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"[New] First Steps in Filmmaking Essentials for New YouTube Talents"
First Steps in Filmmaking: Essentials for New YouTube Talents
YouTube Equipment Starter Guide For Beginners
Sumia Rafique
Feb 19, 2024• Proven solutions
If you want to start creating videos and uploading them onto YouTube, you’ll need to have access to some basic equipment. This guide will go over everything you’ll need to be a YouTuber.
Part 1: YOUTUBE EQUIPMENT: CAMERA
The best camera for beginners is the one you already have. Most smartphones these days already come equipped with a powerful camera that can record HD videos. If you still want to add a camera to your equipment list as a beginner YouTuber, you should look for a camera with the following eight qualities:
What To Look For In A Camera As A YouTuber
1. Fully articulated screen (flip screen)
2. Good continual auto focus while recording video
3. Good focus priority through face recognition
4. Touch to focus
5. Good low-light performance
6. external mic jack, hot/cold shoe bracket
7. optical image stabilization
8. good battery life
Check out my full list of 10 Things To Look For In A Vlogging Camera to understand the importance of these camera features.
Best Cheap Vlogging Cameras
Below are the best cheap vlogging cameras that you can get for under $500. They all record at least 1080p HD video and all but the Sony Alpha a5100 come with optical image stabilization (if you want OIS with the Sony a5100, you’ll have it get it in the lens).
| Camera | Release Date | Camera Type | Flip Screen | 4K | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yi 4KAction Camera |  |
February2017 | Action Camera | No | Yes | $169 (MSRP) |
| NikonCoolpixA900 |  |
February2016 | Compact | Flip Up | Yes | $399 (MSRP) |
| NikonCoolpixB500 |  |
February2016 | SLR-like (bridge) | Tilting | No | $250 (MSRP) |
| PolaroidCube+ |  |
June2015 | Action Camera | No | No | $99 (MSRP) |
| SonyAlphaa5100 |  |
August2014 | Mirrorless | Flip Up | No | $450 (MSRP) |
|
Best cheap vlogging camera under $100: Polaroid Cube+ Even before GoPro released their GoPro Session, Polaroid was the first to come out with a 1.4-inch, cube-shaped action camera, small enough to mount on a bike or a helmet. This camera has built-in magnets so that you can attach them to metal surfaces. This action camera is water-resistant, shock-proof, and weather-proof. It can record full HD 1080p videos at 60 fps with its wide-angle lens. You can connect this camera with your phone to preview and take your shots. |
|---|---|
|
Best cheap vlogging camera under $200: Yi 4K At $200, you can record 4K videos with the Yi 4K action camera. Like many other action cameras, this camera is small, durable, and shoots through a wide-angle lens. You won’t be able to take this camera underwater though because it isn’t waterproof. You’ll need to buy the right accessories for that. |
|
Best cheap vlogging camera under $300: Nikon B500 The Nikon B500 gives you a non-interchangeable zoom lens so that you have more control over how you compose your shots. This camera records full HD 1080p videos at either 30 or 25 fps. You can only set its ISO as high as 3200, so it’s not going to perform the best in low-light conditions. The tilting LCD screen does not have touchscreen and cannot be fully flipped up or flipped to the side, it only tilts. For a camera in its price range, the Nikon B500 offers a lot of features. |
|
Best cheap vlogging camera under $400: Nikon A900 The Nikon A900 not only comes with a non-interchangeable zoom lens, but it can also record videos in UHD 4K quality. Like the Nikon B500, the A900’s ISO goes only up to 3200, making it a weak performer in poorly lit conditions. |
|
Best cheap vlogging camera under $500: Sony a5100 Among the cameras listed in our top cheap cameras list, the Sony a5100 is the only one you can interchange lenses with. All Sony E-mount lenses are compatible with this camera. This camera can record up to 1080p videos at 60 fps. Out of all of the above top cheap cameras, this one also auto focuses the best. |
Best Entry-Level and Mid-Range Vlogging Cameras
If you have a bigger budget to work with, the following vlogging cameras are great options:
| Camera | Release Date | Camera Type | Flip Screen | Mic Port | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CanonEOSM50 |  |
February2018 | Mirrorless | Fully Articulated | Yes | $- |
| CanonEOSM100 |  |
August2017 | Mirrorless | Flip Up | No | $ |
| CanonEOS RebelSL2 |  |
June2017 | Compact SLR | Fully Articulated | Yes | $ |
| CanonEOS RebelT7i |  |
February2017 | Mid-size SLR | Fully Articulated | Yes | $- |
| CanonEOS80D |  |
February2016 | Mid-size SLR | Fully Articulated | Yes | $$ |
|
Best entry-level mirrorless camera for vlogging: Canon EOS M100 The Canon M100 is a small and powerful camera that can shoot full HD (1080p) videos up to 60 fps. The touchscreen LCD of this camera flips up so that you can see yourself as you vlog in selfie mode. |
|---|---|
|
Best mid-range mirrorless camera for vlogging: Canon EOS M50 The Canon EOS M50 can shoot UHD 4K videos at 23.98 fps. You can also record 120 fps slow-motion videos at 720p. Unlike the M100, which only has a flip up screen, the M50 has a fully articulated screen, so you can use this camera in selfie mode, all while using an on-camera shotgun microphone attached to the camera hot/cold shoe. |
|
Best DSLR camera for daily vlogging: Canon EOS T7i The Canon EOS T7i is a great DSLR camera for daily vlogging. It can record full HD 1080p videos at 60 fps, it can create HDR and time-lapse movies, and it also has a fully articulated screen. |
|
Best entry-level DSLR camera for vlogging: Canon EOS SL2 The Canon EOS SL2 delivers a lot of power at a low price. This DSLR camera can capture full HD 1080p videos at 60 fps. |
|
Best mid-range DSLR camera for vlogging: Canon EOS 80D The Canon 80D is an exceptional mid-range DSLR vlogging camera with many features. Coming with a 45-point all cross phase detection autofocusing and a dual pixel CMOS AF system, the camera is great at finding the right focus while recording video. |
Part 2: YOUTUBE EQUIPMENT: LENS
A lot of compact cameras already come with the lens as a part of the camera body. When it comes to these kinds of cameras, you won’t have to worry about which lens is right for you since the decision has already been made for you!
When you start looking into bigger cameras, though, you’ll have to think about which lens you want to shoot with.
The Wide-Angle Lens
Every YouTuber should have a wide-angle lens. With this kind of lens, you can fit much more of a scene into your camera frame, including your own face when you’re just an arm’s length away from your camera. This is especially important for YouTubers because most YouTubers have to operate their camera on their own, without the assistance of an additional camera person.
Optical Image Stabilization
You should also look for a lens with optical image stabilization if you’re shooting a lot of your YouTube videos handheld.
For more information on camera lenses, check out my Vlogger’s Guide To Camera Lenses .
Part 3: YOUTUBE EQUIPMENT: TRIPOD
 |
Tripod If you plan to film yourself talking in front of the same, unchanging background for an extended period of time, it doesn’t make sense to film yourself handheld the entire time. You’ll just end up tiring your arm out and adding distracting shakiness to your footage. A tripod is a great solution to this problem. You can set up your framing once, press record, and leave your camera in its fixed position while you talk with both hands free. |
|---|---|
 |
Joby GorillaPod With Ballhead When you film yourself handheld, it’s difficult to keep your arm higher up so that your camera shoots down at an ideal angle. You may also notice that a lot of your arm gets into your shot, which you and other viewers might find distracting. Holding your camera up by a GorillaPod, however, can give you the extension you need to get that higher angle shot more easily, all without so much of your arm getting into your shot. |
Part 4: YOUTUBE EQUIPMENT: MICROPHONE
Most vlogging cameras come with a built-in microphone that gets the job done. If you want higher quality audio recordings, though, you should check out the following list of top microphones.
| Top Condenser Mics For Music and Singing | Top Condenser Mics For Voiceovers-Podcasts, Interviews | Top On-Camera Shotgun Mics | Top Shotgun Mics | Top Low-Profile Lavalier Mics |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Audio-Technica AT2035 Rode NT1-A AKG C214 | Apogee Mic 96K Blue Yeti Rode NT-USB Blue Snowball Audio-Technica AT2020 Rode Procaster | Rode VideoMic Go Shure VP83 Rode VideoMic Pro+ Sennheiser MKE 440 | Rode NTG-3 Audio-Technica AT4053B Sennheiser MKH416 | Rode SmartLav+ Audio-Technica ATR3350iS Sennheiser ME2 |
To read more about each of these microphones, check out our post on The 19 Best YouTube Microphones 2018 – Options for Music, Voiceovers, Vlogging, and more!
Part 5: YOUTUBE EQUIPMENT: SMARTPHONE ACCESSORIES
Using your smartphone’s camera to film your YouTube videos is a great idea since it’s light, portable, and most likely always with you. The following six smartphone accessories can help you make better YouTube videos:
- Arkon Tripod Mount
- FLII Selfie Ring Light
- RODE VideoMic Me
- Aukey Optic 3-in-1 Smartphone Lens Set
- iOgrapher Go for Android and iPhone
- Manfrotto TwistGrip System
Read about each one of these items and more in The 9 Best Smartphone Camera Accessories For Vloggers .
Part 6: YOUTUBE EQUIPMENT: LIGHT
Lighting for home living and lighting for filming is very different. If you try to make use of just the lights you have at home, you may find that your footage is too dark, grainy, and orange-tinted.
The solution to this problem is getting additional video lighting equipment with daytime light bulbs.
 |
Daytime Light Bulbs Your home is most likely lit with incandescent light bulbs that illuminate orange-tinted light. You can remove those light bulbs and replace them with daytime light bulbs that illuminate more of a white colored light. |
|---|---|
 |
On-Camera LED Light If you need more light just in front of the camera and you need this light to be portable, LED lights that attach to your camera’s hot/cold shoe will do the job. |
 |
LED Ring Light If you need more light just in front of the camera, you don’t have a lot of space, and you don’t need this light to be small and portable, an LED ring light is the best piece of equipment for you. You can position your camera inside the circular space of the ring light. This kind of light also gives your eyes the circular shaped highlight that many people like to see. |
 |
Softbox Video Light If you need more light and have more space, another piece of lighting equipment good for beginners is a softbox video light. |
 |
Umbrella Video Light Umbrella video lights are very portable and affordable. The direction of the light from umbrella lights are more difficult to control than the light from softbox video lights. |
If you’re looking for recommendations on which piece of lighting equipment to buy, check out my list of the Top 17 Video Lighting Equipment For YouTubers .
Part 7: YOUTUBE EQUIPMENT: COMPUTER
After you’ve recorded all your footage, you’ll need a computer to edit your video clips together. You can perform basic video editing tasks and upload your video onto YouTube with any computer less than ten years old.
Laptop computers are popular among YouTubers because their portability allows you to work on your videos from anywhere. This way, you can finish and upload your videos more frequently, which is another important part of being a YouTuber.
The following three laptop computers handle video editing very well:
- MacBook Pro With Touch Bar
- Dell XPS 15
- Microsoft Surface Book 2
Read more about these laptop computers for 4K video editing in The Best Laptops for 4K Video Editing .
Part 8: YOUTUBE EQUIPMENT: VIDEO EDITING SOFTWARE
| FREE VIDEO EDITING SOFTWARES | PAID VIDEO EDITING SOFTWARES |
|---|---|
| OpenShot Video Editor (Windows, Mac, Linux) ShotCut (Windows, Mac, Linux) Hitfilm Express (Windows, Mac) VideoPad Video Editor (Windows) Lightworks (Windows, Mac, Linux) VSDC Video Editor (Windows) Machete Video Editor Lite (Windows) Avidemux (Windows, Mac, Linux, BSD) Read more about each of these softwares in our post about The Best Free Video Editing Software for YouTube . | Filmora Video Editor (Windows, Mac) - $40 one year license, $79.99 perpetual license. Free trial Final Cut Pro (Mac) - $299.99, Free trial Vegas Movie Studio (Windows) - $49.99 |
YOUTUBE EQUIPMENT: AUDIO
Music Libraries
Music is an important part of YouTube video creation. Here’s where you can get access to music:
| ROYALTY-FREE MUSIC LIBRARIES | PAID MUSIC LIBRARIES | PAID SUBSCRIPTION MUSIC LIBRARIES |
|---|---|---|
| Audionautix Bensound dig.ccMixter Free Music Archive Free Stock Music Incompetech Josh Woodward Moby Gratis Musopen Purple Planet Music TeknoAXE YouTube Audio Library | Premium Beat Audio Jungle | Audio Network Audio Blocks Epidemic Sound |
Sound Effects
Free Sound Effect Sites
- Filmstock Sound Effects
- Freesound
- PacDV
- Sound Bible
- Sound Gator
- Sounds Crate
- Zapsplat
Sumia Rafique
Sumia Rafique is a writer and a lover of all things video.
Follow @Sumia Rafique
Sumia Rafique
Feb 19, 2024• Proven solutions
If you want to start creating videos and uploading them onto YouTube, you’ll need to have access to some basic equipment. This guide will go over everything you’ll need to be a YouTuber.
Part 1: YOUTUBE EQUIPMENT: CAMERA
The best camera for beginners is the one you already have. Most smartphones these days already come equipped with a powerful camera that can record HD videos. If you still want to add a camera to your equipment list as a beginner YouTuber, you should look for a camera with the following eight qualities:
What To Look For In A Camera As A YouTuber
1. Fully articulated screen (flip screen)
2. Good continual auto focus while recording video
3. Good focus priority through face recognition
4. Touch to focus
5. Good low-light performance
6. external mic jack, hot/cold shoe bracket
7. optical image stabilization
8. good battery life
Check out my full list of 10 Things To Look For In A Vlogging Camera to understand the importance of these camera features.
Best Cheap Vlogging Cameras
Below are the best cheap vlogging cameras that you can get for under $500. They all record at least 1080p HD video and all but the Sony Alpha a5100 come with optical image stabilization (if you want OIS with the Sony a5100, you’ll have it get it in the lens).
| Camera | Release Date | Camera Type | Flip Screen | 4K | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yi 4KAction Camera | |
February2017 | Action Camera | No | Yes | $169 (MSRP) |
| NikonCoolpixA900 | |
February2016 | Compact | Flip Up | Yes | $399 (MSRP) |
| NikonCoolpixB500 | |
February2016 | SLR-like (bridge) | Tilting | No | $250 (MSRP) |
| PolaroidCube+ | |
June2015 | Action Camera | No | No | $99 (MSRP) |
| SonyAlphaa5100 | |
August2014 | Mirrorless | Flip Up | No | $450 (MSRP) |
|
Best cheap vlogging camera under $100: Polaroid Cube+ Even before GoPro released their GoPro Session, Polaroid was the first to come out with a 1.4-inch, cube-shaped action camera, small enough to mount on a bike or a helmet. This camera has built-in magnets so that you can attach them to metal surfaces. This action camera is water-resistant, shock-proof, and weather-proof. It can record full HD 1080p videos at 60 fps with its wide-angle lens. You can connect this camera with your phone to preview and take your shots. |
|---|---|
|
Best cheap vlogging camera under $200: Yi 4K At $200, you can record 4K videos with the Yi 4K action camera. Like many other action cameras, this camera is small, durable, and shoots through a wide-angle lens. You won’t be able to take this camera underwater though because it isn’t waterproof. You’ll need to buy the right accessories for that. |
|
Best cheap vlogging camera under $300: Nikon B500 The Nikon B500 gives you a non-interchangeable zoom lens so that you have more control over how you compose your shots. This camera records full HD 1080p videos at either 30 or 25 fps. You can only set its ISO as high as 3200, so it’s not going to perform the best in low-light conditions. The tilting LCD screen does not have touchscreen and cannot be fully flipped up or flipped to the side, it only tilts. For a camera in its price range, the Nikon B500 offers a lot of features. |
|
Best cheap vlogging camera under $400: Nikon A900 The Nikon A900 not only comes with a non-interchangeable zoom lens, but it can also record videos in UHD 4K quality. Like the Nikon B500, the A900’s ISO goes only up to 3200, making it a weak performer in poorly lit conditions. |
|
Best cheap vlogging camera under $500: Sony a5100 Among the cameras listed in our top cheap cameras list, the Sony a5100 is the only one you can interchange lenses with. All Sony E-mount lenses are compatible with this camera. This camera can record up to 1080p videos at 60 fps. Out of all of the above top cheap cameras, this one also auto focuses the best. |
Best Entry-Level and Mid-Range Vlogging Cameras
If you have a bigger budget to work with, the following vlogging cameras are great options:
| Camera | Release Date | Camera Type | Flip Screen | Mic Port | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CanonEOSM50 | |
February2018 | Mirrorless | Fully Articulated | Yes | $- |
| CanonEOSM100 | |
August2017 | Mirrorless | Flip Up | No | $ |
| CanonEOS RebelSL2 | |
June2017 | Compact SLR | Fully Articulated | Yes | $ |
| CanonEOS RebelT7i | |
February2017 | Mid-size SLR | Fully Articulated | Yes | $- |
| CanonEOS80D | |
February2016 | Mid-size SLR | Fully Articulated | Yes | $$ |
|
Best entry-level mirrorless camera for vlogging: Canon EOS M100 The Canon M100 is a small and powerful camera that can shoot full HD (1080p) videos up to 60 fps. The touchscreen LCD of this camera flips up so that you can see yourself as you vlog in selfie mode. |
|---|---|
|
Best mid-range mirrorless camera for vlogging: Canon EOS M50 The Canon EOS M50 can shoot UHD 4K videos at 23.98 fps. You can also record 120 fps slow-motion videos at 720p. Unlike the M100, which only has a flip up screen, the M50 has a fully articulated screen, so you can use this camera in selfie mode, all while using an on-camera shotgun microphone attached to the camera hot/cold shoe. |
|
Best DSLR camera for daily vlogging: Canon EOS T7i The Canon EOS T7i is a great DSLR camera for daily vlogging. It can record full HD 1080p videos at 60 fps, it can create HDR and time-lapse movies, and it also has a fully articulated screen. |
|
Best entry-level DSLR camera for vlogging: Canon EOS SL2 The Canon EOS SL2 delivers a lot of power at a low price. This DSLR camera can capture full HD 1080p videos at 60 fps. |
|
Best mid-range DSLR camera for vlogging: Canon EOS 80D The Canon 80D is an exceptional mid-range DSLR vlogging camera with many features. Coming with a 45-point all cross phase detection autofocusing and a dual pixel CMOS AF system, the camera is great at finding the right focus while recording video. |
Part 2: YOUTUBE EQUIPMENT: LENS
A lot of compact cameras already come with the lens as a part of the camera body. When it comes to these kinds of cameras, you won’t have to worry about which lens is right for you since the decision has already been made for you!
When you start looking into bigger cameras, though, you’ll have to think about which lens you want to shoot with.
The Wide-Angle Lens
Every YouTuber should have a wide-angle lens. With this kind of lens, you can fit much more of a scene into your camera frame, including your own face when you’re just an arm’s length away from your camera. This is especially important for YouTubers because most YouTubers have to operate their camera on their own, without the assistance of an additional camera person.
Optical Image Stabilization
You should also look for a lens with optical image stabilization if you’re shooting a lot of your YouTube videos handheld.
For more information on camera lenses, check out my Vlogger’s Guide To Camera Lenses .
Part 3: YOUTUBE EQUIPMENT: TRIPOD
|
Tripod If you plan to film yourself talking in front of the same, unchanging background for an extended period of time, it doesn’t make sense to film yourself handheld the entire time. You’ll just end up tiring your arm out and adding distracting shakiness to your footage. A tripod is a great solution to this problem. You can set up your framing once, press record, and leave your camera in its fixed position while you talk with both hands free. |
|---|---|
|
Joby GorillaPod With Ballhead When you film yourself handheld, it’s difficult to keep your arm higher up so that your camera shoots down at an ideal angle. You may also notice that a lot of your arm gets into your shot, which you and other viewers might find distracting. Holding your camera up by a GorillaPod, however, can give you the extension you need to get that higher angle shot more easily, all without so much of your arm getting into your shot. |
Part 4: YOUTUBE EQUIPMENT: MICROPHONE
Most vlogging cameras come with a built-in microphone that gets the job done. If you want higher quality audio recordings, though, you should check out the following list of top microphones.
| Top Condenser Mics For Music and Singing | Top Condenser Mics For Voiceovers-Podcasts, Interviews | Top On-Camera Shotgun Mics | Top Shotgun Mics | Top Low-Profile Lavalier Mics |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Audio-Technica AT2035 Rode NT1-A AKG C214 | Apogee Mic 96K Blue Yeti Rode NT-USB Blue Snowball Audio-Technica AT2020 Rode Procaster | Rode VideoMic Go Shure VP83 Rode VideoMic Pro+ Sennheiser MKE 440 | Rode NTG-3 Audio-Technica AT4053B Sennheiser MKH416 | Rode SmartLav+ Audio-Technica ATR3350iS Sennheiser ME2 |
To read more about each of these microphones, check out our post on The 19 Best YouTube Microphones 2018 – Options for Music, Voiceovers, Vlogging, and more!
Part 5: YOUTUBE EQUIPMENT: SMARTPHONE ACCESSORIES
Using your smartphone’s camera to film your YouTube videos is a great idea since it’s light, portable, and most likely always with you. The following six smartphone accessories can help you make better YouTube videos:
- Arkon Tripod Mount
- FLII Selfie Ring Light
- RODE VideoMic Me
- Aukey Optic 3-in-1 Smartphone Lens Set
- iOgrapher Go for Android and iPhone
- Manfrotto TwistGrip System
Read about each one of these items and more in The 9 Best Smartphone Camera Accessories For Vloggers .
Part 6: YOUTUBE EQUIPMENT: LIGHT
Lighting for home living and lighting for filming is very different. If you try to make use of just the lights you have at home, you may find that your footage is too dark, grainy, and orange-tinted.
The solution to this problem is getting additional video lighting equipment with daytime light bulbs.
|
Daytime Light Bulbs Your home is most likely lit with incandescent light bulbs that illuminate orange-tinted light. You can remove those light bulbs and replace them with daytime light bulbs that illuminate more of a white colored light. |
|---|---|
|
On-Camera LED Light If you need more light just in front of the camera and you need this light to be portable, LED lights that attach to your camera’s hot/cold shoe will do the job. |
|
LED Ring Light If you need more light just in front of the camera, you don’t have a lot of space, and you don’t need this light to be small and portable, an LED ring light is the best piece of equipment for you. You can position your camera inside the circular space of the ring light. This kind of light also gives your eyes the circular shaped highlight that many people like to see. |
|
Softbox Video Light If you need more light and have more space, another piece of lighting equipment good for beginners is a softbox video light. |
|
Umbrella Video Light Umbrella video lights are very portable and affordable. The direction of the light from umbrella lights are more difficult to control than the light from softbox video lights. |
If you’re looking for recommendations on which piece of lighting equipment to buy, check out my list of the Top 17 Video Lighting Equipment For YouTubers .
Part 7: YOUTUBE EQUIPMENT: COMPUTER
After you’ve recorded all your footage, you’ll need a computer to edit your video clips together. You can perform basic video editing tasks and upload your video onto YouTube with any computer less than ten years old.
Laptop computers are popular among YouTubers because their portability allows you to work on your videos from anywhere. This way, you can finish and upload your videos more frequently, which is another important part of being a YouTuber.
The following three laptop computers handle video editing very well:
- MacBook Pro With Touch Bar
- Dell XPS 15
- Microsoft Surface Book 2
Read more about these laptop computers for 4K video editing in The Best Laptops for 4K Video Editing .
Part 8: YOUTUBE EQUIPMENT: VIDEO EDITING SOFTWARE
| FREE VIDEO EDITING SOFTWARES | PAID VIDEO EDITING SOFTWARES |
|---|---|
| OpenShot Video Editor (Windows, Mac, Linux) ShotCut (Windows, Mac, Linux) Hitfilm Express (Windows, Mac) VideoPad Video Editor (Windows) Lightworks (Windows, Mac, Linux) VSDC Video Editor (Windows) Machete Video Editor Lite (Windows) Avidemux (Windows, Mac, Linux, BSD) Read more about each of these softwares in our post about The Best Free Video Editing Software for YouTube . | Filmora Video Editor (Windows, Mac) - $40 one year license, $79.99 perpetual license. Free trial Final Cut Pro (Mac) - $299.99, Free trial Vegas Movie Studio (Windows) - $49.99 |
YOUTUBE EQUIPMENT: AUDIO
Music Libraries
Music is an important part of YouTube video creation. Here’s where you can get access to music:
| ROYALTY-FREE MUSIC LIBRARIES | PAID MUSIC LIBRARIES | PAID SUBSCRIPTION MUSIC LIBRARIES |
|---|---|---|
| Audionautix Bensound dig.ccMixter Free Music Archive Free Stock Music Incompetech Josh Woodward Moby Gratis Musopen Purple Planet Music TeknoAXE YouTube Audio Library | Premium Beat Audio Jungle | Audio Network Audio Blocks Epidemic Sound |
Sound Effects
Free Sound Effect Sites
- Filmstock Sound Effects
- Freesound
- PacDV
- Sound Bible
- Sound Gator
- Sounds Crate
- Zapsplat
Sumia Rafique
Sumia Rafique is a writer and a lover of all things video.
Follow @Sumia Rafique
Sumia Rafique
Feb 19, 2024• Proven solutions
If you want to start creating videos and uploading them onto YouTube, you’ll need to have access to some basic equipment. This guide will go over everything you’ll need to be a YouTuber.
Part 1: YOUTUBE EQUIPMENT: CAMERA
The best camera for beginners is the one you already have. Most smartphones these days already come equipped with a powerful camera that can record HD videos. If you still want to add a camera to your equipment list as a beginner YouTuber, you should look for a camera with the following eight qualities:
What To Look For In A Camera As A YouTuber
1. Fully articulated screen (flip screen)
2. Good continual auto focus while recording video
3. Good focus priority through face recognition
4. Touch to focus
5. Good low-light performance
6. external mic jack, hot/cold shoe bracket
7. optical image stabilization
8. good battery life
Check out my full list of 10 Things To Look For In A Vlogging Camera to understand the importance of these camera features.
Best Cheap Vlogging Cameras
Below are the best cheap vlogging cameras that you can get for under $500. They all record at least 1080p HD video and all but the Sony Alpha a5100 come with optical image stabilization (if you want OIS with the Sony a5100, you’ll have it get it in the lens).
| Camera | Release Date | Camera Type | Flip Screen | 4K | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yi 4KAction Camera | |
February2017 | Action Camera | No | Yes | $169 (MSRP) |
| NikonCoolpixA900 | |
February2016 | Compact | Flip Up | Yes | $399 (MSRP) |
| NikonCoolpixB500 | |
February2016 | SLR-like (bridge) | Tilting | No | $250 (MSRP) |
| PolaroidCube+ | |
June2015 | Action Camera | No | No | $99 (MSRP) |
| SonyAlphaa5100 | |
August2014 | Mirrorless | Flip Up | No | $450 (MSRP) |
|
Best cheap vlogging camera under $100: Polaroid Cube+ Even before GoPro released their GoPro Session, Polaroid was the first to come out with a 1.4-inch, cube-shaped action camera, small enough to mount on a bike or a helmet. This camera has built-in magnets so that you can attach them to metal surfaces. This action camera is water-resistant, shock-proof, and weather-proof. It can record full HD 1080p videos at 60 fps with its wide-angle lens. You can connect this camera with your phone to preview and take your shots. |
|---|---|
|
Best cheap vlogging camera under $200: Yi 4K At $200, you can record 4K videos with the Yi 4K action camera. Like many other action cameras, this camera is small, durable, and shoots through a wide-angle lens. You won’t be able to take this camera underwater though because it isn’t waterproof. You’ll need to buy the right accessories for that. |
|
Best cheap vlogging camera under $300: Nikon B500 The Nikon B500 gives you a non-interchangeable zoom lens so that you have more control over how you compose your shots. This camera records full HD 1080p videos at either 30 or 25 fps. You can only set its ISO as high as 3200, so it’s not going to perform the best in low-light conditions. The tilting LCD screen does not have touchscreen and cannot be fully flipped up or flipped to the side, it only tilts. For a camera in its price range, the Nikon B500 offers a lot of features. |
|
Best cheap vlogging camera under $400: Nikon A900 The Nikon A900 not only comes with a non-interchangeable zoom lens, but it can also record videos in UHD 4K quality. Like the Nikon B500, the A900’s ISO goes only up to 3200, making it a weak performer in poorly lit conditions. |
|
Best cheap vlogging camera under $500: Sony a5100 Among the cameras listed in our top cheap cameras list, the Sony a5100 is the only one you can interchange lenses with. All Sony E-mount lenses are compatible with this camera. This camera can record up to 1080p videos at 60 fps. Out of all of the above top cheap cameras, this one also auto focuses the best. |
Best Entry-Level and Mid-Range Vlogging Cameras
If you have a bigger budget to work with, the following vlogging cameras are great options:
| Camera | Release Date | Camera Type | Flip Screen | Mic Port | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CanonEOSM50 | |
February2018 | Mirrorless | Fully Articulated | Yes | $- |
| CanonEOSM100 | |
August2017 | Mirrorless | Flip Up | No | $ |
| CanonEOS RebelSL2 | |
June2017 | Compact SLR | Fully Articulated | Yes | $ |
| CanonEOS RebelT7i | |
February2017 | Mid-size SLR | Fully Articulated | Yes | $- |
| CanonEOS80D | |
February2016 | Mid-size SLR | Fully Articulated | Yes | $$ |
|
Best entry-level mirrorless camera for vlogging: Canon EOS M100 The Canon M100 is a small and powerful camera that can shoot full HD (1080p) videos up to 60 fps. The touchscreen LCD of this camera flips up so that you can see yourself as you vlog in selfie mode. |
|---|---|
|
Best mid-range mirrorless camera for vlogging: Canon EOS M50 The Canon EOS M50 can shoot UHD 4K videos at 23.98 fps. You can also record 120 fps slow-motion videos at 720p. Unlike the M100, which only has a flip up screen, the M50 has a fully articulated screen, so you can use this camera in selfie mode, all while using an on-camera shotgun microphone attached to the camera hot/cold shoe. |
|
Best DSLR camera for daily vlogging: Canon EOS T7i The Canon EOS T7i is a great DSLR camera for daily vlogging. It can record full HD 1080p videos at 60 fps, it can create HDR and time-lapse movies, and it also has a fully articulated screen. |
|
Best entry-level DSLR camera for vlogging: Canon EOS SL2 The Canon EOS SL2 delivers a lot of power at a low price. This DSLR camera can capture full HD 1080p videos at 60 fps. |
|
Best mid-range DSLR camera for vlogging: Canon EOS 80D The Canon 80D is an exceptional mid-range DSLR vlogging camera with many features. Coming with a 45-point all cross phase detection autofocusing and a dual pixel CMOS AF system, the camera is great at finding the right focus while recording video. |
Part 2: YOUTUBE EQUIPMENT: LENS
A lot of compact cameras already come with the lens as a part of the camera body. When it comes to these kinds of cameras, you won’t have to worry about which lens is right for you since the decision has already been made for you!
When you start looking into bigger cameras, though, you’ll have to think about which lens you want to shoot with.
The Wide-Angle Lens
Every YouTuber should have a wide-angle lens. With this kind of lens, you can fit much more of a scene into your camera frame, including your own face when you’re just an arm’s length away from your camera. This is especially important for YouTubers because most YouTubers have to operate their camera on their own, without the assistance of an additional camera person.
Optical Image Stabilization
You should also look for a lens with optical image stabilization if you’re shooting a lot of your YouTube videos handheld.
For more information on camera lenses, check out my Vlogger’s Guide To Camera Lenses .
Part 3: YOUTUBE EQUIPMENT: TRIPOD
|
Tripod If you plan to film yourself talking in front of the same, unchanging background for an extended period of time, it doesn’t make sense to film yourself handheld the entire time. You’ll just end up tiring your arm out and adding distracting shakiness to your footage. A tripod is a great solution to this problem. You can set up your framing once, press record, and leave your camera in its fixed position while you talk with both hands free. |
|---|---|
|
Joby GorillaPod With Ballhead When you film yourself handheld, it’s difficult to keep your arm higher up so that your camera shoots down at an ideal angle. You may also notice that a lot of your arm gets into your shot, which you and other viewers might find distracting. Holding your camera up by a GorillaPod, however, can give you the extension you need to get that higher angle shot more easily, all without so much of your arm getting into your shot. |
Part 4: YOUTUBE EQUIPMENT: MICROPHONE
Most vlogging cameras come with a built-in microphone that gets the job done. If you want higher quality audio recordings, though, you should check out the following list of top microphones.
| Top Condenser Mics For Music and Singing | Top Condenser Mics For Voiceovers-Podcasts, Interviews | Top On-Camera Shotgun Mics | Top Shotgun Mics | Top Low-Profile Lavalier Mics |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Audio-Technica AT2035 Rode NT1-A AKG C214 | Apogee Mic 96K Blue Yeti Rode NT-USB Blue Snowball Audio-Technica AT2020 Rode Procaster | Rode VideoMic Go Shure VP83 Rode VideoMic Pro+ Sennheiser MKE 440 | Rode NTG-3 Audio-Technica AT4053B Sennheiser MKH416 | Rode SmartLav+ Audio-Technica ATR3350iS Sennheiser ME2 |
To read more about each of these microphones, check out our post on The 19 Best YouTube Microphones 2018 – Options for Music, Voiceovers, Vlogging, and more!
Part 5: YOUTUBE EQUIPMENT: SMARTPHONE ACCESSORIES
Using your smartphone’s camera to film your YouTube videos is a great idea since it’s light, portable, and most likely always with you. The following six smartphone accessories can help you make better YouTube videos:
- Arkon Tripod Mount
- FLII Selfie Ring Light
- RODE VideoMic Me
- Aukey Optic 3-in-1 Smartphone Lens Set
- iOgrapher Go for Android and iPhone
- Manfrotto TwistGrip System
Read about each one of these items and more in The 9 Best Smartphone Camera Accessories For Vloggers .
Part 6: YOUTUBE EQUIPMENT: LIGHT
Lighting for home living and lighting for filming is very different. If you try to make use of just the lights you have at home, you may find that your footage is too dark, grainy, and orange-tinted.
The solution to this problem is getting additional video lighting equipment with daytime light bulbs.
|
Daytime Light Bulbs Your home is most likely lit with incandescent light bulbs that illuminate orange-tinted light. You can remove those light bulbs and replace them with daytime light bulbs that illuminate more of a white colored light. |
|---|---|
|
On-Camera LED Light If you need more light just in front of the camera and you need this light to be portable, LED lights that attach to your camera’s hot/cold shoe will do the job. |
|
LED Ring Light If you need more light just in front of the camera, you don’t have a lot of space, and you don’t need this light to be small and portable, an LED ring light is the best piece of equipment for you. You can position your camera inside the circular space of the ring light. This kind of light also gives your eyes the circular shaped highlight that many people like to see. |
|
Softbox Video Light If you need more light and have more space, another piece of lighting equipment good for beginners is a softbox video light. |
|
Umbrella Video Light Umbrella video lights are very portable and affordable. The direction of the light from umbrella lights are more difficult to control than the light from softbox video lights. |
If you’re looking for recommendations on which piece of lighting equipment to buy, check out my list of the Top 17 Video Lighting Equipment For YouTubers .
Part 7: YOUTUBE EQUIPMENT: COMPUTER
After you’ve recorded all your footage, you’ll need a computer to edit your video clips together. You can perform basic video editing tasks and upload your video onto YouTube with any computer less than ten years old.
Laptop computers are popular among YouTubers because their portability allows you to work on your videos from anywhere. This way, you can finish and upload your videos more frequently, which is another important part of being a YouTuber.
The following three laptop computers handle video editing very well:
- MacBook Pro With Touch Bar
- Dell XPS 15
- Microsoft Surface Book 2
Read more about these laptop computers for 4K video editing in The Best Laptops for 4K Video Editing .
Part 8: YOUTUBE EQUIPMENT: VIDEO EDITING SOFTWARE
| FREE VIDEO EDITING SOFTWARES | PAID VIDEO EDITING SOFTWARES |
|---|---|
| OpenShot Video Editor (Windows, Mac, Linux) ShotCut (Windows, Mac, Linux) Hitfilm Express (Windows, Mac) VideoPad Video Editor (Windows) Lightworks (Windows, Mac, Linux) VSDC Video Editor (Windows) Machete Video Editor Lite (Windows) Avidemux (Windows, Mac, Linux, BSD) Read more about each of these softwares in our post about The Best Free Video Editing Software for YouTube . | Filmora Video Editor (Windows, Mac) - $40 one year license, $79.99 perpetual license. Free trial Final Cut Pro (Mac) - $299.99, Free trial Vegas Movie Studio (Windows) - $49.99 |
YOUTUBE EQUIPMENT: AUDIO
Music Libraries
Music is an important part of YouTube video creation. Here’s where you can get access to music:
| ROYALTY-FREE MUSIC LIBRARIES | PAID MUSIC LIBRARIES | PAID SUBSCRIPTION MUSIC LIBRARIES |
|---|---|---|
| Audionautix Bensound dig.ccMixter Free Music Archive Free Stock Music Incompetech Josh Woodward Moby Gratis Musopen Purple Planet Music TeknoAXE YouTube Audio Library | Premium Beat Audio Jungle | Audio Network Audio Blocks Epidemic Sound |
Sound Effects
Free Sound Effect Sites
- Filmstock Sound Effects
- Freesound
- PacDV
- Sound Bible
- Sound Gator
- Sounds Crate
- Zapsplat
Sumia Rafique
Sumia Rafique is a writer and a lover of all things video.
Follow @Sumia Rafique
Sumia Rafique
Feb 19, 2024• Proven solutions
If you want to start creating videos and uploading them onto YouTube, you’ll need to have access to some basic equipment. This guide will go over everything you’ll need to be a YouTuber.
Part 1: YOUTUBE EQUIPMENT: CAMERA
The best camera for beginners is the one you already have. Most smartphones these days already come equipped with a powerful camera that can record HD videos. If you still want to add a camera to your equipment list as a beginner YouTuber, you should look for a camera with the following eight qualities:
What To Look For In A Camera As A YouTuber
1. Fully articulated screen (flip screen)
2. Good continual auto focus while recording video
3. Good focus priority through face recognition
4. Touch to focus
5. Good low-light performance
6. external mic jack, hot/cold shoe bracket
7. optical image stabilization
8. good battery life
Check out my full list of 10 Things To Look For In A Vlogging Camera to understand the importance of these camera features.
Best Cheap Vlogging Cameras
Below are the best cheap vlogging cameras that you can get for under $500. They all record at least 1080p HD video and all but the Sony Alpha a5100 come with optical image stabilization (if you want OIS with the Sony a5100, you’ll have it get it in the lens).
| Camera | Release Date | Camera Type | Flip Screen | 4K | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Yi 4KAction Camera | |
February2017 | Action Camera | No | Yes | $169 (MSRP) |
| NikonCoolpixA900 | |
February2016 | Compact | Flip Up | Yes | $399 (MSRP) |
| NikonCoolpixB500 | |
February2016 | SLR-like (bridge) | Tilting | No | $250 (MSRP) |
| PolaroidCube+ | |
June2015 | Action Camera | No | No | $99 (MSRP) |
| SonyAlphaa5100 | |
August2014 | Mirrorless | Flip Up | No | $450 (MSRP) |
|
Best cheap vlogging camera under $100: Polaroid Cube+ Even before GoPro released their GoPro Session, Polaroid was the first to come out with a 1.4-inch, cube-shaped action camera, small enough to mount on a bike or a helmet. This camera has built-in magnets so that you can attach them to metal surfaces. This action camera is water-resistant, shock-proof, and weather-proof. It can record full HD 1080p videos at 60 fps with its wide-angle lens. You can connect this camera with your phone to preview and take your shots. |
|---|---|
|
Best cheap vlogging camera under $200: Yi 4K At $200, you can record 4K videos with the Yi 4K action camera. Like many other action cameras, this camera is small, durable, and shoots through a wide-angle lens. You won’t be able to take this camera underwater though because it isn’t waterproof. You’ll need to buy the right accessories for that. |
|
Best cheap vlogging camera under $300: Nikon B500 The Nikon B500 gives you a non-interchangeable zoom lens so that you have more control over how you compose your shots. This camera records full HD 1080p videos at either 30 or 25 fps. You can only set its ISO as high as 3200, so it’s not going to perform the best in low-light conditions. The tilting LCD screen does not have touchscreen and cannot be fully flipped up or flipped to the side, it only tilts. For a camera in its price range, the Nikon B500 offers a lot of features. |
|
Best cheap vlogging camera under $400: Nikon A900 The Nikon A900 not only comes with a non-interchangeable zoom lens, but it can also record videos in UHD 4K quality. Like the Nikon B500, the A900’s ISO goes only up to 3200, making it a weak performer in poorly lit conditions. |
|
Best cheap vlogging camera under $500: Sony a5100 Among the cameras listed in our top cheap cameras list, the Sony a5100 is the only one you can interchange lenses with. All Sony E-mount lenses are compatible with this camera. This camera can record up to 1080p videos at 60 fps. Out of all of the above top cheap cameras, this one also auto focuses the best. |
Best Entry-Level and Mid-Range Vlogging Cameras
If you have a bigger budget to work with, the following vlogging cameras are great options:
| Camera | Release Date | Camera Type | Flip Screen | Mic Port | Price | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| CanonEOSM50 | |
February2018 | Mirrorless | Fully Articulated | Yes | $- |
| CanonEOSM100 | |
August2017 | Mirrorless | Flip Up | No | $ |
| CanonEOS RebelSL2 | |
June2017 | Compact SLR | Fully Articulated | Yes | $ |
| CanonEOS RebelT7i | |
February2017 | Mid-size SLR | Fully Articulated | Yes | $- |
| CanonEOS80D | |
February2016 | Mid-size SLR | Fully Articulated | Yes | $$ |
|
Best entry-level mirrorless camera for vlogging: Canon EOS M100 The Canon M100 is a small and powerful camera that can shoot full HD (1080p) videos up to 60 fps. The touchscreen LCD of this camera flips up so that you can see yourself as you vlog in selfie mode. |
|---|---|
|
Best mid-range mirrorless camera for vlogging: Canon EOS M50 The Canon EOS M50 can shoot UHD 4K videos at 23.98 fps. You can also record 120 fps slow-motion videos at 720p. Unlike the M100, which only has a flip up screen, the M50 has a fully articulated screen, so you can use this camera in selfie mode, all while using an on-camera shotgun microphone attached to the camera hot/cold shoe. |
|
Best DSLR camera for daily vlogging: Canon EOS T7i The Canon EOS T7i is a great DSLR camera for daily vlogging. It can record full HD 1080p videos at 60 fps, it can create HDR and time-lapse movies, and it also has a fully articulated screen. |
|
Best entry-level DSLR camera for vlogging: Canon EOS SL2 The Canon EOS SL2 delivers a lot of power at a low price. This DSLR camera can capture full HD 1080p videos at 60 fps. |
|
Best mid-range DSLR camera for vlogging: Canon EOS 80D The Canon 80D is an exceptional mid-range DSLR vlogging camera with many features. Coming with a 45-point all cross phase detection autofocusing and a dual pixel CMOS AF system, the camera is great at finding the right focus while recording video. |
Part 2: YOUTUBE EQUIPMENT: LENS
A lot of compact cameras already come with the lens as a part of the camera body. When it comes to these kinds of cameras, you won’t have to worry about which lens is right for you since the decision has already been made for you!
When you start looking into bigger cameras, though, you’ll have to think about which lens you want to shoot with.
The Wide-Angle Lens
Every YouTuber should have a wide-angle lens. With this kind of lens, you can fit much more of a scene into your camera frame, including your own face when you’re just an arm’s length away from your camera. This is especially important for YouTubers because most YouTubers have to operate their camera on their own, without the assistance of an additional camera person.
Optical Image Stabilization
You should also look for a lens with optical image stabilization if you’re shooting a lot of your YouTube videos handheld.
For more information on camera lenses, check out my Vlogger’s Guide To Camera Lenses .
Part 3: YOUTUBE EQUIPMENT: TRIPOD
|
Tripod If you plan to film yourself talking in front of the same, unchanging background for an extended period of time, it doesn’t make sense to film yourself handheld the entire time. You’ll just end up tiring your arm out and adding distracting shakiness to your footage. A tripod is a great solution to this problem. You can set up your framing once, press record, and leave your camera in its fixed position while you talk with both hands free. |
|---|---|
|
Joby GorillaPod With Ballhead When you film yourself handheld, it’s difficult to keep your arm higher up so that your camera shoots down at an ideal angle. You may also notice that a lot of your arm gets into your shot, which you and other viewers might find distracting. Holding your camera up by a GorillaPod, however, can give you the extension you need to get that higher angle shot more easily, all without so much of your arm getting into your shot. |
Part 4: YOUTUBE EQUIPMENT: MICROPHONE
Most vlogging cameras come with a built-in microphone that gets the job done. If you want higher quality audio recordings, though, you should check out the following list of top microphones.
| Top Condenser Mics For Music and Singing | Top Condenser Mics For Voiceovers-Podcasts, Interviews | Top On-Camera Shotgun Mics | Top Shotgun Mics | Top Low-Profile Lavalier Mics |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Audio-Technica AT2035 Rode NT1-A AKG C214 | Apogee Mic 96K Blue Yeti Rode NT-USB Blue Snowball Audio-Technica AT2020 Rode Procaster | Rode VideoMic Go Shure VP83 Rode VideoMic Pro+ Sennheiser MKE 440 | Rode NTG-3 Audio-Technica AT4053B Sennheiser MKH416 | Rode SmartLav+ Audio-Technica ATR3350iS Sennheiser ME2 |
To read more about each of these microphones, check out our post on The 19 Best YouTube Microphones 2018 – Options for Music, Voiceovers, Vlogging, and more!
Part 5: YOUTUBE EQUIPMENT: SMARTPHONE ACCESSORIES
Using your smartphone’s camera to film your YouTube videos is a great idea since it’s light, portable, and most likely always with you. The following six smartphone accessories can help you make better YouTube videos:
- Arkon Tripod Mount
- FLII Selfie Ring Light
- RODE VideoMic Me
- Aukey Optic 3-in-1 Smartphone Lens Set
- iOgrapher Go for Android and iPhone
- Manfrotto TwistGrip System
Read about each one of these items and more in The 9 Best Smartphone Camera Accessories For Vloggers .
Part 6: YOUTUBE EQUIPMENT: LIGHT
Lighting for home living and lighting for filming is very different. If you try to make use of just the lights you have at home, you may find that your footage is too dark, grainy, and orange-tinted.
The solution to this problem is getting additional video lighting equipment with daytime light bulbs.
|
Daytime Light Bulbs Your home is most likely lit with incandescent light bulbs that illuminate orange-tinted light. You can remove those light bulbs and replace them with daytime light bulbs that illuminate more of a white colored light. |
|---|---|
|
On-Camera LED Light If you need more light just in front of the camera and you need this light to be portable, LED lights that attach to your camera’s hot/cold shoe will do the job. |
|
LED Ring Light If you need more light just in front of the camera, you don’t have a lot of space, and you don’t need this light to be small and portable, an LED ring light is the best piece of equipment for you. You can position your camera inside the circular space of the ring light. This kind of light also gives your eyes the circular shaped highlight that many people like to see. |
|
Softbox Video Light If you need more light and have more space, another piece of lighting equipment good for beginners is a softbox video light. |
|
Umbrella Video Light Umbrella video lights are very portable and affordable. The direction of the light from umbrella lights are more difficult to control than the light from softbox video lights. |
If you’re looking for recommendations on which piece of lighting equipment to buy, check out my list of the Top 17 Video Lighting Equipment For YouTubers .
Part 7: YOUTUBE EQUIPMENT: COMPUTER
After you’ve recorded all your footage, you’ll need a computer to edit your video clips together. You can perform basic video editing tasks and upload your video onto YouTube with any computer less than ten years old.
Laptop computers are popular among YouTubers because their portability allows you to work on your videos from anywhere. This way, you can finish and upload your videos more frequently, which is another important part of being a YouTuber.
The following three laptop computers handle video editing very well:
- MacBook Pro With Touch Bar
- Dell XPS 15
- Microsoft Surface Book 2
Read more about these laptop computers for 4K video editing in The Best Laptops for 4K Video Editing .
Part 8: YOUTUBE EQUIPMENT: VIDEO EDITING SOFTWARE
| FREE VIDEO EDITING SOFTWARES | PAID VIDEO EDITING SOFTWARES |
|---|---|
| OpenShot Video Editor (Windows, Mac, Linux) ShotCut (Windows, Mac, Linux) Hitfilm Express (Windows, Mac) VideoPad Video Editor (Windows) Lightworks (Windows, Mac, Linux) VSDC Video Editor (Windows) Machete Video Editor Lite (Windows) Avidemux (Windows, Mac, Linux, BSD) Read more about each of these softwares in our post about The Best Free Video Editing Software for YouTube . | Filmora Video Editor (Windows, Mac) - $40 one year license, $79.99 perpetual license. Free trial Final Cut Pro (Mac) - $299.99, Free trial Vegas Movie Studio (Windows) - $49.99 |
YOUTUBE EQUIPMENT: AUDIO
Music Libraries
Music is an important part of YouTube video creation. Here’s where you can get access to music:
| ROYALTY-FREE MUSIC LIBRARIES | PAID MUSIC LIBRARIES | PAID SUBSCRIPTION MUSIC LIBRARIES |
|---|---|---|
| Audionautix Bensound dig.ccMixter Free Music Archive Free Stock Music Incompetech Josh Woodward Moby Gratis Musopen Purple Planet Music TeknoAXE YouTube Audio Library | Premium Beat Audio Jungle | Audio Network Audio Blocks Epidemic Sound |
Sound Effects
Free Sound Effect Sites
- Filmstock Sound Effects
- Freesound
- PacDV
- Sound Bible
- Sound Gator
- Sounds Crate
- Zapsplat
Sumia Rafique
Sumia Rafique is a writer and a lover of all things video.
Follow @Sumia Rafique
Cutting-Edge Chapter Tactics to Complement Your YouTube Presentations
How to Add Chapters to YouTube Videos
Richard Bennett
Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions
If you have seen chapter markers on YouTube of our official channel, you might be wondering how someone can create chapters on YouTube? What is the way to mark different parts of the videos, and how can you add markers to all the existing videos on YouTube? Don’t worry; this article will discuss everything about YouTube chapters that you need to know. Keep reading to find all the details and learn the step-by-step instructions to add chapters to your YouTube videos for better engagement.
- Part 1: What Are YouTube Chapters?
- Part 2: How to Add Chapter to YouTube Video Progress Bar?
- Part 3: Why Add Chapters to Videos?
- Part 4: When Add Chapters on YouTube?
- Part 5: Will Chapter Decrease Watching Time?
- Part 6: Video Chapter Adding Tips
- Part 7: Why YouTube Chapter is Not Working?
Part 1: What Are YouTube Chapters?
YouTube video chapters are an excellent way to optimize your YouTube content. When you have chapters for your YouTube video, each chapter will have an individual preview. Chapters will break your YouTube video into multiple parts allowing your audience to have better context and information.
As per YouTube, chapters let the audience navigate better through videos. Chapters will let your audience watch different video parts, which will eventually lead to better engagement. If you want to organize your YouTube content, chapters are one of the best ways to go about it. By using labeled timestamps, your video will be divided into multiple sections. Your audience will be able to see the preview of the content and easily skip to the part they want to see within the video’s progress bar.
Part 2: How to Add Chapter to YouTube Video Progress Bar?
If you are a YouTube creator and want to know how you can add chapters to your YouTube content, here’s what you need to do. Follow these instructions carefully:
Step 1: First things first, please sign in to your YouTube account.
Step 2: Select the video that you want to edit and add chapters.
Step 3: Click on the edit video option. This option will be there under the video.
Step 4: On the add details page, you will see the description box. Here, you need to add the list of titles and timestamps.
Please keep in mind that you must add the first timestamp with “00:00”. You will have to add a minimum of three timestamps with a minimum of 10 seconds for each chapter. Here is how it looks like in the description after published.
Part 3: Why YouTubers Should Add Chapters to videos?
There are two primary advantages of adding chapters to your YouTube videos. Apart from making your YouTube video look organized and neat, chapters will let you provide a better user experience to everyone watching your video because they will find all the information about your video faster and easier within a video. And the second benefit is that your YouTube video will show up in search results. This is a way to optimize your content for more users to find your content.
YouTube chapters are beneficial for both creators and viewers. On the progress bar, these clickable chapters can be added. This will allow a viewer to skip and scrub through a video quickly and skip to parts they actually want to watch.
This feature is quite helpful for videos that are pretty long. Chapters will let you segment the videos into important chapters so that the viewer can rewatch already watched chapters or skip to other chapters in the video. YouTube chapters have been recently added to this platform for better navigation and engagement.
Better User Experience for Users
Just like Google wants browsers to find what they are looking for when they add a keyword, YouTube also wants to help viewers find what they are looking for. Chapters can be immensely beneficial for extended content. For example, if you are uploading a video of your convert video, let the users jump straight to their favorite songs.
Even in tutorial video content, viewers will now have a chance to get straight to the main part of the video. With chapters being added, viewers will have an opportunity to decide whether they want to watch the whole video or not. They won’t have to keep skipping one part to another blindly. Chapters will allow them to find what they are looking for in an instant.
For Creators: Increased Visibility
If you know about the Google algorithm, you must be aware that it regularly changes its algorithm to let people find the information they are looking for easily. Adding chapters to your video will encourage Google to display them more often when someone searches for them, and this will include adding your videos to its featured snippets.
While adding chapters, you need to make sure that it is labeled with correct keywords, and it is clear and descriptive. YouTube videos are often showed as Google snippet when someone tries to find something on the search engine. Adding a chapter will let Google understand the content better, thereby letting your videos gain more search traffic.
Part 4: When should I add or not chapters on YouTube?
If you are wondering whether all videos on YouTube should have chapters, the answer to this is no. A two minutes long video won’t require chapters because it won’t make sense. Think about whether you would want your audience to have reduced watch time. Another thing to pay attention to is audience retention.
We mentioned earlier that adding chapters to long videos will be a good idea, but before you jump in and start adding chapters, you need to understand whether it will help you and should be done in your particular case?
If you are uploading a video on education, science and technology, how-to, news and politics, Q and A, and other similar videos, adding chapters will definitely help. In these kinds of videos, you will let your audience rewatch a section they liked the most over and over again.
However, if you are uploading music, entertainment, comedy, and film and animation videos, we will recommend not to add chapters because this will reduce the watch time.
Part 5: Do YouTube Video Chapters Decrease Channel Watch Time?
One of the most commonly asked questions regarding adding chapters to YouTube videos is whether it will reduce the watch time of a video. Video chapters are a pretty good feature and can enable your videos to engage with the viewers.
Since chapters allow your audience to skip through video content, they are not really watching the whole video, which can’t be suitable for audience retention! Here’s what we have to say to this: don’t put your 100% focus on watch time right now. Your focus should be creating informative and engaging content, which will keep your audience hooked to their screens. Even if you add chapters, if your audience doesn’t find it engaging, they will choose not to go on with the content.
Video chapters are a tiny part of the overall content. Chapters provide value to your audience, and you should try them. If you are uploading a concise video, animation video, funny video, and more, don’t add chapters.
Even some of the most watched videos on YouTube have chapters. Learn from them. These video makers could have thought about numbers rather than giving value to their audience, but they did just the opposite, and here they are with over a million views!
Part 6: Tips for adding chapters to YouTube video
Each video on YouTube is different, and that’s why there is no one-size-fits-all answer. There are some cases where you should not think about adding chapters at all. Whereas in other cases, you will have to experiment a bit before adding chapters.
Here are some tips that will help you.
Do Some Testing
Before adding chapters to a new video that you are thinking to upload, try adding chapters to an old video. See what happens to that video. Have the views increased? How about average view duration? Track these metrics first, and then try adding chapters to your upcoming videos to benefit from videos. Along with these metrics, you will also have to evaluate if adding chapters decreases or increases the watch time and number of views.
Label Your Chapters Using Keywords
Another thing to do that will help you have better traction is using a good keyword strategy. Look at what people are using while searching for content, which is similar to yours? Using names based on keywords that have better search volume will help your videos to rank higher.
Part 7: Why Video Chapter is Not working? [Problem solved]
There are a few mandatory things that you need to do before adding chapters to your YouTube video. Here are some of the common reasons why the video chapter is not working. See if any one of them is true in your case, and rectify it right away.
- Your video doesn’t have the 00:00 timestamp.
- Your video has less than three chapters.
- You have added a chapter that is less than 10 seconds long.
- You have not added the timestamps in chronological order.
- Rather than using “:” you have entered “.” for timecodes.
- If your channel has active copyright strikes, video chapters won’t work.
- Your channel doesn’t have more than 1k subscribers.
- Your video chapters are not suitable for some viewers.
Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.
Follow @Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett
Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions
If you have seen chapter markers on YouTube of our official channel, you might be wondering how someone can create chapters on YouTube? What is the way to mark different parts of the videos, and how can you add markers to all the existing videos on YouTube? Don’t worry; this article will discuss everything about YouTube chapters that you need to know. Keep reading to find all the details and learn the step-by-step instructions to add chapters to your YouTube videos for better engagement.
- Part 1: What Are YouTube Chapters?
- Part 2: How to Add Chapter to YouTube Video Progress Bar?
- Part 3: Why Add Chapters to Videos?
- Part 4: When Add Chapters on YouTube?
- Part 5: Will Chapter Decrease Watching Time?
- Part 6: Video Chapter Adding Tips
- Part 7: Why YouTube Chapter is Not Working?
Part 1: What Are YouTube Chapters?
YouTube video chapters are an excellent way to optimize your YouTube content. When you have chapters for your YouTube video, each chapter will have an individual preview. Chapters will break your YouTube video into multiple parts allowing your audience to have better context and information.
As per YouTube, chapters let the audience navigate better through videos. Chapters will let your audience watch different video parts, which will eventually lead to better engagement. If you want to organize your YouTube content, chapters are one of the best ways to go about it. By using labeled timestamps, your video will be divided into multiple sections. Your audience will be able to see the preview of the content and easily skip to the part they want to see within the video’s progress bar.
Part 2: How to Add Chapter to YouTube Video Progress Bar?
If you are a YouTube creator and want to know how you can add chapters to your YouTube content, here’s what you need to do. Follow these instructions carefully:
Step 1: First things first, please sign in to your YouTube account.
Step 2: Select the video that you want to edit and add chapters.
Step 3: Click on the edit video option. This option will be there under the video.
Step 4: On the add details page, you will see the description box. Here, you need to add the list of titles and timestamps.
Please keep in mind that you must add the first timestamp with “00:00”. You will have to add a minimum of three timestamps with a minimum of 10 seconds for each chapter. Here is how it looks like in the description after published.
Part 3: Why YouTubers Should Add Chapters to videos?
There are two primary advantages of adding chapters to your YouTube videos. Apart from making your YouTube video look organized and neat, chapters will let you provide a better user experience to everyone watching your video because they will find all the information about your video faster and easier within a video. And the second benefit is that your YouTube video will show up in search results. This is a way to optimize your content for more users to find your content.
YouTube chapters are beneficial for both creators and viewers. On the progress bar, these clickable chapters can be added. This will allow a viewer to skip and scrub through a video quickly and skip to parts they actually want to watch.
This feature is quite helpful for videos that are pretty long. Chapters will let you segment the videos into important chapters so that the viewer can rewatch already watched chapters or skip to other chapters in the video. YouTube chapters have been recently added to this platform for better navigation and engagement.
Better User Experience for Users
Just like Google wants browsers to find what they are looking for when they add a keyword, YouTube also wants to help viewers find what they are looking for. Chapters can be immensely beneficial for extended content. For example, if you are uploading a video of your convert video, let the users jump straight to their favorite songs.
Even in tutorial video content, viewers will now have a chance to get straight to the main part of the video. With chapters being added, viewers will have an opportunity to decide whether they want to watch the whole video or not. They won’t have to keep skipping one part to another blindly. Chapters will allow them to find what they are looking for in an instant.
For Creators: Increased Visibility
If you know about the Google algorithm, you must be aware that it regularly changes its algorithm to let people find the information they are looking for easily. Adding chapters to your video will encourage Google to display them more often when someone searches for them, and this will include adding your videos to its featured snippets.
While adding chapters, you need to make sure that it is labeled with correct keywords, and it is clear and descriptive. YouTube videos are often showed as Google snippet when someone tries to find something on the search engine. Adding a chapter will let Google understand the content better, thereby letting your videos gain more search traffic.
Part 4: When should I add or not chapters on YouTube?
If you are wondering whether all videos on YouTube should have chapters, the answer to this is no. A two minutes long video won’t require chapters because it won’t make sense. Think about whether you would want your audience to have reduced watch time. Another thing to pay attention to is audience retention.
We mentioned earlier that adding chapters to long videos will be a good idea, but before you jump in and start adding chapters, you need to understand whether it will help you and should be done in your particular case?
If you are uploading a video on education, science and technology, how-to, news and politics, Q and A, and other similar videos, adding chapters will definitely help. In these kinds of videos, you will let your audience rewatch a section they liked the most over and over again.
However, if you are uploading music, entertainment, comedy, and film and animation videos, we will recommend not to add chapters because this will reduce the watch time.
Part 5: Do YouTube Video Chapters Decrease Channel Watch Time?
One of the most commonly asked questions regarding adding chapters to YouTube videos is whether it will reduce the watch time of a video. Video chapters are a pretty good feature and can enable your videos to engage with the viewers.
Since chapters allow your audience to skip through video content, they are not really watching the whole video, which can’t be suitable for audience retention! Here’s what we have to say to this: don’t put your 100% focus on watch time right now. Your focus should be creating informative and engaging content, which will keep your audience hooked to their screens. Even if you add chapters, if your audience doesn’t find it engaging, they will choose not to go on with the content.
Video chapters are a tiny part of the overall content. Chapters provide value to your audience, and you should try them. If you are uploading a concise video, animation video, funny video, and more, don’t add chapters.
Even some of the most watched videos on YouTube have chapters. Learn from them. These video makers could have thought about numbers rather than giving value to their audience, but they did just the opposite, and here they are with over a million views!
Part 6: Tips for adding chapters to YouTube video
Each video on YouTube is different, and that’s why there is no one-size-fits-all answer. There are some cases where you should not think about adding chapters at all. Whereas in other cases, you will have to experiment a bit before adding chapters.
Here are some tips that will help you.
Do Some Testing
Before adding chapters to a new video that you are thinking to upload, try adding chapters to an old video. See what happens to that video. Have the views increased? How about average view duration? Track these metrics first, and then try adding chapters to your upcoming videos to benefit from videos. Along with these metrics, you will also have to evaluate if adding chapters decreases or increases the watch time and number of views.
Label Your Chapters Using Keywords
Another thing to do that will help you have better traction is using a good keyword strategy. Look at what people are using while searching for content, which is similar to yours? Using names based on keywords that have better search volume will help your videos to rank higher.
Part 7: Why Video Chapter is Not working? [Problem solved]
There are a few mandatory things that you need to do before adding chapters to your YouTube video. Here are some of the common reasons why the video chapter is not working. See if any one of them is true in your case, and rectify it right away.
- Your video doesn’t have the 00:00 timestamp.
- Your video has less than three chapters.
- You have added a chapter that is less than 10 seconds long.
- You have not added the timestamps in chronological order.
- Rather than using “:” you have entered “.” for timecodes.
- If your channel has active copyright strikes, video chapters won’t work.
- Your channel doesn’t have more than 1k subscribers.
- Your video chapters are not suitable for some viewers.
Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.
Follow @Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett
Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions
If you have seen chapter markers on YouTube of our official channel, you might be wondering how someone can create chapters on YouTube? What is the way to mark different parts of the videos, and how can you add markers to all the existing videos on YouTube? Don’t worry; this article will discuss everything about YouTube chapters that you need to know. Keep reading to find all the details and learn the step-by-step instructions to add chapters to your YouTube videos for better engagement.
- Part 1: What Are YouTube Chapters?
- Part 2: How to Add Chapter to YouTube Video Progress Bar?
- Part 3: Why Add Chapters to Videos?
- Part 4: When Add Chapters on YouTube?
- Part 5: Will Chapter Decrease Watching Time?
- Part 6: Video Chapter Adding Tips
- Part 7: Why YouTube Chapter is Not Working?
Part 1: What Are YouTube Chapters?
YouTube video chapters are an excellent way to optimize your YouTube content. When you have chapters for your YouTube video, each chapter will have an individual preview. Chapters will break your YouTube video into multiple parts allowing your audience to have better context and information.
As per YouTube, chapters let the audience navigate better through videos. Chapters will let your audience watch different video parts, which will eventually lead to better engagement. If you want to organize your YouTube content, chapters are one of the best ways to go about it. By using labeled timestamps, your video will be divided into multiple sections. Your audience will be able to see the preview of the content and easily skip to the part they want to see within the video’s progress bar.
Part 2: How to Add Chapter to YouTube Video Progress Bar?
If you are a YouTube creator and want to know how you can add chapters to your YouTube content, here’s what you need to do. Follow these instructions carefully:
Step 1: First things first, please sign in to your YouTube account.
Step 2: Select the video that you want to edit and add chapters.
Step 3: Click on the edit video option. This option will be there under the video.
Step 4: On the add details page, you will see the description box. Here, you need to add the list of titles and timestamps.
Please keep in mind that you must add the first timestamp with “00:00”. You will have to add a minimum of three timestamps with a minimum of 10 seconds for each chapter. Here is how it looks like in the description after published.
Part 3: Why YouTubers Should Add Chapters to videos?
There are two primary advantages of adding chapters to your YouTube videos. Apart from making your YouTube video look organized and neat, chapters will let you provide a better user experience to everyone watching your video because they will find all the information about your video faster and easier within a video. And the second benefit is that your YouTube video will show up in search results. This is a way to optimize your content for more users to find your content.
YouTube chapters are beneficial for both creators and viewers. On the progress bar, these clickable chapters can be added. This will allow a viewer to skip and scrub through a video quickly and skip to parts they actually want to watch.
This feature is quite helpful for videos that are pretty long. Chapters will let you segment the videos into important chapters so that the viewer can rewatch already watched chapters or skip to other chapters in the video. YouTube chapters have been recently added to this platform for better navigation and engagement.
Better User Experience for Users
Just like Google wants browsers to find what they are looking for when they add a keyword, YouTube also wants to help viewers find what they are looking for. Chapters can be immensely beneficial for extended content. For example, if you are uploading a video of your convert video, let the users jump straight to their favorite songs.
Even in tutorial video content, viewers will now have a chance to get straight to the main part of the video. With chapters being added, viewers will have an opportunity to decide whether they want to watch the whole video or not. They won’t have to keep skipping one part to another blindly. Chapters will allow them to find what they are looking for in an instant.
For Creators: Increased Visibility
If you know about the Google algorithm, you must be aware that it regularly changes its algorithm to let people find the information they are looking for easily. Adding chapters to your video will encourage Google to display them more often when someone searches for them, and this will include adding your videos to its featured snippets.
While adding chapters, you need to make sure that it is labeled with correct keywords, and it is clear and descriptive. YouTube videos are often showed as Google snippet when someone tries to find something on the search engine. Adding a chapter will let Google understand the content better, thereby letting your videos gain more search traffic.
Part 4: When should I add or not chapters on YouTube?
If you are wondering whether all videos on YouTube should have chapters, the answer to this is no. A two minutes long video won’t require chapters because it won’t make sense. Think about whether you would want your audience to have reduced watch time. Another thing to pay attention to is audience retention.
We mentioned earlier that adding chapters to long videos will be a good idea, but before you jump in and start adding chapters, you need to understand whether it will help you and should be done in your particular case?
If you are uploading a video on education, science and technology, how-to, news and politics, Q and A, and other similar videos, adding chapters will definitely help. In these kinds of videos, you will let your audience rewatch a section they liked the most over and over again.
However, if you are uploading music, entertainment, comedy, and film and animation videos, we will recommend not to add chapters because this will reduce the watch time.
Part 5: Do YouTube Video Chapters Decrease Channel Watch Time?
One of the most commonly asked questions regarding adding chapters to YouTube videos is whether it will reduce the watch time of a video. Video chapters are a pretty good feature and can enable your videos to engage with the viewers.
Since chapters allow your audience to skip through video content, they are not really watching the whole video, which can’t be suitable for audience retention! Here’s what we have to say to this: don’t put your 100% focus on watch time right now. Your focus should be creating informative and engaging content, which will keep your audience hooked to their screens. Even if you add chapters, if your audience doesn’t find it engaging, they will choose not to go on with the content.
Video chapters are a tiny part of the overall content. Chapters provide value to your audience, and you should try them. If you are uploading a concise video, animation video, funny video, and more, don’t add chapters.
Even some of the most watched videos on YouTube have chapters. Learn from them. These video makers could have thought about numbers rather than giving value to their audience, but they did just the opposite, and here they are with over a million views!
Part 6: Tips for adding chapters to YouTube video
Each video on YouTube is different, and that’s why there is no one-size-fits-all answer. There are some cases where you should not think about adding chapters at all. Whereas in other cases, you will have to experiment a bit before adding chapters.
Here are some tips that will help you.
Do Some Testing
Before adding chapters to a new video that you are thinking to upload, try adding chapters to an old video. See what happens to that video. Have the views increased? How about average view duration? Track these metrics first, and then try adding chapters to your upcoming videos to benefit from videos. Along with these metrics, you will also have to evaluate if adding chapters decreases or increases the watch time and number of views.
Label Your Chapters Using Keywords
Another thing to do that will help you have better traction is using a good keyword strategy. Look at what people are using while searching for content, which is similar to yours? Using names based on keywords that have better search volume will help your videos to rank higher.
Part 7: Why Video Chapter is Not working? [Problem solved]
There are a few mandatory things that you need to do before adding chapters to your YouTube video. Here are some of the common reasons why the video chapter is not working. See if any one of them is true in your case, and rectify it right away.
- Your video doesn’t have the 00:00 timestamp.
- Your video has less than three chapters.
- You have added a chapter that is less than 10 seconds long.
- You have not added the timestamps in chronological order.
- Rather than using “:” you have entered “.” for timecodes.
- If your channel has active copyright strikes, video chapters won’t work.
- Your channel doesn’t have more than 1k subscribers.
- Your video chapters are not suitable for some viewers.
Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.
Follow @Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett
Mar 27, 2024• Proven solutions
If you have seen chapter markers on YouTube of our official channel, you might be wondering how someone can create chapters on YouTube? What is the way to mark different parts of the videos, and how can you add markers to all the existing videos on YouTube? Don’t worry; this article will discuss everything about YouTube chapters that you need to know. Keep reading to find all the details and learn the step-by-step instructions to add chapters to your YouTube videos for better engagement.
- Part 1: What Are YouTube Chapters?
- Part 2: How to Add Chapter to YouTube Video Progress Bar?
- Part 3: Why Add Chapters to Videos?
- Part 4: When Add Chapters on YouTube?
- Part 5: Will Chapter Decrease Watching Time?
- Part 6: Video Chapter Adding Tips
- Part 7: Why YouTube Chapter is Not Working?
Part 1: What Are YouTube Chapters?
YouTube video chapters are an excellent way to optimize your YouTube content. When you have chapters for your YouTube video, each chapter will have an individual preview. Chapters will break your YouTube video into multiple parts allowing your audience to have better context and information.
As per YouTube, chapters let the audience navigate better through videos. Chapters will let your audience watch different video parts, which will eventually lead to better engagement. If you want to organize your YouTube content, chapters are one of the best ways to go about it. By using labeled timestamps, your video will be divided into multiple sections. Your audience will be able to see the preview of the content and easily skip to the part they want to see within the video’s progress bar.
Part 2: How to Add Chapter to YouTube Video Progress Bar?
If you are a YouTube creator and want to know how you can add chapters to your YouTube content, here’s what you need to do. Follow these instructions carefully:
Step 1: First things first, please sign in to your YouTube account.
Step 2: Select the video that you want to edit and add chapters.
Step 3: Click on the edit video option. This option will be there under the video.
Step 4: On the add details page, you will see the description box. Here, you need to add the list of titles and timestamps.
Please keep in mind that you must add the first timestamp with “00:00”. You will have to add a minimum of three timestamps with a minimum of 10 seconds for each chapter. Here is how it looks like in the description after published.
Part 3: Why YouTubers Should Add Chapters to videos?
There are two primary advantages of adding chapters to your YouTube videos. Apart from making your YouTube video look organized and neat, chapters will let you provide a better user experience to everyone watching your video because they will find all the information about your video faster and easier within a video. And the second benefit is that your YouTube video will show up in search results. This is a way to optimize your content for more users to find your content.
YouTube chapters are beneficial for both creators and viewers. On the progress bar, these clickable chapters can be added. This will allow a viewer to skip and scrub through a video quickly and skip to parts they actually want to watch.
This feature is quite helpful for videos that are pretty long. Chapters will let you segment the videos into important chapters so that the viewer can rewatch already watched chapters or skip to other chapters in the video. YouTube chapters have been recently added to this platform for better navigation and engagement.
Better User Experience for Users
Just like Google wants browsers to find what they are looking for when they add a keyword, YouTube also wants to help viewers find what they are looking for. Chapters can be immensely beneficial for extended content. For example, if you are uploading a video of your convert video, let the users jump straight to their favorite songs.
Even in tutorial video content, viewers will now have a chance to get straight to the main part of the video. With chapters being added, viewers will have an opportunity to decide whether they want to watch the whole video or not. They won’t have to keep skipping one part to another blindly. Chapters will allow them to find what they are looking for in an instant.
For Creators: Increased Visibility
If you know about the Google algorithm, you must be aware that it regularly changes its algorithm to let people find the information they are looking for easily. Adding chapters to your video will encourage Google to display them more often when someone searches for them, and this will include adding your videos to its featured snippets.
While adding chapters, you need to make sure that it is labeled with correct keywords, and it is clear and descriptive. YouTube videos are often showed as Google snippet when someone tries to find something on the search engine. Adding a chapter will let Google understand the content better, thereby letting your videos gain more search traffic.
Part 4: When should I add or not chapters on YouTube?
If you are wondering whether all videos on YouTube should have chapters, the answer to this is no. A two minutes long video won’t require chapters because it won’t make sense. Think about whether you would want your audience to have reduced watch time. Another thing to pay attention to is audience retention.
We mentioned earlier that adding chapters to long videos will be a good idea, but before you jump in and start adding chapters, you need to understand whether it will help you and should be done in your particular case?
If you are uploading a video on education, science and technology, how-to, news and politics, Q and A, and other similar videos, adding chapters will definitely help. In these kinds of videos, you will let your audience rewatch a section they liked the most over and over again.
However, if you are uploading music, entertainment, comedy, and film and animation videos, we will recommend not to add chapters because this will reduce the watch time.
Part 5: Do YouTube Video Chapters Decrease Channel Watch Time?
One of the most commonly asked questions regarding adding chapters to YouTube videos is whether it will reduce the watch time of a video. Video chapters are a pretty good feature and can enable your videos to engage with the viewers.
Since chapters allow your audience to skip through video content, they are not really watching the whole video, which can’t be suitable for audience retention! Here’s what we have to say to this: don’t put your 100% focus on watch time right now. Your focus should be creating informative and engaging content, which will keep your audience hooked to their screens. Even if you add chapters, if your audience doesn’t find it engaging, they will choose not to go on with the content.
Video chapters are a tiny part of the overall content. Chapters provide value to your audience, and you should try them. If you are uploading a concise video, animation video, funny video, and more, don’t add chapters.
Even some of the most watched videos on YouTube have chapters. Learn from them. These video makers could have thought about numbers rather than giving value to their audience, but they did just the opposite, and here they are with over a million views!
Part 6: Tips for adding chapters to YouTube video
Each video on YouTube is different, and that’s why there is no one-size-fits-all answer. There are some cases where you should not think about adding chapters at all. Whereas in other cases, you will have to experiment a bit before adding chapters.
Here are some tips that will help you.
Do Some Testing
Before adding chapters to a new video that you are thinking to upload, try adding chapters to an old video. See what happens to that video. Have the views increased? How about average view duration? Track these metrics first, and then try adding chapters to your upcoming videos to benefit from videos. Along with these metrics, you will also have to evaluate if adding chapters decreases or increases the watch time and number of views.
Label Your Chapters Using Keywords
Another thing to do that will help you have better traction is using a good keyword strategy. Look at what people are using while searching for content, which is similar to yours? Using names based on keywords that have better search volume will help your videos to rank higher.
Part 7: Why Video Chapter is Not working? [Problem solved]
There are a few mandatory things that you need to do before adding chapters to your YouTube video. Here are some of the common reasons why the video chapter is not working. See if any one of them is true in your case, and rectify it right away.
- Your video doesn’t have the 00:00 timestamp.
- Your video has less than three chapters.
- You have added a chapter that is less than 10 seconds long.
- You have not added the timestamps in chronological order.
- Rather than using “:” you have entered “.” for timecodes.
- If your channel has active copyright strikes, video chapters won’t work.
- Your channel doesn’t have more than 1k subscribers.
- Your video chapters are not suitable for some viewers.
Richard Bennett
Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.
Follow @Richard Bennett
- Title: "[New] First Steps in Filmmaking Essentials for New YouTube Talents"
- Author: Joseph
- Created at : 2024-05-31 13:46:29
- Updated at : 2024-06-01 13:46:29
- Link: https://youtube-stream.techidaily.com/new-first-steps-in-filmmaking-essentials-for-new-youtube-talents/
- License: This work is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.
