How to Start Your Own YouTube Channel

Vlogging is quickly becoming the online hustle of choice for many Kenyans on social media. Corporate companies, brands, individuals and artistes are now airing their content on sites such as YouTube and Instagram for money.

Those who have been in the space for a longer period are already reaping big. Offline celebrities, especially artistes and journalists tend to have it easier as they simply convert their fan base to subscribers who in turn drive up the numbers to make them money.

YouTube vlogger Jalang’o just started his Jalang’o TV show in July and has already amassed 233,000 subscribers, Betty Kyallo started around the same time and despite her few videos has amassed about 129,000 subscribers.

Read: Why There is More Traffic to YouTube But Less Revenue for Vlogs

Vloggers such as the WaJesus Family have done it for about three years and have managed to amass 300,000 subscibers, while musicians Sauti Sol, who are celebrated offline have 645,000 subscribers.

There are many Kenyan vlogs covering a diversity of topics from family to music, marriage, relationships, motherhood and so much more. If you are looking to start a YouTube vlog, you have to choose a niche or topic that you are going to cover. Remember that content is key. So, whatever topic you choose, make sure you can generate enough content to keep your audience glued.

So, how do we get started?

• Sign into your YouTube using your Google or Gmail account.
• Go to settings on the top right hand
• Click on Create a new channel
• Choose “Use a business or other name”
• Add your Brand Name and click “Create”

Read also: YouTube Starts Rolling Out Its TikTok Competitor “Shorts”

To draw attention to your brand

• Fill out your channel description. You can add links to your website and social media pages. The description will appear on more than one place on the channel so make sure you put in all the necessary information
• Add a cover photo that best brings out your brand. YouTube recommends that you upload a photo of 2560 x 1440 pixels with a maximum file size of 4MB.
• Know your content, know your target audience and do your best to give them the best. There are probably other vloggers already covering the same topic you are, so make sure you make your delivery unique.
• Create a trailer to alert your potential audience of your channle. Here, let hem know who you are, what you will be showcasing and what they can expect.

Starting a YouTube channel is absolutely free. And for many people starting out, using your phone camera is sufficient.

Read also: YouTube Adds ‘Create’ Button, Makes More Changes For Easy Navigation

How to Grow Your Channel

As your audience and their demands grow, you may want to invest in good cameras and quality editing.

• Encourage your audience to subscribe so they can get alerts every time you post a new video.Like any other business, consistency is key, so make sure you keep your audience glued by uploading content frequently.
• Once you upload your first video, like SEO is required for blogs, YouTube will require that you post a topic description and tags. This will help your channel appear easily when people are searching for videos on YouTube.

How to Monetize

• Share your channel with your friends and contacts on social media
• Share it on your website and make sure you alert your existing audience every time you upload a new video.
• Once you have accrued more than 4,000 hours of overall watch time on your channel and garnered at least 1,000 subscribers, you can apply to monetize on your channel using YouTube ads.
• The ads will lay every time viewers are watching a video.

If you put in good effort and manage to grow your channel, it is safe to say that you can live off your YouTube earnings. As the channel grows, you can also attract deals with external corporate companies who can pay you directly to promote their brands to your audience through your channel.

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