YouTube Watch Time – The Most Important Metric?

Of course, views and subscribers are essential to understand. But an arguably more important metric for YouTube is watch time. Watch time is an estimation of total hours spent by viewers watching your videos.

On the main analytics screen, select the tab showing ‘Watch time (hours) then select ‘see more’ at the bottom.

As I mentioned earlier, YouTube ranks videos, in part, by how long viewers watch videos. Why do they do this? Because it demonstrates how engaging and useful your videos are to your viewers.

It makes sense when you understand that YouTube’s entire business model is to keep people viewing content and adverts on their platform. It follows then, that channels which get good overall watch time are more likely to show up for searches, or in a selection of videos that YouTube recommends.

So, if you are getting click-throughs and good view counts, but people aren’t watching many hours of your videos then (there is no way to sugar coat this) you need to make better videos.

Fortunately, YouTube offers data you can use to see precisely when viewers stopped watching your video; audience retention.

YouTube Audience Retention Metric Explained

The audience retention metric is shown as a percentage figure. If you upload a ten-minute video and your audience, on average, watches five minutes, then you’ll have an audience retention measure of 50%.

Select one of your videos to view the analytics screen shown below, then click ‘see more’ in the audience retention section.

As you can see, in the graph below, audience retention starts at 100% and over time gradually drops off as viewers stop watching the video. In the example below the overall retention rate is 30.4%

You can play your video and watch as it tracks along the graph so you can see what you were doing at the time when viewers stopped watching.

Did you lose a lot of viewers when your content got a bit dry or technical? Maybe you had a section you felt was amusing but turned your viewers off?

This is a powerful tool. It gives you feedback on what works and doesn’t work. You can use it to help you plan future content and give your audience more of what they want.

Also, did you notice the bump in the graph?

How can audience retention go up if viewers have gone away? This bump tells you that viewers are coming back to rewatch a portion of your video. Whatever you were doing at that part of the video is clearly of value to your audience, so it’s a good idea to do more similar content.

Conclusion

Getting to grips with your analytics shouldn’t be as scary as it sounds. Once you understand what they represent and how you can use them to understand your viewers, you’ll probably find yourself hooked on them.

And we’ve only scratched the surface here. There are lots of other metrics in your analytics that help you make better videos. There are also analytics for things like audience demographics and YouTube features like cards.

Explore the entire analytics section to see what other metrics you can use to fuel YouTube channel growth.

If you need more help to stand out, optimise and brand your videos better – check out my resources page where I list everything I use to grow my channel.

Tags analytics, how to use youtube analytics, How to Use YouTube Analytics for Channel Growth, youtube, youtube analytics, youtube analytics explained

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

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 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
2 Comments on Do YouTubers get paid if you skip ads?

Short answer: generally, no — YouTubers don’t get paid when you skip an ad. But like most things with YouTube money, the full picture has a catch worth understanding. For skippable ads, a creator only earns if you watch a certain amount (or click). Skip before that point and the advertiser pays nothing, so the creator earns nothing from that view. Here’s exactly how it works in 2026 — which ads pay, which don’t, and the simple thing you can do to support a creator for free.

The rule in one line: on a skippable ad, the creator gets paid only if you watch at least 30 seconds (or the whole ad if it’s shorter) — or you click it. Skip before then and nobody gets paid for that ad.

Non-skippable and bumper ads can’t be skipped at all, so those always pay. The nuance is entirely about the skippable ones.

Why trust this? I’m Alan Spicer — a YouTube Certified Expert with two decades in content and six Silver Play Buttons. I’ve lived on the creator side of ad revenue for years, so this is how it actually pays out, not guesswork.

Trying to earn more from your own channel? Book a free discovery call.

📌 Jump to a section:

The short answer
The 30-second rule
Ad formats & which pay
When a skipped ad still pays
Does skipping hurt creators?
How creators protect income
How to support creators free
FAQ

⚡ QUICK ANSWER: Do YouTubers get paid if you skip ads?
No — not for a skippable ad you skip early. The advertiser is only charged, and the creator only earns, if you watch at least 30 seconds (or the full ad if it’s shorter) or click it. Skip before that and that ad earns the creator nothing. The exceptions are non-skippable and bumper ads, which you can’t skip and which always pay.

The Short Answer

We all have a love/hate relationship with ads — we know they fund the free content we enjoy, and we still reach for “Skip” the second it appears. So it’s a fair question: when you skip, does the creator lose out?

Generally, yes, they earn nothing from that ad — but only for skippable ads skipped early. YouTube can’t charge an advertiser for an ad the viewer bailed on in the first few seconds, so there’s no revenue to share. The important nuance is that “skipping” only applies to one ad type. Plenty of the ads you see can’t be skipped at all — and those pay the creator regardless.

The 30-Second Rule (How Skippable Ads Actually Pay)

Here’s the mechanic that governs the whole question. A skippable in-stream ad shows a “Skip” button after five seconds. For that ad to count as a paid view, one of two things has to happen:

The viewer watches at least 30 seconds — or the entire ad if it’s shorter than 30 seconds; or
The viewer clicks or engages with the ad.

Hit either threshold and the advertiser is charged, and a share flows to the creator. Skip before it, and the advertiser pays nothing — so there’s nothing for the creator to earn. That’s the entire reason the answer to this question is “generally no”: most people skip well before the 30-second mark. It’s also why creator CPM and RPM depend so heavily on how many viewers don’t skip.

YouTube Ad Formats in 2026 (and Which Pay if You Skip)

Not all ads behave the same way. Only one format can actually be skipped before it pays — the rest either can’t be skipped or aren’t skipped in the same sense. Here’s the lay of the land.

Ad format	Can you skip it?	Does the creator get paid if skipped?
Skippable in-stream	Yes, after 5 seconds	No — only if watched 30s+ or clicked
Non-skippable in-stream	No (up to ~15–20s)	Yes — always pays (per impression)
Bumper ads	No (6 seconds)	Yes — always pays (per impression)
In-feed / discovery video	N/A (you choose to click)	Pays on click / engagement

🔍 Worth knowing: YouTube retired the old overlay banner ads a while back, and it has steadily added more in-stream ad slots (including ad pods — two ads back to back) on longer videos. The trend is toward more guaranteed-pay formats, which quietly reduces how much any single skip matters. A creator can influence which formats run via their ad settings.

When a “Skipped” Ad Still Pays the Creator

Skipping isn’t always the revenue killer people assume. A creator still gets paid when:

You watch 30 seconds first. Let it run to the threshold before skipping and it counts as a paid view.
You click or engage. A click usually pays more than a view, and the creator shares in it.
The ad can’t be skipped. Non-skippable and bumper ads pay on impression — hitting “Skip” isn’t even an option.
The ad is shorter than 30 seconds and you watch it out. For short ads, full completion is the threshold.

So the honest version of the answer is: skipping a skippable ad early earns the creator nothing — but a large share of the ads you see either can’t be skipped or get watched past the threshold by enough people to keep the revenue flowing.

Does Skipping Ads Actually Hurt Creators?

It depends entirely on the size of the channel. For a large creator pulling millions of views, individual skips are a rounding error — enough people watch, click, or get served non-skippable formats, and the big channels lean heavily on other income streams anyway. They really won’t feel your skip.

For a small or growing channel, it matters more. With fewer views, a higher proportion of engaged ad views makes a real difference to monthly earnings. This is the same reason ad blockers hit smaller creators harder — every paid impression counts when you don’t have millions of them. If you want to support a small creator you love, watching their ads for 30 seconds is a free, direct way to do it.

Relying on ad revenue that viewers keep skipping?

On a free discovery call we’ll map the income streams that don’t depend on the Skip button.

Book Your Free Discovery Call →

How Smart Creators Protect Their Income

The creators who sleep well at night don’t depend on ad revenue at all — they treat it as one stream among many. If skipped ads worry you as a creator, that’s your signal to diversify:

Sponsorships — brands pay you directly, no ad views required.
Affiliate marketing — commissions on products you recommend.
Channel memberships & Super Chat — recurring and live income from your community.
Merch, products and services — your own offers, your own margins.

The full playbook is in my guide to 9 revenue streams beyond AdSense, and if ads are a big part of your mix, focus on lifting your RPM and choosing higher-CPM topics. A tool like vidIQ helps you find and package those topics faster. It all ladders up to the bigger question: what percentage of YouTubers actually make money?

How to Support Your Favourite Creators (For Free)

If you’ve read this far, you probably care about the creators you watch. The good news is that supporting them costs you nothing but a little patience:

Let ads run 30 seconds before skipping — that’s the line that turns a skip into a paid view.
Click an ad that actually interests you; it usually pays the creator more than a view.
Don’t use an ad blocker on channels you want to support.
Engage — watch time, likes and comments all help the video earn its place, which earns the creator more.

None of it costs a penny, and for a smaller creator it really adds up.

Skipping Ads & Creator Pay: FAQ

Do YouTubers get paid if you skip ads?

Generally no. For a skippable ad, the advertiser is only charged — and the creator only earns — if the viewer watches at least 30 seconds (or the whole ad if it’s shorter than 30 seconds) or clicks or engages with it. If you hit ‘Skip’ before that point, the advertiser pays nothing and the creator earns nothing from that ad. Non-skippable and bumper ads, which you can’t skip, always pay.

How long do you have to watch a YouTube ad for the creator to get paid?

For skippable in-stream ads, the threshold is 30 seconds — or the full ad if it runs shorter than 30 seconds. Watch to that point, or click the ad, and it counts as a paid view that the creator earns from. Skip before it, and neither YouTube nor the creator is paid for that impression.

Does skipping ads hurt YouTubers?

For that specific ad, yes — a skipped skippable ad earns the creator nothing. Across a big channel it barely registers, because plenty of other viewers watch, click, or see non-skippable formats, and big creators also earn from sponsorships, memberships and affiliates. For small channels every engaged view matters more, so watching ads for 30 seconds really helps.

Which YouTube ads pay even if you try to skip them?

Non-skippable in-stream ads (up to around 15–20 seconds) and bumper ads (6 seconds) can’t be skipped at all, so they always pay the creator on an impression basis. Only skippable in-stream ads can be skipped before the pay threshold, and those are the ones where skipping means no earnings.

Do creators earn more if you click an ad?

Usually yes. A click is a higher level of engagement than a view, so advertisers typically pay more for it, and the creator earns a share of that. Clicking a relevant ad — or simply watching it past 30 seconds — is one of the most direct ways to support a creator at no cost to you.

How do YouTubers protect their income if people skip ads?

By not relying on ads alone. Smart creators diversify into sponsorships, affiliate marketing, channel memberships, Super Chat, merchandise and their own products or services. Ad revenue becomes one stream among several, so skipped ads have far less impact on their overall income.

Final Thoughts

So — do YouTubers get paid if you skip ads? For a skippable ad you skip early, no: no advertiser charge means no creator earnings from that view. But that’s only part of the story. A lot of ads can’t be skipped at all, plenty of viewers watch past the 30-second line or click, and any creator worth their salt has income streams that don’t live or die by the Skip button. If you’re a viewer who wants to help, letting ads run 30 seconds is a free gift to your favourite creators. And if you’re a creator, the lesson is the same one it always is: don’t build your business on a single stream you don’t control.

📚 Keep reading — YouTube money, explained:

Build income that doesn’t depend on the Skip button.

A free discovery call gets you a two-decade head start on diversifying your YouTube income — ads, sponsorships, memberships and beyond.

Book Your Free Discovery Call →

A note on this guide: ad-payment mechanics (the 30-second skippable threshold, non-skippable and bumper formats) reflect YouTube’s advertising rules current at the time of writing (July 2026). YouTube adjusts ad formats and rules periodically, so treat specifics as current-best rather than permanent. Some links on this page are affiliate links (marked rel=”sponsored”); they never change the price you pay and help fund the free content on this site.

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

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.

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

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?

Do you get paid for YouTube? Yes — but not just for uploading.

You get paid once you monetise: join the YouTube Partner Programme, then earn through ads and a whole stack of other features. This is the complete 2026 guide — the exact requirements, all ten ways to get paid, real earnings examples, and how YouTube’s pay stacks up against TikTok, Facebook, Instagram and X.

Why trust this? I’m Alan Spicer — a YouTube Certified Expert with two decades on the platform, six Silver Play Buttons and 500+ creators coached. I’ve taken channels from zero to monetised and beyond, so this is the real map, not the hype.

Want a personal plan to get monetised faster? Book a free discovery call.

🔑 Key takeaways

YouTube pays you only once you monetise — uploading alone earns nothing.
Two entry points: 500 subscribers for fan funding, 1,000 subscribers + 4,000 watch hours for full ad revenue.
Creators keep 55% of long-form ad revenue, paid via AdSense at a $100 threshold.
There are 10 ways to get paid — and ads are usually the smallest.
Long-form YouTube pays far more per view than TikTok, Facebook, Instagram or X.
The creators who earn a living diversify and treat the channel as a business.

📌 The full guide — jump to any part:

The honest answer
How payment works
Partner Programme rules
10 ways to get paid
How much you earn (examples)
YouTube vs TikTok, FB, IG & X
When you’ll start earning
How to get paid faster
Getting paid & tax (UK)
Realistic expectations
Why applications get rejected
People also ask
FAQ

⚡ QUICK ANSWER: Do you get paid for YouTube?
Yes — but only once you monetise. YouTube doesn’t pay you for uploading; you have to join the YouTube Partner Programme, which you can enter for fan-funding features at 500 subscribers and for full ad revenue at 1,000 subscribers + 4,000 watch hours (or 10M Shorts views). Creators keep 55% of ad revenue, get paid through AdSense, and receive a payout each month once they pass the $100 threshold. Ads are just the start — the real money is in stacking several income streams.

Do You Get Paid for YouTube? The Honest Answer

YouTube is the kingpin of online video — billions of logged-in monthly users, most of them watching on mobile — so it’s no wonder everyone wants a slice. But here’s the truth a lot of beginners miss: you don’t get paid simply for having a channel or uploading videos. Payment only begins when you monetise, and monetising means qualifying for and joining the YouTube Partner Programme (YPP).

The good news? Anyone can do it. It doesn’t matter whether you’re a gamer, a fitness creator, a faceless channel, or even under 18 — if your content is original, follows the rules, and hits the thresholds, you can get paid. The rest of this guide shows you exactly how, how much, and how it compares to every other platform.

How Getting Paid on YouTube Actually Works

Once you’re in the Partner Programme, the mechanics are straightforward:

You earn through the platform. Ads run on your videos, viewers send Super Chats, members pay monthly — YouTube tracks it all.
You keep the majority of ad revenue. On long-form videos, creators receive 55% of the ad revenue their videos generate; YouTube keeps 45%.
You’re paid through Google AdSense. You link an AdSense account when you join YPP, and your earnings flow into it.
AdSense pays you monthly — once your balance passes the $100 (or local equivalent) payment threshold, you get paid the following month.

That’s the pipeline: earn on YouTube → tracked in YouTube → paid via AdSense → into your bank once you clear $100. Two concepts underpin how much lands in that pipeline — CPM (what advertisers pay per 1,000 ad impressions) and RPM (what you actually keep per 1,000 views). Learn those two and the money side of YouTube stops being a mystery.

YouTube Partner Programme Requirements (2026)

There are now two tiers to the Partner Programme — and most beginners only know about the second one. The lower tier lets smaller channels start earning through fan funding before they qualify for full ad revenue.

Requirement	Fan-funding tier	Full ad-revenue tier
Subscribers	500	1,000
Public watch hours (12 months)	3,000	4,000
…OR Shorts views (90 days)	3 million	10 million
Recent public uploads	3 in last 90 days	—
Unlocks	Memberships, Super Chat, Super Thanks, Shopping	All of that plus ad revenue

🔍 Every path also requires: no active community-guideline strikes, 2-step verification enabled, a linked AdSense account, living in a country where YPP is available, and full compliance with YouTube’s monetisation policies. Watch hours count only from public long-form videos — Shorts views are tracked separately. For the full breakdown see the 2026 YouTube monetisation requirements and how the Partner Programme really pays.

The 10 Ways to Get Paid on YouTube

Ad revenue is what everyone thinks of — but it’s only the beginning. Here are all ten ways creators actually earn, and the ones that make the real difference sit further down this list. (For the deep dive, see 9 revenue streams beyond AdSense.)

1. Ad Revenue (AdSense)

The classic. Ads run before, during and around your videos, and you keep 55% of what they generate. It scales with views and depends heavily on your niche’s CPM and RPM — a finance channel can out-earn a gaming channel many times over per view. Note that skipped ads generally don’t pay unless watched to the threshold.

2. YouTube Premium Revenue

When a Premium subscriber watches your content ad-free, you still earn — a share of their subscription fee based on how much of your content they watch. It’s passive and adds up. More in do YouTubers get paid for Premium.

3. Channel Memberships

Viewers pay a monthly fee for perks — badges, emoji, members-only content and community. It’s recurring, predictable income and one of the most underrated streams. See building recurring revenue with memberships.

4. Super Chat, Super Thanks & Super Stickers

Fans pay to highlight their messages during live streams (Super Chat/Stickers) or to tip on regular videos (Super Thanks). Brilliant for engaged, live-heavy channels — the tactics are in my Super Chat strategy guide.

5. YouTube Shopping & Merchandise

Sell your own products or a merch line directly from your channel via the Shopping features. Turns an audience into customers without leaving YouTube.

6. Shorts Monetisation

Shorts earn a share of ad revenue from a pooled, views-based system — and 10 million Shorts views in 90 days can even qualify you for full monetisation. See can YouTube Shorts be monetised.

7. Sponsorships & Brand Deals

Often the biggest earner of all. Brands pay you directly to feature their product — no ad thresholds required, and the rates dwarf ad revenue for many creators. You can land these under 10,000 subscribers; learn how to get brand deals and how to price them properly.

8. Affiliate Marketing

Recommend products you use, drop a tracked link in your description, and earn a commission on every sale. Low effort, scales with your audience, and works from day one — no monetisation required. Start with the YouTube affiliate marketing guide, and see how it stacks up in affiliate vs sponsorship.

9. Your Own Products & Services

Courses, coaching, digital downloads, consulting. This is where creators turn an audience into a real business, and the margins beat every platform payout. It’s exactly what a channel like this one is built around.

10. Fan Funding (Patreon & Beyond)

Off-platform memberships and tip jars like Patreon let your most dedicated fans support you directly, often with perks YouTube can’t offer. A great complement to on-platform income.

How Much Do YouTubers Actually Earn? (With Examples)

The honest answer: it varies wildly. Two channels with identical view counts can earn completely different amounts because of niche, audience location and income mix. A few anchors to set expectations:

Factor	Reality
Ad revenue split	Creators keep 55% of long-form ad revenue
Typical long-form RPM	Roughly $2–$10 per 1,000 views (niche-dependent)
Highest-paying niches	Finance, business, tech — often $15+ RPM
Biggest earners overall	Usually sponsorships & own products, not ads

Worked examples: what the same views earn

Because RPM swings so hard by niche, identical view counts produce very different cheques. Rough ad-revenue examples:

100,000 views, gaming niche (RPM ~$3) → roughly $300 in ad revenue.
100,000 views, finance niche (RPM ~$15) → roughly $1,500 — same views, 5× the money.
1,000,000 views, mid-range niche (RPM ~$6) → roughly $6,000 in ad revenue (see what 1M views really makes).
Add it up: a channel doing 200k views a month in a solid niche might make a few hundred in ads — but the same audience can add a sponsorship, affiliate income and a product to reach several thousand.

That’s why niche choice matters so much — see which niches pay the most per view and the full CPM examples breakdown. It’s also worth knowing how many views you need, how many subscribers, and the bigger reality of what percentage of YouTubers actually make money.

YouTube vs TikTok, Facebook, Instagram & X — Which Pays Creators Most?

This is the question every creator eventually asks: is YouTube actually the best place to get paid? For long-form video, YouTube wins comfortably — it pays far more per view and offers the deepest monetisation stack. Here’s how the native creator programmes compare in 2026:

Platform	Rough native pay	Entry requirements	Verdict
YouTube (long-form)	~$2–$10+ RPM, 55% ad share	1,000 subs + 4,000 hrs (or 500 for fan funding)	✅ Highest per view + deepest stack
TikTok (Creator Rewards)	~$0.40–$1.00 per 1,000 qualified views	10k followers + 100k views/30 days, 60s+ videos	⚠️ Low RPM; real money in Shop/deals
Facebook (Content Monetisation)	~$0.02–$0.15 Reels RPM; higher for long in-stream (~55% share)	5k followers + 600k mins viewed/60 days	⚠️ Modest per view; good for older audiences
Instagram	Mostly invite-only bonuses; no broad ad share	Varies (bonuses invite-only; badges/subs)	❌ Little direct pay; brand deals rule
X (Ad Revenue Sharing)	~$8–$12 per million verified impressions	X Premium + 500 verified followers + 5M impressions/3mo	❌ Pennies directly; audience → other channels

A few honest takeaways from those numbers:

YouTube long-form is in a different league per view — and it’s the only one of the five that reliably pays a living from platform revenue alone in the right niche.
Short-form pays little directly. TikTok’s Creator Rewards and Facebook/Instagram Reels are audience-building engines; the money comes from TikTok Shop, brand deals and driving people elsewhere. See can you get paid on TikTok.
X pays pennies for direct revenue sharing — a top-1% account might see tens of dollars a month. The value is the audience, not the payout.
On every platform, the real income is brand deals and your own products — but YouTube gives you the strongest base to build them on, plus you own your audience through search and suggested. For the multi-platform view, see how to make money on social media and blog vs YouTube earnings.

⚠️ Reality check: platform programmes change constantly — TikTok, Meta and X have all overhauled their creator payments in the last two years. Treat every figure here as a 2026 ballpark and confirm the current rules on each platform’s official pages before you build a strategy around them.

Want to get monetised faster — and earn more once you are?

On a free discovery call we’ll map the fastest route to the threshold and the income mix that fits your channel.

Book Your Free Discovery Call →

When Will You Start Earning?

There are three gates between you and your first payout:

Hit the thresholds. This is the slow part — building to 500 or 1,000 subscribers and your watch hours. It can take months or a year-plus depending on your niche and consistency (here’s how long it typically takes).
Apply and get reviewed. Once you qualify, apply in YouTube Studio’s Earn section. Review usually takes 2–4 weeks.
Clear the $100 payout threshold. You earn from approval, but AdSense only pays once your balance reaches $100 — then monthly thereafter.

So “when will I start earning?” has two answers: you start earning the moment you’re approved, but money reaches your bank only after you cross $100. For most new channels, the honest bottleneck is step one — getting to the threshold.

How to Get Paid Faster (and Earn More)

The creators who monetise quickly and earn well tend to do the same handful of things:

Pick a niche with intent. Higher-CPM topics and a clear audience earn more per view and attract sponsors.
Obsess over watch time and retention. It’s what gets you to 4,000 hours and what the algorithm rewards.
Diversify early. Add affiliate links and your own offers before you’re even monetised — neither needs YPP.
Be consistent. A reliable schedule compounds; sporadic uploads stall. Start by nailing your first 1,000 subscribers.
Use the right tools. Research and optimisation tools help you find winning topics and hit thresholds faster.

Tool	How it helps you get paid faster	Link
vidIQ	Find high-CPM topics, keywords and title/thumbnail ideas that grow watch time	Try vidIQ free
TubeBuddy	Optimise, test and manage your channel to reach the threshold sooner	Try TubeBuddy

And back it all with a real growth strategy. If you’re in the UK specifically, here’s making money on YouTube in the UK and how many views you need in the UK.

Getting Paid & Tax (UK)

One part beginners forget: YouTube income is taxable. The moment you’re earning, you’re running a small business in HMRC’s eyes. In the UK there’s a £1,000 trading allowance — earn under that in a tax year and you generally don’t need to declare it — but go over and you must register as self-employed and report your income through Self Assessment. Keep records of everything (income and expenses like gear, software and subscriptions) from day one. The full rules are in my HMRC side-hustle tax rules for 2026. Getting paid is the fun part; staying on the right side of the taxman keeps it fun.

Realistic Expectations

Time for some honesty. Most people who start a channel never make meaningful money from it — not because YouTube is rigged, but because they quit before the thresholds, pick a niche with no audience, or rely on ad revenue alone. The creators who do earn a living treat it as a business: they diversify across several of the ten streams above, they pick niches strategically, and they show up consistently for the long haul. YouTube can absolutely pay — even replace a salary — but it’s earned, not automatic. One modern shortcut worth knowing is using AI to make money on YouTube in 2026 to produce faster without cutting corners on quality. Set your expectations right and you’ll outlast the majority who give up.

Why Monetisation Applications Get Rejected

Hitting the numbers doesn’t guarantee approval. Your channel also has to pass a policy and originality review, and applications commonly get rejected for:

Reused or “inauthentic” content — YouTube has tightened its stance on mass-produced, low-effort or heavily-recycled content.
Not enough original value — compilations or reaction content with little added.
Active strikes — copyright or community-guideline strikes on the channel.
Not advertiser-friendly — content that breaks the monetisation policies.

If you’re rejected, you’ll get a general reason by email and can reapply after 30 days. Fix the underlying issue first — reapplying with the same problem just gets rejected again.

Getting Paid on YouTube: FAQ

Do you get paid for YouTube?

Yes, but not automatically. YouTube doesn’t pay you just for uploading — you have to monetise your channel by joining the YouTube Partner Programme and then earning through ads and other features. Once you’re monetised, YouTube pays you a share of ad revenue plus income from memberships, Super Chat, Shopping and more.

How many subscribers do you need to get paid on YouTube?

For fan-funding features you need 500 subscribers plus 3 recent uploads and 3,000 public watch hours (or 3 million Shorts views). For full ad revenue you need 1,000 subscribers plus 4,000 public watch hours in 12 months, or 10 million Shorts views in 90 days. All paths also require no strikes, 2-step verification and a linked AdSense account.

How much do YouTubers get paid?

It varies enormously by niche and audience. Creators keep 55% of ad revenue, and long-form RPM (earnings per 1,000 views) typically lands somewhere around $2–$10, though high-value niches like finance can be far higher. So 100,000 views might earn anywhere from roughly $200 to $1,500-plus in ad revenue alone, before sponsorships and other streams.

How does YouTube pay you?

Through Google AdSense. You link an AdSense account when you join the Partner Programme, and YouTube pays your earnings into it. AdSense then pays you monthly, once your balance passes the payment threshold — $100 or your local equivalent.

When will I start earning on YouTube?

You start earning once you’re accepted into the Partner Programme, which takes a review of usually 2–4 weeks after you apply. You then need your AdSense balance to reach $100 before your first payout, so the time to actual money in your account depends on how fast your channel earns.

Can you make a living from YouTube?

Some creators do, but most don’t live on YouTube alone. The ones who earn a full-time income almost always diversify — ad revenue plus sponsorships, memberships, affiliates and their own products or services. Treating the channel as a business with multiple income streams is what turns it into a living.

Do you get paid for YouTube Shorts?

Yes. Once you’re in the Partner Programme, Shorts earn a share of ad revenue from a pooled system based on views. Shorts are also a route into monetisation — 10 million Shorts views in 90 days can qualify you for full ad revenue in place of the 4,000 watch-hours requirement.

Does YouTube pay more than TikTok, Facebook, Instagram or X?

For long-form video, yes — by a wide margin. YouTube’s long-form RPM (roughly $2–$10 and up) dwarfs TikTok’s Creator Rewards (about $0.40–$1.00 per 1,000 qualified views), Facebook Reels (roughly $0.02–$0.15), Instagram (mostly invite-only bonuses, no broad ad share) and X (around $8–$12 per million verified impressions). YouTube also offers the deepest monetisation stack and lets you own your audience.

Do you pay tax on YouTube earnings in the UK?

Yes. YouTube income is taxable. In the UK there’s a £1,000 trading allowance, but earn more than that and you must register with HMRC as self-employed and declare it via Self Assessment. Keep records of your income and expenses from day one.

Why was my YouTube monetisation application rejected?

Common reasons include reused or inauthentic content, not enough original value, community-guideline or copyright strikes, or content that isn’t advertiser-friendly. Meeting the subscriber and watch-time numbers isn’t enough on its own — your channel also has to pass YouTube’s policy and originality review. You can reapply after 30 days.

Final Thoughts

So — do you get paid for YouTube? Yes, and in more ways than most people realise. But the money starts when you monetise, not when you upload, and the creators who really earn from it treat their channel like the business it is: they hit the Partner Programme thresholds, then stack ad revenue on top of memberships, sponsorships, affiliates and their own products. Compared with TikTok, Facebook, Instagram and X, YouTube pays the most per view for long-form and gives you the strongest base to build everything else on. Get the foundations right — a strong niche, consistent uploads, growing watch time — and the payment side follows. The platform is ready to pay you. The rest is up to the work you put in.

📚 Keep reading — the YouTube money library:

Turn your channel into an income.

A free discovery call gets you a two-decade head start on getting monetised, choosing the right income streams, and building YouTube into a real business.

Book Your Free Discovery Call →

A note on this guide: Partner Programme thresholds, the revenue split and the payout threshold reflect YouTube’s monetisation rules current at the time of writing (July 2026); confirm the latest in YouTube’s Help Centre and the Creator resources. Cross-platform figures for TikTok, Facebook, Instagram and X are 2026 creator-reported ballparks — see Meta’s newsroom and independent creator-economy analysis at Influencer Marketing Hub — and change frequently, so verify on each platform before relying on them. Some links here are affiliate links (rel=”sponsored”) and never change the price you pay.

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

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

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Crazy YouTube Stats : Views, Money, Users, Traffic & more!

Post author By Alan Spicer - YouTube Certified Expert
Post date 27 May 2020
1 Comment on Crazy YouTube Stats : Views, Money, Users, Traffic & more!

I was searching for something on the Internet and I casually saw a video of it on YouTube. It was then that it hit me. YouTube has been around for 15 years, can you actually believe that?

Each day more than a billion hours of content is being watched by people that generates billions of video views. 5 billion of the world’s population has mobile devices and this constitutes about 70% of the website’s watch time.

It was founded on February 14, 2005 by Chad Hurley, Steve Chen, and Jawed Karim all ex-PayPal employees. They funded it with the incentives they received when eBay bought PayPal. It was later acquired by Google for a cool $1.65 billion on October 9, 2006.

Let me provide you with a perspective on what this social multimedia platform has unleashed on us within the last 15 years. Below, I’m going to provide you with some of the best figures, facts, and statistics gathered from around the web about YouTube.

General Stats About YouTube

There are over 2 billion monthly regular users
It is the world’s 2nd biggest Search Engine
37% of mobile global web traffic
Mobile constitutes 70% of watch time
Localized for 100 countries in 80 languages
60% of people favour watching online videos to live TV
51% people visit the website daily.
600 hours of content uploaded every minute.
1 billion hours worth of content is watched each day.
People watch videos for entertainment and relaxation.
79% of internet traffic accounted by online videos.

Summary: By looking at the above information you can see that not only is YouTube a very popular video platform, but it commands 51% of all visitor traffic and 37% of mobile web traffic globally.

In 2019, 600 hours of videos got uploaded every minute. This is a substantial increase in the video content consumption cravings for web users.

Videos tagged as music, entertainment, people and blogs were the ones to collect the greatest view shares in 2018. In recent years user-made content made some of the significant Internet buzzes.

YouTube started as a medium for original videos. It set up a new creative category for content makers drawing huge viewers to their screens and they subsequently became celebrities themselves. The site’s other chief approach is providing corporate media like official music videos that goes viral within hours and reaches 200-300 million views in a few days.

YouTube Demographics Stats

The website’s videos reach to a greater degree 18/19-year-olds than any TV network.
For millennials, it makes-up for about 67% of all video online activity.
2/3rd of the millennials use the website to search and find instructional videos on any topic or niche that you can think of.
YouTube also appeals across various age groups in US.
1. 81% for 15-25 years, 71% for 26-35 years, 67% for 36-45 years, 66% for 46-55 years, 58% for 56 and older
It reaches 90% of US families earning over $100,000 in income annually.
During a normal month, YouTube will reach 95% of web users over the age of 55.
More than 50% of the viewers are female

Summary: Looking at these numbers, it is no surprise YouTube is a jumping-off point for influencers. It is also a mighty income-generating machine for Google and parent Alphabet.

In 2019, it produced ad revenues of about $15.15 million globally. This accounts for roughly 9.4% of Google’s annual gross revenues. Brands and companies are devising ways to profit from YouTube’s huge audience, and have now begun to upload videos to their brand channels. In the US alone, Hulu, Target, and Samsung are some of the top advertisers on YouTube with regards to display ads, launching skippable videos, impressions, and other formats.

YouTube advertising is expensive when comparing social media networks, but it pays off. This is why brands and companies expect to see an increase in YouTube usage for ads in the coming years.

YouTube Marketing Stats

It is the 2nd most watched website to upload videos for businesses.
It is the 3rd most watched network for marketing influencer videos.
2/3 shoppers mention videos as an inspiration of purchase decisions
- 90% of these consumers discover something new by using YouTube.
About 1/2 half of the marketers have invested in YouTube advertising.
A YouTube mobile ad will engage viewers 84% more when compared with TV ads.
Users have viewed more than 50,000 years worth of product reviews since 2016.
Users are 3X more likely to view a video tutorial than read the steps to do it.
80% of customers who viewed video for purchase ideas said they did that at the start of their customer journey.
The amount of SMBs promoting on the site has doubled since 2016.
Comparing digital channels, YouTube is the 2nd-most influential for purchases.

Summary: You have a lot to grasp here. I’ll start from the top. Regarding businesses, it is the 2nd most watched website to upload videos. Facebook, on the other hand, is still the king. For best results, I’d recommend uploading on both networks.

I would advise you to analyse your audience information. Even if it seems everybody on the Internet uses both platforms, you have a great chance of attracting unique visitors for each. If you are able to optimize your videos on both video-sharing networks, you will draw in a consistent flow of qualified leads.

YouTube Traffic Stats

4 billion videos are seen each day everyday
More than 800 million unique visitors every month
More than 3 billion hours of video watched every month
What the major 3 US broadcasters produced in 60 years is uploaded in a month
70% of website traffic comes from outside the US
It is localized in 100+ countries and across 80+ languages

Summary: Looks like a lot of traffic for a video sharing website and still there are no traffic jams. All of this is feasible because of the ease with which videos can be uploaded, tagged, and marketed to people. This is also possible because the uploaded content can be easily searched making it the second biggest search engine after Google.

Data, data, data is the only thing I will say here. Optimize your content based on the latest trends that prevalent online and it will become viral.

YouTube Partner Program Stats

YouTube partner program was created in 2007
Has over 30,000+ partners from 27 countries globally
The company pays millions of dollars every year to its partners
Thousands of partners make six figure incomes each year
Partner revenues have doubled for four straight years
There’s now more than a million YouTube Partner Program members

Summary: YouTube’s Partner Program (YPP) gives creators better access to YouTube’s features and resources. You get access to the Creator Support Teams, Copyright Match Tool, and monetization features.

To be eligible for the YPP, you’ll have live in a region or country where it’s available, have over 4,000 public valid watch hours in the past 12 months, over 1,000 subscribers, and have a linked valid AdSense account. The YPP provides you with the necessary tools and features to monetize and promote your account.

YouTube Money Stats

More than 3 billion video views are monetized globally every week
AdAge’s Top 98 out of 100 advertisers have run ads on Google’s Display Network and YouTube
Thousands of advertisers are using TrueView in-stream ads
60% of TrueView in-stream ads can now be skipped

Summary: The first ads on YouTube appeared in August 2007. Nonetheless, YouTube is secretive about ad revenue. It is crucial to remember that most channels are monetized through AdSense earnings.

The more famous your channel is, you’ll have a wider range of money-making methods available to you. You can command significant sums of money from endorsements, sponsorship, product placements, and other merchandise.

YouTube Product Metrics

There is more HD content available than any other online video website
You can view thousands of full-length motion pictures on YouTube
10% of all YouTube videos are available in HD
YouTube mobile received more than 600 million views each day
70% of the total views comes from mobile devices
Mobile ads are more likely to be watched than TV ads by 84%
In 2019, content creators posted more than 50,000 videos using “Day in the Life” in their titles
Average durations of top viral videos in 2019 compared to 2010 were over 9.5X longer.

Summary: These above stats just prove how powerful the platform really is. Although, you will get all types of videos, more and more videos are being uploaded in HD.

YouTube is ideal to reach a young audience but it also engages viewers across all age groups.

You should add YouTube Live to your content strategy as many people are not looking forward to seeing live videos.

Final Verdict

These are really crazy numbers. If you are just a simple YouTube viewer who wants to know the stats behind these online videos, I hope the above stats have impressed you.

Many of us use YouTube’s app or website daily. From the above data points it is clear that it is an integral part of our lives.

I have covered the basics here, and if you want to add more to these crazy facts just post them in the comments section below. Show us some love and share this article with friends and family so they can also know these crazy YouTube stats.

Tags general youtube stats, stats, youtube, youtube money stats, youtube product stats, youtube stats, youtube trends, youtube usage stats, youtube user stats, youtube video stats, youtuber stats

HOW TO GET MORE VIEWS ON YOUTUBE LISTS YOUTUBE

Best Mobile Apps for YouTubers

Post author By Alan Spicer - YouTube Certified Expert
Post date 25 May 2020

YouTube is now a vast video uploading website, where numerous youtubers are making money. Be it smartphones, laptops, or tablets, we’re always on our mobile devices.

It is important for content creators to have the power to record videos, edit them, reply to comments, and take care of their channels from their mobile devices.

YouTube is now the biggest video streaming network in the world and the second largest search engine right after Google. Nowadays, worldwide, we are seeing the YouTube trend and everyone is looking to become the next successful YouTuber. This is mainly to become viral, get views to their videos, and in turn earn a huge amount of money and fame in the process.

The reality is, achieving success on YouTube isn’t as easy as people think it is. It’s very hard, as you have to outsmart and outrank all of your competitors in your niche. This sounds tough, doesn’t it? But, if you’ve got great content and do the proper marketing or promotional strategy, you’ll be the next big face.

The YouTube creators list is increasing day in day out. Many want to handle their YouTube channel from their mobile devices. These creators use different apps to handle their YouTube channel. Many of these apps have to do with capturing videos and editing them afterwards and uploading them to YouTube.

If you are able to create and edit videos on your Android or iPhone directly, you will be happy. These apps will help you to share them on your social media and with your family and friends.

Yes. You’ve read it correctly. There are a huge number of apps which people might consider as important to them so that they can become an efficient YouTuber. Many a times we cannot use our PCs or laptops so as to access numerous video creation and editing solutions.

To help on your YouTube journey, we’ve written this article with mobility, ease of use, features, cost, and platform availability in mind. Many people do not know or think about these types of apps. In reality, these apps are going to help you reach the next level just by using your mobile device.

In a simple manner you can create a lot of content on the go simple using your mobile device. What do most youtubers want in an app or apps? They want the ability to create or do the following things:

Logo
Thumbnails
Video / Audio Editing

We’ll be covering these functions in our list of the Best Mobile Apps for YouTubers.

The mobile apps mentioned below are useful for different objectives in the content creation process. I would recommend that you install all these apps and check out which ones work best for you in the YouTube content production process.

As you know, not every app is created equally and so are the platforms on which they are available. To help save money and time every youtuber must have these mobile apps. We have gone through these apps and below provide you with a list the best must have apps for youtubers in 2020.

Now, let’s get going.

YouTube Studio

Google’s official app makes it easier and faster to manage channels on the go. You’ll be able to check the latest statistics, reply to comments, and get notifications so you’ll be connected anywhere anytime.

Features:

Video and Channel Monitoring
Analytics and Monetisation Settings
Filtering and replying to comments
Receive important notifications
Update video details, image thumbnails

Bonus Tip – Now you know your stats maybe its time you look into optimization for more views. Why not check out TubeBuddy and VidIQ to amazing your rankings on YouTube.

iMovie – Turn videos into movie magic

This one is for you Apple fans who want to edit videos on the go. Using iMovie, you’ll be able to edit and enjoy videos easily. You can start editing on your iPad, iPhone, iPod touch and then finish it on your Mac.

Features:

Hollywood-style trailers
Make stunning movies
Everywhere – iPad, iPhone, and iPod touch
Sharing with family and friends
Customize logos, names, and credits

KineMaster – Video Editor, Video Maker

KineMaster is one the best full-featured video editors available for Android. It supports multiple layers of images, video, and text, and more. It helps you create amazing videos using your Chromebook, tablet, or phone? KineMaster’s editing tools are free to use and it also supports unlimited exports even in resolutions up to 4K!

Features:

Combine numerous layers of images, video, stickers, text, special effects, and handwriting
Color adjustment tools and Reversing videos
Add background music, voiceovers, voice changers, and sound effects
Tools to trim, crop, and splice your video
Slow motion and time lapse effects

AZ Screen Recorder – Video Recorder, Livestream

This is another app to record your device’s screen. There is no time limit, ad free, no watermark, and is easy to use. It lets you record your screen in HD and Full-HD. It is the only screencast app that allows videos to pause and resume while it is still being recorded.

Features:

Record video at 1080p, 12 Mbps, 60 FPS
Record internal and external sounds
Pause/resume screen recording
Convert video to GIF
Crop, Rotate, Compress, and Extract images from video
Facecam while live streaming
Stitch, Crop, Blur, add text, and draw on images

YouTube Thumbnail Maker & YouTube Banner Maker

This app allows you to create thumbnails and banners for your YouTube channel. If you need an app to create your YouTube channel art, then this is the one. This app is collaboratively made by numerous youtubers who very well know the importance of having great channel art designs to attract viewers.

Features:

Crop thumbnail images to 1280×780
100+ backgrounds
Color intensifying filters for your images
Tools for brightness, contrast, saturation, vignette, and 3D rotation
Add typography fonts and graphic design elements

Making thumbnails can take time to master but in this blog article I explain everything you need to know about how to make the perfect thumbnail.

Tag You

This app is the best tool to boost your videos. SEO is simple and quick for videos with their proprietary keyword optimization. Optimizing tags dramatically improves subscriber engagement, videos’ performance, and promotional opportunities. Tag You helps you to find the optimal tags making videos go viral and get better views.

Features:

Quick and simple SEO
Tag and keyword optimization
Discover best tags
Optimize video tags
Search competitor video tags

Google Ads – Grow your Business Online

Google’s Ads app will help you in managing, optimising, and tracking your ad campaigns by simply using your smart device. You’ll be able to easily check your ads’ functioning on the go using this simple solution to your desktop account. You can keep your campaigns functioning smoothly irrespective of where your go.

Features:

Create ads and campaigns
Call an expert for live help
Update budgets, bids, and campaign status
Add, change, or delete keywords
Review performance using instant notifications
See campaign impressions, average CPC, clicks, and conversions
Improve campaigns based insights, suggestions, and alerts

Canva: Graphic Design, Video / Poster / Logo Maker

Having over 60,000+ templates makes Canva the best online graphic design solution you can have. You can create amazing high-quality posters, banners, thumbnails, covers, and others also. You can use it on your PC and smartphone.

As it is in the cloud, you can create, change, and promote your work anywhere anytime using any device.

Features:

Create posts and covers for a variety of social media
Design logos, book covers, blog designs for any project
1 million + stock photos and elements to choose from
Create, change, and share designs with colleagues or friends
Design YouTube thumbnails & Twitter and Pinterest banners
60,000+ free guides created by professional designers

SnapSeed

SnapSeed is one of the best photo editor apps made by Google. You can choose different adjustments and effects to apply to your pictures. You can save the editing history and default settings for future usage.

SnapSeed is widely used to create default settings thumbnails. Some filters are Grunge, Drama, frames, Vintage, etc

Features:

29 filters and tools
Supports RAW and JPG files
Selective filter brush
Open and tweak RAW DNG files
Adjust colour and exposure automatically

Adobe Premiere Rush – Video Editor

Adobe’s Premiere Rush is a great app to edit videos on your mobile device and offers good video editing functions. It helps you to create incredible video clips using ultra refined editing features. Enrich your channel with a stable flow of awesome videos using Adobe’s Premiere Rush. It’s a cross-device, all-in-one video editor.

You can make and share professional-grade videos with cool video effects like speed easily and quickly. Also, you’ll be able to work in-between all of your devices – tablet, phone, and desktop.

Features:

Capture high-grade content
Edit your videos using 4 video & 3 audio tracks
Edit content using just dragging and dropping
Built-in customizable templates
Support for opening Rush projects in Adobe Premiere Pro

I love using Adobe – In fact I have edited over 2500 videos with Adobe Premiere and other tools over the years. It has a little bit of a learning curve but I would highly recommend it. If you follow this link you can get a great deal on Adobe’s suite of tools.

PixelLab – Text on Pictures

PixeLab is a good app when you consider that you can use it to make thumbnails of your videos. You can add 3D text, Stylish Text, Shapes, Stickers and Drawings on top of your pictures easily. It uses a clean and simple interface which lets you concentrate on whatever you are doing.

You get a huge selection of backgrounds, fonts, presets, stickers. You also have over 60+ distinctive options which you’ll be able to customize. You can create impressive graphics and surprise your friends right from your tablet or phone.

Features:

Text effects – 3D, Shadow, Stroke, Reflection, Mask, Emboss and many more
Ability to add your images from your phone’s gallery
Customize emojis, stickers, shapes, and much more
Ability to change or remove the background
Enhance images using effects such as stripes, vignette, saturation, hue, etc
Create memes using presets easily and in seconds

Conclusion

I hope this blog post on Best Mobile Apps for YouTubers has helped you to start your YouTube journey right away. If you have any suggestions, feedback, or questions regarding YouTube, please do not hesitate to write to us in the comments section below.

Tags app, apps for youtubers, best apps for youtube, best apps for youtubers, mobile, mobile apps, mobile apps for youtubers, must have apps for youtubers, screen recorder, screen recorders for youtubers, video editing, video editing apps, video editing for youtubers, youtube, youtube mobile apps, youtuber apps, youtubers

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

Best Places To Share YouTube Videos For More Views

Post author By Alan Spicer - YouTube Certified Expert
Post date 24 May 2020
9 Comments on Best Places To Share YouTube Videos For More Views

You have a YouTube channel all up and running and you’ve been uploading your new YouTube videos and content to your channel, but the views aren’t coming? Need help with the best places to share YouTube videos for more views?

Sharing your your YouTube videos on social media can be a great way to boost exposure, grow your audience and seed links back to your videos. The more social networks you can post to the more likely you are to figure out what social platform is best suited to your content. Try Instagram, Reddit, Forums, Facebook Groups, Mix and learn what works best for you, then double down.

Time to set the foundations for finding the best places to share YouTube videos for more views.

First things first you need to ensure you’ve set your channel up correctly and that you’ve followed my 10 steps to promote your YouTube channel.

Once that’s completed it’s time to share your videos. You can create the content but if you don’t tell people where to find it you may as well be talking to yourself.

Here are the best places you absolutely must share your new YouTube videos after clicking publish:

Utilise your social media channels

Whether you’re a standalone YouTube vlogger, or you’re using videos and blogging separately, you should have all your other social media channels aligned, I recommend having at least a Twitter, Pinterest, and Instagram.

Whenever you publish a new video on YouTube make sure you share it across all your channels. It is important you tailor the content, embed the videos but leave your audience wanting more.

Different types of people utilise different social media channels, but the key is to drive them to your YouTube channel so make your content enticing, show clips from the full video, and make clear click-through. These are call to actions will obvious value explained before they click on the,

As your channel grows, your promotion should grow too.

The most important place to share your YouTube videos is on your other social media channels, on a regularly basis. There are hundreds of social media schedulers available to help you with this such as Hootsuite or SocialOomph.

I recommend using a social media scheduler as you can then plan and set how often you would like a specific video to be repromoted on your social media channel. I personally use MeetEdgar to push out 30-40 social media posts every day.

Share YouTube Video in Facebook Groups

I thought Facebook deserved its own section.

I personally think Facebook is an excellent tool for increasing your YouTube video views, they have a YouTube uploader which means the views go straight to the video without your audience having to leave Facebook.

One thing you can also do on Facebook is join niche groups and pages, this gives you an opportunity to share your videos and leverage your content.

Make sure what you’re sharing is useful and relevant to your viewers, but lets say for example you’re making a YouTube channel about cleaning, there are hundreds of Cleaning Facebook groups with an active audience who would be interested in your video.

Make sure you read individual group rules regarding self-promotion, but most are happy for you to share useful content within their groups.

If you need help in making your videos look great, or promoting your videos on social media, check out my resources page, for some great tools and equipment guides.

Guest Posting to Get More Views

Look around your Vlog niche and start making friends.

Is there anyone who’s open to a guest blog / vlog? Anyone who you could do a promotion exchange with?

By working closely with people in your niche you can access their audience too. There are enough people to go around especially in terms of YouTube views.

If people are watching a video in your niche chances are, they would also be interested in your content. Send people a message and see if you could host a guest video or write a guest blog for them which will in turn promote you and your YouTube Channel.

Mix Your YouTube Videos

Mix used to be known as StumbleUpon, it still has excellent reach and is extremely easy to utilise, just download the add on to your browser and ‘mix’ your content.

This basically adds it to a database of content, if a person has selected interests that coincide with yours whenever they click the mix button, they have a chance of arriving at your content.

If they enjoyed your content, they would then remix this. The more people like your content, the more people the algorithm will push your content too thus increasing your reach and views.

Like Facebook groups, reddit is subdivided into lots of different categories and niches, it makes sense for you to create an account and engage with niche groups like the YouTube content you are creating.

There are general video subreddits you can push your video to, but the smaller more niche groups should provide a better audience.

While the users of each forum maybe smaller the value of that audience is higher than someone without a continued interest in your videos, they’re more likely to subscribe and stick around to see other content

YouTube Ad Network – Use YouTube Ads To Get More Video Views

While I would not recommend throwing money at ads in the beginning, it can be an advantage to get the ball rolling with a new video.

YouTube own integrated ad network works out at 2p per view and these are genuine people and real viewers not bots.

This can also trigger a spiral, if the viewers you have promoted to like your content they could share it further and subscribe so play around with the ad network and see if you feel its worthwhile for your business or not.

Most importantly create good high-quality content that people want to talk about, they want to share with friends, and they want to see more of.

You can publish and share a hundred times over but if the content isn’t watchable, interesting or provide ‘something’ for your audience they’re unlikely to return so make sure you hone in on your content skills and the rest should follow accordingly

Where do you share your YouTube videos? I love to embed them into my blogs – Maybe its time for you to start your own blog! – Here is an article I wrote to explain how to start started with blogging.

Tags best place to share youtube videos, best places to share youtube videos for more views, how to share youtube videos, share youtube videos, sharing youtube videos, view, youtube, youtube promotion, youtube views

HOW TO GET MORE VIEWS ON YOUTUBE LISTS TIPS & TRICKS YOUTUBE YOUTUBE TUTORIALS

10 Ways to Promote Your Youtube Channel for FREE

Post author By Alan Spicer - YouTube Certified Expert
Post date 20 May 2020
4 Comments on 10 Ways to Promote Your Youtube Channel for FREE

If you’ve decided to go down a vlogging route and have started creating and publishing Youtube videos, then you need to make sure you promote your YouTube channel so your videos don’t flop.

It’s really easy to publish your content but without promotion how are people going to find your videos and see your content?

I’ve put together 10 brilliant ways to promote your Youtube channel and increase your views, a few simple changes to your normal Youtube tasks could see a big traffic change.

[1] Make sure your titles are engaging

Just like any other form of social media or blogging you want people to click into your content, the only way to do this is make sure people are drawn into your content and want to click.

Make sure you use persuasive writing, ensure its clear what your viewers will get out of the video, and most importantly solve a problem for your viewer.

Look at your current titles and decide would you click on it? Do you know what the video would be about?

You need to make the viewer curious about what is going to happen or help solve their problem – I made a video about how to make clickable titles every time!

[2] Concentrate on SEO

Youtube is ultimately videos and vlogs, but the average user will use YouTube like a search engine, normally to solve a problem or find a video detailing something they are struggling with.

This means its crucial you concentrate on your SEO (Search Engine Optimisation) to make sure your videos show high in your results.

Titles and descriptions should have keywords you want to rank for, make sure you define your categories and tags because this helps Youtube categorise your video and help show it to a relevant audience.

71% of my traffic on my YouTube channel is from search that I won because I used TubeBuddy and VidIQ to optimize my titles, descriptions and tags.

[3] Promote yourself

If you’ve got a number of videos, the ideal action is for your watchers to watch all of the content.

Make sure you reference your older videos in new ones, leave links in the description and then if your watchers are interested its easy for them to find your older link and click through

[4] Share across platforms

Most social media platforms have a native video uploader, upload a snippet of your video with links to the full Youtube video.

This way wherever your audience are they have a very clear direction of how to access your Youtube videos.

It may be that they don’t usually use Youtube to find content but if it lands on their facebook feed they’re more likely to click through – clicking through from external websites shows Youtube that your content is valuable and is more likely to increase your ranking

If you need help with sharing your videos and building your brand – check out my resources page, packed with great tools I use personally to help grow my brand and get noticed on YouTube.

[5] Subscribe Buttons

You can subscribe to Youtube videos by clicking in the description, but a lot of viewers won’t read the description or even click through to subscribe.

You need to make it abundantly clear WHY they should subscribe to your channel and make sure you add a nice big subscribe button within your video.

It’s really simple to do so take a look at how to add a subscribe button into your videos

[6] Add Thumbnails to your videos

Hopefully by this point you’ve got a video, a short catchy title and a description full of the keywords you want to rank for.

Hopefully, all of this means your videos are ranking higher in searches. But wait there is one more thing you absolutely NEED to do to make people click your video.

Our brains are hardwired to react to visuals so make sure with every video you upload a custom thumbnail image which is bright and details what your video will do.

While YouTube will auto create a thumbnail, by creating a custom one you can make sure your viewers can see instantly what your video will be about.

Use the right YouTube thumbnail size

If you’re going to spend the time to create a professional looking thumbnail, start with the proper sizing and dimensions.

Per YouTube’s guidelines, your thumbnail image should be 1280 x 720 pixels, with a minimum width of 640 pixels. An aspect ratio of 16:9 is ideal as it’s used most often in YouTube players and previews.

Be honest & accurate in your thumbnails

If you click bait users to viewing your videos by misleading them with thumbnails and headlines, this will hurt your brand and reputation.

Not only that, but YouTube will stop showing your videos in search results if your bounce rates are too high.

The thumbnail is meant to give context, so providing an image that does not depict what is in the video will harm you rather than benefit you. Find the most important point or part of your video and create your thumbnail around that.

[7] A complete profile

Many people skip straight to creating content but don’t skip out on your profile it’s a really important aspect to making sure your viewers return.

Maintain a consistency across your other social media channels / website and most importantly have very visible contact details.

If your channel is going well then companies may want to contact you for sponsorship deals, your watchers may want to send you an email

Why have Multiple Social Media Accounts?

Having a social media presence is key things for companies in this day and age.

Especially with the different types of social media accounts out. Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, etc. is key to get the word out about your company, brand, youtube channel or blog to your chosen target audience.

Social media has been a growing trend for businesses over the last few years, and for good reason. Before you begin dabbling with multiple social media sites, a strategy needs to be put in place that includes:

Consistency: Instead of posting when you have time, post something at the same times every day so your audience knows when to expect it.
Quality content: Don’t just post content to post it. Have something meaningful to say that your viewers will want to read.
Engagement: Interact with your audience through social media, whether it’s by answering questions they post or by asking questions yourself.
Images: Don’t just post links and text. People love pictures and infographics. Visuals are processed 60,000 times faster in the brain than text. Businesses that have used infographics have grown in traffic 12% more than those that don’t.

[8] Caption your videos

In this day and age the internet needs to be accessible to everyone, that includes people with impairments, it’s so easy to make your videos accessible and add subtitles / closed captions to your Youtube videos.

This will increase your reach to people without accessibility issues too, so many people watch videos with their phones on mute you’d be amazed how many are skipped over if they don’t have subtitles it’s a really untapped market you need to address.

Why Accessibility Matters

It’s time to set a universal standard for accessibility. How many people have visited your channel and left without complaining because of its inaccessibility?

There are 466 million people around the world who are deaf or hard-of-hearing.
Up to 71% of people with disabilities leave a page immediately if it is not accessible.
Only around 360 million people speak English as their first language.
60% of YouTube views are from non-native English speakers.

Invest in video captions to reach that sizeable audience. Captions are essential to ensuring that your videos are accessible to the wider public.

The Impact of Captions on Your YouTube Channel

How do the statistics of videos with captions compare to video content without subtitles?

When it comes to watch time, subtitled videos increase view time by more than 12% and are watched an average 91% to completion. In comparison, videos without subtitles are only watched 66% to completion. When subtitles are included, 80% more people watch videos to completion.

[9] High Quality Content

Let’s be fair, you can create rich SEO descriptions, fill out all your profile, have active subscribe buttons etc. etc. but if your content is weak then people won’t return, they probably won’t even watch the entirety of your current video.

Just like any other form of blogging / vlogging or social media content will always be king. Make sure the videos you are creating are what your ideal audience would be looking for, that the video ultimately answers a problem, that you’re clear and engaging and most importantly that you are yourself.

Anyone can create a factual video what makes your videos unique is you. So inject some personality and let your viewers really get to know the person behind the camera

This goes for how to package your content as well. A great video with a bad thumbnail can destroy all your hard work. Make sure you know what a good thumbnail needs to look like – check out this deep dive blog into thumbnail size, styles, designs and best practices.

[10] Answer your fan mail

Hopefully if your videos are doing well you will start getting comments on your videos – answer them! Respond to your fans and engage with your community.

These are your viewers and subscribers, by making them know you ‘see’ them they’re more likely to return to your new content. Plus engage enough and you will get ideas for new Youtube videos, questions they need answering – its basically free market research very specifically from your audience.

So there you have it, 10 ways you can improve your current Youtube promotion with just a few simple changes.

What’s a Youtube skill you’d like to learn?

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