11 Steps to Becoming a Successful YouTuber

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Here are the 11 steps you need to take in order become a successful YouTuber:

Define what success means to you and remember it

Develop your channel’s goals and content

Map it out

Make sure your channel page is welcoming

Mind your SEO

Be consistent. Be-be consistent

Get to the point

Keep up with your niche

Manage your community like a boss

Spread the word with a killer website

Learn from your analytics

01. Define what success means to you and remember it

Many define success monetarily, but there’s so much more to it than money in the bank. If you make a ton of money doing a job you hate, would you consider yourself successful despite your lack of fulfillment? Success comes in different forms, and it’s up to you to determine where you consider yourself successful. If you define success outside of greenbacks for your YouTube channel, remember that’s what you’re in it for. Whether it's a higher view count for your videos, more subscribers, or monetization for your YouTube channel, keep this as your focus, anything else is just bonus.

02. Develop your channel’s goals and content

YouTube is video. There’s a lot of good content, and a ton of terrible content out there. As you create your YouTube channel, keep in mind that developing your content is fun, but it’s also a job. Here, you’re defining your channel's voice and your content should align with it. Even if it’s just you and your camera, you’re building your brand’s personality. The easiest way to develop your channel is to be yourself. But what if you’re not particularly interesting even though the content you’re producing is? Well, then there’s nothing wrong with being a little “extra” to add some pep to your videos. (Read: a little – you’re going for pep, not obnoxious. Also, always consider your audience.)

You’ll need to decide what type of content you will be offering up on your channel. The range is huge, from how-to videos, to humor, to reviews. Once you choose that, backtrack to see how you can make the videos unique using your brand’s personality. Depending on your channel’s content and niche, you want to make sure you give yourself some wiggle room to cover trending topics in your industry. If some big news breaks out or there’s a subject you know others with similar channels are talking about, don’t hesitate to ride the wave. It’s important to stay relevant. Even if you’re covering the same topics as others, it gives you an opportunity to add your valuable input on a subject.

03. Map it out

Now with your content type secured, make a plan as to how you will not only execute its creation, but everything in this venture. Think of this as a business plan of sorts and return to it every now and then to make sure you’re adhering to the standards that you set up for yourself. You can also treat this part as a checklist of the things you will need in the creation of your YouTube channel, including any and all equipment you will need to produce quality videos. This is also a good time to figure out who else will be involved with the your channel, if anyone. In essence, build a realistic timeline for your posting schedule, gather topics for your content, and make sure you follow this timeline consistently along your journey.

04. Make sure your channel page is welcoming

You know what’s not cute? An incomplete YouTube profile. If you’re trying to make YouTube “happen” for you, be sure to mind your p’s and q’s. Since the medium is a visual one, presentation is key. Your profile photo or logo needs to be set in the correct place and your channel banner image needs to be the correct dimensions. Other things to think about are the style of your video thumbnails. Do they have their own visual style that you will continue to consistently reproduce? To ensure all your elements are in place and are the correct size take a look at our ultimate social media size guide. You’re welcome.

05. Mind your SEO

Properly setting up SEO for your YouTube videos is beyond important. Since you took the time to produce your videos don’t start slacking now. YouTube is a very sophisticated search engine, and people use it a lot to discover new content. Which means that, by choosing the right keywords, you’ll embetter your chance to be found, seen, and enjoyed. If there are videos similar to one you’re looking to create, take a look at the exact words you typed in for the results. Then try a slight variation to see how the results change just so you can see what a word or two of difference can make. Research the keywords you’d like to use, their popularity, and the keywords your competition uses.

06. Be consistent. Be-be consistent

It doesn’t matter how many of these articles about being successful on YouTube you read through, you will always find this one. You must be consistent to see any kind of success. It’s that or hedge your bets on instant viral success. Don’t get me wrong, that would cool, but the viral route is not a guaranteed one in the least bit. No matter what type of content you’re producing, stay consistent with your timing and type. Set a schedule as to when you will release your videos and try to stick to it. Consistently releasing videos on the same day and time not only tells your audience when they can expect your new content, but it gives you a schedule to work with and abide by. Consistency isn’t just about timing. It’s about ensuring steady, on-brand content.

Let’s say you follow a baking channel on YouTube and it’s your go-to source for all things baking, but the latest episode, without explanation, is all about their trip to a monster truck rally. (Really?) The stark contrast in content, especially without warning, is jarring and will leave your loyal viewers confused. If you want to experiment with your content it would be wise to give your audience a heads up first..

07. Get to the point

You know what’s absolutely, completely unnecessary for a YouTube video? A five minute explanation for something you can (and intend to) show your viewer that only takes 30 seconds. Sounds funny when worded like that, right? Unfortunately, this is terribly common. I’m sorry, but people do not have time for you to waste their time, so just get right to it. If you release how-to videos, it’s an absolute must to get to your point as soon as you can. Explain what the video is going to be about and then dive right in. The point of a video is to “show” your viewer something (If they just want to listen, they would listen to a podcast.) Of course, there will be instances where further elaboration or troubleshooting may need to be mentioned, but save that for later in the video. Your audience will thank you.

08. Keep up with your niche

When presenting (recording) to your audience, you want to be seen as knowledgeable about your industry. This entails staying up with news about your niche and your video making peers. Keeping up with the news and happenings of your industry (including your competition) allows you to make relevant and fresh content for your viewers. By watching your competitions videos you can see the points and opinions they make before you make your own video. Allowing you to follow up with your own counter argument (if you live for drama) or your own spin to keep it unique. This will also help to establish yourself as a “go-to” channel for someone who wants to stay up to date with a certain subject.

09. Manage your community like a boss

If you measure success by subscriber count, your subscribers are basically gold, so be sure to treat them as such. This goes beyond just answering and liking their comments. Community management can be a job of its own. A great way to engage with your community instantly is to host a YouTube live stream. Live video is becoming increasingly more popular, as it allows you to interact directly with your viewers and shows a more candid, off the cuff presentation. This platform is also great for hosting Q&As so your audience can get answers to their burning questions right then and there. You can also flip it and ask your viewers to leave questions in the comments which you can then answer during the session. This may be an article about YouTube, but you should definitely also engage with your community on other social networks as well. Plus, its a great way to take advantage of multiple platforms and tap into new audiences. Being socially present on multiple networks shows that you are availability and committed to your community.

A couple of ways to grow your community include:

Always make sure to link from one social network to the other. A properly placed CTA in your videos can help you achieve this action.

When releasing a new video, announce it on all your other channels. Plus: don’t forget to add a link to your latest vid.

Create a blog to keep your community interested.

Start a forum to keep the conversation going.

Send out newsletters using Wix Email Marketing to promote your weekly blog, announcements or updates.

10. Spread the word with a killer website

When your primary content is made for YouTube, it’s hard to give your brand another home. Sure, you can share your videos on other social networks, and you should, but a stunning video website should be your YouTube channel’s home away from home. The great advantage of a video website is that you’re the owner of everything on your website. Essentially, you’re not confined to what a social media platform has to offer. Therefore, your site has all the benefits of YouTube without any of the limitations. With Wix Video, you can easily sync your YouTube channel to your site, enabling a smooth integration of your videos into your website. That means, more views on your videos straight from your site. From your site, you have the option to sell your videos, rent them or even set up a monthly subscription plan. Best of all, it’s all free.

11. Learn from your analytics

Even the best can do it better. YouTube offers up a dedicated analytics section for your channel so you can see how your videos are performing. Analytics will allow you to get insight on the people who are watching your videos, which allows you to hone into your target demographic even further. It will also give you a better idea as to why one video may have performed better than another. Basically, it’s a powerful tool you should take advantage of for your budding channel.

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