How to Be Successful on YouTube: YouTube one of the most popular platforms for creators to build an audience and make money online. With over 2 billion monthly active users, the opportunities for success on YouTube are immense. However, with so much competition, it can be challenging to grow a YouTube channel from scratch.
This comprehensive guide will teach you proven strategies to increase viewership, attract subscribers, monetize your content, and ultimately create a sustainable career as a YouTube creator. Whether you’re just starting out or looking to take your channel to the next level, follow these tips to maximise your chances of YouTube success.
- 1 Is YouTube a Viable Career Path in 2023?
- 2 How to Get Started on YouTube: First Steps for New Creators
- 3 Optimizing YouTube Videos for Maximum Discoverability
- 4 Growing Your YouTube Channel and Gaining Subscribers
- 5 How to Monetize YouTube Videos: 9 Revenue Streams
- 5.1 1. YouTube AdSense
- 5.2 2. Channel Memberships
- 5.3 3. Selling Branded Merch
- 5.4 4. Fan Funding with Super Chat and Super Stickers
- 5.5 5. Coming Soon: Gifting Memberships
- 5.6 6. Crowdfunding on YouTube Community
- 5.7 7. Using Affiliate Marketing Links
- 5.8 8. Sponsorships and Brand Deals
- 5.9 9. YouTube Premium Ad Revenue Sharing
- 6 Advanced YouTube SEO Tips: Ranking Videos High in Search
- 7 10 Things You MUST Do to Succeed on YouTube
- 8 Frequently Asked Questions
- 9 Conclusion
Is YouTube a Viable Career Path in 2023?
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YouTube has become a full-time career for thousands of people, with top creators earning well into the millions each year. However, some people are skeptical about building a business on someone else’s platform.
Here are three reasons why YouTube remains a viable way to make money online in 2023 and beyond:
1. Massive Audience Reach
- Over 2 billion logged-in users visit YouTube every month
- Over 1 billion hours of video are watched daily
- YouTube is localized in over 100 countries and available in 80 different languages
This gives you access to a massive audience of viewers from all over the world. There are few other platforms that give you such incredible reach.
2. Multiple Revenue Streams
YouTube provides creators several ways to monetize their channels, including:
- AdSense revenue sharing from YouTube ads
- Channel memberships
- Merchandise shelves
- Tips and Super Chats
- Sponsorships and brand deals
- Affiliate marketing
This gives you multiple income streams so you are not dependent on only one source.
3. YouTube Continues to Grow Rapidly
- YouTube users watch over 1 billion hours of video every single day
- YouTube has over 50 million Creators in its Partner Program
- The number of channels earning six figures per year grew more than 40% year-over-year
YouTube’s massive growth shows no signs of slowing down. There is still a huge opportunity to create a successful channel.
While it takes a lot of hard work, YouTube’s sheer scale and audience reach gives you the chance to build a highly profitable channel if you can create content that resonates.
If you’re ready to start your YouTube journey, here are some important first steps:
How to Get Started on YouTube: First Steps for New Creators
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Choose Your Niche
- Pick a niche you’re passionate about that has a clearly defined target audience. Some examples are gaming, beauty/makeup, technology, education, health and fitness.
- Conduct keyword research to ensure there is demand for content in your niche. You want to choose a niche with search volume.
- Your niche should be narrow, focused and specialized to stand out. Avoid niches that are too broad.
Set Up Your YouTube Channel
- Create a brand account separate from your personal account. Use a clear, professional username.
- Design an eye-catching yet simple channel logo and art.
- Write an engaging channel description optimized with relevant keywords.
- Organize your channel with playlists for different types of videos.
Set Goals and Create a Content Strategy
- Set specific sub goals for things like views, subscribers, and video completion rates. Then make an overall income or scale goal.
- Create a content calendar to strategically plan out your uploads. Aim to establish a consistent schedule.
- Diversify your content across different types like tutorials, reviews, how-tos, challenges etc.
With the proper foundation, you’ll be ready to start producing content and growing your new YouTube channel.
Optimizing YouTube Videos for Maximum Discoverability
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YouTube discovery happens when viewers find your videos through YouTube search, suggested videos, the homepage, playlists or other internal YouTube features. Here are some tips to optimize your content to maximize views:
Follow Metadata Best Practices
- Include your target keyword in the title whenever possible. Put it at the beginning for greater visibility.
- Write custom video descriptions of 1-3 paragraphs summarizing the video, using relevant keywords naturally.
- Add custom thumbnails with bright colors/contrast and human faces which boost click-through-rate.
- Fill out the tags field with additional keywords and phrases related to the video topic.
Retain Viewers and Get More Watch Time
- Hook viewers in the first 10 seconds before they click away. Open with an exciting teaser or question.
- Structure your video in short segments so viewers can easily digest the information. Use hooks and cliffhangers to transition between segments.
- Use effective pacing, enthusiastic delivery, B-roll overlay, and on-screen text to keep viewers interested.
Optimize Video Content Itself
- Focus your video around ranking for a primary keyword or answering a specific question.
- Educate and add value for viewers rather than pure entertainment. Information-rich content ranks better.
- Research what topics and video styles perform well in your niche and model your own content accordingly.
With strategic keyword and SEO optimization, you can show up right in YouTube search results when viewers look for content related to your niche. This yields “free” traffic from YouTube without having to market externally.
Growing Your YouTube Channel and Gaining Subscribers
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While optimizing individual videos is crucial, you also need an overarching channel strategy to attract subscribers. Here are proven tactics to help grow your YouTube channel:
Post Consistently and On a Schedule
- Establish an upload schedule (e.g. 2X per week) and stick to it consistently. This trains viewers to expect and return for your new videos.
- Schedule videos in advance and allow returning viewers enough time to see each new video before the next one drops.
- Use YouTube’s built-in posting scheduler so you can space out your video releases automatically.
Interact with Your Audience
- Reply to as many comments as you can. Ask viewers questions to spark discussion.
- Give viewers a strong “call to action” at the end of each video to like, comment, share or subscribe.
- Feature comments or subscriber content. People enjoy seeing their contribution acknowledged.
- Live chat or do Q&As to have real-time conversations with your audience.
Promote Your Content Outside of YouTube
- Share your videos on social media (especially Facebook, Twitter, Pinterest, and LinkedIn) to expand their reach.
- Post video links or clips on relevant online forums, Facebook Groups, and Subreddits. Include a strong CTA.
- Collaborate with other creators in your niche by cross-promoting each other’s videos.
The more people you can drive to your YouTube channel from external sites, the faster you will gain subscribers and regular viewers.
How to Monetize YouTube Videos: 9 Revenue Streams
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Once you build an audience, you can start monetizing your YouTube channel to turn it into a money-making business. Here are the main options:
1. YouTube AdSense
YouTube runs ads on videos and shares revenue with creators. Once you’re accepted into the Partner Program, you can earn 55% of ad revenue.
2. Channel Memberships
Fans pay a monthly fee to get special perks like custom emoji, members-only posts, access to extra content.
3. Selling Branded Merch
You can create and sell your own branded merch using YouTube’s integrated Merch Shelf feature.
4. Fan Funding with Super Chat and Super Stickers
Fans pay to have comment highlighted during live streams. This is a main revenue source for live creators.
5. Coming Soon: Gifting Memberships
Fans will soon be able to gift paid channel memberships to other fans. The creator still earns the membership revenue.
6. Crowdfunding on YouTube Community
Creators can post perks on YouTube and fans can directly contribute money to crowdfunding campaigns.
7. Using Affiliate Marketing Links
Monetize product recommendations by sharing affiliate links and earning commissions on resulting sales.
8. Sponsorships and Brand Deals
Popular creators can earn five to six figures for a brand sponsorship. Use a media kit to pitch brands.
9. YouTube Premium Ad Revenue Sharing
Earn revenue from YouTube Premium subscribers watching your content (coming soon to more creators).
The most lucrative channels combine multiple income streams for more diversified and passive revenue. Sponsorships, merch and affiliate links have potential for high earnings.
Advanced YouTube SEO Tips: Ranking Videos High in Search
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While YouTube provides search traffic, you can rank even higher by optimizing videos specifically for YouTube SEO. Here are some advanced tactics:
Include Viewer Search Queries in Titles and Descriptions
Analyze comments and Google “related searches” section to see the actual phrases viewers use when searching. Incorporate those directly into titles/descriptions when relevant.
Insert Strategic Chapters
Add timestamps within videos linking to key sections. Chapters improve viewer experience and retention. YouTube transcribes chapters to improve search visibility.
Use Cards and End Screens
Link to your other top videos, channel, website, and playlists using clickable cards/end screens to improve engagement and viewership of your other content.
Research Video Optimization Opportunities in TubeBuddy
TubeBuddy is a YouTube plugin that shows keyword difficulty scores and traffic estimates. Use it to identify search terms and topics with high volume but low competition where you can rank highly.
Review Audience Retention Reports
Analytics show how long viewers stay on your video. If there is a dropoff early on, improve your intros and pacing. High retention signals to YouTube that people enjoy your content.
Collaborate with Top Creators
Having an influencer share or collaborate on a video introduces their own fanbase to your channel, giving you a spike in new viewers.
By combining YouTube’s own search/discovery with external SEO strategies, you can build a channel of videos that rank extremely high and drive massive traffic.
10 Things You MUST Do to Succeed on YouTube
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Building a successful YouTube channel takes tremendous time and effort. While the work is hard, the payoff in terms of audience reach, creative freedom and revenue make it worthwhile. Follow these essential tips:
- Commit to a consistent schedule and don’t quit. Post at minimum 1-2X per week for the first year.
- Optimize your video SEO but focus on value first. Write search-friendly titles/descriptions, but make the content great above all.
- Engage with your audience. Reply to comments, ask questions, and build a community around your channel.
- Promote videos off YouTube and drive external traffic to your channel, especially by embedding videos on websites.
- Use cards, end screens and playlist annotations to retain viewership and improve channel watch time.
- Diversify revenue streams with affiliate links, sponsorships, crowdfunding rather than relying solely on AdSense.
- Analyze your analytics to fine-tune your content strategy. See which videos drive the most traffic, engagement and revenue.
- Collaborate with other creators for cross-promotion opportunities and access to new audiences.
- Don’t get discouraged. All channels grow slowly at first. Success requires patience and persistence.
- Be original. Copying others won’t help you stand out. Find your unique voice and niche.
YouTube fame won’t happen overnight. But by studying YouTube SEO, advertising your channel externally, and most importantly creating great content, you can build a channel with an immense audience and profitable business over time.
Frequently Asked Questions
How long does it take to become successful on YouTube?
It takes most creators 1-2 years of consistent posting to build a solid subscriber base and viewership. It takes patience to see growth, so stay committed even when your channel is small. Success doesn’t happen overnight.
How many videos should you post when starting out?
When first starting, aim for at least 1 high-quality video per week. After 6 months, gradually increase to 2 videos per week. The key is to establish a consistent schedule and not keep viewers waiting too long between uploads.
What equipment do I need for a YouTube channel?
You can start by filming videos on your smartphone. Eventually you may want to invest in lighting, a nice camera and microphone for professional quality. Good audio is important. Editing software is also recommended to add graphics and edits to your videos.
How important are custom thumbnails?
Extremely! The thumbnail is the first thing viewers see and decides whether they click your video. Spend time making eye-catching thumbnails with bold text, vibrant colors, and compelling imagery. Faces also help thumbnails stand out.
How do you come up with YouTube video ideas?
Look at what is trending in your niche, topics getting search volume, viewer comments, and current events/news. You can also survey your audience directly on what content they want using YouTube Community posts and polls.
Conclusion
Building a successful YouTube channel allows you to turn content creation into a full-time business. But it doesn’t happen instantly. By diversifying your income streams, analyzing your analytics, collaborating with other creators, and most importantly staying persistent, you can grow an audience and sustainable brand on YouTube.
Remember to focus on value for the viewer rather than just growth. Optimize your videos for discovery but don’t sacrifice quality. Over time, you can build a reputable channel with an engaged community around it.
To get started, create a channel, establish an upload schedule, promote your videos, interact with fans and keep producing regular content. There will be challenges along the way but the rewards make it worthwhile.
What tips do you have for others hoping to make it big on YouTube? Share your best advice in the comments below!
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