The Ultimate Guide to Thinking about Probably Starting Your Own YouTube Channel
So, you’ve thought about starting a YouTube channel? Fantastic! You’ve come to the right place. I’ve been seriously thinking about starting my channel for several years now and have developed the perfect formula for being right on the cusp of being a content creator.
If you follow these steps exactly, you too, could get to the point where you’re almost, really, probably going to start your own channel!
Find the Perfect Idea Notebook
The first step in starting the creative process is to get a notebook that both delights and inspires you. Maybe it has a unicorn and says, “Believe in Your Dreams!” Maybe it’s something “punny” like one with a bowl of shrimp pho and says “PHOnomenal ideas.” Or maybe it’s not a notebook at all, but just a wall of Post-it notes where you can connect ideas together using thumbtacks and red string, which would be a totally normal and not concerning thing to do.
Do Your Research
Successful YouTubers know and watch YouTube (and often get arrested, but I don’t believe that’s a pre-requisite). YouTube already knows what you want to watch, based on the nanobots implanted in you upon receiving any vaccine, so this won’t be too miserable of a task. If that means that you need to shirk all other responsibilities and watch seven hours of unlikely animal friendships, thieves getting glitter bombed, or several viewings of “Seagulls” from Bad Lip Reading, then that is what you need to do for your art. If you’re not willing to devote the time it takes, then maybe you should leave the real video making for the adults and head over to TikTok. (Don’t come at me, Gen Z’ers. I’m old and fragile.)
Learn From Professionals
There are hundreds, if not thousands, of “How to Be a YouTuber” videos on the platform. Watch them all. And yes, the advice they always give is “Just start!” Well, do you think Leonardo Di Vinci just started painting the Mona Lisa? Do you think Shakespeare just started writing Hamlet? Do you think the Egyptians just started building the pyramids? No. They let the concepts marinate, and in the last case used just a dash of human suffering. Do you think I bought a $400 course from a popular YouTuber so I could just start? No. I sat through an eight hour course so I could sip coffee, take notes, and tell my partner all I’m learning about preparing to consider starting.
Get Ideas on Paper
Now you’re ready to start taking action! Put that camera down, Spielberg. When I say, “action,” I mean let’s start thinking about what action might look like. What would be a good channel name? What type of content are you going to produce? Will you take photos with fans when they recognize you on the street or compromise with autographs? These are all things you want to consider before you ever press Record. This thinking is best done at a coffee shop where people can see that you’re clearly a creative. Big hipster glasses and a tweed beret should really sell it.
You need to make sure you will have enough content to be able to post consistently on YouTube. Make yourself a list of 52 video ideas, so you could post at least once a week. Now, because those were obviously garbage, come up with 52 more. Are those starting to look good? Great. MORE. Why would you even consider starting a channel without having a good three years of content planned?
You’re Almost There!
To recap, you have now:
1. Bought a notebook that excites and inspires you — do not swap this step for a computer. A notebook will be WAY less expensive for the ten times a day you decide you’re a talentless hack and dramatically toss your notebook across the room.
2. Watched enough hours of YouTube that your friends and family are genuinely concerned. REAL dedicated creators may even spend a couple of days on a missing persons list.
3. Viewed all of the “How to” content that exists on the internet from YouTubers you admire. You may have even paid an exorbitant amount for a class that you slowly absorbed over the course of several months, so as not to rush the process.
4. Written down no less than 156 solid video ideas to plan out your content calendar. You know what? I would actually go ahead and get a full 260 ready, so you know you have a good five years of creativity in you.
Once you have completed all of those steps, just start! Of course, by that I mean start the next step by getting another notebook and learning everything you can about the art and history of cinematography.
