Starting a YouTube Channel in 2021 - The Ultimate Guide

Starting a YouTube channel in 2021 can seem like a daunting task. With so many things to do and so many skills to learn, the process of operating a channel can be quite intimidating. However, new content creators mustn't fret, as there is a well-known game plan that can be used to start a channel with ease.

Starting a channel in 2021 is as simple as defining your target audience, learning the skills needed to create videos, and publishing content. New creators should do their best to not overcomplicate things, as this will make the process more difficult. Get a camera (or capture device), a microphone, and start creating!

It's no secret that operating a YouTube channel is more complicated than most people think. Creators don't just click the "record" button, upload a video, and get millions of views. There are skills that content creators must learn to be successful. The key, however, is making sure that the correct things are focused on and not the wrong things.

How Do You Start a YouTube Channel 2021 for Beginners

The process of starting a channel on YouTube can be intimidating for beginners- especially in 2021. Many beginners tend to get stuck at the beginning of their YouTube journey because they focus on the wrong things. Often, beginners only need to do 5 things to get their YouTube channel off the ground.

Beginners should do these 5 things when starting a channel in 2021:

• Select a niche
• Determine a target audience
• Learn relevant skills
• Create a content strategy
• Start creating

Let's break down each of these things in more detail.

Select a Niche

A big mistake many new content creators make upon starting a channel is not selecting a niche. Selecting a niche is important, as this will determine the types of videos that are created. Channels in the dog niche, for example, must not create cat videos if they wish to be successful.

People who struggle to select a niche often overcomplicate the process. Ultimately, the best niche to select will be one that is interesting to them. While certain niches are larger than others and can lead to more money, selecting the wrong niche can make it difficult to create content.

Determine a Target Audience

Once a niche has been selected, a target audience must be selected. In many niches, there are different sub-niches and audiences. Determining which specific audience is being targeted is important, as this will help content creators create content that resonates more with their viewers.

When determining a target audience, a creator should try to be as specific as possible. Viewers of different ages or skill levels might find certain types of videos more valuable than others. Younger viewers in a selected niche might enjoy certain types of videos more than older viewers.

Learn the Skills Needed for YouTube

To create YouTube videos, a creator must know how to record video clips and edit video files. Along with this, creators must also know how to optimize the metadata of their videos to ensure they are positioned to gain as many views as possible. For a creator to be able to do these things, they must learn the required skills.

Typically, creators learn best by doing. As videos are recorded, edited, and optimized, the processes involved become much easier to perform. Also, the more a creator records, edits, and optimizes their videos, the better they will become at creating high-quality videos able to attract a large number of views.

Create a YouTube Content Strategy

Something many beginners do incorrectly when starting a channel is not take the time to create a YouTube content strategy. Content strategies help make the process of creating valuable videos for any target audience in an organized fashion much easier. Without a content strategy, most creators are left creating content in an unorganized fashion.

At the end of the day, a content strategy is essentially an upload schedule designed around different types of videos. As with most things on YouTube, the focus when creating a content strategy should be to provide value to viewers. So, the types of videos that make up a content strategy must reflect this.

Start Creating

Once a niche and target audience has been selected, skills have been learned, and a content strategy has been created, there's only 1 thing left to do- create! Believe it or not, this is the stage that many beginners get stuck at. Since this is the case, any beginner looking to start a new channel successfully in 2021 should ensure they do not miss this step.

The sooner a beginner starts to create videos, the sooner they will begin to improve as a content creator. YouTube is a long-term game- growing an audience takes time. By not starting, all a content creator does is slow down the growth process. Remember, unsuccessful beginners overthink things- successful beginners do not.

Equipment Needed to Start a YouTube Channel 2021

To create videos, you will need to have access to some recording equipment. In the past, finding the necessary equipment to be able to create high-quality videos was sometimes a difficult task. Nowadays, however, this isn't the case. There are many equipment options available in 2021 for people looking to create high-quality videos on a budget.

Camera

Many cameras exist that are suitable for creating YouTube videos. Some cameras are expensive, whereas other cameras are not. Certain cameras have certain features that others do not have. Due to the wide-ranging options, selecting a camera can often be difficult for beginners. Luckily enough, there's a solution to this issue.

Beginners should use whatever camera is currently available to them. In most cases, this ends up being a mobile phone. Mobile phones come equipped with cameras capable of capturing high-quality video footage. Since this is the case, mobile phones work well as a camera for new YouTube creators.

After some videos have been created and traction has been gained, then a content creator can look to invest their money and purchase a camera. At the end of the day, a mobile phone has restrictions and will only take a creator so far. Here's the best budget camera for YouTube videos 2021.

Microphone

If you ask a YouTube creator whether audio or video quality is more important, most will say that video quality is more important. In reality, however, audio quality is more important than video quality. Viewers can deal with a video that doesn't look extremely pretty, but trying to listen to low-quality audio is very difficult.

Microphones are available for a variety of different prices. Also, different types of microphones exist, such as dynamic and condenser microphones. Luckily enough, there are many microphones available for an affordable price that are capable of producing high-quality audio.

While beginners can afford to go a little while without a camera, a microphone is non-negotiable. Beginners should purchase a microphone as soon as possible so they can begin to record high-quality audio for their videos. Here's the best YouTube microphone 2021.

Is It Worth Starting a YouTube Channel in 2021

At this point, you might be wondering- is it worth starting a YouTube channel in 2021? After all, there's a lot of competition and there are a lot of skills required to be able to create content. Is it worth learning the necessary skills and competing against the competition? Or, are you better off taking your efforts elsewhere?

YouTube is the second-largest search engine in the world behind Google. Over 2-billion logged in users visit YouTube each month. Anyone looking to grow an audience online will have a difficult time finding a platform better than YouTube to use. Also, no other platforms exist that allow long-form video content to be uploaded and hosted for free.

Yes, YouTube is competitive, and growing an audience does take work. However, the opportunity that YouTube has to offer cannot be found anywhere else. Whether you're an individual or a business, no other platforms will give you access to such a large number of content consumers.

Knowing all of this, starting a channel on YouTube in 2021 is worth it. Content creators will need to put in the effort. Creating, editing, and optimizing videos takes time and a certain skillset. But, if a creator is patient, they can reap the massive rewards that YouTube has to offer over other platforms.

Mistakes to Avoid When Starting a YouTube Channel in 2021

Unfortunately, many content creators make mistakes when starting a YouTube channel. While most mistakes are small and don't have a big impact, some mistakes are very impactful. The sooner the impactful mistakes can be dealt with, the sooner a creator can begin to excel.

Any beginner looking to start a YouTube channel in 2021 successfully should not make the following mistakes:

• Chasing perfection
• Overvaluing vanity metrics

Let's discuss each of these mistakes in more detail.

Chasing Perfection

Something many beginners do when starting on YouTube is chase perfection. They figure, if they take a long time to create a "perfect" video, they will achieve more success. This is a big mistake, as chasing perfect makes it difficult for videos to be created and published consistently.

Creating and publishing videos consistently is important for new creators for many different reasons. Since this is the case, beginners should do their best not to chase perfection. It's important to remember that viewers on YouTube do not expect Hollywood productions- they just want to consume valuable and entertaining content.

Overvaluing Vanity Metrics

Gaining views, subscribers, etc. is important. But, beginners need to be careful when it comes to these things, as overvaluing vanity metrics can be very destructive. As it's been stated many times, YouTube is a long-term game. New content creators that chase vanity metrics fail 99% of the time.

Creators must always focus on providing value to viewers through their videos. Focusing on this as opposed to vanity metrics will allow a creator to maintain their motivation to create content when they aren't getting many views or subscribers. If a creator creates videos strictly to gain views and subscribers, they will always fail.

Comparison

People like to compare themselves to other people, and this is no different when it comes to YouTube. Unfortunately, comparison is very destructive. Content creators that constantly compare their videos and channels with other videos and channels are often never satisfied and struggle to maintain the motivation to create content.

Taking inspiration from other channels is never a bad idea. Comparing view counts, subscriber counts, etc. is not a good idea. Some content creators have different tools at their disposal. An individual who records, edits, and optimizes their videos should never compare themselves to a business that has a dedicated employee for each task.

Conclusion

Over the years, YouTube has become more popular among individual content creators and businesses. YouTube offers creators the ability to get their video-based content seen by a large number of people- something no other platforms can do. Starting a YouTube channel in 2021 is worth it, no matter if you want to create videos as a hobby or for business purposes.