With the continued growth of video blogging culture, it is perfectly understandable for any tech savvy millennial or young adult to be attracted by the idea of ​​starting a YouTube channel. After all, it’s a fun and interactive hobby with the potential to turn you into a popular personality online – with the added benefit of helping you meet new people, get free business stuff and, of course, earn a pretty impressive income.

But if you want a steady increase in followers or at least publish decent content that gets a large number of views and likes, you have to do more than just become a contributing member on YouTube. Here are some helpful tips to make sure you make the most of your business in vlogging and content creation.

Here are some tips for starting a successful YouTube channel:

Plan your content

Before you even create your YouTube channel, you’ve probably already decided on the type of video content you want to show. The best ways to increase your opinions and gain followers are still to keep your content interesting and engaging; The more people can relate to it, the more they want to click on it and watch until the end.

It also helps to stick to your theme, if you have one. For example, many successful YouTubers have dedicated channels for travel, tutoring or their daily lives. Viewers like to live vicariously through the people they are watching, so let them know what to expect and deliver interesting material they can enjoy.

Arm yourself with the right equipment

Using your smartphone is certainly an acceptable way to record videos, but if you want viewers to enjoy your content, it really helps to invest in the right equipment. Most YouTubers use DSLRs or mirrorless cameras, along with other important accessories for videography such as tripods, lenses and studio lighting. For those who usually watch on the road, a mirrorless camera or action camera and a good monopod or hand held gimbal stabilizer are typical gear staples.

However, remember that a good vlog camera is not everything. If you neglect other things like sound quality and lighting, your viewers may still lose interest in your videos after the first few seconds and will not subscribe to you at all.

Invest in a good microphone that you can mount on your camera. At the same time, think about the recording conditions and make it a habit to check if your sound is clear enough for your viewers to understand. For best results, use a shotgun microphone that is designed to produce sound primarily so that noise from the sides and behind the microphone can be interrupted. Some vloggers even go as far as investing in multiple microphones for different recording situations – you may need a lavalier microphone (small microphones that can be attached to your shirt) to play fitness video or any other type of video that requires you to be long away from the camera, or a good condenser microphone (or whichever microphone is usually used for podcasting) that allows you to make clear voice summaries.

Look for inspiration

As you continue, it may be more challenging to come up with new, new content that matches the hype of your first videos. But don’t worry – even established YouTube artists go through the same thing every now and then. The secret is to look for inspiration everywhere – even when you’re out and taking a break from recording. List your ideas. Check out other videos and build on their ideas to make them your own.

Avoid comparing yourself to others and focus on your own channel. As long as you like and enjoy the concepts you come up with, your viewers will feel your sincerity and love for your craft, and this will help draw attention to their interest. While you are at it, take every opportunity to improve and develop in other areas. Explore other camera film techniques, editing styles and methods for your presentation.

Make every second count

It is equally important that you produce quality content and remove everything that you think cannot help make your videos better. This means that you must be selective with the clips that you include in the final cut. Just choose your best images (and cut out dead-air moments) to keep your viewers interested and engaged throughout the video.

Once you have collected a larger following you may have a little more freedom to include some of the artistic (or nonsensical) images, but always remember to think like a viewer and create what you want to see.

Start with simple editing software

Just because you create videos does not mean you need advanced software (like Final Cut Pro) to edit your content. These programs do not necessarily improve your content, especially if you will struggle with it a lot during the first few weeks.

If you are new to video editing you would do much better with simple programs like Windows Movie Maker or Apple iMovie. These are much more user friendly and are easy to download (free) if you do not already have them on your computer.

Optimize your videos

Another secret to giving your videos more visibility is to optimize your content so that it ranks on YouTube. As soon as you upload your first video, give it a good, descriptive title that viewers are likely to type in the search field – and make sure you include your main keyword or key phrase. For example, the title “Hawaii Birthday Travel Vlog 2018” is much better than “Hawaii Here We Go!”

Also, make sure to use relevant tags to help you place your video in several related categories. If in doubt, you can compete for the contest and see which tags other similar videos use. Finally, write a good description with at least 200 words and include your keywords, synonyms and key variations with a long tail. This not only helps viewers find out exactly what your video is about, but will also help your video rankings on the search engine results pages.

Build your network

While not necessarily categorized as a social networking site, YouTube is all about connecting, sharing and collaborating with other users. To succeed, you must therefore make an effort to build your network. This is especially critical in the YouTube community, as collaborations between creators have proven effective in helping a channel grow and gain new subscribers, as it helps both partners partner with the other subscriber base.

Talk to other creators, make friends, and don’t be afraid to contact major YouTubers to ask about a possible collaboration. It can be really scary, but you won’t get anywhere unless you try!

Connect with your viewers

Over time, you will slowly gain followers and get more comments from fans on your videos, and eventually you will get messages on your personal social media accounts – you may even get a little fucked up if you decide to share your P.O. box. Get in touch with your viewers as much as possible. Remember, your social media accounts are an extension of your YouTube channel, so try sharing small things in your life on popular social platforms like Instagram, Twitter and Snapchat. It is also important that you try to read and respond to all tweets, comments and any other messages you receive (as much as you can).

Such interactions are important because they help your subscribers learn more about you, plus it can help you foster a sense of community and online friendship among your own little community. It is not enough that they like your content – they have to like you and their overall experience with your channel as well.

Interacting with your viewers can also help you gain inspiration for new content ideas. And at least it will keep you inspired to continue despite the difficulties of growing and maintaining your channel.

Ignore all negative comments

No matter how big or how small your channel is, there will always be negative comments. After all, YouTube is a legacy for ruthless people who conveniently hide behind their empty avatars. No matter how good your content is and how hard you work on your channel, there will always be people who will make hateful comments and try to get you down.

Instead of letting them influence you, take it as a simple reminder that you cannot please everyone and do not forget those who appreciate you and what you do. Seek strength from these people to get past the negativity and continue to produce content for them.

Upload videos regularly

Another important tip is to be consistent with your uploads. No matter how uncomplicated you think your content is, it is important that you continue to get your videos out there, as it is with podcasting.

Some YouTube channel owners publish videos once or twice a week and inform their viewers about this schedule (usually at the end of each video) so that viewers know when to check back. This gives a channel a better chance of getting a steady flow of impressions, especially when it gets a number of active subscribers. When you figure out a convenient schedule that works for you, stick to it. You should get better and get more attention in no time!