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