How To Become A Content Creator On YouTube

Becoming a creator on YouTube is easy. Hit record and upload.

That’s it, right? 

Nope.

I have unearthed the secrets to becoming a successful YouTuber and the secrets are nothing sexy, exciting, or interesting. It’s plain common sense and analytics.

Let’s walk through a starter's guide on how to become a content creator on YouTube. 

Define Your Niche & Be Yourself: I am combining these two together because it was important for me. Here is an example:

I own a music lesson company that has an online school and multiple locations. I stopped teaching many years ago because I wanted to build a self-sustaining business and accomplished that.

When I entered the online content marketing space and wanted to learn how to become a content creator on YouTube every lame consultant would say, “Create videos teaching songs and how-to videos.” or something lame like that.

But, when you think about it, it’s a no-brainer, right? I can pick up a guitar and just teach songs and surely views will happen!

If you go on YouTube you will see oodles of videos (love that stupid word) in the hundreds of millions on similar topics. So you film a video upload and wallah! You are famous.

Nope. 

I recorded probably 50 videos, for hundreds of hours, and it just didn’t work. Not only that, but I didn’t enjoy it. I then started to hire my employees to do the tutorials while I produced it. 

None of it worked and I was miserable. To me, there is nothing worse in business than wasting time.  I just didn’t do the research to back up this important idea:

YouTube is a search engine, like Google.

Search engines look to something called “domain authority” and “keywords”

If you are a beginner, you probably won’t get views. You need to build credibility and authority. More importantly, you need to build an audience. How do you do that? Finding a somewhat trending topic without too much competition that will help your audience be one of these three things:

1. Entertained
2. Informed 
3. Educated

If you can follow the above, then you are 33% there. 

Next, you need to do research on how to become a content creator on YouTube. This could be literally searching “how to become a content creator on YouTube”. I know that sounds ridiculous but everything I learned in my professional life has come from searching stuff on Google. As silly as that sounds, and no I do not have a college degree, that is the truth.

HREFS

I use Hrefs.com to search for popular keywords on YouTube. If the keyword has too much popularity, then I understand that it will be more difficult to find amidst all the videos. If I find something that has good traffic and is easy to find, I will probably index that term and research subtopics and scripts that I can use.

For me, I am at my best or authentic self when I involve humor in my work- specifically content. I can’t make music lessons funny, but I can make the content somewhat humorous online, I can just be myself in a video and I can make memes that are fun and whimsical. That’s me being authentic and displaying my true personality to the world.

Before you start, it's crucial to determine what type of content you want to produce. Whether it's vlogging, tutorials, reviews, or entertainment, find a niche that you're passionate about. Authenticity resonates with viewers. They subscribe to your channel not just for the content but also for your unique perspective and personality.

SWITCHER STUDIO

The next 33% is your gear and I hate to say this but it matters. YouTube is now in HD and you can still shoot video on your phone and upload it, but editing, lighting, and even what mics, camera settings, and backgrounds matter now.

I use Switcher Studio and iPhones for our videos because they can shoot in HD and are affordable.

The last 33% is Quality Over Quantity, titles & thumbnails: While it's essential to post regularly, it's more important to ensure that each video is of high quality. Invest in a good camera, microphone, and editing software.

Engaging Thumbnails and Titles: These two things drive me crazy. I use free sites to help generate ideas for my video titles. YouTube, for whatever reason, does weigh heavily on the Title of your video and your video's thumbnail and title are the first things viewers see. Make them catchy and relevant to the content to increase click-through rates.

Engage with Your Audience: This can be fun- I like pretty much every comment and generally only respond to the people who give long thoughtful comments and I also respond to the snarky ones. I am not mean in response, I usually am self-deprecating or I make fun of them in the response. Respond to comments, ask for feedback, and encourage viewers to like, share, and subscribe. Building a community around your channel can significantly boost your growth. Also, don’t take mean comments seriously, those people are hurting so bad inside they use the comments sections or Facebook as a way to relieve their pain. Trust me.

Consistency is Key: Set a schedule for posting and stick to it. Whether it's once a week or thrice a week, consistency helps in retaining subscribers and attracting new ones.

Promote on Other Platforms: I am pretty skittish on what I self-promote and found that people don’t mind seeing your posts if it’s good content. Again, this is coming from a musician who used to play dark clubs in NYC and ask people to come on Sunday nights. That sucks, this is easy.. If you have a concept that works and your videos are good, share them and be consistent. Share your videos on social media platforms, embed them in your blog, or even consider email marketing.

Continuous Learning: The digital space is always evolving. Take courses, attend workshops, and continuously educate yourself about the platform and content creation techniques.

Daniel Powers Jr, the founder of Real Brave™, serves as the chief inspiration to thousands of students in the Real Brave music instruction program. He's also the visionary behind PracticePad™, an online platform for live one-on-one online music lessons, lesson tracking, and scheduling. Beyond his entrepreneurial pursuits, Daniel leads a non-profit organization that provides formerly homeless children with access to music education, making a profound impact on their lives. His unwavering dedication to music, innovation, and education continues to inspire individuals to reach their fullest potential while creating positive change in communities.