The Ultimate Checklist for Establishing a Distinctive Online Self

How to Build Your Personal Brand on YouTube

Shanoon Cox

Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions

0

How can you build a personal brand on YouTube that stands out?

YouTube is oversaturated. If you do comedy, fashion, gaming, vlogging, or any other major genre then you are competing with thousands of other channels. In order to grow you need to stand out, and that’s why it’s important to build a strong, clear, brand.

1. Your Brand is Your Unique Message
2. The Elevator Pitch
3. How to Start Building Your Brand
4. Being Consistent

Bonus Tip-Make A Creative YouTube Video with Wondershare Filmora

No Doubt, Filmora is the one of the best tools for newbie editors, vloggers and vine artists as it has all the features and tools they might be looking for. Some features make it the most reliable tool of all times. The split screen presets, royalty-free music, video transitions, filters, text templates, and advanced color tuning, etc are the first and foremost requirement of an editor who is looking ahead to build a personal brand on YouTube channel and earn some money from it.

Your Brand is Your Unique Message

Competing on YouTube is all about offering value. Viewers should be able to find something on your channel that they can’t find anywhere else. This doesn’t mean you need to bend over backwards trying toinvent brand new video ideas that nobody has ever tried before – it just means you need to focus on building your unique brand. That is what will make viewers subscribe to you instead of just watching one of your videos and then clicking away.

The Elevator Pitch

If you had 20 seconds – a short elevator ride – to describe your channel in a way that would make someone want to subscribe, what would you say?

Think about if you were trying to describe your new favorite show to a friend. You wouldn’t stop at saying ‘it’s a comedy’ or ‘it’s about lawyers’ – that doesn’t really tell them anything. You would describe the style of comedy, the personalities of characters you love, and the kinds of plots the show offers.

You need to be able to do that when you talk about your channel.

What is your style of comedy?

What is your attitude towards fashion?

What will a viewer get out of watching you make pasta that they won’t get from watching someone else make pasta?

Work on developing an elevator pitch for your channel. It will help you define your brand for yourself, and it’ll be useful if you make a channel trailer.

How to Start Building Your Brand

Building a brand should be intentional. You need to be yourself, but it’s not enough to just ‘be’. You need to create yourself.

In order to figure out what unique value you’re bringing to YouTube you’ll need to pay attention to your channel stats and comments your viewers make. It can also be a good idea to ask for feedback from friends who you know will be honest with you.

You will notice patterns. There will be things you do in your video that people consistently like more and less. The way you build your brand is by cutting out the stuff that isn’t working and focusing more intentionally on the stuff that is. If people like it when you do meme humor, for example, do more meme humor and make incorporating that in your videos part of your brand.

Banners and thumbnails are also a part of your brand. More on that here .

Being Consistent

The key to branding is consistency. People need to be able to set expectations.

For every video you do, ask yourself these questions:

Who are you?

What is your message?

What value are you providing?

Who is it for?

The answers to these questions make up your brand. They may change gradually over time – i.e. if you start making videos as a 16 year old, for other 16 year olds, then the ‘Who is it for?’ will change as you and your subscriber base get older – but in general the answers should always be the same. If your ‘message’ is positive and empowering, then it should always be positive and empowering.

When you intentionally create your personal brand on YouTube, you take charge of the message you’re sending.

Shanoon Cox

Shanoon Cox is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Shanoon Cox

Shanoon Cox

Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions

0

How can you build a personal brand on YouTube that stands out?

YouTube is oversaturated. If you do comedy, fashion, gaming, vlogging, or any other major genre then you are competing with thousands of other channels. In order to grow you need to stand out, and that’s why it’s important to build a strong, clear, brand.

1. Your Brand is Your Unique Message
2. The Elevator Pitch
3. How to Start Building Your Brand
4. Being Consistent

Bonus Tip-Make A Creative YouTube Video with Wondershare Filmora

No Doubt, Filmora is the one of the best tools for newbie editors, vloggers and vine artists as it has all the features and tools they might be looking for. Some features make it the most reliable tool of all times. The split screen presets, royalty-free music, video transitions, filters, text templates, and advanced color tuning, etc are the first and foremost requirement of an editor who is looking ahead to build a personal brand on YouTube channel and earn some money from it.

Your Brand is Your Unique Message

Competing on YouTube is all about offering value. Viewers should be able to find something on your channel that they can’t find anywhere else. This doesn’t mean you need to bend over backwards trying toinvent brand new video ideas that nobody has ever tried before – it just means you need to focus on building your unique brand. That is what will make viewers subscribe to you instead of just watching one of your videos and then clicking away.

The Elevator Pitch

If you had 20 seconds – a short elevator ride – to describe your channel in a way that would make someone want to subscribe, what would you say?

Think about if you were trying to describe your new favorite show to a friend. You wouldn’t stop at saying ‘it’s a comedy’ or ‘it’s about lawyers’ – that doesn’t really tell them anything. You would describe the style of comedy, the personalities of characters you love, and the kinds of plots the show offers.

You need to be able to do that when you talk about your channel.

What is your style of comedy?

What is your attitude towards fashion?

What will a viewer get out of watching you make pasta that they won’t get from watching someone else make pasta?

Work on developing an elevator pitch for your channel. It will help you define your brand for yourself, and it’ll be useful if you make a channel trailer.

How to Start Building Your Brand

Building a brand should be intentional. You need to be yourself, but it’s not enough to just ‘be’. You need to create yourself.

In order to figure out what unique value you’re bringing to YouTube you’ll need to pay attention to your channel stats and comments your viewers make. It can also be a good idea to ask for feedback from friends who you know will be honest with you.

You will notice patterns. There will be things you do in your video that people consistently like more and less. The way you build your brand is by cutting out the stuff that isn’t working and focusing more intentionally on the stuff that is. If people like it when you do meme humor, for example, do more meme humor and make incorporating that in your videos part of your brand.

Banners and thumbnails are also a part of your brand. More on that here .

Being Consistent

The key to branding is consistency. People need to be able to set expectations.

For every video you do, ask yourself these questions:

Who are you?

What is your message?

What value are you providing?

Who is it for?

The answers to these questions make up your brand. They may change gradually over time – i.e. if you start making videos as a 16 year old, for other 16 year olds, then the ‘Who is it for?’ will change as you and your subscriber base get older – but in general the answers should always be the same. If your ‘message’ is positive and empowering, then it should always be positive and empowering.

When you intentionally create your personal brand on YouTube, you take charge of the message you’re sending.

Shanoon Cox

Shanoon Cox is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Shanoon Cox

Shanoon Cox

Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions

0

How can you build a personal brand on YouTube that stands out?

YouTube is oversaturated. If you do comedy, fashion, gaming, vlogging, or any other major genre then you are competing with thousands of other channels. In order to grow you need to stand out, and that’s why it’s important to build a strong, clear, brand.

1. Your Brand is Your Unique Message
2. The Elevator Pitch
3. How to Start Building Your Brand
4. Being Consistent

Bonus Tip-Make A Creative YouTube Video with Wondershare Filmora

No Doubt, Filmora is the one of the best tools for newbie editors, vloggers and vine artists as it has all the features and tools they might be looking for. Some features make it the most reliable tool of all times. The split screen presets, royalty-free music, video transitions, filters, text templates, and advanced color tuning, etc are the first and foremost requirement of an editor who is looking ahead to build a personal brand on YouTube channel and earn some money from it.

Your Brand is Your Unique Message

Competing on YouTube is all about offering value. Viewers should be able to find something on your channel that they can’t find anywhere else. This doesn’t mean you need to bend over backwards trying toinvent brand new video ideas that nobody has ever tried before – it just means you need to focus on building your unique brand. That is what will make viewers subscribe to you instead of just watching one of your videos and then clicking away.

The Elevator Pitch

If you had 20 seconds – a short elevator ride – to describe your channel in a way that would make someone want to subscribe, what would you say?

Think about if you were trying to describe your new favorite show to a friend. You wouldn’t stop at saying ‘it’s a comedy’ or ‘it’s about lawyers’ – that doesn’t really tell them anything. You would describe the style of comedy, the personalities of characters you love, and the kinds of plots the show offers.

You need to be able to do that when you talk about your channel.

What is your style of comedy?

What is your attitude towards fashion?

What will a viewer get out of watching you make pasta that they won’t get from watching someone else make pasta?

Work on developing an elevator pitch for your channel. It will help you define your brand for yourself, and it’ll be useful if you make a channel trailer.

How to Start Building Your Brand

Building a brand should be intentional. You need to be yourself, but it’s not enough to just ‘be’. You need to create yourself.

In order to figure out what unique value you’re bringing to YouTube you’ll need to pay attention to your channel stats and comments your viewers make. It can also be a good idea to ask for feedback from friends who you know will be honest with you.

You will notice patterns. There will be things you do in your video that people consistently like more and less. The way you build your brand is by cutting out the stuff that isn’t working and focusing more intentionally on the stuff that is. If people like it when you do meme humor, for example, do more meme humor and make incorporating that in your videos part of your brand.

Banners and thumbnails are also a part of your brand. More on that here .

Being Consistent

The key to branding is consistency. People need to be able to set expectations.

For every video you do, ask yourself these questions:

Who are you?

What is your message?

What value are you providing?

Who is it for?

The answers to these questions make up your brand. They may change gradually over time – i.e. if you start making videos as a 16 year old, for other 16 year olds, then the ‘Who is it for?’ will change as you and your subscriber base get older – but in general the answers should always be the same. If your ‘message’ is positive and empowering, then it should always be positive and empowering.

When you intentionally create your personal brand on YouTube, you take charge of the message you’re sending.

Shanoon Cox

Shanoon Cox is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Shanoon Cox

Shanoon Cox

Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions

0

How can you build a personal brand on YouTube that stands out?

YouTube is oversaturated. If you do comedy, fashion, gaming, vlogging, or any other major genre then you are competing with thousands of other channels. In order to grow you need to stand out, and that’s why it’s important to build a strong, clear, brand.

1. Your Brand is Your Unique Message
2. The Elevator Pitch
3. How to Start Building Your Brand
4. Being Consistent

Bonus Tip-Make A Creative YouTube Video with Wondershare Filmora

No Doubt, Filmora is the one of the best tools for newbie editors, vloggers and vine artists as it has all the features and tools they might be looking for. Some features make it the most reliable tool of all times. The split screen presets, royalty-free music, video transitions, filters, text templates, and advanced color tuning, etc are the first and foremost requirement of an editor who is looking ahead to build a personal brand on YouTube channel and earn some money from it.

Your Brand is Your Unique Message

Competing on YouTube is all about offering value. Viewers should be able to find something on your channel that they can’t find anywhere else. This doesn’t mean you need to bend over backwards trying toinvent brand new video ideas that nobody has ever tried before – it just means you need to focus on building your unique brand. That is what will make viewers subscribe to you instead of just watching one of your videos and then clicking away.

The Elevator Pitch

If you had 20 seconds – a short elevator ride – to describe your channel in a way that would make someone want to subscribe, what would you say?

Think about if you were trying to describe your new favorite show to a friend. You wouldn’t stop at saying ‘it’s a comedy’ or ‘it’s about lawyers’ – that doesn’t really tell them anything. You would describe the style of comedy, the personalities of characters you love, and the kinds of plots the show offers.

You need to be able to do that when you talk about your channel.

What is your style of comedy?

What is your attitude towards fashion?

What will a viewer get out of watching you make pasta that they won’t get from watching someone else make pasta?

Work on developing an elevator pitch for your channel. It will help you define your brand for yourself, and it’ll be useful if you make a channel trailer.

How to Start Building Your Brand

Building a brand should be intentional. You need to be yourself, but it’s not enough to just ‘be’. You need to create yourself.

In order to figure out what unique value you’re bringing to YouTube you’ll need to pay attention to your channel stats and comments your viewers make. It can also be a good idea to ask for feedback from friends who you know will be honest with you.

You will notice patterns. There will be things you do in your video that people consistently like more and less. The way you build your brand is by cutting out the stuff that isn’t working and focusing more intentionally on the stuff that is. If people like it when you do meme humor, for example, do more meme humor and make incorporating that in your videos part of your brand.

Banners and thumbnails are also a part of your brand. More on that here .

Being Consistent

The key to branding is consistency. People need to be able to set expectations.

For every video you do, ask yourself these questions:

Who are you?

What is your message?

What value are you providing?

Who is it for?

The answers to these questions make up your brand. They may change gradually over time – i.e. if you start making videos as a 16 year old, for other 16 year olds, then the ‘Who is it for?’ will change as you and your subscriber base get older – but in general the answers should always be the same. If your ‘message’ is positive and empowering, then it should always be positive and empowering.

When you intentionally create your personal brand on YouTube, you take charge of the message you’re sending.

Shanoon Cox

Shanoon Cox is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Shanoon Cox

Breaking Down 8 Common Blunders in Early-Stage YouTube Success

8 Mistakes People Should Avoid as a New YouTuber

Richard Bennett

Nov 01, 2022• Proven solutions

0

In the ten years that I’ve been a YouTuber, I’ve made a lot of mistakes. I learned from those mistakes and have helped many new YouTubers start their own channels. Here is a list of eight common mistakes that new YouTubers should avoid, along with tips to do things in a better way.

1. Failing to have a long-term vision

One common mistake that a lot of new YouTubers make is failing to have a long-term vision. Without a long-term vision, you’re more likely to poorly brand your YouTube channel, drop your YouTube channel activity in busier times, and, midway through, change the type of content you create and upload. None of these are good for your channel!

If you can think of the kind of content you’ll love to consistently create and share in the long-run, you’ll not only be able to narrow down your brand and effectively communicate to your audience who you are and what your channel is all about, but you’ll also have a better idea on what to put out next.

2. Choosing an ineffective custom URL

Another mistake I made with my first YouTube channel was choosing an ineffective custom URL. Because my last name is Kim, I wanted to make my custom URL “YouTube.com/kimagination.” But it wasn’t available. So, I took “kimaginati0n” with a zero where the “o” should be. I thought it was a good idea back then but it was a terrible idea.

Choose a custom URL with words that can’t be confused with other similar-sounding words. For consistency across all your different social media accounts, try to choose a custom URL that matches the usernames of all your other social media channels. If the username you want isn’t available, then keep on trying to come up with a good name that is available. When you’ve secured the same username across all your different social media channels, you can then very simply promote yourself and all your social media channels by displaying just the social media icons followed by your one username.

3. Coming up with titles that won’t get searched

Many new YouTubers make the mistake of titling their videos in an ineffective way. Rather than coming up with titles that more people might search, they either come up with titles that summarize what the video is about as a whole or title their videos the way big YouTubers do.

Big YouTubers can take advantage of non-searched, curiosity evoking titles like “You won’t believe what just happened…” because they already have a huge following. Their channels aren’t depending on getting discovered through search. But yours is. So come up with titles that people are actually searching.

As an example, let’s suppose you vlogged your time backpacking around Europe last summer. Don’t title your YouTube video “My Summer Backpacking Trip.” Instead, title it “Going Up The Eiffel Tower | Beautiful View of Paris!” This way, all the people who are curious about visiting Paris, the Eiffel Tower, and seeing what the view is like from the top of the Eiffel Tower might find your video.

4. Failing to have a thumbnail strategy

New YouTubers tend to think about their thumbnail images after they’ve finished editing their videos together. This is way too late in the process for something that is so incredibly important in getting views.

Even before filming, you should think about how you’re going to title your video to get the most views. After that, you should then try to picture, in your head, a thumbnail image that matches your title and creates curiosity and excitement. When you go into filming, you can then make sure to include some footage of you recreating that image.

5. Making weak intros

After you’ve managed to get someone to click on your video through your effective title and thumbnail image strategy, the next challenge is to keep that person watching your video without closing it too early. A typical viewer on YouTube decides within the first ten to fifteen seconds of landing on a video whether or not he or she will stay or leave. This short window of time is so important to set the tone of the rest of your video and build excitement and curiosity in your viewer with an effective, high-energy intro.

New YouTubers often make the mistake of having weak intros. Starting at the beginning of a story makes sense, right? The beginning, however, is not always the most exciting. Consequently, new YouTubers lose their audience’s attention too early on.

To read more on how some of the most successful YouTubers effectively do their intros, check out my blogpost on “How To Edit YouTube Videos Like a YouTuber .”

6. Forgetting to engage with subscribers

An important thing to do as a new YouTuber is engaging with your subscribers. Some new YouTubers, though, are so focused and busy with the production side of things that they forget to do the community side of things, including responding to comments. By not responding to comments as a new YouTuber, you hurt your potential to get more comments consistently from your subscribers. If your video’s comments section is very active, YouTube ranks your video higher in the videos it recommends to viewers.

Connecting with your audience shouldn’t just be limited to YouTube either. Use your other social media channels to connect with your audience as well.

7. Not promoting with social media

YouTube isn’t the only social media platform that people are spending their time on. People are spending their time on all kinds of different social media platforms, like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. The more content in all of these platforms that you create to promote your video, the more potential your video has to be seen by their users.

New YouTubers sometimes forget to promote their videos and channel using other social media platforms. Consequently, they miss out on the opportunity to get views from multiple sources of social media.

8. Spamming comments

Commenting on other YouTube videos is another way to get your channel discovered from people reading over comments. If your profile picture and comment appears interesting enough, out of curiosity, people just might click your username to have a look at your channel.

But rather than leaving interesting comments that are related to the video, rather than adding to the conversation, some new YouTubers desperate to get more subscribers make the mistake of spamming videos with “check out my YouTube channel!” comments.

Spam comments annoy YouTubers. It would be much more beneficial to your channel to build good relationships with other YouTubers to possibly collaborate on a video together in the future.

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Nov 01, 2022• Proven solutions

0

In the ten years that I’ve been a YouTuber, I’ve made a lot of mistakes. I learned from those mistakes and have helped many new YouTubers start their own channels. Here is a list of eight common mistakes that new YouTubers should avoid, along with tips to do things in a better way.

1. Failing to have a long-term vision

One common mistake that a lot of new YouTubers make is failing to have a long-term vision. Without a long-term vision, you’re more likely to poorly brand your YouTube channel, drop your YouTube channel activity in busier times, and, midway through, change the type of content you create and upload. None of these are good for your channel!

If you can think of the kind of content you’ll love to consistently create and share in the long-run, you’ll not only be able to narrow down your brand and effectively communicate to your audience who you are and what your channel is all about, but you’ll also have a better idea on what to put out next.

2. Choosing an ineffective custom URL

Another mistake I made with my first YouTube channel was choosing an ineffective custom URL. Because my last name is Kim, I wanted to make my custom URL “YouTube.com/kimagination.” But it wasn’t available. So, I took “kimaginati0n” with a zero where the “o” should be. I thought it was a good idea back then but it was a terrible idea.

Choose a custom URL with words that can’t be confused with other similar-sounding words. For consistency across all your different social media accounts, try to choose a custom URL that matches the usernames of all your other social media channels. If the username you want isn’t available, then keep on trying to come up with a good name that is available. When you’ve secured the same username across all your different social media channels, you can then very simply promote yourself and all your social media channels by displaying just the social media icons followed by your one username.

3. Coming up with titles that won’t get searched

Many new YouTubers make the mistake of titling their videos in an ineffective way. Rather than coming up with titles that more people might search, they either come up with titles that summarize what the video is about as a whole or title their videos the way big YouTubers do.

Big YouTubers can take advantage of non-searched, curiosity evoking titles like “You won’t believe what just happened…” because they already have a huge following. Their channels aren’t depending on getting discovered through search. But yours is. So come up with titles that people are actually searching.

As an example, let’s suppose you vlogged your time backpacking around Europe last summer. Don’t title your YouTube video “My Summer Backpacking Trip.” Instead, title it “Going Up The Eiffel Tower | Beautiful View of Paris!” This way, all the people who are curious about visiting Paris, the Eiffel Tower, and seeing what the view is like from the top of the Eiffel Tower might find your video.

4. Failing to have a thumbnail strategy

New YouTubers tend to think about their thumbnail images after they’ve finished editing their videos together. This is way too late in the process for something that is so incredibly important in getting views.

Even before filming, you should think about how you’re going to title your video to get the most views. After that, you should then try to picture, in your head, a thumbnail image that matches your title and creates curiosity and excitement. When you go into filming, you can then make sure to include some footage of you recreating that image.

5. Making weak intros

After you’ve managed to get someone to click on your video through your effective title and thumbnail image strategy, the next challenge is to keep that person watching your video without closing it too early. A typical viewer on YouTube decides within the first ten to fifteen seconds of landing on a video whether or not he or she will stay or leave. This short window of time is so important to set the tone of the rest of your video and build excitement and curiosity in your viewer with an effective, high-energy intro.

New YouTubers often make the mistake of having weak intros. Starting at the beginning of a story makes sense, right? The beginning, however, is not always the most exciting. Consequently, new YouTubers lose their audience’s attention too early on.

To read more on how some of the most successful YouTubers effectively do their intros, check out my blogpost on “How To Edit YouTube Videos Like a YouTuber .”

6. Forgetting to engage with subscribers

An important thing to do as a new YouTuber is engaging with your subscribers. Some new YouTubers, though, are so focused and busy with the production side of things that they forget to do the community side of things, including responding to comments. By not responding to comments as a new YouTuber, you hurt your potential to get more comments consistently from your subscribers. If your video’s comments section is very active, YouTube ranks your video higher in the videos it recommends to viewers.

Connecting with your audience shouldn’t just be limited to YouTube either. Use your other social media channels to connect with your audience as well.

7. Not promoting with social media

YouTube isn’t the only social media platform that people are spending their time on. People are spending their time on all kinds of different social media platforms, like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. The more content in all of these platforms that you create to promote your video, the more potential your video has to be seen by their users.

New YouTubers sometimes forget to promote their videos and channel using other social media platforms. Consequently, they miss out on the opportunity to get views from multiple sources of social media.

8. Spamming comments

Commenting on other YouTube videos is another way to get your channel discovered from people reading over comments. If your profile picture and comment appears interesting enough, out of curiosity, people just might click your username to have a look at your channel.

But rather than leaving interesting comments that are related to the video, rather than adding to the conversation, some new YouTubers desperate to get more subscribers make the mistake of spamming videos with “check out my YouTube channel!” comments.

Spam comments annoy YouTubers. It would be much more beneficial to your channel to build good relationships with other YouTubers to possibly collaborate on a video together in the future.

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Nov 01, 2022• Proven solutions

0

In the ten years that I’ve been a YouTuber, I’ve made a lot of mistakes. I learned from those mistakes and have helped many new YouTubers start their own channels. Here is a list of eight common mistakes that new YouTubers should avoid, along with tips to do things in a better way.

1. Failing to have a long-term vision

One common mistake that a lot of new YouTubers make is failing to have a long-term vision. Without a long-term vision, you’re more likely to poorly brand your YouTube channel, drop your YouTube channel activity in busier times, and, midway through, change the type of content you create and upload. None of these are good for your channel!

If you can think of the kind of content you’ll love to consistently create and share in the long-run, you’ll not only be able to narrow down your brand and effectively communicate to your audience who you are and what your channel is all about, but you’ll also have a better idea on what to put out next.

2. Choosing an ineffective custom URL

Another mistake I made with my first YouTube channel was choosing an ineffective custom URL. Because my last name is Kim, I wanted to make my custom URL “YouTube.com/kimagination.” But it wasn’t available. So, I took “kimaginati0n” with a zero where the “o” should be. I thought it was a good idea back then but it was a terrible idea.

Choose a custom URL with words that can’t be confused with other similar-sounding words. For consistency across all your different social media accounts, try to choose a custom URL that matches the usernames of all your other social media channels. If the username you want isn’t available, then keep on trying to come up with a good name that is available. When you’ve secured the same username across all your different social media channels, you can then very simply promote yourself and all your social media channels by displaying just the social media icons followed by your one username.

3. Coming up with titles that won’t get searched

Many new YouTubers make the mistake of titling their videos in an ineffective way. Rather than coming up with titles that more people might search, they either come up with titles that summarize what the video is about as a whole or title their videos the way big YouTubers do.

Big YouTubers can take advantage of non-searched, curiosity evoking titles like “You won’t believe what just happened…” because they already have a huge following. Their channels aren’t depending on getting discovered through search. But yours is. So come up with titles that people are actually searching.

As an example, let’s suppose you vlogged your time backpacking around Europe last summer. Don’t title your YouTube video “My Summer Backpacking Trip.” Instead, title it “Going Up The Eiffel Tower | Beautiful View of Paris!” This way, all the people who are curious about visiting Paris, the Eiffel Tower, and seeing what the view is like from the top of the Eiffel Tower might find your video.

4. Failing to have a thumbnail strategy

New YouTubers tend to think about their thumbnail images after they’ve finished editing their videos together. This is way too late in the process for something that is so incredibly important in getting views.

Even before filming, you should think about how you’re going to title your video to get the most views. After that, you should then try to picture, in your head, a thumbnail image that matches your title and creates curiosity and excitement. When you go into filming, you can then make sure to include some footage of you recreating that image.

5. Making weak intros

After you’ve managed to get someone to click on your video through your effective title and thumbnail image strategy, the next challenge is to keep that person watching your video without closing it too early. A typical viewer on YouTube decides within the first ten to fifteen seconds of landing on a video whether or not he or she will stay or leave. This short window of time is so important to set the tone of the rest of your video and build excitement and curiosity in your viewer with an effective, high-energy intro.

New YouTubers often make the mistake of having weak intros. Starting at the beginning of a story makes sense, right? The beginning, however, is not always the most exciting. Consequently, new YouTubers lose their audience’s attention too early on.

To read more on how some of the most successful YouTubers effectively do their intros, check out my blogpost on “How To Edit YouTube Videos Like a YouTuber .”

6. Forgetting to engage with subscribers

An important thing to do as a new YouTuber is engaging with your subscribers. Some new YouTubers, though, are so focused and busy with the production side of things that they forget to do the community side of things, including responding to comments. By not responding to comments as a new YouTuber, you hurt your potential to get more comments consistently from your subscribers. If your video’s comments section is very active, YouTube ranks your video higher in the videos it recommends to viewers.

Connecting with your audience shouldn’t just be limited to YouTube either. Use your other social media channels to connect with your audience as well.

7. Not promoting with social media

YouTube isn’t the only social media platform that people are spending their time on. People are spending their time on all kinds of different social media platforms, like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. The more content in all of these platforms that you create to promote your video, the more potential your video has to be seen by their users.

New YouTubers sometimes forget to promote their videos and channel using other social media platforms. Consequently, they miss out on the opportunity to get views from multiple sources of social media.

8. Spamming comments

Commenting on other YouTube videos is another way to get your channel discovered from people reading over comments. If your profile picture and comment appears interesting enough, out of curiosity, people just might click your username to have a look at your channel.

But rather than leaving interesting comments that are related to the video, rather than adding to the conversation, some new YouTubers desperate to get more subscribers make the mistake of spamming videos with “check out my YouTube channel!” comments.

Spam comments annoy YouTubers. It would be much more beneficial to your channel to build good relationships with other YouTubers to possibly collaborate on a video together in the future.

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Nov 01, 2022• Proven solutions

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In the ten years that I’ve been a YouTuber, I’ve made a lot of mistakes. I learned from those mistakes and have helped many new YouTubers start their own channels. Here is a list of eight common mistakes that new YouTubers should avoid, along with tips to do things in a better way.

1. Failing to have a long-term vision

One common mistake that a lot of new YouTubers make is failing to have a long-term vision. Without a long-term vision, you’re more likely to poorly brand your YouTube channel, drop your YouTube channel activity in busier times, and, midway through, change the type of content you create and upload. None of these are good for your channel!

If you can think of the kind of content you’ll love to consistently create and share in the long-run, you’ll not only be able to narrow down your brand and effectively communicate to your audience who you are and what your channel is all about, but you’ll also have a better idea on what to put out next.

2. Choosing an ineffective custom URL

Another mistake I made with my first YouTube channel was choosing an ineffective custom URL. Because my last name is Kim, I wanted to make my custom URL “YouTube.com/kimagination.” But it wasn’t available. So, I took “kimaginati0n” with a zero where the “o” should be. I thought it was a good idea back then but it was a terrible idea.

Choose a custom URL with words that can’t be confused with other similar-sounding words. For consistency across all your different social media accounts, try to choose a custom URL that matches the usernames of all your other social media channels. If the username you want isn’t available, then keep on trying to come up with a good name that is available. When you’ve secured the same username across all your different social media channels, you can then very simply promote yourself and all your social media channels by displaying just the social media icons followed by your one username.

3. Coming up with titles that won’t get searched

Many new YouTubers make the mistake of titling their videos in an ineffective way. Rather than coming up with titles that more people might search, they either come up with titles that summarize what the video is about as a whole or title their videos the way big YouTubers do.

Big YouTubers can take advantage of non-searched, curiosity evoking titles like “You won’t believe what just happened…” because they already have a huge following. Their channels aren’t depending on getting discovered through search. But yours is. So come up with titles that people are actually searching.

As an example, let’s suppose you vlogged your time backpacking around Europe last summer. Don’t title your YouTube video “My Summer Backpacking Trip.” Instead, title it “Going Up The Eiffel Tower | Beautiful View of Paris!” This way, all the people who are curious about visiting Paris, the Eiffel Tower, and seeing what the view is like from the top of the Eiffel Tower might find your video.

4. Failing to have a thumbnail strategy

New YouTubers tend to think about their thumbnail images after they’ve finished editing their videos together. This is way too late in the process for something that is so incredibly important in getting views.

Even before filming, you should think about how you’re going to title your video to get the most views. After that, you should then try to picture, in your head, a thumbnail image that matches your title and creates curiosity and excitement. When you go into filming, you can then make sure to include some footage of you recreating that image.

5. Making weak intros

After you’ve managed to get someone to click on your video through your effective title and thumbnail image strategy, the next challenge is to keep that person watching your video without closing it too early. A typical viewer on YouTube decides within the first ten to fifteen seconds of landing on a video whether or not he or she will stay or leave. This short window of time is so important to set the tone of the rest of your video and build excitement and curiosity in your viewer with an effective, high-energy intro.

New YouTubers often make the mistake of having weak intros. Starting at the beginning of a story makes sense, right? The beginning, however, is not always the most exciting. Consequently, new YouTubers lose their audience’s attention too early on.

To read more on how some of the most successful YouTubers effectively do their intros, check out my blogpost on “How To Edit YouTube Videos Like a YouTuber .”

6. Forgetting to engage with subscribers

An important thing to do as a new YouTuber is engaging with your subscribers. Some new YouTubers, though, are so focused and busy with the production side of things that they forget to do the community side of things, including responding to comments. By not responding to comments as a new YouTuber, you hurt your potential to get more comments consistently from your subscribers. If your video’s comments section is very active, YouTube ranks your video higher in the videos it recommends to viewers.

Connecting with your audience shouldn’t just be limited to YouTube either. Use your other social media channels to connect with your audience as well.

7. Not promoting with social media

YouTube isn’t the only social media platform that people are spending their time on. People are spending their time on all kinds of different social media platforms, like Twitter, Facebook, and Instagram. The more content in all of these platforms that you create to promote your video, the more potential your video has to be seen by their users.

New YouTubers sometimes forget to promote their videos and channel using other social media platforms. Consequently, they miss out on the opportunity to get views from multiple sources of social media.

8. Spamming comments

Commenting on other YouTube videos is another way to get your channel discovered from people reading over comments. If your profile picture and comment appears interesting enough, out of curiosity, people just might click your username to have a look at your channel.

But rather than leaving interesting comments that are related to the video, rather than adding to the conversation, some new YouTubers desperate to get more subscribers make the mistake of spamming videos with “check out my YouTube channel!” comments.

Spam comments annoy YouTubers. It would be much more beneficial to your channel to build good relationships with other YouTubers to possibly collaborate on a video together in the future.

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett