A year or so ago, I created an AMA thread about YouTube marketing here. The thing is, this thread is in a VIP section of the forum. So, I’ve decided to create a new AMA thread for individuals who do not yet have access to the VIP sections of the forum!
As you can see from the title of this thread, I’ve been around YouTube for 10+ years. Over the years, I’ve had many of my own YouTube channels, but for the past 3+ years, I’ve been optimizing videos and managing channels for other people.
I’ve managed channels as large as 450,000 subscribers, and channels as small as 3 subscribers. Along with this, I’ve managed channels in a variety of different niches.
Feel free to ask me any questions you have about YouTube marketing and I’ll be happy to answer them to the best of my abilities.
I have grown YouTube channels on my own, yes. Between 2009 and 2016 I had my own personal channels. Unfortunately, I made a huge mistake (as I was 13 when I started) and I created 6-10 (can’t remember the exact number) different channels over the span of 7 years. This made it difficult for me to accumulate large subscriber numbers, etc. However, I have had personal channels that have had 1000’s of subscribers, views, etc.
To be completely honest, there isn’t a single paid YouTube marketing course I would recommend- they’re all quite basic and low-quality. However, a good free resource is the YouTube Creator Academy (YouTube themselves actually put this together).
Yes, 3 different niches on 1 channel is a no-go. Ideally, you’d want to have 1 of these topics be the focus of 1 channel.
All the content is created by my clients. Personally, I don’t tear apart the content my clients create unless they ask. I do look at average view duration to get an idea at the performance of each video, but I never say “you need to get ‘x’ equipment” etc. unless they ask for feedback. After all, it is their channel, not mine! I still want my clients to enjoy the process of YouTube marketing.
Be organized and efficient. Don’t just turn on the camera or press the record button at random. You should always have a specific topic you want to talk about in mind before going about the video creation process. Also, get comfortable with your recording equipment and editing software. The easiest way to do this is to create content!
My question is aligned with the one @InstaZeus already asked… What would be the basic stack (software / pages) you would recommend having for a newbie? And also, basic knowledge we must acquire for better results? (Is there is something besides the Youtube Creator Academy?)
Makes sense why those big youtubers will have separate channels. Should I start with my most passionate niche, then if it gets big, use it to drive up the other ones?
Yes, I would choose your desired niche first, then if you achieve success you can think about creating another channel in a different niche. Growing a YouTube channel takes time, so splitting efforts across different channels can be quite detremental initially.
I would recommend getting a video editing program and sticking with it so you can become more comfortable with the software (this will help you create better videos and be more efficient with the video editing process). Along with this, a graphic design software (I use Photoshop but many people use others like Canva, etc) is something you should get comfortable with for video thumbnails, etc.
Your goals initially should be to study how to actually create videos (the easiest way to do this is simply to create) and also how to do basic YouTube video SEO. Along with this, learning how to design video thumbnails is a good idea as well. All the more algorithmic things (watch time, AVD, etc) are irrelevant until you get more comfortable with creating content.
Hello, thank you very much for creating this thread. My question is, do you have any tips on how to help a video rank faster in a particular keyword? What are some of the things the algorithm is looking for?
Ultimately, your on-page video SEO (search engine optimization) and keyword selection will be the biggest factor in regards to video rankings in general. However, you asked about ranking videos faster, so having a high view velocity (lots of views in a short amount of time, continued steadily), high click-through rate, and some engagements (likes, comments) would be things that would help a video rank faster.
Honestly, what do you like? Cars, video games, etc? Ultimately, whatever you like and are passionate about is a good place to start- there’s no real techniques when it comes to choosing what content to create, because there’s an audience for every single topic on YouTube.
