Did you know that there are over 50 million YouTube channels on the internet? That means every year, an entire country’s worth of people create videos to express themselves, start a side hustle, or grow a large community.
Are you one of them? If so, you’ll need some tips for starting a YouTube channel, the most important being video ideas. After all, finding fascinating themes that lead to interesting videos is hard work.
One way to do this better is to think in terms of video format. Knowing whether you want to make tutorials, story times, or even reaction videos is the first step in crafting brilliant ideas.
Ready to get started? Here are nine videos that turn new creators into successful YouTubers!
How-to content is educational and teaches viewers how to do something. No matter how hard the task is, an effective tutorial is clear enough to understand while guiding viewers to the best solution.
Making tutorials has several benefits. For one, the process molds you into an expert, making your channel more authoritative. In fact, YouTube says how-to videos are more attention-grabbing than others.
Check out “How to Sell a Product” by entrepreneur Dan Lok if you need an example. Tutorials can take many shapes, but this one explains how to sell anything to anyone.
Trending videos are part of the "YouTube growth recipe." A buzz-worthy video can get thousands of views in a short period, so make a habit of following news within your niche.
For example, “Skibidi Toilet” and “Grimace Shake” were the top YouTube trends of 2023. For Skibidi Toilet at least, we saw creators in the vidIQ community go from zero to 1,000 subscribers just by covering the topic. By the way, Skibidi Toilet is a web series of YouTube videos and Shorts created by DaFuq!?Boom!, an animator.
The video below — “Skibidi Toilet Explained” — capitalizes on this trend flawlessly. It explains the hype, uses a trending keyword, and answers questions about the viral topic.
List videos rank the top items or ideas in any category, from the best movies to the cheapest cities to the most durable hiking shoes. Think about videos boasting the "top 10 cities to visit in France" or the "top 10 video games of 2024", and you have the right idea.
List videos are powerful because they attract lots of viewers. The content is engaging, easy to digest, and best of all, polarizing. Viewers enjoy debating in the comment section because everyone has an opinion when it comes to ranking things. And that's the type of engagement you need to grow a YouTube channel!
Here’s a popular list video by CineGold: “Top 10 Action Movies on Netflix Right Now.”
Unlike some content, reacting on YouTube is the perfect way to show off your personality. You get to wield every part of your identity — charm, wit, sarcasm, etc. — when reacting to other videos.
Best of all, most reaction channels aren’t faceless, so viewers get to see you in the flesh. This is important when you’re new to YouTube and want people to connect with you (and not just your content).
Need an example? Check out “Non K-Pop Fan Reacts to BTS” by Don Townsend.
Did you know that two out of three people are more likely to buy something after watching a video testimonial? That’s the power of reviews. Luckily, we’re all customers, which means you can review any product you’ve ever used and turn that into content! This is a great way to build trust with your audience and make a name for yourself.
If products aren’t your thing, don’t stop there. Create videos sharing your personal opinion on ideas, predictions, abstract concepts, or anything else. We’ve seen creators "review" air, dogs, the idea of going to college, entrepreneurship, and more.
But to give you a general idea, here’s a review of The Legend of Zelda: Tears of the Kingdom.
A channel trailer is a short video that introduces your content to non-subscribers. These videos appear at the top of your homepage and play automatically, so viewers can’t miss it.
Trailers are short and punchy, and there are two ways to create one. You can either film it from scratch or set a current YouTube video as your official trailer.
But know that the best trailers motivate people to watch your videos. If you aren't making one from scratch, choose an existing video that consistently moves people to subscribe to your channel.
Here’s a captivating example from Ben Johnson, a seasoned creative.
Every new creator should experiment with Shorts. This content type receives over 50 billion daily views on YouTube, which means the potential to reach new viewers and turn them into subscribers is massive.
But let’s back up a second. On YouTube, a Short is a vertical video no longer than 60 seconds. They’re typically shot on a phone and then enhanced with music, sound effects, text, and other visual elements. Thousands of creators, both large and small, have gotten millions of views posting Shorts. After all, Google says 2 billion people view them every month!
Watch the video below to understand this content type better. Many Shorts contain viral trends, comedy, and a quick story — like this Grimace Shake video.
As a new creator, it's wise to make content that you know people are searching for, at least in the beginning.
This is partly because the YouTube algorithm (which recommends videos to viewers) doesn’t have much information about your channel yet. However, it can pull metadata from your content, identify any keywords, and place your videos on the correct search pages.
Be sure to upload videos that appeal to YouTube's search engine. You can do this by:
For example, this video targets the keyword “small channels” and has 1.9 million views.
Truth moment: While search-driven content is helpful, you shouldn’t rely on it as a new creator. That's because over 70 percent of the videos people watch on YouTube were recommended to them. That means you also need to target the recommendation algorithm, and not just YouTube search.
The simplest method? Look at the videos YouTube is recommending next to your content. Often enough, those videos belong to your competitors. If YouTube is recommending them, that means they're worthy videos and you should study them to see if you can make something similar (and get recommended too)!
By experimenting with these nine videos, you'll not only discover what resonates with your audience but also develop engaging content.
Remember, the key to YouTube success is consistency, quality, and a willingness to learn and adapt! Trying new things, especially in the beginning, is the best way to learn quickly and grow your subscribers.
If you haven’t already, learn how to set a YouTube subscriber goal for your channel this year.
Lydia Sweatt is a writer who loves balancing her article/blog time indoors with a healthy dose of nature. She bikes, hikes, and identifies edible plants along the way.
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