How to create a YouTube channel

How to Create a YouTube Channel in 7 Easy Steps

by Oluwaseyi Ajayi

Starting a YouTube channel is far easier than you can imagine. All you have to do is follow the steps an experienced YouTuber provides, and things will be easier for you.

The steps highlighted below are for you if you have little to no experience on how to create a YouTube channel. 

You can be rest assured that if you follow the steps provided below on how to create a YouTube channel, you’ll have your channel ready in a few minutes and get your videos publicly published on YouTube.

How to Create a YouTube Channel

The following steps will guide you on how to create a YouTube Channel:

  1. YouTube Channel Sign up

The first thing to do is to sign up to a YouTube channel, and here’s how to go about that:

  • Go to YouTube.com and click ‘sign in’ in the top right corner of the page.
  • Use the Google account you want your channel to be associated with.
  • Go to your YouTube settings, click on your profile icon, and click “Create a channel”. There would be an option to create a personal channel or create a channel using a business name. You’ll choose the option you want.
  • Choose a channel name for your new account and click “create.”

After these steps, you can further customize your channel. You can add a profile picture, a description of your channel, and links to your website or social media.

  1. Add a channel description

One thing you must understand when creating a YouTube channel is your channel description and its optimization.

After your YouTube channel sign-up,  the next thing is to customize your channel’s description, which is shown on the “About page” and in search results when viewers search for your channel name. 

To add a description to your channel, click the Basic Info tab >> enter your desired description >> click the publish button.

When writing your channel description, employ these tips:

  • Use your first 150 words judicially, and write in-depth what your channel is about in this description because this is what would be shown on YouTube and google search results.
  • Use keywords: Insert some keywords that people search for that are related to your channel in the channel description a few times, which would help your channel to rank.
  • Ask people to subscribe: at the end of the description, add a call-to-action, telling people to subscribe to your channel, and add other things you want them to do.

Read also: 20 Most subscribed Youtube channels in Nigeria. 

  1. Create your channel art

 After creating your YouTube channel, here are some things to do to give your channel a professional look.

a. Channel icon

A YouTube channel icon is a visual depiction of your YouTube channel. On channel pages, in YouTube search results, and on video watch sites, your channel icons appear.

The importance of the channel icon is that it appears more on YouTube than other elements of your channel. 

The Channel icon is recommended to be in a picture format and saved at 800 x 800 pixels. 

b. Channel art

The huge banner that spans the top of your channel page is known as channel art. It is frequently used to convey the brand and personality of a channel visually.

Channel art should be under 4 MB and with 2560 x 1440 pixels for best results on all devices.

Read also: 10 Amazing ways you can make money on Youtube as a Nigerian.

  1. Create a channel trailer for new viewers

A channel trailer is like a movie trailer designed to give people a preview of what you offer on your channel. 

Include the following things in your trailer;  A quick introduction of your channel and your target viewers, an overview of the type of video content you publish, a highlight reel of your video content, and your schedule for uploading videos.

Lastly, ask them to subscribe to your channel at the end of the video.

Steps on how to create a YouTube channel trailer:

  • Enable channel customization
  • Click on your profile picture
  • Click “my channel.”
  •  Upload your channel trailer video 
  • Set the video as the channel trailer.

Read also: The influence of social media in Nigeria.

  1. Create a custom channel URL

Optimize your channel URL. After your YouTube channel sign-up, YouTube will create a long URL for you, for example:

https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCUb26GfZqw6S0RhNYTqd2ag

This can be difficult to remember, but you can create a custom URL that is easy to remember. Example:

https://youtube.com/c/InsightDigitalAcademy

Here’s how to create a YouTube channel URL

  • Go to Basic Info
  • scroll down to the Custom URL section 
  • Choose your custom URL
  • Click the Publish button.

You need more than 100 subscribers, be at least a month old, and have a channel icon and channel art on your channel to be eligible for a custom URL.

  1. Add Sections to your channel homepage

Add different sections to your channel homepage to show different content categories. Group your videos into sections to help viewers find what they want on time.

How to create a YouTube channel section:

  • Click the layout tab featured sections
  • Add section button
  • Select how you want your page to be organized.

Some of the sections to add to your channel are:

Uploads: this will have all the videos you have on your channel.

Popular Uploads: this will show your videos with the highest views.

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  1. Upload your first YouTube video

After creating your YouTube channel and you have made your video, you can now upload your video on the track.

To upload your video, click the CREATE button (top right corner), select files, choose your video file and customize the basic settings.

Things to customize before making a video available on your YouTube channel are:

Video title: video title should summarize what the video is all about in a few words, and it’s an essential element to optimize for SEO purposes. 

Video description: video description is used to explain what your video is all about. Keywords can be Optimized.

Video thumbnails: video thumbnails let your viewers view a quick snapshot of your video. YouTube will automatically generate some thumbnails for you, which you can choose from for your video, or you can upload your thumbnail if your account is verified.

  • After inserting the video thumbnail, go to the rest of the settings, Playlists, Age restriction, and then click NEXT.
  • In the Video Elements screen, choose to upload subtitles and construct what you want to show at the end of your video (Add an end screen) and click NEXT.
  • In the Checks screen, click NEXT.
  • In the Visibility screen, choose PUBLIC.  In a few seconds, your video will be publicly available on YouTube.

Conclusion

Now, you know how to create a YouTube channel without having prior experience. All these processes are done once, but you have to review some every few months to update them and make them relevant. An example is your channel trailer.

After your YouTube channel sign-up, upload often to get your viewers engaged, and ensure you keep your YouTube channel login details safe.

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About Author

Avatar of Oluwaseyi Ajayi
Oluwaseyi Ajayi
Ajayi Oluwaseyi is a biochemist. I have a great reading culture and am keen on educating people to adopt healthy lifestyles through my writing.

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