YouTube channel advice please.

Sep 27, 2016

Tiffany D.

I don't know if this is in the right category but if not sorry. I've been wanting to start a yout channel for years and I keep putting it off and I've finally decided to just jump in but I would like to know what videos ppl want to see most and what Is a good idea for a first video.

Sep 27, 2016

Kayla Marie W.

For your first video you could do an intro video! It doesn't have to be long, just introduce yourself and explain what you have in mind for your channel.

As far as content, think about what you watch. Create content someone would search for. Maybe focus on creating looks with specific palettes or routines for specific things (dry skin foundation routine, winged liner for hooded eyes, brow routine for thin brows, color correcting for deep skin tones etc). Whatever you do just be consistent and upload on a schedule. Don't put too many distracting effects or music, keep it simple for anyone to watch.

Above all else, create content you like and would be proud of. It's your channel so just do what makes you happy.

Good luck! 🍀👍🏻

Sep 27, 2016

Tiffany D.

Thank you so much Kayla!

Sep 27, 2016

Kristen W.

Intro videos usually bring in a crap ton of spam so I’d avoid those personally… Same with tag videos. As for what people want to see? It depends on what route you’re planning to take your channel. If it’s a SFX channel start will popular film/tv characters. Once you have a small following you can then start branching out into your own creations. If you’re going to have a regular beauty channel reviews on newly released products & subscription box unboxings are usually the best way to bring in viewers to a new channel.

Here’s the problem with youtube. It is EXTREMELY over saturated. Especially the beauty and gaming communities and with the way youtube has set up it’s search/promotion algorithms it’s very hard to get noticed in the beginning. Say you do a winged liner tutorial. Youtube is automatically going to push the winged liner tutorial with the most engagement to the top of the search and yours will be at the very bottom since you’re just starting out. It won't be seen because literally every other beauty channel has a winged liner tutorial. Cant swing a stick without hitting one and they are all pretty much the exact same video. I mean if we are being honest here how many different ways can one person do winged liner so why not watch the first one that pops up in the search, know what I mean? Same with unique videos. If you upload something that’s an original idea to you even if the video is amazing it won't be seen because nobody is searching for it. It’s hard to explain through text but hopefully that makes sense.

But here is the good thing about review videos. If you get them up quickly your video will be at the top of the search even without a lot of engagement and people will watch. My NYX Cosmic Metal video for example; I was one of the first 4 people to review and swatch that collection on youtube. That video helped me gain 1200 subs and has over 20k views. Same with the unboxings. People love watching boxycharm, ipsy, sephora play and so on subscription box unboxings each month. If you get yours up before everyone else then yours will be the one people watch. It’s definitely annoying to have to constantly be on top of releases but with as many channels as there are out there it’s really the only way to get noticed nowadays.

Next issue is quality over quantity. I know a lot of people will disagree with me about upload schedules but here's the thing. If you are uploading 3 times a week and all 3 videos are just average do you think people will want to subscribe? Or would they rather subscribe to a channel that puts out 1 high quality video a week? If you can post 3 times a week and keep the content interesting and fun then more power to you but I personally feel like it’s just not realistic unless youtube is your only job. Take your time. If you aren’t 100% happy with a video then don’t upload it. Don’t feel pressured to stick to a schedule and sacrifice the quality of your channel just because you’ve set a schedule.

Lastly, be really careful with the name you choose for your channel. If your channel does get over 1k subscribers you will start having brands contact you for reviews and coupon codes and it gets really confusing if your name is long or has a difficult spelling. You wouldn’t think ‘Kristen’ is that hard to spell or remember but it’s been a nightmare… lol If I could redo one thing with my channel it would have been to use a different name.

Anyway, hope that helps and good luck! Just have fun with it and try not to get too frustrated in the beginning. Starting out sucks but I promise you will meet lots of fun people that will make it worth it. ^_^

Sep 27, 2016

Tiffany D.

Thank you so much Hailey and Kristen that was very helpful I really appreciate you taking the time to give me such a detailed answer