Tax Day is April 15th if you are resident in the US, and If you're lucky enough to make any kind of income from YouTube you have just a few days left to file your personal income tax return including your Schedule C for any self-employed earnings you received in 2019. If you haven’t filed yet, we confirm 10 types of expenses you can deduct if you are a YouTuber in the USA.

We spoke with Devin Weber the VP of Operations for 

. Devin is a Certified Public Bookkeeper and Enrolled Agent with the IRS. She has managed the finances for Braille Skateboarding for 6 years and is one of those rare people who enjoys preparing taxes.

 This post is intended as purely informational. You should always consult a professional tax attorney or CPA if you are unsure about your tax filings.

3 Essential Things to Know About Filing Taxes as a US-based Video Creator

Before we dive into the expenses you can claim as tax-deductible let’s take a look at some essentials that every YouTuber or video creator that’s making a living online should know:

The bottom line is if you earned more than $400 from YouTube in 2018 you need to declare that to the IRS. If your income from YouTube was more than $600 in 2018, Google is legally required to provide you with a 1099 form (

). If you’ve worked with any brands or sponsors as part of a YouTube collaboration or promotion, and you earned more than $600 from those sources, each brand or sponsor will also need to provide you with a 1099 form. Even if they do not provide you with a 1099, you know you earned that money and you should report it as part of your total receipts.

#2 There is No Gray Area for the IRS When it Comes to Declaring Income

According to Devin, far too many people claim tax deductions are a ‘gray area’ but when it comes to the IRS there are absolutely no gray areas, to them it’s “black or white" and while you as a contractor might believe you can slip questionable expenses through, the IRS is not here to play. You better be 100% confident that, if you got audited, you could argue and win the case for that expense. If you don't and you feel like you're getting away with something, don't take that chance.

An IRS audit will shine a spotlight on every part of your financial history, and uncover every penny of unreported income, and every penny of expenses that were really personal rather than business use. That is something you really, really want to avoid.

However, the IRS understands that it costs to live and to run a business as a freelancer, so there are so many deductions they allow you. At the end of the day, it’s foolish to keep any income hidden, as, in most cases, you legitimately can find deductions to balance out the majority of that income.

#3 You Can File an Extension (On Paperwork not Payment)

Filing taxes in the US can be an overwhelming experience and the 

IRS does offer the option to file an extension

 if you need it. However, if you believe you will owe the IRS money on 2018 earnings, you will still need to submit that payment on April 15th 2019 - the extension is simply an extension of time to file, not an extension of time to pay.

10 Tax Deductible Expenses for US YouTubers

For the IRS to recognize a legitimate business expense that qualifies as tax-deductible, it must be classed as both ‘ordinary’ and ‘necessary’. You can find out further information regarding these rules on the 

For any YouTuber, the process of video creation is going to come with some kind of cost, especially if that creator wants to publish content with higher production quality. Even if the creator films with an iPhone (more about that in section 4), the chances are they might progress to a dedicated camera and microphone as well as other hardware. Keep the receipts and as a dedicated video creator, you can absolutely claim back these expenses as tax-deductible.

It’s a super talented creator that can upload every video they make to YouTube without any tweaking or editing. If you invest in a computer that you use to edit and upload, you can claim that purchase as part of your tax-deductible expenses - as long as the main use of that computer is for your business. Yay.

If you create or edit video content from home and have a specific area dedicated to that pursuit (i.e. a desk or a corner of the living room or bedroom), then the IRS will allow you to claim a percentage of your home costs (rent, utilities) against that.

However, it takes some working out to understand what percentage you can claim against. A very simplified example is ff your home is 1,000 square feet and, the space that you use is 100 square feet, well then 10% of all the costs of your home are going to count against your home office. You can find out more about writing off home office expenses in this 

You can legitimately claim against Internet and cell phone costs - but only the business portion of the usage. If a YouTuber buys an iPhone for $1,200 and they use it for personal stuff 40% of the time, and they make and edit their videos and upload them and answer comments 60% of the time then, they can only take 60% of that cost as an expense, not the 100%.

So many business owners make the mistake of taking 100% and that is not correct You will, if you get audited, owe money. Find out more from this 

Running any kind of freelance business carries its own supplies costs, and it’s no different for YouTubers. For instance, alongside cameras, mics, green screens, etc, a science channel may have a legitimate reason to purchase a microscope or lab equipment, while a beauty blogger might need to invest in the latest Jeffree Star palettes or Kylie Jenner lip kits as part of the reviews they upload to YouTube.

Braille Skateboarding not only invests in skateboarding equipment, but they also claim expenses for any props or extra equipment they use in shoots (

For any serious YouTuber, the process of video creation can be costly. However, different creators will have different expenses depending on...almost everything. Luckily, the IRS will let you write off supplies directly related to your business if they are ‘necessary’ and ‘ordinary’ which means that YouTubers shouldn’t be held back in purchasing equipment if it directly relates to them earning a living. Just keep every receipt and confirm on every receipt the video that particular supplies relate to. If you're unlucky enough to be ever audited and the IRS discovers a claim for, say, $300 worth of mascara, you can provide evidence via that video you created around the best mascara brands of 2018 that generated 1.2M views. The IRS will think that’s acceptable.

Office supplies also fall under this category so go ahead and claim that printer and ink, those folders and binder clips, that dry erase board, and that desk and chair.

No matter how talented a video creator you are, there will be some skills you are going to need help with as part of your YouTube journey. You may take on an assistant, or outsource help with editing, social media, costume design, bookkeeping, or 100 other things, and the chances are those businesses or individuals will require payment for their services. The good news is that you can claim against those expenses!

However, just as any company or individual you work with on a freelance basis should legally provide you with a 1099, you need to do the same for your subcontractors if you have paid them over $600 in 2019. Those individuals can then report the income on their own taxes.

Anyone you pay money to as part of being a YouTube creator is a tax-deductible expense for you, but reportable income for them (via a W9 form from them which confirms their name, address, and SSN). Remember, the IRS wants those taxes no matter who it is so if you deduct it and it goes to another person, they better report it.

#7 Travel Expenses (National & International)

There are a huge number of video creators whose sole focus is on publishing content around travel. Naturally, a good deal of expenses may be incurred as part of their business so keeping a very clear record of receipts is vital. There may be other creators who rack up expenses around travel throughout the year and may be able to make these tax-deductible if they can prove that travel was essential to the business of being a YouTube creator.

But beware - here comes one of those gray areas we talked about. To the IRS, there is a VERY clear distinction between business use and personal use when it comes to travel expenses. For instance, if you have a YouTube channel and you fly to Paris and you do an episode about the hidden gem bistro's of Paris as part of a holiday, you need to separate out the business part of it. Say, you are in Paris for 10 days and, for five of them, you're doing filming and business work, then for half of the time is business, and half of the time is fun. You can claim half of the travel expenses (50% of hotel costs, flights, etc) but you cannot claim for the whole trip if the whole trip is not dedicated to business.

Also note, the IRS only gives you a 50% tax deduction on meals and entertainment so, if you spend $100 on food, you're only going to get a deduction of $50. Again, check with your CPA if you are unsure, these are only guidelines.

#8 Local Travel Expenses Related to YouTube Business

Did you know that if you travel locally on YouTube business - say, to a coffee shop to do some editing, or to Target to pick up supplies - you can claim local transportation expenses? Not only can you claim on the mileage (currently at 55 cents per mile but this differs every year), but if you keep your receipt, you can also claim for any parking expenses. Any local travel expenses incurred, even toll charges can be tax-deductible if you keep proof of payment.

#9 Subscription & Software Licencing Fees

If you are signed up for any subscription services or pay license fees for software or other items directly related to your business, then you can also claim these as tax-deductible. For instance, if you’re a beauty blogger, and you have a regular subscription to a beauty magazine, you can claim against that.

Again, it’s up to you to prove to the IRS that any licenses or subscriptions you list have a direct impact on your business. The subscription had better tie into the way that you're making income, and you need to be honest about the money you’ve spent in order to make an income from YouTube. And, if you can show that it was, you're good. Some examples of the type of expenses you can claim for include:

You can also claim against bank fees incurred as part of running your YouTube Channel which includes expenses like Wire transfers, or if you pay a monthly fee for a business bank account, or incur PayPal charges. If you sell merch, you can also claim postage and packaging expenses, and if you have a PO Box, you can claim for that too!

There is no escape from paying taxes to the IRS, but if you ethically report your income and deductions and you're not lying about anything, you have absolutely nothing to be worried about.

Like it or not, everyone should pay their fair share of taxes. We have firemen and schools and roads that get repaired because people pay their taxes. But Devin states that “you should pay your fair share but not a penny more.” and take full advantage of the tax deductibles that are available to you.

If you want to take your YouTube channel to the next level and 

 then make sure to download vidIQ. Join over 1 million other users and use vidIQ to help you research YouTube, analyze videos, audit your own channel, and take actionable steps towards success. Just 

And if you’re really serious about growing your YouTube views and subscribers, sign up for exclusive access to the 

 and learn how to launch a successful YouTube Channel in just 30 days.

10 last-minute tax filing tips for US YouTubers - make sure you claim all your deductibles!

10 Last Minute Tax Filing Tips for US YouTube Creators

With over 2 Billion users, YouTube is in a unique position to guide the conversation around the current health crisis the world is facing. And the platform is encouraging creators to spread the word about social distancing and self-isolation to help flatten the curve of growth of 

With more countries under lockdown every day, the need to stay at home (unless you are a key worker, or need essential food or health supplies) is truly the only way we can contain the spread of this pandemic.

YouTube has been incredibly responsive to the advice given by Governments around the world and are now actively encouraging creators and influencers to '

'. It is asking YouTubers to consider publishing positive videos urging their audience to #StayHome, and creating content that viewers will find entertaining and informative under the #WithMe banner.

The platform has also rolled out resources that offer educational support for children, families and adults over the next few months.

YouTube wants creators to publish content that not only encourages viewers to stay home right now, but offers a way of entertaining and including them in a wide range of activities. Creators who have built an engaged following have the opportunity to support that community with videos that inform, teach, and inspire.

The new initiative, which promotes the #StayHome #WithMe message, is encouraging a sense of community and inclusion among both creators and viewers. YouTube is 

 to ensure your coronavirus videos are advertiser-friendly, factual, and hit the right tone.

, YouTube is curating a range of topics including the following:

The playlists feature a huge range of creators, including late-night talk show hosts like Jimmy Fallon, who have moved their broadcasts to YouTube:

YouTubers who plan to broadcast Premier or live-stream content around the #StayHome #WithMe campaign are also being offered a range of emojis to use for promotion:

<blockquote class="twitter-tweet"><p lang="en" dir="ltr">Thank you for sharing the message to <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/StayHome?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#StayHome</a> through your <a href="https://twitter.com/hashtag/WithMe?src=hash&amp;ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">#WithMe</a> creativity! Let your viewers know about these emojis they can use in chat while you live stream and Premiere. Check out the full list in the reply below. <a href="https://t.co/5rK4GtImzz">pic.twitter.com/5rK4GtImzz</a></p>&mdash; YouTube Creators #StayHome (@ytcreators) <a href="https://twitter.com/ytcreators/status/1241130556055793667?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw">March 20, 2020</a></blockquote>

 that features informative and educational channels that create content around math, history, the arts, science and many more subjects.

The content is organized by age group with categories for pre school children, kids aged 5 and over, and teenagers. The Learning hub will also provide extra resources around education, such as schedules and relevant playlists.

YouTube is encouraging creators to 'spread the word to stop the spread' of coronavirus. Here are some ways YouTubers can play their part in the campaign to #StayHome #WithMe

YouTube to Creators: Spread the Word about Coronavirus

YouTube creators who publish content specifically for children have already suffered a blow from the 

 the platform rolled out in November 2019. Now those same creators face new restrictions from potential legislation aimed at further limiting the reach of the type of content that can be published on the platform.

The Kid’s Internet Design and Safety (KIDS) Act, has been proposed by United States senators Ed Markey and Richard Blumenthal, with the intent to further protect children aged 16 and under who consume online video on social media sites like YouTube, Snapchat, TikTok, and others.

The KIDS Act: How it May Could Children-Focused Video Creation

If the bill is approved, it would mean new laws would come into force for social media platforms to protect children and young teens. Those sites would need to fundamentally change the way they both deliver, and promote video content to children.

Under the new law, auto-play videos, recommendations, and push notifications would have to be turned off for any content that is made for kids.

Senator Ed Markey was the co-author of the COPPA Act but wants to extend the protection afforded to children with further legislation. In a 

"Today, kids’ faces are increasingly covered in the glow of their screens, and it’s time to face the chilling reality that some websites and apps are built in ways that harm children. Powerful companies push kids to buy products at every turn online, and top platforms are saturated with disturbing content that no kid should ever be exposed to."

The KIDS Act wants to push through the following restrictions designed to protect children:

The ban on ‘auto-playing’ videos - a feature that has the potential to reel children and young teenagers into spending an unhealthy amount of time online

The suppression of push alerts and badges that may encourage children to extend the time they spend on their mobile devices

The bill limits sites from promoting inappropriate, violent, or dangerous content, and will require those sites to set up a feedback system for reporting that content

Banning sites from pushing content around influencer marketing or marketing that includes “embedded interactive elements”

Stopping websites for promoting alcohol or nicotine products to those aged under 16 years of age

One of the stand-out restrictions in the proposed bill calls out unboxing videos in particular. As one of the most popular trends on YouTube, this content has long encouraged the partnership between creators and brands or influencers.

Unboxing videos, like this one below from the SquirrelStampede YouTube channel, are often sponsored, thereby exposing children to a certain toy or confectionery brand under the guise of entertainment.

The KIDS Act isn’t proposing the banning of unboxing videos - because good luck with that - but would prohibit platforms like YouTube from recommending this content to children. It would also make it illegal for social media platforms to recommend any sponsored content to children, impacting an already fragile eco-system, and further limiting the exposure unboxing creators would get on the platform.

The KIDS Act would also make it illegal for platforms to recommend literally any kind of branded or sponsored content to users under the age of 16.

The after effects of COPPA on YouTube creators who publish children’s content has been significant, and the KIDS Act has the very real potential of limiting their visibility to a critical extent. With restrictions on children’s content being recommended, the number of views and Watch Time a kid’s focused YouTube channel will be severely impacted.

We'll keep you up to date with any news on this issue.

 then make sure to download vidIQ. Join over 1 million other users and use vidIQ to help you research YouTube, analyze videos, audit your own channel, and take actionable steps 

And if you’re really serious about growing your YouTube views and subscribers, sign up for exclusive access to the [vidIQ Academy]

After the impact of COPPA, YouTube creators who publish content for children face new limitations from the proposed KIDS Act.

YouTube Children’s Content Creators Face New Woes from KIDS Act

Custom thumbnails on YouTube - they're one of the biggest topics we talk about here at vidIQ and during our weekly channel audit live streams, that's one of the things we scrutinize the most. This post is part of a new series all about improving thumbnails on your YouTube channel, because just as readers judge books by their covers, viewers judge videos by their thumbnails. You have a very small graphic and a very small amount of time to convince somebody to click on your video, so you have to use it as wisely as possible.

How to Create Custom Thumbnails on YouTube

I’ve spent the last year improving the custom thumbnails I use on our vidIQ videos on YouTube, and that’s proving to be a hit with viewers as our click through rate on our channel has increased 100% over that time. My thumbnail creations always start with two things: a plain cream wall to use as a temporary background and a ring light.

For me, personally, purchasing a ring light was the game changer. You find these in cosmetic shops and a lot of beauty channels use these to blast a lot of concentrated light over a confined amount of space. I use the newer RL 18 ring light and it has two dials which allow you to control the exact amount of light you want to use and whether it has that warm, soft orange look, or a more cool, clinical white appearance. The ring light kicks out a lot of light, so you only need to have it on a low setting for it to have dramatic effects. One thing you do need to keep an eye on, however, are android eyes. The closer the ring light is to your face, the more chance the viewer has of seeing white circles in your eyes, which might be distracting or intentional. To get rid of this android circle eye effect, what you can do is place the ring light further away from you and turn up the brightness. And you should get the same effect with less white eyes.

Now it's time to put on your best YouTuber face, if you intend to be in the thumbnail. Think of it like this: whatever expression you intend to use, crank it all the way up to 11. It will never look quite as stupid as you imagine when you're holding the pose, and it will look perfect for the thumbnail. Trust me, every YouTuber practices this around three hours!

When you're ready, set your camera to burst mode so you have a collection of pictures to choose from. I take three pictures at one-second intervals and I leave the camera on automatic mode. The camera I use is a Panasonic G7 with the kit lens. Now we need to get rid of the background because it's, well, to be honest, quite boring and it's too similar to my skin tone. So let's jump onto a computer and turn this into something that starts to resemble a thumbnail.

YouTube Custom Thumbnails: Creating the Image

When you create a contrast between a foreground and a background, each element of your picture really starts to pop. So what we want to do is get my YouTube pose stuck onto this blue background, just to demonstrate how powerful this can be. To do this, we need to cut me out of this image as if cutting a picture out of a newspaper. The best way to do this through Photoshop, which is what I used here at vidIQ, using the Magnetic Lasso Tool. All you need to do is click on a starting point and then draw your mouse around the shape, and you will see anchor points automatically create themselves with lines attached to each one. Photoshop does a pretty good job of working out these cut points automatically, but, occasionally, you will need to click a point manually, especially if there are two edges or lines with distinct colors that are close to each other.

Once you've joined the dots, so to speak, click on your starting point to complete the trace, and then use the Cut command. Next, go to the background image and paste that bad boy in. Boom. Now you can maneuver your image into place and clean up any bits, and the Magic Wand tool in Photoshop will help with that. You can, of course, use the Magic Wand to clear the whole background, but it's not as accurate or reliable as the Magnetic Lasso Tool.

Now let's add a bit of magic sauce to my image. Go to Filter at the top, then select Sharpen, followed by Unsharpen Mask. This will draw out all the detail. The lines, the contour of the face. And, to be honest, at full size, it may look a little too sharp. But remember, 99.9% of your audience will see this image at postage stamp size. And this Unsharpen Mask really brings out the detail.

Alright then, the thumbnail is taking shape, but we need to make it a vidIQ thumbnail. And that's done through branding and elements that we use in every single thumbnail. What we need for that is a template. While this background is okay, it doesn't quite match the company blue. So we're going to move my image over to our template thumbnail. What we have here is a background that we use on every single custom thumbnail. The vidIQ logo in the bottom left-hand corner, that we also use in every single thumbnail. And this font type and color that we always use whenever we include text in a thumbnail. This establishes branding and consistency throughout our artwork, so you know instantly when you see one of our thumbnails, you know it's a vidIQ video.

I haven't quite decided whether to use text in this one yet, so I'm going to leave it in there for now, drag my image into a template, resize it, and rotate it a little bit, to make sure my surprised pose is looking at whatever objects I'm going to insert on the left-hand side of the thumbnail. Next is a little personal touch I like to add which can divide opinion. If you bring up Layer Styles, you can add an outline to images, such as a shadow, outer glow, or stroke effect. I like to do this because it hides some of the rough imperfections in the process of cutting the original image out, and, personally, I just think it makes me stand out even more. In this example, I'm going to add a white stroke effect, adjusting the line thickness to get it the way I like it. Alright, now we have the hero or the persona in the image with a strong, evocative pose. But we need them to be drawn to something.

Custom Thumbnails on YouTube: How to Get the Text Right

I'm conscious that the video title is going to be something along the lines of ‘How to Make a Thumbnail’, so I don't want to repeat that text in the thumbnail. So I've decided to go for a construction theme, and this is how I'm going to build it.

I've got a construction sign image here that I'm going to pull in, remove the white background, and then make nice and big to fill the right side of the thumbnail. Now to add some YouTube flavor to the mix. I'm going to bring in the logo and I have two choices, here. Either I can cover up the tools, or hang the logo above the text. I think covering the tools looks best. Now I'm adding a small black stroke effect to give the YouTube logo an outline and, because I already have some text in the sign, I'm going to delete the default font and its banner. Yes, this is a rare occasion when I'm not using our default font.

Now I have more space to play with, I'm going to make the sign stand out some more with a drop shadow, increase the size, and rotate the whole thing around a little bit. And this is the finished product. Three dominant colors, blue, yellow, and red, that I think contrast well with each other, and a very simple design. And that is the key because, remember, nobody sees your thumbnail at full size - they see it at a much smaller size.

Stay tuned throughout April 2019 for the best tips, tricks and best practices around creating custom thumbnails on YouTube.

If you want to take your YouTube channel to the next level then make sure to download vidIQ. It will help you research YouTube, analyze videos, audit your own channel, and take actionable steps 

Creating awesome custom thumbnails for YouTube can send your clickthrough rate through the roof! We show you how to create the perfect YouTube thumbnail for your content.

How To Make Custom Thumbnails on YouTube

I didn’t think I’d be writing this post 7 days ago. But here we are, being thrown headfirst into a world we don't really understand, with millions of people currently self-isolating, under quarantine, under a potential shelter-in-place mandate, or being asked to work from home by their company because of the current health crisis. It’s an extraordinary and challenging time.

, there has been a significant and understandable uptick in people in the US searching for content around ‘working from home’ or ‘remote working’ over the past week.

vidIQ is a fully remote global company. We don’t have a central office and every member of the company works from home. I asked some of the team for tips about what works for them when it comes to staying motivated and productive. I hope you find them useful.

25 Working From Home Tips from the vidIQ Team

If you’re sharing a house with a partner, come up with your own boundaries. For instance: "If I’m in my office, I’m working," or "between 9am and 3 pm I’m working". Also, I make sure to communicate that if I can't chat, it's not personal, it just takes a long time to shift gears from work to personal.

Be more flexible with your time. I always set myself a 45-minute work chunk where I may break off for 5 minutes to empty the bin, or empty the dishwasher - something physical versus sitting at my desk. Oh and get a comfortable chair.

Get a good pair of Bluetooth headphones. Dishing out a little extra pocket change is worth it for quality audio and blocking out the noises of home when you need to focus on work.

 It might seem obvious but carve out your own space somewhere at home so you can leave it at the end of the working day. If you don't, the lines between work and personal time may become so blurred you end up adding more stress to an already difficult situation.

Carla Marshall, Head of Content Marketing

Use Slack, Asana, Google Doc, Notion to stay on top of your work. Create healthy boundaries between work and home life.

 *Keep a to-do list handy and give yourself deadlines for when to get specific tasks done. If your company doesn't already have a task system, an easy one to get started with is Google Tasks. This can be accessed on your phone or in your email's inbox. Discord is also a great tool for keeping in touch with friends and/or work colleagues. *

Destinate space to work in that's purely for work and when you're in the space, let everyone know not to bother you. Sometimes the best space in a busy home is inside a closet. Do whatever you can to stay focused and limit your interruptions. Another tip, don't do ANY housework when you are working from home, it'll distract you and interrupt your flow. When you're working from home, you work, when you're done working, go to town and clean your toilet seats!

 *Schedule time to check-in with your teammates weekly, either individually or as a group. You will be checking in on work reasons already, but use this time to check in as people. Since you are not in an office, organic conversations won't just happen, and those are important to stay connected as a team. *

Set a reminder to stand up and move. Also, try not to sit in front of the computer right after getting out of bed or you can be glued to it until lunchtime. Lastly, try not to sleep in the same room/area you work in.

Working from home is like working from the office (minus the commute of course). Set your alarm, get dressed, head to the "office" and get into the workday as you normally would. It’s also critical to take breaks and get up and away from your computer - go outside for a bit of fresh air so your brain can get that refresh.

Liron Segev, Director of Customer Success

I don't strictly stick to a 9-5 schedule. I often have long lunches (partly because I need to take Jasper, my dog, for a walk), but I'll make that up and more by working later or starting earlier. When my commute involves 5 steps, I am happy to work when I am motivated, fresh and buzzing with ideas whatever time of day it is.

 *I won’t move my laptop from my desk. I noticed when I would work from my bed or couch, it was easy to get distracted. I know when I am at my desk it is work time. It can be difficult to push yourself to get ready for the day when working remote. However, I tell myself "no coffee" until I shower and get dressed and that motivates me because I cannot do without coffee. Plus the shower helps wake me up. *

 *If you are new to working from home, try to set up a routine that "switches" you from non-working mode to working mode. It might be wearing a more formal set of clothes, leaving the apartment for a brief walk (to simulate "going to the office"), or something like that. This will help you re-orient your brain and help you get into the working mood; when the work is done, it will help you wind down and stop being "at work" to prevent yourself from never giving yourself a rest. *

 *Recognize that the danger of working at home is that you overwork which then affects family time. Setting an end-of-day time and sticking to it will help. With freedom comes responsibility - deliver your work to the same quality as your would if you were in the office and perhaps when all this becomes a distant memory, remote working could be a permanent way of working *

One of the biggest struggles about working from home is timing and focus, for that I recommend to follow a shift and try to separate things at home. Avoid working from your bed, for example. :)

Frederico Soares da Silva, Senior Front End Engineer

I always ensure I have great coffee brewing throughout the day in addition to putting specific holds in my calendar so that I can get some fresh air and walk. I try and have lunch at a restaurant to engage with people if I'm not working at a co-working spot. I also might ask a colleague to hop on a Zoom call to chat and have a real-time connection if there is a topic that might benefit from that instead of Slack or email!

__Liza Frank, Executive Assistant to CoFounder, CEO __

 *Try to set up your workspace so it catches the sun. Also, keep it free from clutter. *

Pavel Sinev, Customer Experience Specialist

 *Use Pomodoro to balance out your work/rest. Make a TODO list at the beginning of the day. *

Have a work area that is only for work and nothing else

Try choosing a dedicated workspace that is separated from your free time activities – we have a home office I use to get work done. This limits distractions and allows you to focus on your daily tasks!

Have a separate space where you can close the door and get away from noise (especially if you have kids). The secondary benefit of a separate space is mental separation so that when you aren't in that space but at home, you can be present with your family/friends and not be in work mode.

 *Start your day with your laptop fully charged, once your battery runs out, that's time to take care of yourself. Once you've taken care of yourself, charge your laptop back up. *

I tell my kids, "just because you see me doesn't mean I'm available." It's hard to balance work and Dad guilt, but it's a necessary art that must be mastered.

To help me get out of my PJs and make the bed on "self-work days" I make a to-do list. This makes me feel productive, especially if I can clear the to-do list by the end of the day. And yes "wake up, make the bed, make a brew and get dressed" are all viable tasks!

It's important to remember that different things work for different people. Don't beat yourself up if you're balancing working from home with limited space, limited technology, child care or any other challenges. You've got this.

vidIQ has always been a fully remote company so we asked the team for their top tips for anyone new to working from home.

25 Tips To Get the Most Out of Working From Home

 which cover a multitude of sins video creators might break be it nudity, harmful, hateful, violent content, harassment and bullying, or spam. Creators can quickly find themselves in trouble if they cross the line on any of these topics.

There are many different Community Guidelines and also a number of places where creators can break them such as:

In the past, the punishment from YouTube differed depending on where the crime was committed. It might be that you lose livestream privileges or that you couldn't post videos for a certain length of time. The rules were somewhat chaotic, so YouTube have cleared up the confusion for creators and made it crystal clear what violates a Community Guideline (

 we’re covering Community Guidelines in the post and not copyright strikes which is a whole different topic and one we’ll be covering soon).

YouTube Community Guidelines February 2019

As of February 19th 2019, the new Community Guidelines are in place for all creators on the platform. YouTube are keen not to punish first time offenders who may not be up to speed with the rules, and as a result, all channels will receive a one-time warning the first time they post content that crosses the line with no penalties to their channel except for the removal of that content. The good news is that this one time warning applies to all channels so even if you do have an existing strike you still get this warning before further penalties. It doesn't matter where you break the Community Guideline whether it be on a thumbnail, video content, playlists, or via the comments - the penalty is always going to be the same.

 The second time you break Community Guidelines will be considered your first official strike. That will result in your content being removed as before. On top of this all your YouTube content posting privileges will be frozen for one week. This includes videos, live-streams, YouTube stories, and community posts. However, you’ll still be able to post comments. After a week you will get all of the posting features back but the strike remains on your account for 90 days in total.

 If you commit another Community Guideline violation within a 90 day period this is your second strike with the same penalties applied except that instead of a one week ban you get a two week ban on publishing content.

 If you fall foul of the Community Guidelines for a third time, YouTube isn’t here to play. Your channel will be terminated!

Obviously the termination of your channel is pretty drastic so YouTube have now promised to be more transparent about the guideline you violated so it doesn’t get to that stage. They will be more specific with information about that violation, communicate it to you through notifications and emails and via the Creative Studio. There will also be an appeals process in place as before.

We applaud all of the changes that YouTube are making here. I think that the first time warning is a fantastic idea because many video creators get terrified over making any strike at any point in their YouTube journey. I think a consistent penalty system makes it very clear to the user. It also eliminates the extremely harsh 90 day livestream penalty there used to be.

In effect, creators are getting an extra strike out of the new rules but you shouldn’t take advantage of that. After your first warning you shouldn't be making any further strikes on your YouTube channel.

YouTube have just made some sweeping changes to their Community Guidelines which affect every creator. Find out how you can stay on the right side of the new rules.

New Community Guidelines From YouTube: What Creators Need to Know Right Now

When you tell people you have a YouTube channel, one of the most common questions asked is, "Oh, how many subscribers do you have?" And the answer may be, none of your business!

When you are logged in to YouTube, you should see your channel logo in the top right-hand corner of most YouTube screens. If you click on that, 

you have the option to go to YouTube Studio.

 This is currently in beta, but will become the standard as 2019 progresses. This is your homepage, or dashboard, on the new creator studio, and in order to hide subscriber counts from the public, you click on the settings button in the bottom left-hand corner. Click on Channel >> Advanced where you’ll see a check box that says display the number of people subscribed to my channel.

Why Hide Your YouTube Subscriber Details to the Public?

So, that is how you hide your subscriber count. The burning question now is 

 The common opinion is that having a visible subscriber count can either add or take away value from your channel. A lot of video creators with smaller channels, say, less than a hundred subscribers, are worried that viewers will be immediately switched off from their content because they don't have a perceived audience watching their content already.

That may be a valid point. When you watch a video, and you see a channel with lots of subscribers, does that convince you more to subscribe to their channel than content from another video creator which is just as good, but has a tiny number of subscribers? But as subscriber counts are by default public, what kind of message does that send if a creator makes a conscious decision to hide them?

From a personal point of view, I've never been afraid of hiding my subscriber count, after all, every video creator starts at zero and ends up somewhere. And after a few years of making videos, and when you've built up your channel, you'll realize what a immaterial number that was when you were first starting out your channel. It's all part of a YouTube journey.

Want to hide your YouTube subscriber count? We show you how to (but also question why you would want to do that?).

How to Hide Your YouTube Subscriber Count [New Method!]

So you've set up your YouTube channel, cranked out a couple of videos, got your first few subscribers, some views, and you’re starting to get an idea of what all of the YouTube analytics data means. Now it's time to unleash your secret weapon.

 This post is all about vidIQ, our Chrome extension. So if you haven't got it already, stop reading, and 

 to download it and install it on your computer. We know that you are just starting out on your YouTube journey, so we're not trying to cash in on you as soon as possible. We wanna give you that kickstart to help grow your channel, and build an audience. Hey, it’s what we do.

YouTube Channel Analytics: Access the Numbers in Real Time

Let’s start with some YouTube numbers. With the new YouTube Studio you get a snapshot of how your individual videos are performing. But what if you could get an overview of how your entire channel is performing? Well that's exactly what the vidIQ real time stats bar can help you with! Using this feature, you can access stats for the last 60 minutes, the last 48 hours, the last seven days, Watch Time for the last seven days, and subscribers in total on your YouTube channel.

Of course, you can access Channel stats via YouTube Analytics, but VidIQ’s real time stats bar allows you to see the data whether you are on the search page, or on a watch page, or on a YouTube home page. We always show you the real time analytics, and for someone like me who's got analytics obsessive compulsive disorder, I always wanna check those numbers and I can see them wherever I am on YouTube. It’s a much-loved feature on the VidIQ Chrome extension - and it’s 

. But we're not quite done there because if you like graphs as much as you like numbers, well all you need to do is mouse over the real time stats bar, and you get a breakdown of just how well your videos have been performing and your channel over the last seven days.

Also, for YouTube channels who haven’t yet reached the monetization requirements of four thousand hours, we’ve also added an additional metric in the real time stats bar which tracks your Watch Time over the last 12 months. Once you've reached those requirements, this metric automatically disappears. So if you wanted this tool for no other reason than to find out just how close you are to monetization, this is why you should download VidIQ.

You'll also notice when you download the vidIQ Chrome extension, that all of your videos will now have percentage numbers next to them. This is essentially the likes to dislikes ratio on any video on YouTube. This data can be useful for a number of reasons:

You can find out whether an individual video is resonating with your audience or not

You can determine wow your videos are performing at the Channel level

For your Channel, this VidIQ feature will show when the likes ratio falls below 90%, and when the ratio falls below 70%.

YouTube Research: Find Out About the Next Big Trend

The big gaming trend on YouTube at the moment is Fortnite, but what is the next game on the horizon? A lot of gaming creators are gravitating towards a game called Apex, or Apex Legends, and we know that to have a better gaming performance, you want to increase your frames per second, or FPS. So, let’s do a search for ‘Apex Legends increase FPS’, and see what the VidIQ extension can do with that.

The first awesome feature is the ‘subscriber count’ next to different Channels. This is hugely important as it can help identify windows of opportunity. Just having that little of information can let you know whether it’s worth producing content on as a gamer interested in Apex Legends. Another feature, ‘Search Companion’ will give you further data such as the average number of subscribers for the Channels that appear on these search rankings, and the average age of the videos. Both very useful for finding current trending topics.

Then we have VidIQ’s legendary ‘Keyword Score.’ This gives you a general indication of competition versus volume, or supply versus demand. If there are a lot of people searching for a term and not that many videos being supplied, again, this tells us that we should be making videos on that topic. If you want to drill deep down into the keywords and research them further, we have another awesome tool called ‘Enable Inline Keywords,’ which highlights the video tags the creators have used on videos around this topic.

As a creator, you can use this feature to determine whether you still think there is value in this keyword, whether this game is going to become more popular, and if you can establish content in that search term before it gets more popular. That kind of insight is incredibly helpful in creating evergreen content. If you like the keywords you find, you can simply mouse over the keywords, click on the paperclip to the right, go to your own video and paste them in. Or you can use the keywords as a springboard for your own ideas generation.

The VidIQ video scorecard gives you all the information you need about every single individual video on YouTube. As well as data on social engagements, you can take a deep-dive into the search engine optimization generated around the video such as tags, titles and descriptions. There’s also a video optimization checklist so you can see if the creator has missed any important steps. If you look at your own videos through this video scorecard, you can see even more information.

Did you know the vidIQ tool can help you with editing and uploading? Straight off the bat we've got character limit features. Did you know that you can only have a hundred characters in your title? Also, it’s good to know you can have five thousand characters in your description, and five hundred characters in your tags. Why YouTube doesn't alert you that you’ve gone over your limit by default is beyond me, but we're helping you out there. Oh, and we also help you add emojis to your title (but If you are going to do this, just make sure that you add them towards the end of your titles so that it doesn't mess up the keyword indexing from YouTube). You can also use VidIQ to create a tags template, or organize your tags.

VidIQ can also help you evaluate whether your tags, titles and descriptions are effective for your video. It’s called the ‘SEO’ score, and marks your video out of 50. and the higher you can get to 50, the more potential your video has to reach an audience. The tool will also prompt you in terms of ensuring you’ve added cards, end screens, and closed captions. It’s all incredibly useful stuff to make sure that your video is in tip top shape before you publish it.

VidIQ Channel Audit: Find Out How Your Video Content is Working

One of the most powerful tools we have here at vidIQ is the Channel Audit. On our 

 we do a live stream every Tuesday where we audit people's channels, but as a creator consider this feature your very own 24/7 YouTube channel audit expert, which tells you all sorts of information about your channel.

For example, it can identify the general health of your channel, and the type of content to double down on if it’s consistently doing well for you. It will also give you information about Watch Time, audience retention, YouTube Playlists, top search terms, end screens, card clicks and so on.

As for how badly your channel is doing, we give you that information as well. So content that could use work, the ones with the average lowest view time, the one with terrible likes to dislikes.

VidIQ YouTube Channel Management: Invaluable Features for Creators

As you start to upload content on your channel, people will start to perceive you as an expert and want to ask you questions. If you're focusing on a particular topic, you may be asked the same question over and over again, and you kind of want to respond to that but not type out this response over and over again. Auto-generated responses can help you a lot.

For example, a viewer may thank you for sharing useful info and you’ll want to thank them in return. With the VidIQ comment template, we’ve created a long series of responses for all sorts of different questions we get here. One of more popular comments from us is responding “You’re Welcome” and automatically adding the viewer’s username. Automated responses means you can work through more comments more quickly, especially if you're getting hundreds of comments a day. I use this for at least one or two hours a day responding to as many comments as possible. This one tool, which is free of cost, has saved me hundreds, if not thousands, of hours managing the vidIQ channel.

With regards to YouTube Channel management, another thing to keep an eye out for is this vidIQ utility button which you'll find on many different pages. It does many different things depending on where you are. For example, on the video manager page, for an individual video, if I click on the button, it allows me to do things like copy cards or end screens to then put then onto other videos, saving you time there. You can also use the thumbnail editor (if you're not yet proficient with professional programs such as Photoshop) to start you off with creating custom thumbnails.

Click on VidIQ's awesome YouTube Playlist for new tutorials on 

how to grow more YouTube views and subscribers in 2019!

Want to grow your YouTube Channel fast and for free? Get the lowdown on the data and best practices that will drive your views and subscribers through the roof.

Posts Written By Carla Marshall

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