How many of you thought to yourself ‘I can do that too!’ after watching yet another make up tutorial, ASMR cooking video or a prank compilation on YouTube? How many of you actually tried? From a quick glance, posting videos online looks easy and simple, which it definitely has been recently with the emergence of Vine and subsequently TikTok.

Online video production has never been ‘easier’ and there have never been more available resources out there, but still, only less than 1% of all YouTube users have an active channel. How come? Apart from the typical, ‘I could do this, but I’m not bothered’, or ‘I would have, but I’m just too busy with x, y, z’, I bet for most aspiring content creators it’s more along the lines of ‘I really want to, but I have no idea where to start and how to do it right.’

At Papercup, we are definitely not advocating that there is a particular ‘right’ way to create and post content online, but we do have a few suggestions on how to make your YouTube-channel-creation journey a lot smoother and bump-free!

’Content is King’

How many times have you heard this phrase? Second only to ‘Do what you love’ in its cliché-ness but, as annoying as it is, it really drives an important point across. Without a clear idea of what kind of content you want to create, there’s no use thinking of starting a YouTube channel. In the recent years, it has gotten progressively more difficult to ‘just start posting videos’ as many established content creators preach.

This may have been good advice back in the day when getting exposure on YouTube was much easier and the algorithm was not as advanced (and ruthless). Now, in the year 2020, aspiring content creators do not have the luxury to just post silly, poor quality videos if they want to grow and sustain a viable YouTube channel and not be just a one-hit-viral-wonder.

So before starting your YouTube channel, sit down and brainstorm the following:

• What’s the overarching theme of my channel? Am I sharing my passion for Thai cuisine or inviting people to follow my journey of learning a new language?
• How can I make my videos stand out? Will it be through stellar video editing/cinematography or inserts of dry humour?
• What kind of resources would I need to keep this going consistently? How much of my time maintaining and growing a Youtube channel will take? Am I ready for such commitment?
• Who is going to be watching my videos? What kind of video style do they prefer? Where do they tend to hang out online so I can better position my content to reach them?

Think ahead

It’s time to get a bit technical and delve into the boring backside of YouTube (figuratively, of course). First and foremost, ask yourself, are you creating a YouTube channel for yourself or for your business? Are you planning to turn this channel in to a business or is this channel simply a creative outlet for you (nothing wrong with that!). These questions will help you figure out whether you want a channel that only you can manage using your google account or if you want to potentially have multiple people managing or even owning the channel in the future.

To actually create a personal YouTube channel, all you have to do is:

1. Be signed into the Google account you want to create the channel under.
2. Click on any ‘action’ like ‘Upload video’ or ‘create playlist’ and if you don’t have a channel, YouTube will prompt you to make one.

Things get a tiny bit more tricky with a business YouTube channel because you would need to create a Brand Account to be able to assign managing rights to other people

1. When creating your YouTube channel, create a Brand Account while you’re at it

2. By having a Brand Account, you potentially can create other channels under different names that you can still manage using your Google account.

Essentially, Brand Accounts eliminate the hassle of having a bajillion emails and passwords if you want to run multiple YouTube channels.

Do give us a shout if any of this is confusing. It took us a while to wrap our brains around it as well!

Don’t by shy, seek help

At this point in time, you can find Youtube creators even in the most remote areas of the world so no matter where you are, try and connect with fellow content creators either IRL or online. There are plenty of Reddit communities, Facebook groups and Meetups that focus on helping aspiring new Youtubers navigate their way to success, so don’t be shy and take advantage of what these lovely people have to offer!

Just Do It!

-Nike enters the chat-

This may sound like a direct contradiction to our first point, but hear us out. Just because it’s good YouTube practice to start a channel with a solid idea of the type of content you want to create in mind, doesn’t mean that your content has to be stellar from the get-go. YouTube audiences tend to allow for growth and improvement so don’t think that if you don’t know how to work Premier Pro or don’t have an R-series Canon beast of a camera that your videos will not do well. As long as you figure out and over time develop your own storytelling style and visual identity, you’re good to go!

So, bottom line, don’t be too harsh on yourself to the point where you film and edit 20 videos but never take the plunge to post them. Just start with something, then see how your audience responds and adapt.

Good luck!