If only when I started my YouTube channel, I knew then what I know now!
Lucky for you, I’ve taken the guesswork out of how to start your channel …
In this post I’m sharing exactly what I would have done differently the first four weeks I launched my YouTube channel.
This week-by-week plan is going to keep you organized, focused, and help you grow your channel faster!
Week 1: Research, research, and more research on YouTube!
When I first started my YouTube channel, I created the videos I wanted to create, around the topics I wanted to discuss.
And my channel grew at a snail’s pace!
I was making my channel all about me! When what I should have done is made it all about my ideal client.
Answering the questions they were asking. Talking about the topics they wanted to hear about.
Instead of jumping right into recording your first YouTube videos about what you want to talk about…
Spend the entire first week of starting your YouTube channel performing research.
And before you spend endless hours on Google doing keyword research…
The best way to get started (and the process I still follow to this day!) is to research your competitors directly on YouTube.
There’s no reason to recreate the wheel on anything you do in your business. And your YouTube channel is no different.
As soon as you’re clear on your niche, hop into YouTube and start researching what your competitors are doing on their channels so you can see what’s already working for others and get a heads up on what will likely work for your YouTube channel too.
How do you know what’s working?
I recommend looking for your competitors’ “recent viral videos”. These are videos that were made in the last year and have more views than subscribers.
Make note of the topics, the titles, the way they’re formatted, and their thumbnails so you can model your topics, titles, and thumbnails off of what’s already working!
Now this isn’t an opportunity to swipe someone’s YouTube script and re-record their video verbatim! (in fact, I don’t even watch the actual videos of my competitors).
What I’m doing instead is using their topics, titles, and thumbnails as inspiration for my own videos and then sharing my unique take on the topic. This is going to attract the audience that resonates with you!
To streamline that process, I use my own standard YouTube video script for every video I record. Want a swipe my script? You can grab it below 👇
Week 2: YouTube Scripts & Thumbnails
Now that you have inspiration for your first few topics and titles it’s time to create your scripts and thumbnails!
The simplest way to draft your script is to simply write it out in a Google Doc.
Depending on what will work best for you, you can organize your script:
- Word-for-word. If you’ll feel more confident recording your video verbatim off your script, write it out exactly as you want to record it.
- Bullet points. If your video recording will feel more natural to reference bullet points and record a little more off the cuff, then simply use bullets to organize your ideas on your script doc.
Then when you’re ready to hit record you’ll have an easy way to pull up your script next to your computer to keep you on track!
You’ll round out week 2 by designing your thumbnails.
If you’re design savvy, you can use a tool like Canva, or you can hire a thumbnail designer to help you! Remember to model your thumbnails off of the high-performing designs you found during your research in week 1. You can add those examples to your YouTube script so that you or your designer have inspiration for your designs.
Pro Tips:
- When drafting your script, choose another one of your videos you plan to record and reference it during your outro. This will lead your visitors to that chosen video allowing you to increase your watch time and improve your YouTube stats!
- Create three different YouTube thumbnails for each video you plan to record so you can split-test your thumbnails and choose a winning design to remain as that video’s thumbnail.
Week 3: Lights, Camera, Action! Record Your YouTube Videos
If you’ve followed my week-by-week plan to starting your YouTube so far, you should have ready:
- Your Topics
- Your Titles
- Your Scripts
- Your Thumbnails
All that’s left is your recording gear! If you want recommendations on recording gear, head over to my website freedomcreator.co to find out exactly what I recommend.
Once you’ve got your recording space all set, pull up your scripts, take a deep breath, and hit record!
Don’t worry about getting your videos perfect because you’ll have an opportunity to edit them in week 4.
Week 4: The Final Stretch! Edit and Schedule Your YouTube Videos
The final week is dedicated to editing and scheduling your YouTube videos.
If you’re not a wiz at editing, there are some simple tools like Descript that you can sign up for to edit your own videos.
Or, you can do what I did and delegate it to a video editor.
If you’re just starting out I recommend hiring an agency like VidPros who charge a flat monthly rate for unlimited editing and thumbnails.
Outsourcing the editing of your YouTube videos will help you save your time for researching (which really is the most important part of creating high-performing and effective YouTube videos!)
Once your videos are edited, simply upload them to YouTube and schedule!
Final Thoughts
This post was all about the best week-by-week plan to start your YouTube channel.
Now you’re probably asking yourself, “How much money can I actually make from my YouTube channel?!”
Well, unfortunately, I don’t have a crystal ball, but if your goal is to make 6 figures from your YouTube channel, you can learn exactly how many YouTube followers you need to do it inside my blog, “How Many Followers you ACTUALLY Need to Make 6 Figures“.
And don’t forget to grab my YouTube Script Template to make organizing your recordings a snap!!