How to Make a YouTube Video

From this article, you will learn helpful tips on creating your first YouTube video. In our guide, we’ll cover strategies you can use to create content, equipment and software you’ll need for shooting and video-editing, and, of course, ways to promote your clip!

Being one of the most popular social media platforms worldwide, YouTube is often the first choice for a beginner clip-maker. Not only is YouTube a means of entertainment, but it can also become a quite pleasant source of additional revenue. If you’ve made your mind to start creating YouTube videos, this article will be beneficial.

So you’ve decided to become a YouTube video maker, but you don’t know where to start. Indeed, creating videos is not as easy as it may seem: it requires a step-by-step content plan, well-thought-out strategy, and understanding of the ultimate purpose of your clips. The following tips for making YouTube videos touch the subject of choosing the right topic and getting to know your audience.

Pick a topic

The first thing every YouTuber has to do is figure out what the future videos (or even the entire channel) will be about. Of course, the easiest way to make YouTube videos is to talk about things you personally find interesting. Bringing up a trendy topic won’t make your videos more popular if you’re not really into it. Also, if you’re not an expert on the chosen subject, it will show. You can gain more viewers by being hilarious or using cool video effects, but success is likely to be temporary.

To win the love and appreciation from your audience, create helpful videos that solve a specific problem. Instead of looking for YouTube ideas for beginners, think of what you’re good at. For instance, you can use your skill and creativity to deliver information to the viewers via DIY videos. Love knitting and sewing? Awesome. Tell your audience about the ways to make a cute DIY-present for a friend. Fan of skateboarding? Perfect! Why not tell everyone how to assemble a skateboard on your own and tailor it to your needs? Sharing your skills and specific experience is the best way to make YouTube videos. Consider this when looking for good video ideas, and remember that it’s best to choose a narrow subject. For example, instead of talking at length about what kinds of moisturizing products there are, tell your audience about your own experience using five beauty products under $25.

If you’re still not sure what topic to choose, try another tack. Figure out what people are actually looking for on YouTube. Find your niche and create content that is SEO-based (which means your content is optimized for search engines). Search engine optimization can be tricky to understand, but eventually, you will get the general idea of how it works: the broader the search, the more competition. Do a little research and pay attention to the keywords used in a search and autosuggestions provided by the engine. Gather all your ideas and think of what you can make out of them.

A competitor’s channel can give you extra ideas, too, but don’t overuse it. Watching competitor’s videos makes you fall into the trap of not producing unique creative content. Moreover, it can sometimes be discouraging for a first-timer, mostly if the competitor has already made quite a name for him or herself.

Get to know your audience

After you’ve decided on the video topic, it’s time to explore your audience. Who do you make YouTube videos for? How old is your audience? What are your viewers interested in, and do they want to learn? As soon as you find answers to these questions, you’ll start to get the general idea of what your average viewer looks like. This will help build a strong connection with your audience and create conditions for developing quality communication inside the hub.

Find your style and format

To make YouTube videos that people will remember, try to find your own way of narration and presenting your content to the audience. Of course, the style will evolve eventually, but it’s best to stay true to yourself and not change it dramatically. By remaining true to yourself, you will help your audience create a strong associative connection between your videos and yourself.

Finally, before you start making a YouTube clip, you need to decide on the best format for your video. It can be a review, a tutorial, a story – just pick the genre that suits your purpose best and stick to it in future videos.

To actually start making YouTube videos, it’s essential not to get stuck in the beginning. Don’t wait for better timing or equipment to make a YouTube video. Set a start date and a deadline and stick to the plan. Don’t be hard on yourself; the first video will probably not be perfect, but you have to start somewhere!

Be present

YouTube content creators who go MIA for a while are likely to lose a significant number of their subscribers. It's vital to stay present and publish videos on a regular basis. To plan and monitor your activity on social media platforms, try using a schedule publishing tool like Onlypult. It's a great time saver.

Tripods, camera lights, a green screen, a softbox, a microphone – it looks like being creative in making videos is not all. Beginners may think that to produce high-quality videos, they must have all kinds of professional equipment. But in fact, anyone with a smartphone or an iPhone can create decent videos with the minimum equipment.

So if you’re unsure what to use to make YouTube videos, rest assured – you don’t need pricey professional equipment here unless you’re going to shoot Hollywood-like movies with aliens, pursuits, and car crashes.

Start with what you already have and focus on using various angles, effects, and transitions instead. There is no need to spend extra money on video creation gear at the very beginning of your clip-making career. You can try using more complex equipment when you are sure you’ll manage to run it.

To prepare a video, make sure you have the following items at hand:

High-end cameras can cost a fortune, but a lot can actually be done with a modern smartphone. Cameras in today’s mobile devices provide a decent quality of the picture (1080p) and sound.

For superior quality in vlogging and live streaming, OBSBOT Tail Air Streaming Camera is the go-to choice. With its ability to capture in 4K resolution, it ensures exceptional video quality, making it the perfect tool to start your YouTube journey with professional-grade content.

Key features:

• 4K resolution: with 1/1.8“ StarLight CMOS, OBSBOT Tail Air supports 4K@30fps and 1080p@60fps for high-quality images. 
• AI auto tracking: with the excellent AI Auto tracking function, OBSBOT Tail Air can easily achieve a variety of different tracking modes to help track humans, pets, and even objects at the speed of 120°/s speed. 
•  Iconic low light shooting: OBSBOT Tail Air's increased true 2μm large pixel size and ƒ1.8 aperture allow for more light to be captured, resulting in exceptional low-light video quality with reduced noise and finer image performance.
• NDI support: with support for NDI|HX3, OBSBOT Tail Air makes you enjoy a higher-quality and low-latency live streaming experience via Wi-Fi and Ethernet. 
• Multiple connection methods: OBSBOT Tair Air comes with several built-in interfaces that allow it to have abundant compatibility. For a wired or wireless connection, it provides multiple options, such as HDMI, USB-C, Ethernet, and Wi-Fi.

A microphone that records sound and not noise is worth spending money on, and you can find decent options for a moderate budget. The excellent quality of sound in the raw video makes it easier to adjust audio when editing the clip afterward.

Dark videos are hard to watch, and lousy lighting diminishes the overall quality of the clip. Of course, the best and cheapest option is to shoot in natural daylight. So a lighting set is not indispensable but can be of great use for indoor shooting in bad lighting conditions (for example, if you don’t have time to shoot in the morning or during the day).

The program that will help you compile your future clip can be tricky to choose. We recommend starting with software that is not hard to handle. An intuitive interface and minimum of layers, tabs, and menus would be the ideal option for a beginner. Sophisticated programs can quickly discourage and scare off non-professionals. As you become more familiar with the process of clip-making, you can discover programs with more intricate functionality.

You can also use your webcam and a screen-recording program together. If you’re using your smartphone or an iPhone, you can benefit from the built-in video-enhancing tools and effects in your camera. A screen-recording program is a must-have for those who create computer tutorials and those who use their webcam as the video and audio recording device. Decide on what tools you will use, and just make sure your starter pack doesn’t cost an arm and a leg.

Now that you’ve picked your equipment, it’s time to decide on the location. Before you start shooting, find a nice place with plenty of light and no people where you can work without being bothered and interrupted. If there is not enough light, use your lighting kit – it will considerably improve the quality of your video.

Finally, write a script of what you’re going to present. Note actions with timecodes and short explanations of what should be happening on the screen. Write down hints and key ideas of the video. A plan will help you understand the structure of the video. It will also be beneficial if you’re not very good at improvising.

Make sure your shooting spot is clean and tidy. At the same time, there is no need to decorate it intentionally, as all the decor will attract the viewers’ attention to itself, which is not your goal at all. A plain background with a little touch of individuality is just fine. If you’re shooting indoors, choose a spot next to the window, but not in front of it. Ensure that you positioned your camera (or device) correctly: it should be on the eye level. This way, your viewers will see your face from an appropriate angle. Once you’re all set, you can start shooting your first video!

Now that you have a raw video on your camera or mobile device, it’s time to transfer it to your computer and edit it to make a whole product out of it. Editing is a crucial step in video-making. An excellent video editing can bring a video to an entirely new level. It may be time-consuming, but it’s worth it at the end of the day. Of course, to make good YouTube videos, it’s best to use suitable software.

For fully-featured video editing, try Movavi Video Editor. This program offers all tools imaginable to boost your creativity. Take advantage of:

• Chroma Key

• Stabilization

• Picture in picture

• Voice-over

• Effects, transitions, stickers

• And other great features that come in handy when you create a YouTube video

The program interface is so intuitive you won’t need any special skills. Even if you don’t know how to make a video in an editing program, you will figure it out in a matter of minutes on your own or with the help of the built-in tutorial.

Learn more about Movavi Video Editor

Congratulations! You managed to create a video on YouTube. But it’s still too soon to rest on your laurels. To make your YouTube video actually seen by people, ensure your clip a better ranking.

How to promote your video

Here are some tips on how to make a YouTube video seen by search engines:

• Use target keywords in your video’s title and description to help people find your clip.

• Don’t put misleading information in the description.

• Make videos that are approximately 15 minutes long, as longer videos are typically higher in search results.

• Ensure that you pronounce the topic of your video in the clip itself.

• Make videos that encourage viewers to stay on the platform, as videos rank higher if they are valuable to users.

• Make a strong introduction to retain viewers within the first 10-15 seconds.

• Encourage viewers to subscribe to your channel and share your video, and also explain how it is done, as not all of them are advanced users of YouTube.

• Customize the video thumbnail: it must give users an idea of what they will see in the video (you can also create a separate customized picture to use as a thumbnail).

How to retain your audience

Of course, YouTube is a great platform where you can find like-minded people and even make new friends. The chosen topic will attract people with interests similar to yours who can relate to what you’re doing. And it is essential to engage people in conversations, interact with your audience, give reactions to the feedback you receive.

Try to reply to all the comments users leave under your video, even the plainest ones. Add reactions to the comments you like. When people receive feedback on YouTube, they get notifications from the platform and thus feel related to the discussion.

Listen to your audience when in search of inspiration and looking for new topics for your videos. Some comments may suggest ideas worthy of implementing in your future content creation. Users are usually pleased when content creators listen to them.

How to deal with haters

As soon as people watch your video, comments will start to appear. Not all feedback will be kind and supportive. Because of anonymity and impunity, people with low self-esteem feel free to comfort themselves by insulting other people on social media. Nasty comments can be hard to deal with for a beginner YouTuber. Here are some tips on how to deal with hate and insults on social media:

• Accept criticism to evolve. Even if a comment is unpleasant, but still it’s somewhat constructive; you can take it as a challenge and a chance to improve your channel. By doing so, you will grow personally and probably start creating videos on a whole new level.

• Ignore haters and abusers. Another strategy of dealing with toxic people is trying not to take nasty comments personally. This is probably the least time-consuming option and the most energy-saving, too. If you’re having a hard time trying to ignore abusers, try to imagine what they’re must be going through that made them so pathetic.

• Confront with humor. The most creative strategy is to come up with the smartest response that doesn’t sound rude to your opponent, but that will give them a taste of their own medicine.

• Report abuse. In just a few clicks, you can report a hater, which will probably make you feel a little better.

• Block the user. The most effective way to fight back a hater is to simply block him or her on your channel. If a toxic person chose you as their victim, they would probably attack again. Prevent future attacks by blocking the user forever.

• We do not recommend replying to haters in the same manner they use in their comments. It won’t make you any happier, and you won’t get your revenge in the end because toxic people really live off people who react to their attacks. You can only win by not letting them devour your inner energy.

How to make money off YouTube

With a big enough audience, one typically starts thinking about various ways to monetize their time-consuming hobby of video-making and interacting with their audience. The most obvious way to start making money on YouTube is via ads.

You can also participate in the YouTube Partner Program and get access to special features (you need to meet the platform’s requirements to do this).

Another way to earn extra income is to create sponsored content. This way, you won’t have to give YouTube a share of your earnings, as the sponsor will pay you directly. Of course, you can combine all of the mentioned ways to get paid for your videos.

We hope this article on how to make YouTube videos has covered the most intricate steps of video creation. Just remember that the first video you make doesn’t have to be perfect, and it probably won’t, but it’s a start and an excellent opportunity to improve your skills. Try not to get stuck because of waiting for a better moment; just start today, right now. If you still have questions left, below are the most frequent questions that video-makers ask at the beginning of their career.