How to Start a YouTube Channel

This post will go through EVERYTHING you need to know about how to start a YouTube channel. Even if you have no experience with filming or editing whatsoever, you can still start a YouTube channel because I walk through every step in this guide. This is the guide I wish I had when I first started, so enjoy!! ❤

1. Get the Gear

Before you do anything, you need to have the right gear. I made a video explaining all of the gear that I use here ⬇️

2. How Much It Costs

Also, before you do anything, you should know around how much it’s going to cost to start a YouTube channel. If you add together everything you’ll need to film and edit, it will be around $600-$700. So go into it knowing that’s about how much you should expect to pay. I walk through the expenses in more detail in the video below. ⬇️

3. Frequently Asked Questions

You also probably have some basic miscellaneous questions about YouTube and making videos in general. I’ve answered most of the questions I get the most frequently in the video below. ⬇️

4. Video Ideas

Another basic question you may have is, “How do I think of video ideas?” And my answer to that question is to have a goal. Because as long as you have a goal that you’re working towards, you will have video ideas. I explain this in more detail in the video below. ⬇️

5. Set Up An External Hard Drive

You will want to save and edit all of your videos from an external hard drive, NOT directly from your computer. Videos take up a ton of space and you’ll want to fill up external hard drives, not your computer storage. If you have no clue what I’m talking about or what a hard drive is, don’t worry – I explain every step to set one up in this video here ⬇️ (Because I had no clue how to use a hard drive either when I first started). 😄

6. Learn How to Edit

Ok, editing really is not that hard. I taught myself how to do it in like a day so don’t be scared of it! Yes, you need to get the editing software Final Cut Pro which is a few hundred dollars but IT IS WORTH IT. It’s so easy to learn, and it’s great. In the video below I walk through exactly how to do all of the basics so you can post your first video.

7. Use Copyright Free Music

You will quickly learn that you need to find some good background music for your videos. The problem is, if you use popular music on your videos (like Taylor Swift songs, Kim Petras songs, etc), your videos will not only most likely be demonetized (meaning, you won’t make money on them), but YouTube might also make you take down your video entirely and give you a strike which is bad. (Also note: this is true for long form videos, it’s a completely different story if we’re talkin YouTube shorts, that’s a whole different thing) SO. Basically if you are going to use music in your long form videos, I’d recommend using copyright free music. The website that I use is called UppBeat and I’ll link it here. I also have a video below describing exactly how it works and how to add copyright free songs to your videos.

8. Learn How to Record Your iPhone / Mac Screen

In order to make helpful videos and get my point across, I am constantly recording my screen on my phone or MacBook. This is just a good skill to have, and a good thing to know how to do if you want to be a video creator. I walk through how to do this in the videos below.

Record iPhone Screen:

Record Mac Screen:

9. Learn How to Color Correct

Your videos will look a lot better if you add color correction. What is color correction? It’s basically just improving the warmth and brightness of your videos so the colors look better and brighter. It is very easy to do, I do this for all of my videos, and I walk through exactly how to add it to your videos here ⬇️. (Plus it makes me look more tan! And I need all the help I can get in that department 😄)

10. Learn How to Improve Audio

This may not be necessary if you are using your iPhone, but if you are using a camera, you might want to consider doing this. Pretty much the speakers on the camera pick up a lot of background noise, and you can make some tweaks in Final Cut Pro to remove the background noise and make it sound more clear. I adjust the audio for all of my videos since I use a camera, and I walk through exactly how to do this in the video here ⬇️

11. Create a LinkTree Account

This is so you can have all of your links in one place (i.e your instagram bio, your TikTok bio, etc). I walk through exactly how to set one up here ⬇️

12. Set Up Your YouTube Channel

Once you have your first video filmed, edited, and ready to go, set up your YouTube channel! I walk through exactly how to set one up here ⬇️

13. Make a Banner

You can customize your YouTube channel by making a banner. This goes at the top of your channel, and is an opportunity to tell people who you are, and what kind of content you make. I walk through how to make one using Canva here ⬇️

14. Upload Your First Video

Yay upload time! Don’t be nervous!! If you have something helpful to say then you gotta say it! (At least that’s what I always say to myself 🤣) and I walk through exactly how to upload your first video here ⬇️

15. Make a Thumbnail

Make your thumbnail bright, and your words large so people can read it. And SIMPLE. You don’t want too much goin on in a thumbnail. Just keep it simple, bright, and with large lettering. I walk through how to make a thumbnail with Canva here ⬇️

16. Tell Your Audience

Last step is to get the word out about your new video and tell your audience! To tell my audience, I make vertical videos and post them to platforms like Instagram and TikTok. I walk through my process in this video here ⬇️

17. Watch My Entire Process

To bring this all together, I made a video where I walk through my entire process of making a YouTube video. This should answer and other questions you may have. Check it out below ⬇️

18. Watch My How to Start a YouTube Channel Series on YouTube

Those are the BASIC steps to get started, but there’s still a lot to know! You can find everything else in my How to Start a YouTube Channel Series linked here. ⬇️