Setting up a YouTube channel: Step by step guide

To become a successful YouTuber in 2021, you need to have a killer YouTube channel that is able to catch the attention of the billions of users browsing through the platform every minute. Though it seems hard to create one, it isn’t. YouTube is the world’s largest video-streaming platform with thousands of creators trying to make it big. How do you stand out?

In this blog, we will look at the following points:

• How to create a YouTube channel?
• How to create your channel art?
• Tips to optimize your YT channel

Steps to setting up a YouTube channel

1. Go to YouTube.com and click on the ‘sign in’ which is at the top right corner of the page.
   
2. Log in using your Google account. Note that this account will be linked to your channel.
3. Click on your profile icon on the top right corner and then click on the ‘create a channel’ tab.
   
4. You can choose between your name or a custom name. Here, we will choose the ‘Use a custom name’ option.
   
5. Next, name your channel and select create.
6. Now, upload a profile picture and make sure the image follows the guidelines.
   
7. Add a description for your channel.
   
8. Lastly, add links to your site which means – any custom links you might have of your blog or website and social media handle links.
   

Tada! You now have your very own YouTube channel.

Creating your channel art

Since you are new to YouTube, let me start by telling you what a channel art is. YouTube channel art is YouTube’s version of a cover picture. The channel art appears on the top of your channel page. You can use tools like Canva, Adobe Spark, or Photoshop to customize your channel art into something eye-catching and creative since that’s the first thing users will look at when they visit your YouTube channel page.

The important things to remember while creating a customized channel is are:

• Minimum width: 2048 x 1152 px. This guarantees any logos or texts from getting cut off when displaying it on any type of device.
• Maximum width: 2560 x 423 px. This guarantees visibility of each side of your channel art on any browser.
• The recommended file size is 6 MB or smaller.

To add your channel art to your YouTube channel and to make any customizations, click on the ‘customize channel’ tab. Once you’ve clicked, an editor screen will appear before you.

There you will find a blue button ‘Add channel art.’ A pop-up window will let you upload your image from your gallery. Simply ‘adjust the crop’ so that the important details don’t get cropped and then click on ‘select.’

There, you have stunning channel art to show your audience.

How to optimize your YouTube channel?

• Optimize your description
• Add links to your channel
• Choose a channel trailer
• Create a playlist
• Add your contact details

Optimize your channel description

While creating your YouTube channel, you must have come across something called a ‘channel description.’ Your channel description gives users a summary of yourself, your channel, and the type of content it consists of. While drafting a channel description, remember to use relevant keywords after doing thorough keyword research. Using keywords will help you rank higher on SERP.

Add links to your YouTube channel

While uploading your channel art or banner, you can add links to it as well. To do so,

1. Click on the ‘customize channel’ tab on your channel’s homepage.
2. Click on the Settings button on the upper-right corner, under your channel art.
3. A pop-up called ‘channel settings’ will appear. Click on the ‘customize the layout of your channel’ tab.
4. Once you’ve enabled the above option, an edit option will appear on your channel homepage.
5. Click on the ‘edit links’ option. Here you can add up to five links that will be displayed as icons on your channel art.

Adding links will take your users to your other social media handles which will help build a community that can access your content across other platforms.

Choose a channel trailer

YouTube now comes with an additional feature of including a channel trailer for those users who haven’t subscribed to your channel yet. This trailer lets you choose your best video as a trailer to attract more audience. This gives the audience an idea of what kind of content they can expect from the rest of your channel. Don’t forget to include a rich keyword filled description to help the algorithm understand your content better.

Create a playlist

Playlists are very important if you are planning on building your channel further. Putting videos with similar content or themes are a good way to optimize your channel for a better user experience. This also helps your channel by bringing in more traffic while giving it a chance to rank higher. You can use this feature to organize your videos so that they play one after the other in a synchronized manner when a user plays a video from your list.

Add your contact details

Having your contact details on your YouTube channel open up opportunities for business inquiries and collaborations. You can add it in the ‘ Details’ section under the ‘About’ section of your channel.

Conclusion

And that’s the end of the blog. Now that you know how to set up your own channel, go ahead and use these tips to grow your channel and become the next big YouTuber. Don’t forget to read our blog on the “Best YouTube marketing tools to promote your videos for free.”

Do share your experience of becoming a newbie YouTuber with us in the comments.