1 1 00:00:00,400 --> 00:00:03,483 (gentle piano music) 2 2 00:00:04,870 --> 00:00:08,040 Okay, choosing a channel name. 3 3 00:00:08,040 --> 00:00:12,090 Well, I have a self-titled YouTube channel, 4 4 00:00:12,090 --> 00:00:15,320 and I think I actually have a bad name. 5 5 00:00:15,320 --> 00:00:18,440 And I say this because one, 6 6 00:00:18,440 --> 00:00:21,990 my audience can't pronounce my name properly, 7 7 00:00:21,990 --> 00:00:25,550 and two, it's difficult for them to spell. 8 8 00:00:25,550 --> 00:00:27,270 These are no-nos, 9 9 00:00:27,270 --> 00:00:30,730 but it was already too late for me to change my name 10 10 00:00:30,730 --> 00:00:33,730 because my channel was already gaining traction, 11 11 00:00:33,730 --> 00:00:37,760 and I was being spoken of in conventional media, 12 12 00:00:37,760 --> 00:00:40,100 so I wanted people who heard about me there 13 13 00:00:40,100 --> 00:00:43,280 to still be able to find me online. 14 14 00:00:43,280 --> 00:00:44,760 But now that I look back, 15 15 00:00:44,760 --> 00:00:47,350 I think I should have chosen a stage name 16 16 00:00:47,350 --> 00:00:48,970 right from the start. 17 17 00:00:48,970 --> 00:00:52,630 So if your name is like mine, consider a stage name. 18 18 00:00:52,630 --> 00:00:56,270 Shane Dawson's real name, for instance, is Shane Yaw, 19 19 00:00:56,270 --> 00:00:58,820 and he thought Dawson would work better, 20 20 00:00:58,820 --> 00:01:00,490 for whatever reason. 21 21 00:01:00,490 --> 00:01:03,860 Stage names are popular with all kinds of celebrities. 22 22 00:01:03,860 --> 00:01:06,140 Post Malone got his stage name 23 23 00:01:06,140 --> 00:01:09,433 from a rap name generator, so I heard. 24 24 00:01:10,330 --> 00:01:13,510 But before you decide on which name is best, 25 25 00:01:13,510 --> 00:01:16,840 you will need to decide exactly what you will be doing 26 26 00:01:16,840 --> 00:01:19,150 on your channel, first. 27 27 00:01:19,150 --> 00:01:22,040 If you do car modifications, 28 28 00:01:22,040 --> 00:01:25,690 you may wanna avoid using your name altogether 29 29 00:01:25,690 --> 00:01:28,140 and go with a title like Fresh Cars, 30 30 00:01:28,140 --> 00:01:31,050 or whatever it is you come up with. 31 31 00:01:31,050 --> 00:01:32,750 You should really brainstorm 32 32 00:01:32,750 --> 00:01:36,440 and spend some time and energy on this, 33 33 00:01:36,440 --> 00:01:38,850 and ask your friends for feedback too. 34 34 00:01:38,850 --> 00:01:41,580 The channel name sticks with you for a while, 35 35 00:01:41,580 --> 00:01:45,780 and even though it's not the most important, 36 36 00:01:45,780 --> 00:01:48,340 it really helps to have a catchy name 37 37 00:01:48,340 --> 00:01:52,030 that is easy to remember and easy to spell 38 38 00:01:52,030 --> 00:01:54,500 and that doesn't have profanity in it 39 39 00:01:54,500 --> 00:01:59,080 because YouTube, as you know, doesn't favor profanity. 40 40 00:01:59,080 --> 00:02:01,350 Choosing a theme. 41 41 00:02:01,350 --> 00:02:03,490 Okay, this is what I did, 42 42 00:02:03,490 --> 00:02:06,980 and this is what I suggest you do as well. 43 43 00:02:06,980 --> 00:02:10,350 Write down all the things that you are good at 44 44 00:02:10,350 --> 00:02:12,340 or that you are passionate about. 45 45 00:02:12,340 --> 00:02:16,010 For example, maybe I would write down acting, presenting, 46 46 00:02:16,010 --> 00:02:19,530 speaking Indonesian, Indonesian culture, 47 47 00:02:19,530 --> 00:02:22,670 speaking English, of course, (laughs) 48 48 00:02:22,670 --> 00:02:26,270 teaching, comedy, horseback riding. 49 49 00:02:26,270 --> 00:02:29,490 That's a lie, but (laughs) you get my point. 50 50 00:02:29,490 --> 00:02:32,110 So I'm going to choose a theme that requires 51 51 00:02:32,110 --> 00:02:36,580 as many of those things on the list as possible. 52 52 00:02:36,580 --> 00:02:39,030 None of my skills are unique, 53 53 00:02:39,030 --> 00:02:42,550 but the combination of those skills all together 54 54 00:02:42,550 --> 00:02:44,480 makes me different and unique, 55 55 00:02:44,480 --> 00:02:47,660 and it could give me an edge. 56 56 00:02:47,660 --> 00:02:50,410 So I might leave out the horseback riding, 57 57 00:02:50,410 --> 00:02:54,010 but at least I can utilize my other skills. 58 58 00:02:54,010 --> 00:02:56,720 Now if you're not like me, 59 59 00:02:56,720 --> 00:03:00,640 and you are really good at one thing in particular, 60 60 00:03:00,640 --> 00:03:03,880 make sure that you capitalize on that. 61 61 00:03:03,880 --> 00:03:07,770 If there is enough demand for it, then do that thing. 62 62 00:03:07,770 --> 00:03:09,520 But if you are like me 63 63 00:03:09,520 --> 00:03:12,890 and aren't particularly amazing at anything 64 64 00:03:12,890 --> 00:03:15,490 but pretty good at a lot of things, 65 65 00:03:15,490 --> 00:03:18,870 then this strategy I used works well 66 66 00:03:18,870 --> 00:03:20,513 when you're looking for a theme. 67 67 00:03:21,360 --> 00:03:23,250 When you design your channel, 68 68 00:03:23,250 --> 00:03:26,367 you want people to be saying, "Wow, 69 69 00:03:26,367 --> 00:03:29,530 "this person deserves more subscribers." 70 70 00:03:29,530 --> 00:03:31,650 So that is the goal. 71 71 00:03:31,650 --> 00:03:33,930 Make sure it's very clear 72 72 00:03:33,930 --> 00:03:36,330 that you're a professional YouTuber. 73 73 00:03:36,330 --> 00:03:39,250 Your content should make this clear, 74 74 00:03:39,250 --> 00:03:41,810 but so should your channel page. 75 75 00:03:41,810 --> 00:03:44,160 Make sure you have a channel banner, 76 76 00:03:44,160 --> 00:03:46,813 also referred to as like channel art. 77 77 00:03:47,760 --> 00:03:51,010 You have to have a profile picture. 78 78 00:03:51,010 --> 00:03:53,670 Arrange the videos that you've already uploaded 79 79 00:03:53,670 --> 00:03:57,060 in a way so that people can find your best stuff 80 80 00:03:57,060 --> 00:03:59,740 when they visit your channel page. 81 81 00:03:59,740 --> 00:04:01,950 All this is important. 82 82 00:04:01,950 --> 00:04:06,170 I see some people just have a recent upload section, 83 83 00:04:06,170 --> 00:04:09,100 but as your library of videos grows, 84 84 00:04:09,100 --> 00:04:13,020 max out the space and make different sections. 85 85 00:04:13,020 --> 00:04:16,020 Popular uploads should be there too. 86 86 00:04:16,020 --> 00:04:20,000 In fact, a popular uploads section works well near the top, 87 87 00:04:20,000 --> 00:04:23,970 maybe directly under the recent uploads section. 88 88 00:04:23,970 --> 00:04:26,270 This way, when people go to your page, 89 89 00:04:26,270 --> 00:04:29,020 they can see your best performing videos 90 90 00:04:29,020 --> 00:04:32,660 and the most recent uploads first. 91 91 00:04:32,660 --> 00:04:35,200 Obviously, you can make other sections, 92 92 00:04:35,200 --> 00:04:39,130 one for each series or type of video. 93 93 00:04:39,130 --> 00:04:43,420 Feel free to go in once in a while and rearrange things. 94 94 00:04:43,420 --> 00:04:46,080 I personally do that once a year or so, 95 95 00:04:46,080 --> 00:04:48,790 but you can do it as often as you want. 96 96 00:04:48,790 --> 00:04:51,240 Making a channel trailer. 97 97 00:04:51,240 --> 00:04:53,830 Okay, if you want to let people know 98 98 00:04:53,830 --> 00:04:56,120 that you are a serious YouTuber, 99 99 00:04:56,120 --> 00:04:59,360 and also let them know what types of videos you make 100 100 00:04:59,360 --> 00:05:03,840 or plan to make, you should probably make a channel trailer. 101 101 00:05:03,840 --> 00:05:06,080 I would suggest making the production quality 102 102 00:05:06,080 --> 00:05:10,210 as good as you can and spending some time on it. 103 103 00:05:10,210 --> 00:05:13,150 Just talking in front a webcam for three minutes 104 104 00:05:13,150 --> 00:05:16,660 is probably not the best you can do, 105 105 00:05:16,660 --> 00:05:19,190 but just do what you can. 106 106 00:05:19,190 --> 00:05:22,470 This is basically going to be an ad for your channel, 107 107 00:05:22,470 --> 00:05:26,010 so you want it to sell you, 108 108 00:05:26,010 --> 00:05:28,960 and you want it to sell your channel well. 109 109 00:05:28,960 --> 00:05:30,730 There are no rules on length, 110 110 00:05:30,730 --> 00:05:33,200 but a minute is long enough. 111 111 00:05:33,200 --> 00:05:34,960 It could be even less. 112 112 00:05:34,960 --> 00:05:37,980 The main thing is when you watch it back, 113 113 00:05:37,980 --> 00:05:41,083 do you feel like you would subscribe to you? 114 114 00:05:42,030 --> 00:05:45,550 If the answer is yes, then you did a good job. 115 115 00:05:45,550 --> 00:05:47,550 Now you need to upload it. 116 116 00:05:47,550 --> 00:05:52,260 You can upload your trailer as public in the settings, 117 117 00:05:52,260 --> 00:05:55,850 but if you are revamping your channel 118 118 00:05:55,850 --> 00:05:58,120 and already have subscribers, 119 119 00:05:58,120 --> 00:05:59,820 and you don't want this video 120 120 00:05:59,820 --> 00:06:02,800 to go out to their subscription feeds, 121 121 00:06:02,800 --> 00:06:06,750 then just upload it as unlisted. 122 122 00:06:06,750 --> 00:06:08,120 It'll still work, 123 123 00:06:08,120 --> 00:06:12,530 and then people won't get this ad all of a sudden 124 124 00:06:12,530 --> 00:06:13,570 in their feed. 125 125 00:06:13,570 --> 00:06:15,580 Another thing you can do 126 126 00:06:15,580 --> 00:06:19,280 which makes people know you are a professional YouTuber 127 127 00:06:19,280 --> 00:06:22,230 is adding an intro to your videos. 128 128 00:06:22,230 --> 00:06:26,620 This will be an intro that you make only one time, 129 129 00:06:26,620 --> 00:06:28,350 and you keep reusing it 130 130 00:06:28,350 --> 00:06:31,060 at the beginning of every video you make. 131 131 00:06:31,060 --> 00:06:34,000 You don't need to do this to succeed, 132 132 00:06:34,000 --> 00:06:37,650 but if you like the idea and you wanna use an intro, 133 133 00:06:37,650 --> 00:06:42,650 then the number one rule is keep it so short. 134 134 00:06:43,260 --> 00:06:46,320 It should be five seconds or less. 135 135 00:06:46,320 --> 00:06:49,660 Don't waste my internet data quota 136 136 00:06:49,660 --> 00:06:52,880 each time I watch your video please. 137 137 00:06:52,880 --> 00:06:56,330 I know you wanna show off your editing skills, 138 138 00:06:56,330 --> 00:07:01,113 but keeping it short is the best editing skill there is. 139 139 00:07:02,550 --> 00:07:04,060 I see some videos out there 140 140 00:07:04,060 --> 00:07:06,930 with an intro of 15 seconds or more, 141 141 00:07:06,930 --> 00:07:09,340 but that gets old real quick. 142 142 00:07:09,340 --> 00:07:11,823 Don't risk your viewers clicking away. 143 143 00:07:12,910 --> 00:07:14,950 There is a strong correlation 144 144 00:07:14,950 --> 00:07:17,070 between YouTube content creation 145 145 00:07:17,070 --> 00:07:20,240 and channel management with business. 146 146 00:07:20,240 --> 00:07:22,040 Your videos are the product, 147 147 00:07:22,040 --> 00:07:25,530 your channel is the company or the store. 148 148 00:07:25,530 --> 00:07:27,900 The difference is that on YouTube, 149 149 00:07:27,900 --> 00:07:30,540 your money is generally not on the line, 150 150 00:07:30,540 --> 00:07:32,397 just your reputation (laughs). 151 151 00:07:34,040 --> 00:07:37,220 There are some exceptions to this too, though. 152 152 00:07:37,220 --> 00:07:39,690 But basically, you wanna grow your channel 153 153 00:07:39,690 --> 00:07:44,650 and keep it as healthy as possible, so keep learning. 154 154 00:07:44,650 --> 00:07:47,580 Feel free to read or study up 155 155 00:07:47,580 --> 00:07:50,680 on new editing techniques and camera lenses, 156 156 00:07:50,680 --> 00:07:52,900 but don't forget business skills 157 157 00:07:52,900 --> 00:07:56,610 like public speaking, presenting, marketing. 158 158 00:07:56,610 --> 00:08:01,430 And for me, personally, my business model kind of sucks. 159 159 00:08:01,430 --> 00:08:05,010 So that's why I try to use my extra time 160 160 00:08:05,010 --> 00:08:09,460 to learn new things in that area that I need to work on. 161 161 00:08:09,460 --> 00:08:12,090 That's part of succeeding on YouTube, 162 162 00:08:12,090 --> 00:08:16,290 and it's also one of the funnest parts, in my opinion. 163 163 00:08:16,290 --> 00:08:19,040 So never stop learning. 164 164 00:08:19,040 --> 00:08:21,153 Pretty much true for most fields.