Introduction
Hello everyone! This is a detailed 10,000-word guide by a new YouTuber. Despite its length, the aim is to systematically explain how a new YouTuber should start. There are likely many questions in your mind, and this video will address them all. It's not a glamorous course or an anxiety-selling video. Instead, it's based on real experience and a ten-year teaching journey, sharing the pitfalls and lessons learned to help you figure out how to begin. This could be the most systematic, down-to-earth, and information-rich video for beginners on Chinese YouTube currently.
Chapter 1: Why Do You Want to Be a YouTuber?
Before discussing technology or transformation, it's crucial to ask yourself why you want to be a YouTuber. Many may think this question is trivial, but it's the core reason for determining whether you can persevere. Reasons like seeing others make money, wanting to make a living, having nothing else to do, or always liking to express oneself are not wrong. However, it's important to understand that YouTube is a long-term commitment, not a short-term endeavor.
If you want to make money, you must be prepared to:
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Continuously output content and improve.
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Spend three months practicing basic skills instead of constantly worrying about reporting.
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Not be overly emotional and face the possibility of no one watching.
If you can meet these three requirements, you can proceed.
Chapter 2: Can You Make Money as a YouTuber?
The answer is a definite yes. However, the key is not whether you can make money, but whether the content you create is suitable for monetization, whether you can stick it out until you start making a profit, and whether you understand the basic logic of the platform.
Structured Income Model
There are four main ways for YouTubers to make money: 1. Advertising division (YPP): The threshold is 1,000 subscribers plus 4,000 hours of watch time. For short videos, the threshold is 10 million views. Once you meet these requirements, you can apply for the YouTube YPP plan. After approval, you earn money based on the number of views your video receives. This model is currently the best among all platforms.
- The platform and the creator split the revenue generated by video playback ads in a 45% to 55% ratio.
- The revenue per thousand views (CPM) varies depending on the channel. For example, finance channels can have a CPM of 10 - 30 US dollars, while entertainment channels may have a CPM of 2 - 5 US dollars.
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Marketing alliance: The traditional business model involves promoting products through advertising. With the development of the internet, the self-media and advertising platform market has grown. Many merchants offer a portion of their product profits to those who can directly promote consumers to help sell their products. YouTube is a very generous platform that allows you to hang any link as long as it's a legal website. This is a significant factor in the long-term growth of the platform.
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To make more money on YouTube, you should consider your channel's monetization strategy from the start.
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Different people have different situations, and there is no one-size-fits-all solution.
- Membership channel reward content payment: This is suitable for bloggers who do in-depth teaching of social personal brand IP. If your content is deep and has a connection with the user, they will naturally reward your channel. You can set up a membership channel with different levels and prices.
- Brand cooperation and advertising: When your channel has more than 10,000 fans and a stable number of views, advertisers will approach you for cooperation. The price usually depends on the number of views divided by the unit price or the overall income.
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Chapter 3: Am I Suitable to Be a YouTuber?
This is a common question among newbies. The answer is that it doesn't matter if you don't have a specialty. The key depends on three points: 1. Interest in continuous expression: You must truly enjoy expressing yourself or have something to say about a particular topic. Otherwise, it will be difficult to continue in the long run. 2. Ability to structure content: Can you clearly explain a bunch of information and make people want to listen? If not, it's something you can practice by imitating and learning from excellent channels. 3. Ability to handle the stage of no views: 90% of the top 10 videos may not be watched initially. The platform and the audience don't know you yet. But if you persist in posting and optimizing, the YouTube algorithm will gradually discover and recommend you.
Chapter 4: What Content Is Most Suitable for You?
Many newbies are unsure what content to create. The first step is to determine what type of creator you are. There are three common types: 1. Expressive creator: Suitable for oral explanation and analysis content. The advantage is that you are good at speaking and can convey your ideas clearly. 2. Show type creator: Suitable for recording life records. The advantage is that you have strong performance skills and can build connections with the audience. 3. Skillful creator: Good at making certain works and showing skills. The advantage is that you have specific expertise in a particular field.
After determining your type, you can combine your interests and choose content. Here are four recommended directions for content selection: 1. Your experience or long-term attention: For example, if you have experience in the job market, you can create videos related to job market science and technology. 2. Things you are willing to spend time on: Even if you don't know much now, if you are willing to spend time researching and creating content, it can be a good direction. 3. Things you can keep talking about: Avoid creating one-off videos. Choose topics that have continuous new content, such as news, TV series, stories, skills, and teaching. 4. Content with a certain degree of heat or a combination of heat points: Combine your content with current events to increase the likelihood of being recommended.
Chapter 5: What to Do If You Don't Know How to Edit, Don't Want to Show Your Face, or Don't Have Equipment
Not Knowing How to Edit
There are many editing tools available, and the learning threshold has significantly decreased compared to a few years ago. Some common editing software includes:
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剪印 and CapCut: Simple and easy to use. The free version is sufficient for beginners, and the paid version is also affordable.
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Final Cut: Specialized for Apple laptop computers.
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Premiere: Suitable for Windows.
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DaVinci: A professional-level editing software used by traditional film and television editing companies.
For personal creators, the choice of editing software depends on personal editing habits. Once you get used to one software, it's difficult to switch to another.
Not Wanting to Show Your Face
Whether you show your face or not is not a crucial factor on YouTube. The key is the content. At the beginning, people are attracted by your content, not your appearance. If you are not a celebrity, no one will care about how you look. In fact, if you are not confident in your appearance or camera performance, not showing your face at the beginning may be a better option.
Not Having Equipment
The most important thing is to have a mobile phone. The current mobile phone camera quality can meet the needs of most content production. If you are not shooting professional scenery, animals, or flying birds, image quality is not a major concern. The audio device may be the most important equipment. A few hundred dollars can buy a decent recording device.
Chapter 6: YouTube Algorithm Explanation
The YouTube algorithm is based on interest, not just traffic. It recommends content that users may be interested in and likely to watch for a long time. There are two main ways to recommend videos: 1. Recommend on the first page: The platform will recommend high-quality content that it thinks users may be interested in. 2. Relevant recommendations: When the audience is watching a certain video, related videos will be recommended on the right side or at the bottom of the video.
The three core indicators in the YouTube algorithm are: 1. Click rate (CTR): The percentage of people who see your title and cover and click on your video. 2. Average viewing time: How long the person who clicks on your video watches it. 3. Interaction rate: The number of likes, comments, shares, subscriptions, and clicks on your channel's main page.
If no one is watching your video, it could be due to: 1. Low click rate: The cover and title are not attractive enough. 2. High bounce rate: The beginning of the video is not engaging, and the audience leaves quickly. 3. Lack of a unified direction: Your content is too scattered, and the system doesn't know who to recommend it to.
If a certain video suddenly has a high number of views, it could be because it hit a hot topic. In this case, you should continue to create content around the same topic to build on the momentum.
Chapter 7: How to Write a Click-Worthy Cover and Title
The cover and title are the first things the audience sees, and they determine whether the audience will click on your video. Here are some tips:
Cover
- Highlight emotions and images: Avoid piling up words. Instead, use an emotional expression of a person, object, or scene and a word that arouses curiosity.
- Enlarge the keywords: Only put the core hook on the cover and don't repeat the content of the title.
- Use contrasting colors: Keep the elements simple and use bright colors against a dark background or vice versa.
Title
- Use the "Who did what result" formula: For example, "He went to the stall as soon as he graduated, and the result is millions of dollars."
- Be honest: For example, "Why do the most successful people never post in the circle of friends?"
- Add time and results: For example, "I've been a YouTuber for two months, and my channel has reached 2 million views."
- Be emotional: For example, "Don't be fooled again. 95% of the newbies have fallen into two traps."
Chapter 8: What to Do in the First Three Months
Most people don't see results in the first three months, and this is normal. During this period, you may experience:
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No one leaving messages.
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Only friends liking your videos.
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Video data stable at a few hundred views per video.
This is a stage where the platform is observing you. If you can overcome this stage and continue to improve your content, you will start to see growth. Growth on YouTube is not linear but a curve. You may have days with no views, and then suddenly a video's data starts to rise.
To determine whether you are on the right track, look at these three standards: 1. Is the content improving? Even if the number of views has not increased, as long as your videos are getting better, you are moving forward. 2. Do you have a video that occasionally exceeds the average value of a data? If so, seize this opportunity to continue creating similar content. 3. Are you still focusing on the same direction? Don't change the subject and form frequently.
If you have sent 30 videos in a row with no significant improvement, it may be time to change the direction of the topic or the way of expression.
Chapter 9: How to Subscribe from 0 to 1,000
To reach 1,000 subscriptions, you need to do three things: 1. Have at least one or two videos with more than 10,000 views: This will attract more subscribers. 2. Have a clear theme and channel positioning: Let the audience know what your channel is about when they click on your main page. 3. Have a stable output mechanism: This includes a script, editing, and a regular release rhythm.
Here are 10 super suggestions: 1. Post two to three times a week: Be as stable as possible. 2. Find three to five similar bloggers to imitate: But don't copy. Learn from their title, cover, structure, and rhythm. 3. Make a version table every week: Analyze the performance of your videos. 4. Promote your videos on social media: Use keyword strategies and short videos to attract traffic. 5. In the title, add keywords that the audience can search: This will help with passive search in the early stages.
Chapter 10: Who Is Destined to Be Unable to Be a Good YouTuber?
Not everyone is suitable to be a YouTuber. The following five types of people may have difficulty: 1. Those who give up easily: If you don't persevere when there are no results, it will be difficult to succeed on YouTube. 2. Those who don't want to review and only believe in feelings: You need to analyze the data and understand the platform's recommendation mechanism. 3. Those who don't want to learn and are lazy to study the platform mechanisms: Without understanding the platform, it's impossible to make money. 4. Those who are afraid to express, dare not to try, and are too perfect: You need to take action and not be afraid of making mistakes. 5. Those who don't want to be responsible for the audience: Your content should be valuable to the audience.
On the other hand, the following three types of people are more likely to succeed: 1. Those who are willing to continue to study the feedback of the audience: This will help you improve your content. 2. Those who have a long-term vision: They don't rely on luck but on data and rhythm. 3. Those who are able to think in a different way to do content: Instead of just expressing themselves, they create content that the audience wants to see.
Conclusion
To summarize, not everyone is suitable for YouTube. You need to determine your motivation and enthusiasm first. Being a YouTuber requires continuous expression and learning, not just resources. Before choosing content, figure out what kind of creator you are. You can start from scratch, even if you don't know how to edit or don't want to show your face. The YouTube platform is slow-moving, and you need to survive the cold start period. The platform only looks at data, so the cover and title are crucial. The flow rate is more important than the number of plays. Don't change the direction of the content frequently. From 0 to 1,000 subscriptions, you need to create a breakthrough video. Finally, don't be afraid of not doing well, just be afraid of not doing it at all.
Here is an action list for you to start today: 1. Determine the position of your channel: What content will you talk about? What is your way of expression? Who is your target audience? 2. Find a reference channel: Analyze the rhythm, cover, and title of three to five similar videos. 3. Write out the video script: Make sure the theme is clear, the beginning is attractive, and the ending has a conclusion. 4. Edit and upload the first video: Don't pursue perfection. Just get it out there. 5. Insist on sending two videos a week: Review your videos once a week and keep the elements that perform well.
Don't waste time hesitating. Start creating and you will see improvement. This is the 10,000-word teaching file for new YouTubers. I hope to see you succeed in the future. Thank you for watching!