Fun fact: YouTube is the second-most visited website in the globe behind Google—YouTube's parent company.

Fun suggestion: Your brand should accept a presence there.

The opportunity to reach your audience on YouTube is massive. It'due south the most popular social platform among U.S. adults, and nearly 75% of Americans apply the social video site, compared to the 69% who use Facebook.

More than half of those users visit YouTube every single mean solar day. Wouldn't information technology be nice if they took a expect at your content while they were in that location?

Luckily, creating a YouTube account isn't difficult. Creating a successful YouTube channel is a little more work… but don't worry, we've got yous covered in that location, too.

Bonus: Download the free 30-day plan to grow your YouTube post-obit fast , a daily workbook of challenges that will assist you lot kickstart your Youtube channel growth and track your success. Go real results afterwards i calendar month.

How to create a new YouTube channel in 5 simple steps

Making a successful YouTube channel starts with making a YouTube channel. Here's how to build your account.

Pace one: Create a Google account

If yous use Gmail, Google Maps, or Google Play, yous probably already have a Google account… so skip alee to the next step.

If you're starting from scratch, caput here to sign up for a new Google business relationship.

create Google account page

The name and email address won't be publicly linked to your make, so don't worry nigh keeping those on-bulletin. This is just your central to make it the YouTube door.

Step ii: Create a YouTube account

With your Google account, you lot're automatically fix up with a personal YouTube account. But to utilise YouTube for your business, yous'll want to set up a Brand Account.

Just go to your YouTube business relationship page, click Create a Aqueduct, and so enter a name for your Brand Account. Yous're in!

When you create a YouTube Brand Account, you can give multiple people admin access and customize the name and appearance to lucifer your make.

Another cool affair about Brand Accounts: they allow yous to access YouTube Analytics, which offers super helpful insight about who's watching your videos and what content is popular. (Learn more in our post on how to use YouTube for marketing.)

YouTube account page create a channel

create a Brand Account

Footstep 3: Customize your YouTube channel

Time to make this sweet new social media profile your own.

In your channel dashboard, click Customize channel. Get through the iii tabs — Layout, Branding and Bones Info — to enter information that will assist optimize your channel for audience discovery.

channel customization layout branding and basic info

When filling out this data, utilise descriptive keywords that will help your account announced in searches.

Keywords can include your aqueduct's topics, your industry, questions your content can answer or products featured.

Under Branding, you lot'll have the opportunity to upload your channel art and icons to requite your channel a unique look. One that, ideally, aligns with your overall brand and visually connects this YouTube business relationship with your other social media platforms and spider web presence.

branding profile picture and banner image

We've got some templates for YouTube channel art right here to become you started.

Step 4: Upload your first YouTube video

Well, this is exciting. You're on the cusp of becoming a YouTube content creator! I'1000 not crying, you're crying.

To put your offset video out into the earth, hit the Create button in the top-correct corner and follow the instructions.

upload YouTube video

Stride 5: Make your YouTube aqueduct discoverable

Like the former saying goes: If you lot have amazing content on YouTube but nobody sees it… what's the point?

To become views and subscribers, you'll want to optimize your channel and videos for discovery. Nosotros've got a consummate guide to promoting your YouTube channel if you want to dive in deep. In the meantime, hither's the 30-second rundown:

Optimize video titles

Use curtailed, descriptive titles that include Google-friendly keywords. Titles are the get-go affair users see, but they also help the search engine sympathise what your videos are about. So make sure all your titles are punchy and intriguing, merely too clear and include keywords.

Optimize your YouTube description

It's important to be clear, concise and descriptive here, also. Brand sure to front-load your keywords and add links to other playlists.

Another good trick to use in video descriptions? Create a "table of contents" with timestamps to help viewers find what they're looking for.

For more than specific tips, check out our complete guide to writing a winning YouTube description.

Add together tags (in moderation)

While it tin be tempting to load up this department with clickbaity tags, make sure to simply include tags that are relevant to your content. Be honest, and choose quality over quantity. The goal is to accomplish viewers who are actually interested in content similar yours.

Tags as well assistance YouTube'due south algorithm understand what your content is near. Make certain to add a category or two to help the search engine put your videos in front end of the right audience.

Cross-promote

Add a link to your YouTube channel on your other social profiles, website and email signature to let your existing fans know you're starting a video empire.

Sympathise the algorithm

If you haven't already, now is the fourth dimension to familiarize yourself with the YouTube algorithm. This AI determines not just search results, but recommendations for the earth-shaking "what's upwards next" sidebar, too.

9 tips for starting a YouTube aqueduct

1. Apply middle-communicable channel art and thumbnails

Your channel art and thumbnails are your billboards, so make an impression!

An effective thumbnail is clear and accurate, and works in tandem with the video's title. But it besides needs to stand out.

eye-catching thumbnails

Thumbnails are the manner viewers decide what to spotter when they're skimming through search results. This means you don't just demand to communicate what your video is nigh. You demand to stand out from the competition, too.

And a lot of the competition is… loud.

Evaluate what everyone else is doing, and try to swerve. For instance, choose a singled-out colour palette, or go full-on minimalist to stand out in a bounding main of neon colors and Impact font.

Experiment with our aqueduct art templates here.

2. Choose the perfect channel icon

A channel icon is like a logo for your YouTube presence. Information technology should match your brand and complement your channel banner.

When picking an icon, follow YouTube'south recommended paradigm dimensions to avoid whatever stretching. Preview your channel on multiple devices to check everything looks good.

YouTuber J.J. McCullough uses a cartoon caricature of himself as his logo to represent both his fine art and his personality.

J.J. McCullough cartoon caricature channel icon

iii. Create playlists

Organizing and creating video playlists on YouTube is the best way to keep your viewer on your folio.

Non just practise YouTube playlists organize your related content in i neat-and-tidy list, they also car-play. In one case one video ends, the adjacent begins… and so on. This minimizes the chances that a viewer will move on to another channel.

Financial counsellor Max Mitchell, for instance, adds all of his TFSA videos to one playlist, and so viewers can just sit down back and acquire nearly tax-free savings accounts for hours on cease.

Max Mitchell TFSA essentials playlist

four. Create a aqueduct trailer

When someone outset comes across your channel, a channel trailer is a way for them to become a sneak peek at your content. Better go far count.

Just like the Hollywood hotshots go you hooked to run into Avengers: Tokyo Drift, you tin can give your audition a taste that leaves them wanting more.

Presume the viewer is a perfect stranger, and so introduce yourself and tell them exactly why they should subscribe. Keep it short, sweet and snappy: let 'em know what your content is like and when they tin await new uploads, like Yoga with Adriene does on her aqueduct.

v. Create corking content, consistently

This is going to audio very obvious, but we're going to say it anyway: Viewers want to watch good videos.

Simply what makes a good YouTube video is a little different than, say, what makes a video that would current of air a foreign film festival.

Co-ordinate to Search Engine Journal, successful YouTube videos accept attention-grabbing intros and great branding, background music, and clear sound.

Bonus: Download the free 30-day program to grow your YouTube following fast , a daily workbook of challenges that volition help you kickstart your Youtube channel growth and track your success. Become real results afterward one month.

Get the gratuitous guide correct now!

Calls to activity are of import too. Whether your goal is to bulldoze your audience to your website, increment your subscriber count or spark a conversation in the comments, the correct CTA can aid make that happen.

Similar with all social media content, there's no perfect formula for a successful YouTube video. Some brands thrive with slick, highly produced content, while others gain traction past being raw, unfiltered and authentic.

Vanity Fair'due south YouTube channel is an inspiring one. It goes beyond what you might read in the magazine'due south profiles and features videos of actors sharing everything they do in a day or taking a lie detector test.

Explore some ideas of engaging content from other social media platforms to inspire your experimentation.

6. Schedule your videos

Requite your videos the best hazard to make it big by posting them at the right time: when people are online and ready to sentry them.

Your channel analytics will tell yous if there'southward a 24-hour interval of the week or specific time that tends to go loftier viewership or engagement.

Once you've got that intel, you tin publish regularly within this time frame, with the help of scheduling tools similar Hootsuite.

Acquire more than most how to schedule YouTube videos.

7. Empathise your audience

It'south hard to brand compelling content if you don't know who you're making it for, so brand sure you lot've got a good sense of your audience persona earlier you dive in.

Who are they? What do they like? (Why won't they call me?!)

In one case you've got a few videos under your chugalug, run across whether or non you're hitting the mark by diving into your YouTube Analytics. Cold difficult numbers will tell you if, how and when your piece of work of art is making an impact.

channel analytics overivew

8. Experiment with YouTube advertizement

If y'all're not getting the reach yous want with skillful ol' fashioned organic content, information technology might be time to toss a few bucks backside a promo campaign.

YouTube ads are available in these four categories:

  • Skippable in-stream ads
  • Non-skippable in-stream ads (including bumper ads)
  • Video discovery ads (formerly known as in-display ads)
  • Not-video ads (i.e., overlays and banners)

For more info on YouTube'due south advertisement formats and how to utilize them, check out our detailed guide to YouTube advertisement.

9. Ask viewers to subscribe

When someone subscribes to your aqueduct (and hits that bong button), they go an alert when yous put a new video out into the earth — then growing your subscriber base is the all-time manner to boost your organic reach.

At that place's a reason why "Don't forget to subscribe" is the sign-off of pick for YouTubers large and small.

Of class, growing your subscriber count is easier said than done. For that reason, nosotros have a full guide on how to become more YouTube subscribers.

Once you hit 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 lookout man hours within the year, you'll be able to register as a YouTube partner and monetize your aqueduct. Acquire more most YouTube's Partner Programme hither.

channel monetization YouTube partner program

This is just the tip of the iceberg for creating a successful YouTube aqueduct. If you're interested in learning more, check out our weblog post virtually how to get more than views on YouTube, 23 smart means to promote your YouTube aqueduct, and how to get a YouTube marketing master.

With Hootsuite, you can easily upload, schedule, and promote your YouTube aqueduct and videos across multiple social networks from one dashboard. Endeavour information technology complimentary today.

Become Started

Grow your YouTube channel fast with Hootsuite. Hands moderate comments, schedule video, and publish to Facebook, Instagram, and Twitter.

Try it for Free