The first, and biggest, problem is not understanding the platform.

YouTube’s goal is to keep people on YouTube. And what they deem most important isn’t subscribers; it’s how many minutes people watch videos on their platform.

People also tend to try to use ads on their videos too early. It doesn’t make sense to do when you’re only getting a few views for each video. The payout isn’t that good, and you’ll be better off building goodwill with your growing audience.

And, no matter how your audience uses YouTube, there is a set of best practices to get more views. We’re talking how to use titles, thumbnails, descriptions, tags, playlists, cards, endscreens, and more. The second mistake people make is they lack basic AVL knowledge. 

Let’s start with the A: good audio is expected. Smartphones might have megapixel cameras, the mics leave much to be desired. And you might have the best camera, but without a decent shotgun mic or lav mic, your audio will be subpar, making you sound amateur.

Next up is video! Many YouTubers are doing just fine with their high quality smartphone recordings. So can you! And like mics, quality cameras are getting cheaper. And there’s one thing you can do that will make any camera look even better… and that is -

Lighting. The L in AVL. And it can be as simple as standing in front of a window and recording yourself, letting the sunlight bathe you in its free-of-charge glory. There are also some nice lighting systems. You just need to find what works for you, your budget, and your schedule. 

Once you’ve got great AVL, then you need to set up your shot correctly! Make sure your background isn’t distracting, and don’t put your face in the center of the screen. Instead, you want the top of your head nearly at the top of the video frame! It looks much better! And make eye contact with the camera. It gives the viewer the sense that you’re talking with them instead of at a point over their shoulder. The third mistake is winging it.

Make sure your intro is solid. I start every podcast saying exactly what the podcast does for listeners, then a short hook on what the episode is about.

Next, keep it quick and clean. YouTube likes 10-minute videos. Write an outline before you record to keep yourself on track, and if you go off on a tangent, stop. Pick up at a good place and then edit the rambles out in post.

Remember, low energy kills your video. Be the excited version of you (like, don’t fake it), and you’ll be more likely to hold your viewers’ attention. The final mistake is expecting instant results

Unless you already have an audience, or you have a network of people who have audiences, it’s going to take a while to build one up. You can’t get impatient. If you truly love the platform and use it to its best advantage, success will happen. It’s just a matter of time, paying attention to your audience, and using the tools YouTube provides. Your action step for today is…

Really simple. Watch cat videos. If you want to succeed on YouTube, you need to see how other people are doing it, and overall, getting yourself familiar with the platform. Spend an evening or three treating YouTube as your main source of entertainment, learning, or whatever. Then head on over to the Creator Academy and learn how to leverage metadata.

 Do you want a little help getting your own YouTube channel set up and going?

Let’s talk! There are a lot of potholes we can help you avoid - beyond what we’ve covered in this episode. If you want to do YouTube the smart way and make the most of your time, check us out at OneStoneCreative.net! Resource YouTube Creators Academy