How To Start & Grow A YouTube Channel From 0 | FULL 2026 MASTERCLASS!

YouTube is the second most visited website on the planet. It gets more views every month than Disney and Netflix. Not only that, but it's changed

Netflix. Not only that, but it's changed the lives of thousands of creators, including me. And by the end of this

including me. And by the end of this full YouTube course, you will have the exact steps that you need in order to start a YouTube channel and grow a YouTube channel so that it can change your life, too.

Now, I've been a creator for 5 years.

I've helped thousands of people grow their YouTube channel. I've also met the biggest creators in the world, and I've met and interviewed the literal people who run YouTube. All of this to say, you're in good hands. And by the way, my

name is Jade. I never introduced myself.

Hi, I'm Jade. Lovely to meet you if you find this video useful. Give it a like and also check out the rest of my content cuz I'm pretty sure you're going to love that, too. By the way, guys, I know all this information could be a lot. So, if you ever want to talk to me

lot. So, if you ever want to talk to me directly about it, I can give you feedback on your content. I can help you with your kit, whatever it might be.

Then, I have a private Discord channel full of creators available via the link in my description. And when you join, you actually get a free trial. So, you

don't have to commit straight away. You

can just try it out. All right, I'll see you in there. All right, we're going to kick off by talking about the fundamentals of YouTube. I'm actually

willing to bet that you guys haven't heard YouTube broken down in this way before because I've never seen anyone talk about it this way. And

understanding what I'm about to tell you really is the key to understanding how to actually grow on this platform. Now,

I'm going to do something slightly unconventional and I'm just going to dive into the deep end here. And I'm

going to kick off this course by explaining the four fundamental key drivers of growth for anyone's YouTube channel. Now, I want you to stick with

channel. Now, I want you to stick with me because if you're brand new to YouTube, I'm about to throw a bunch of words at you that you've probably not heard before, but I'm going to be explaining them. And as we make our way

explaining them. And as we make our way through the course, all of these will make even more sense. And by the end, you will have such a comprehensive understanding of this platform.

Oh my god. Okay, it's happening.

The first key driver of growth for any YouTube creator is impressions. Your

impressions are the number of people who see your YouTube content. So, not the number of people who click on your content or anything like that. It's just

people who see that you have YouTube content live. Let me give you an

content live. Let me give you an example. Before you clicked on this

example. Before you clicked on this video, you probably opened up the YouTube homepage, right? You went to youtube.com. A bunch of videos appeared.

youtube.com. A bunch of videos appeared.

Every single video that appeared when you went onto YouTube, all of those creators received an impression because you saw that they had YouTube content when you opened up the website. That's

what impressions are. Now, this is the first key driver of growth because if you do not get impressions, then no one knows that you have content. Do you see why it's so important that we understand that? And you're probably thinking,

that? And you're probably thinking, "Okay, but Jade, how do I get more impressions?" That's mostly to do with

impressions?" That's mostly to do with the topics that you're picking. And

we're going to come on to that later on in this course. The next driver for growth on your YouTube channel are your clicks. So, this is literally how many

clicks. So, this is literally how many people are clicking on that video after they've seen it. So, they've opened up their YouTube homepage. They see that you've got a video live, but are they clicking on it? Now, the amount of

clicks that you get on your video will be shown to you in YouTube as a CTR.

This stands for click-through rate. It's

basically just telling you out of all the people who saw you had a video, how many of them actually clicked through.

Now, the reason why this is super important is because you could do everything in your world to get loads of impressions, right? That was the

impressions, right? That was the previous growth driver we spoke about.

But if you're not doing what you need to to get people to click on the video, then the whole system falls down and you will not grow. When it comes to getting more clicks on your video, that's all about improving your thumbnails and your titles, which of course we will be

talking about in today's video. The

third core driver of growth is your retention. So, this is how much of your

retention. So, this is how much of your video that person who just clicked on it is actually watching. Because if you do everything in your power to get impressions, to get clicks, and then everyone drops off your video within the

first few seconds, guess what? You're

not going to grow and the whole system falls down. Do you see why it's super

falls down. Do you see why it's super important to understand these three things and how they work together? Now,

in order to improve your attention, you need to make sure the quality of your video is good. So, the equipment you're using, the audio, and also the content of the video itself, which again we will talk about in detail. And last, but certainly not least, the fourth thing

that you need to leverage to grow is engagement. So once someone sees your

engagement. So once someone sees your video, they click on your video, they watch a lot of your video, you want them to engage with your video in some way.

Maybe this engagement is actually subscribing, which is amazing, right?

Maybe they're commenting or they're liking, which honestly nowadays is just as significant as someone deciding to subscribe to you, right? So if you're able to leverage those four things, your YouTube channel will grow. It really is as simple. I do this because obviously

as simple. I do this because obviously it's not that simple, but it is as straightforward as that. You might also care to know that this kind of works like a funnel. So let's say you get 5,000 impressions. Out of those 5,000

5,000 impressions. Out of those 5,000 impressions, 300 people might decide to click on your video. Out of those 300 clicks, maybe a hundred of those people watch more than half of your video.

That's the retention part, right? And

out of those 100 people, maybe 10 of them engaged, comment, subscribe. Do you

see how these numbers filter through together? If you leverage all of those

together? If you leverage all of those and you get a good system going, there's a good flow going through that funnel consistently, you will have a healthy YouTube channel. Shall we move on? Now

YouTube channel. Shall we move on? Now

that we got the fundamentals out the way, let's break down everything you need to do to launch, grow, or just improve your YouTube channel on a week-by-eek basis. So, let's kick into

week-by-eek basis. So, let's kick into week number one. This is the strategy week. I love this week. This is the week

week. I love this week. This is the week for the dreamers. You know, this is the week where you decide all of the fun stuff that you're going to do, how often you're going to post, what you're going to talk about, blah blah blah. If you're

like me, you might get a bit carried away. That's why I've broken down this

away. That's why I've broken down this week in like a lot of detail so you know exactly what you need to be figuring out. First up, your audience. I want you

out. First up, your audience. I want you to come up with an audience profile, which is what us in the marketing world love to call it, which is essentially one person that you are speaking to.

Every time you film a video, you want to get so familiar with this person so that you can almost like envision them when you sit down to film. Like right now, I know I'm technically looking at a lens, but like sometimes I generally feel like

I'm looking at a person. Does that make me sound crazy?

We're going to leave it in. You tell me.

You be the judge. Now, with your audience profile, you want to do a few things. So, you want to give it a name.

things. So, you want to give it a name.

My regular viewers will know that the name of my audience is Sam. Sam's the

person who I speak to every time I sit down to film my content. So, hi Sam. The

next thing you want to do is identify anything about Sam that is going to impact your content in some way. A

mistake that a lot of people make is that they think they need to write down whether Sam's married or not and they have kids or not, even if that has nothing to do with the content you're creating. Like, do you know what Amy?

creating. Like, do you know what Amy?

You don't need to know that about Sam.

Mind your business. What we do need to know about Sam is anything that's going to impact my content. So for me and my Sam, for example, I write down a lot of information about what they do for a living. So my Sam works in social media,

living. So my Sam works in social media, they're a content creator, they work in marketing. Like that's the stuff that I

marketing. Like that's the stuff that I need to identify. I also identify Sam's pain points, Sam's likes and dislikes.

For example, they dislike the algorithm.

Some of them don't like editing because they don't know the quickest way to do it. Do you see what I mean? So a few

it. Do you see what I mean? So a few things that you might want to consider when you're getting to know your audience group is how old are they and is that relevant to your content? What

life stage are they at and is that relevant to your content? Where do they live? Again, is that relevant to your

live? Again, is that relevant to your content? What are their likes and

content? What are their likes and dislikes that should be relevant to everyone? And also, what are their pain

everyone? And also, what are their pain points? So, what are some things that

points? So, what are some things that really bother them that you might be able to help them with as you start to create? The next thing you want to do is

create? The next thing you want to do is identify your value. Now, if you've watched a lot of these like social media, marketing, how-to videos before, you probably think you know what I'm about to say, and I might surprise you.

I don't think that you need to create educational content in order for it to be valuable. I also don't think that you

be valuable. I also don't think that you have to stick to one form of valuable content in order for your channel to grow. But I do think it's worth you

grow. But I do think it's worth you thinking about what it is you give to your audience that they would find valuable in order for them to give you something back. That's essentially what

something back. That's essentially what we call the value exchange. It's how I think this entire world operates to be honest. You have to give something to

honest. You have to give something to someone in order for them to give you something back. Like a subscribe, like a

something back. Like a subscribe, like a watch, like a follow, like a share, whatever. Right? That thing that you

whatever. Right? That thing that you give to someone might be that you've entertained them. It might be that

entertained them. It might be that you've educated them in some way, but it definitely doesn't have to be that. It

could also be that you've inspired them.

It could be that you've just related to them. It could be that you've made them

them. It could be that you've made them feel comfortable and cozy. All of these things are a value that you could offer to your audience and you can switch them up every single time. It is worth just spending a second figuring out what kind of values you're most likely to give to

your audience. That just helps ensure

your audience. That just helps ensure that most of our content ends up becoming valuable. Right. Next up, you

becoming valuable. Right. Next up, you need to pick a format. Right? This is a bit more complicated than it used to be because nowadays there are so many different formats that you might want to focus on on YouTube. There's lives,

there's shorts, there's long form videos, etc. Now, I am a long form creator. Have you guessed? I like to

creator. Have you guessed? I like to talk. If you decide to be a long form

talk. If you decide to be a long form creator, the choice doesn't quite end there, though, because there are different styles of long- form video content. There's vlog style content,

content. There's vlog style content, there's challenge style content, there's sitdown talking head videos, which is exactly what I tend to film. There's

show style content. That's literally

when you're producing something that looks like it could be on Netflix, something that I'm also working on, watches space. So, there's different

watches space. So, there's different formats you want to pick. I'm going to rank the most common formats for you to help guide your decision-making process.

At the top are sit down talking head videos. Now, I'm not just being biased.

videos. Now, I'm not just being biased.

The reason why I think these are potentially the best format for you to at least start with is one because they are the easiest to produce. You're

literally just sitting down and speaking to a camera. Two because it's quite easy to communicate value to your audience when you're doing sitdown talking head videos. And three, because these are

videos. And three, because these are quite easy for you to batch in advance.

And when you're just starting out or maybe when you're about to relaunch your channel or wherever it might be, you want to make sure you're being as consistent as possible. And batching is going to help you get there. More on

batching a bit later. The second is challenge style content. Now, that might surprise you because obviously it could not be further from the content that I create, but I study YouTube content and I study creators and I know that

challenge style content is often the most popular. The reason why is because

most popular. The reason why is because it tends to transcend different countries and cultures. So you end up having a far larger audience group for it. Also, if you find the right

it. Also, if you find the right challenge and you find the right kind of tension point and you create a video that really tells that story and has this big wonderful payoff at the end of it, that is actually like YouTube

storytelling 101 and can definitely set you up for more success when you're brand new on the game. The downside of this one, though, is that challenge videos can sometimes be quite hard to do when you're brand new to producing video content. So, keep that in mind. The

content. So, keep that in mind. The

third best format is vlog style content.

If you want to be a vlogger, then you're probably disappointed to hear me say it's the third best format to start with. The reason why it's the third is

with. The reason why it's the third is just because it's hard to start with vlogs because no one cares about you yet. And I know that sounds awful. I

yet. And I know that sounds awful. I

mean this with love, no one cares. And

the problem is with vlogs, in order for you to want to watch other people's vlogs, right? If you put yourself in

vlogs, right? If you put yourself in your viewers perspective, you normally want to care about their life. So if you don't care about their life yet, you're not usually going to click on it. Like

it's quite hard to package a vlog with a thumbnail and a title that appeals to someone who doesn't know you yet, right?

If you do choose to go with vlogs and you only want to share vlogs, then just pay extra attention to the thumbnails and title section of this video because I'm going to be giving some tips and tricks on how you can package your video in a way that might just appeal to

someone who doesn't know you yet. The

fourth format that I recommend you start with is shows. Now, the reason why this is even a format is because more and more creators are producing shows. I

already mentioned that I'm actually working on my own show. The reason why creators are doing this is because YouTube is the new TV. It's overtaken

Netflix and Disney and so many others in terms of how many hours of content people watch on TV. Like YouTube is up there as one of the biggest streaming platforms. I filmed a whole video on this. I'll link to it up here. Because

this. I'll link to it up here. Because

of that shift in audience behavior, creators who have been in the game for a while and have some investment money are choosing to create shows to kind of meet audience where they're at. That's why

I'm doing this because I've been in the game for a while and I have some money saved up where I can invest in a show. I

do not think anyone should be investing in a show for the first thing that they do because I don't know, maybe I'm maybe I'm tight, maybe I'm cheap. That just

feels like too much money and too much of a gamble for me. Now, in terms of other formats outside of long form content, you also of course have shorts.

Shorts are amazing for getting your content in front of people who don't follow you yet. That's actually how the shorts kind of algorithm and the system works. It tries to push your content out

works. It tries to push your content out there. So, it's great for growth, great

there. So, it's great for growth, great for discovery. And then you also have

for discovery. And then you also have lives, which aren't as good for growth or discovery, but really great for like engagement and getting people to become advocates to you and really love your content, right? I always say that going

content, right? I always say that going live is the only time you're able to speak to your audience in real time. And

that is an incredibly unique and like powerful form of bonding with your audience. Now, my personal

audience. Now, my personal recommendation if you want to have a thriving YouTube channel that also makes a lot of money in the future is to have a mixture of all three of those formats.

I don't think you should just focus on one. I think you should blend long form

one. I think you should blend long form with short form and maybe even the odd live. That's truly how you grow a

live. That's truly how you grow a healthy channel in this day and age.

With that in mind, I think this is the perfect segue to talk about your posting frequency. This is also a core part of

frequency. This is also a core part of your strategy. So, which formats are you

your strategy. So, which formats are you posting is important, but also how often are you posting them? Now, my strategy for any posting schedule on social media is called the minmax method. I've been

using this for years. I quite literally made up myself. The minmax method involves you picking the minimum amount of content that you want to share on YouTube every single week. So, this is like the minimum amount you think you

can share and still grow and then the maximum amount. So, this is the gold

maximum amount. So, this is the gold standard. If you're really on top of

standard. If you're really on top of your game, you've really got your stuff I don't want to swear stuff together, then that is a posting schedule that you're sticking to, right? So, you got your min and your max. The reason why I

encourage everyone to have a min and a max and not just one general posting schedule is because this thing called life tends to get in the way sometimes and a common reason why a lot of creators give up on their YouTube

channels is because they set themselves this unrealistic posting schedule. They

stick with it for a few weeks, few months and then something happens in their life which means they can't post for a bit. And then because they've not posted for a bit, they psych themselves out and they're like, "Well, what's the point? I've fallen off completely. I've

point? I've fallen off completely. I've

failed." We're trying to avoid that spiral. And we do that by having two

spiral. And we do that by having two options. So when life gets in the way,

options. So when life gets in the way, you drop down to the minimum posting schedule. And when life is going pretty

schedule. And when life is going pretty well, you use the maximum posting schedule. My blanket recommendation

schedule. My blanket recommendation here, take it or leave it, whatever you want. The minimum posting schedule on

want. The minimum posting schedule on YouTube should be one long form video per week, three shorts per week, and one live every 6 months. I know the live is quite spread out, but if it's not a core part of what you want to do, then one

every six months is actually pretty sufficient. The general maximum posting

sufficient. The general maximum posting schedule is two long form videos per week, six shorts per week. Yes, that is one almost every single day, but you can schedule your shorts if you upload them

on your desktop. Keep that in mind. And

one live every 3 months. So, every

quarter you go live. Obviously, pick a schedule that works with your life. If

it doesn't work with your life, then you're not going to stick to it, right?

All right. So, let's move on to the final part of your strategy, which is like the topics and what you're going to talk about. I'm already realizing that

talk about. I'm already realizing that this is going to be such a long video cuz I'm like, we're at week one.

Supposed to film two more videos today.

Okay. So people often tell you to come up with content pillars. Now I want you to come up with four to five topics that you tend to talk about. These are also sometimes called content pillars.

Sometimes they're called buckets or themes. Whatever. There are just a

themes. Whatever. There are just a handful of things that you tend to talk about. These topics should come from

about. These topics should come from your audience. So that work you did to

your audience. So that work you did to try and figure out who you want to speak to when you film. That should really be telling you what you should be talking about because maybe you wrote down that you want to speak to people who are into health and fitness. Therefore, one of your topics is probably going to be

fitness. Another one is probably going

fitness. Another one is probably going to be diet and food, right? figure out

what those topics are going to be off the back of that work you did about your audience. What you then need to do is

audience. What you then need to do is figure out what the angle is going to be. And in my opinion, this is the most

be. And in my opinion, this is the most important thing, right? I'm not going to tell you to niche, which is what a lot of people used to tell you to do, including me probably. Nowadays, it's

not about niching down, but it's about having an angle and a perspective on stuff which is going to help you stand out from others talking about the same subject. So, to help you do this, I want

subject. So, to help you do this, I want you to ask yourself a few questions when you sit down to talk about a specific topic. What have you lived through in

topic. What have you lived through in relation to this topic that you could share? What are your hot takes on this

share? What are your hot takes on this specific topic? This is like things that

specific topic? This is like things that you disagree with that people commonly agree with, right? What do you know in relation to this topic? This is a big one, especially if you're going to be like an educational style creator like

me. I always lean on my marketing

me. I always lean on my marketing degree, my years working in marketing.

Like that is the angle that I bring to every single video that I share online.

So, what's yours? Also, ask yourself, is there anything that you see differently about this topic that is genuinely quite hard to replicate? That's really where those people who see like exponential growth thrive. Let's take Chitty Ashley

growth thrive. Let's take Chitty Ashley for example. Her content is documenting

for example. Her content is documenting her building hotels in Bali, building her own house in Bali. This is such a unique perspective on property development, on financial independence,

on travel that I'm pretty sure hardly anyone will be able to replicate. I know

most people will not have a story like that that they can tell, but I need to share this tip with you just in case you do because if you have something like that that's heavily unique, that is genuinely your ticket to exponential growth. But also, don't stress if you

growth. But also, don't stress if you don't have that. Like, I don't have that either. Now, since this video is a

either. Now, since this video is a course and I'm determined to overd deliver, I'm going to give you some bonus tips that are going to really help you nail your topics the next time you sit down to film. Obviously, what you want to film about is going to come from

your audience, what they like and what they dislike. All that information we

they dislike. All that information we just broke down. But if you ever want a little bit more help to really come up with a video topic that you think is going to really help you get those views and impressions up, I recommend you go

to trends.google.com google.com and you

to trends.google.com google.com and you play around with the interface to find what people are searching for on Google in relation to your audience or to that topic, right? Spend some time playing

topic, right? Spend some time playing with that because that is first party data which Google is giving us which is clearly telling us what people are interested in and when. Another thing

that you might want to explore and this might be surprising to you is actually Tik Tok Studio. Now, I know we're talking about YouTube, but I also know that most kind of trending topics, so things that people are currently really interested in, most of those topics

start on Tik Tok. So, if you download Tik Tok Studio, you'll be able to see what people are searching for in relation to your content or any content.

You can use a search bar, and that's also going to give you a flavor of like what's trending right now, what's really interesting, but always through the lens of your audience. The final place you want to look is Reddit because whilst I said that most conversations start on

Tik Tok, they also start on Reddit. Add

in some keywords that are related to your audience and see what people are talking about. What questions are people

talking about. What questions are people asking? Can you answer them in a video?

asking? Can you answer them in a video?

Etc., etc. Now, whilst the topics you pick should always be related to your audience, you don't always have to do this extensive research for every individual video. You really want to

individual video. You really want to talk about something as people are talking about it. If you get good at that, guys, it's one of the best ways to really get more impressions. You now

know everything you need to decide in week one. So, let's move on and let's

week one. So, let's move on and let's talk about week two. Week two should be spent getting the right equipment and getting familiar with the equipment that you're using. Now, I've got good news

you're using. Now, I've got good news for you. You really don't need anything

for you. You really don't need anything fancy to start your YouTube channel.

Phones are so good nowadays. You can

literally just start with your phone. If

you do decide to film with your phone, you need to follow these steps. First of

all, film with these back cameras. The

back cameras are always more high quality than the front. I also have a recommendation that lots of people don't tend to agree with. I think that you should try out using cinematic mode. Let

me actually show you the difference.

This is cinematic mode. Can you see how it's made the background blurry? I

really like this effect and I really like that you can get this effect on your phone without having to use a really expensive camera setup. Now, I

also want you to amend your camera settings. You can do this on any phone,

settings. You can do this on any phone, but obviously the screen recording that you're seeing is from my iPhone. So,

keep that in mind. I want you to go to your settings, type in camera, and then click on the camera option. It's going

to allow you to change your settings so that every time you open up your camera, this will be the default setting. Now,

listen up because the settings are going to change depending on the type of content that you're filming. For

standard sitdown videos, you want 4K 30fps. If you want to create more of a

30fps. If you want to create more of a cinematic feel, then you might want to use 4K at 24 fps. But just try that and see if you like it. Now, with vlogs and motion, you want to use 4K 60 fps. This

is usually what you'll see people recommend that you use full stop, but I do truly believe it's only worth using if you're going to be vlogging and stuff. That's what my settings currently

stuff. That's what my settings currently are. And the reason why is because if I

are. And the reason why is because if I use my camera to film, it's because I'm out and about and I'm filming part of a vlog. You also may want to consider

vlog. You also may want to consider turning on ProRes. Now, ProRes is a setting you want to use if you're going to be big into the editing portion of filming content, like color grade, which

is when you change the colors of the video and all that good stuff. Like, you

really want full control over the video content itself, then you might want to turn on ProRes. Warning, it takes up a lot of storage. So much so that I actually don't turn that setting on because I mean, I've got like 20,000

videos and photos on my phone. I don't

have the space. So, if you have the space, go for it. My advice is always to upgrade your camera and your other kit which will come on to when you are starting to make money from your YouTube channel. So once you start to earn

channel. So once you start to earn money, I recommend reinvesting it. This

is my advice to everyone because most of us don't just have money hanging around when we first start our YouTube channel.

I certainly didn't. When you're ready to upgrade though, these are my recommendations. If you're a vlogger, I

recommendations. If you're a vlogger, I recommend the DJI Osmo Pocket. This is

my absolute best friend. Has a built-in gimbal, so all your footage is going to be very still. Also, it's absolutely tiny. If we take off this bit,

tiny. If we take off this bit, tiny camera, which if you get a bit nervy like I do when you're filming in public, makes a lot easier for you to vlog in front of strangers. If you're

not a vlogger and you're going to do more sit down talking head videos, then I recommend the Sony Alpha 7C. That is

the bad boy camera that I am currently using. Now, at the time of filming, you

using. Now, at the time of filming, you can get the Osmo Pocket Creator Kit. So,

like with the little stand and the memory card and all that for about £500 to 600. The Sony Alpha 7C is about

to 600. The Sony Alpha 7C is about £1,200.

And I have a big lens on it, which is a Sony 16 to35 millimeter lens. And that

lens cost about £1,500. So this whole setup, what's the math? Let's do some quick math. You can do this, Jay.

quick math. You can do this, Jay.

£2,700. That doesn't sound right. I feel

like it was over three grand.

Regardless, this setup is around £3,000.

So it's a significant investment. I only

got this camera and this lens like 3 or 4 years into my journey as a creator.

I'm basically saying don't rush to get it. Of course, links to all the

it. Of course, links to all the equipment that I'm talking about is in the description. The next thing is your

the description. The next thing is your audio. Now, if you're going to do short

audio. Now, if you're going to do short form only, you can get away with no audio or maybe even getting like the old school wired headphones that I've been using in my short form content recently because when you hold it the right way, the audio is actually pretty good. But

if you're going to be doing any long form content, you are going to need some form of microphone from the jump. My

recommendation is the DJI mic, which is here. I bought this microphone holder

here. I bought this microphone holder thing for like a 10R from Amazon. It's a

wireless microphone which has internal storage, which means you don't have to sync it to the camera in order for it to record. So, right now I'm recording

record. So, right now I'm recording audio and it's being saved directly to the mic. This is useful if you're like

the mic. This is useful if you're like me and sometimes have audio syncing issues because it means you always have a backup, but it does mean you have to sync the clips when you're editing. So,

keep that in mind. And then we have lighting. Thanks to this beautiful world

lighting. Thanks to this beautiful world that we're living in, light comes from the sun and that light is free. I know,

groundbreaking information you're being shared here. So, depending on the

shared here. So, depending on the content you're filming, you can just get started using natural light. Just keep

in mind that if you live in England, you know, the sun's not out very often. So,

just keep that in mind. If you want to have artificial lighting, I do recommend either getting a softbox kit, what looks like this, or a panel lighting kit, which looks like this. I use the panel lighting kit because they're very light

and easy to move around. And I use them when I do like my short form content as well, and it becomes a whole faf if they're too big. If you're using artificial lighting, the best beginner setup is to have two lights. One is

going to be directly in front of you, slightly above the camera, and facing forward. Other one is going to be to the

forward. Other one is going to be to the side of your face and illuminate you from that side. If you're filming in a room that has natural light as well, you have to balance everything against each other. So, I have like big like window

other. So, I have like big like window door situation to my garden, which I don't want to ruin with blackout blinds.

So, I have to counteract that light and some skylights, which I mean, these are great problems to have. But, just keep the overall balance of light in mind when you're filming. And if you do want to use blackout curtains, like I used to in the last place I used to live, then

go ahead and get some cuz that can really help you give more control over the lighting in the space. And also

guys, don't forget about your storage.

You need to get some memory cards. I

recommend SanDisk. They're always my favorite. Let's move on to week number

favorite. Let's move on to week number three. Okay, week three. We are now

three. Okay, week three. We are now setting up our YouTube channel. So, this

is very exciting. Things are really starting to happen, guys. Now, I'm going to get my laptop out for this and I'm going to record my screen cuz I want you to literally see step by step how this can be done. Also, a reminder, if you need a bit more hands-on help with this

phase or like any part of your journey, you are more than welcome to join my private Discord community for creators.

The link is in my description and you get a free trial and I can help you through the process. Okay, I just created a brand new YouTube account from scratch. So, don't tell me I'm not

scratch. So, don't tell me I'm not committed to this bit, right? I created

a new YouTube channel from scratch so that I can show you this process step by step. You head to youtube.com, you click

step. You head to youtube.com, you click sign in, you create an account, you enter your email address, a password, and then you're taken to the YouTube homepage. What I then want you to do is

homepage. What I then want you to do is click on the button up here and click YouTube Studio. It's then going to

YouTube Studio. It's then going to switch you over to the back end of your YouTube channel. So, this is actually

YouTube channel. So, this is actually where most creators spend most of their time is in their YouTube studio, right?

You might want to go ahead and just bookmark this as well, so it's easy for you to find this the next time you open up your browser. Now, what I want you to do is actually complete the two-step verification to secure your account.

This isn't actually a real account. I'm

going to delete it after this demo, so I'm just going to click dismiss. What

you want to do first is head to the customization tab. This is where you

customization tab. This is where you change your profile photo, add a banner, etc. When it comes to a profile photo, you normally want to pick a photo of your face, unless you are representing a

group of people or a company, but even with a company, I still recommend having some kind of face there. Humans relate

to people more than they do like logos.

So, I almost always recommend having your face as the profile photo. So,

let's just pick a quick photo of me. All

right. So, this is just a head shot from me. There we go. Great. That's my new

me. There we go. Great. That's my new profile photo. Choose your name. Make

profile photo. Choose your name. Make

sure you're happy with your handle as well. Like obviously the actual Jade Bon

well. Like obviously the actual Jade Bon handle was taken so it's given me that one but change it if you want to. This

is also where you want to add your description. Now with your description,

description. Now with your description, this is your opportunity to have a lasting impact with anyone who's digging into your channel. So you want to write something that feels very authentic to you, very much in your tone of voice, and something that describes your

channel and what you're going to be talking about. If we go to my YouTube

talking about. If we go to my YouTube channel, you can see that mine reads, "Bridge the gap between creating content you love and earning an income." And

then say, "Hello, beautiful people. I'm

Jade. I'm a content creator. Blah, blah,

blah. This is a bit about me. I've got

emojis in there. I'm saying hello beautiful people. Like I'm trying to

beautiful people. Like I'm trying to write how I would normally speak so people could pick up on my vibe and my personality as soon as possible. Right?

It doesn't have to be something super super detailed. It does just have to be

super detailed. It does just have to be reflective of you and your content. What

you then want to do is scroll to the top and figure out your banner. Now, this

can sometimes be a bit tricky. So, I'm

going to show you the method that I use to do this. Now, the reason why this is sometimes tricky is because people can watch your YouTube channel from a bunch of different devices. So, you can see here I've picked like a random photo from a photo shoot. And what YouTube is

doing is showing me how it's going to look on TV. So this big section here, that's how it's going to look on TV.

You're going to see the whole photo. On

desktop, you're going to see this section. And all devices, you're going

section. And all devices, you're going to see this. So as great as I would have thought this photo would be, realistically, if you're going on like your laptop on my YouTube channel, you would just see my little face pop up

like this, which look, I think would be a bit intense. So, to avoid constantly uploading different photos and trying to play around with them to see how it fits, what I recommend you do is you go on to Canva. Nowadays, I tend to use

Adobe Express or Pixar, but regardless of what you're using, this method will work. Also, if you want to shortcut this

work. Also, if you want to shortcut this entire process and just have me send you like this template with all the instructions, click on the link in my description and I will send it to you for free via email. So, this template that I have right here that I will send

you is showing you how YouTube's banner works. What you want to do is drop it on

works. What you want to do is drop it on top of the image that you plan on using.

So, I would take this, I'd copy it, I'd paste it, and then I would mess with the transparency so that I can actually see in real time what this banner image is going to look like. Can you see? So, I'd

move it around. Like, for example, if I move it up here, cuz I know that I can move it around in the actual YouTube studio itself. It will help me figure

studio itself. It will help me figure out, is this photo the right fit? Do I

need to make it bigger or smaller? If I

want to add text to my banner, for example, I might want to write my upload frequency, which is really great for helping you set a standard and tell your audience that you're regularly sharing.

So maybe you want to say weekly uploads.

Maybe you want to write some text about what your content is about. This process

will allow you to do it because it allow you to ensure that the text is going to appear here. Do you see what I'm saying?

appear here. Do you see what I'm saying?

Cuz then all you have to do is delete the overlay, make sure you're happy with what you've created, export it, and then you can upload it as a banner. So, if

you go back into your YouTube channel, as you can see here, if we replace it and voila, I can save that as my banner.

Hit publish. Wait a few minutes. Don't

freak out if it doesn't appear straight away because it takes a little while to load. But then once you've waited a few

load. But then once you've waited a few minutes, you can click view channel and you'll see what it looks like. You can

see right now that it looks very similar to what my actual channel looks like because clearly I don't have any new ideas. Now, there are a few bonus things

ideas. Now, there are a few bonus things I want you to do cuz most people just stop there and that's not what I want you to do, right? We're doing this properly. So, I want you to scroll down

properly. So, I want you to scroll down and I want you to go to the video watermark section. This allows you to

watermark section. This allows you to upload a graphic, a logo, whatever, and it will be automatically added to all of your videos, but most importantly, it will be clickable. So, if someone sees

it pop up on the bottom right hand side of your video, they can click on that logo and they'll be prompted to subscribe to your channel. So, I

designed mine like this so that it looks like a YouTube subscribe button. I will

also send you this graphic if you just want to use it yourself if you click on the link below and get that YouTube channel pack that I spoke about completely for free. So people click on it and it takes them through to your channel and then hopefully they can have a little browse and decide to subscribe.

It's a small setting but it's pretty significant. Now once you've got some

significant. Now once you've got some videos up and running, which might be you already, you want to use the home tab to figure out the layout of your page. This is what mine currently looks

page. This is what mine currently looks like. The first section is a for you

like. The first section is a for you section. This is when YouTube's

section. This is when YouTube's algorithm figures out which videos the person who's looking at your channel is most likely to enjoy and shows them first, which I think is pretty cool. And

then I have a bunch of playlists which breaks down all of my videos based on the different topics I tend to talk about. So, I do it this way because it

about. So, I do it this way because it allows people to navigate through my channel and easily see what I tend to talk about the most, but also it helps them find the content that's most relevant to them and hopefully binge it.

Right? So, so if you're at the stage where you got a lot of content, I recommend you look into that. And then

also when you scroll down, you can start to see my community post, which I tend to use pretty regularly now. Not because

it helps me grow, but it just is great for engaging my audience and just keeping people up to date. Okay, week

four. We are now ready to start filming our first video. In order for us to do this, we first need to spend some time prepping our video because if we fail to prepare, then we prepare to fail. I like

live by that mantra. I prepare almost too much for pretty much everything in my life. I want you to sit down and

my life. I want you to sit down and figure out what it is that you're trying to say. What's the story line of your

to say. What's the story line of your vlog, for example, if that's what you're doing, just map out the key points that your video is going to cover so that you have a good idea of the structure and a good idea of what it is you're saying.

Right? I don't necessarily believe in scripting, especially in the early days, because it gets you too focused on the words you're saying rather than the message. So, instead, I recommend just

message. So, instead, I recommend just writing some bullet points on the message and what you're trying to get across. Now, you should have an idea of

across. Now, you should have an idea of the topics you want to talk about because we established how to come up with those in the first week, which was in the strategy week. So, if you skipped ahead, go back. So, now that you can see a rough outline of your video, I'm going

to give you some tips to make it better.

First of all, you might want to explore using AI. Now, the AI tool that I'm

using AI. Now, the AI tool that I'm currently using most is Claude. I never

recommend using AI to come up with like a script for a video or anything like that. That's why I wanted you to come up

that. That's why I wanted you to come up with the outline first. What you then might want to do is feed it into Claude to improve it. The best way to do that is to create a project and to give Claude some specific instructions for

that project that are related to your audience, what your angle is, all that strategic stuff that we set up at the start of this process. So, send that all to Claude in that project so it has all of the context it needs. Now, if you've

already filmed some videos, you might want to send the transcripts to Claude.

You can just follow the steps on the screen if you don't know how to get transcripts from old YouTube videos, but you might want to copy and paste the transcript and send that to Claude, too, just so it has a reference point for like how you normally speak and what

your style is. Now, there are some specific prompts that I want you to send to Claude in order for it to improve your video outline. Don't worry, I will include these exact prompts, plus potentially one or two bonus prompts, in

the YouTube pack that I've been talking about. So, click on the link in my

about. So, click on the link in my description or my pinned comment and I will send you an email with all of these little fiddly bits completely for free.

So, the first prompt is going to be about your hook. For example, you can ask Claude to give feedback on whether it thinks that your hook will speak directly to your audience and make people want to continue watching. You

can then also ask Claude to provide three to five different alternative hooks for you to consider. I also

recommend asking about the structure.

So, send the video outline and say, "Does this make sense?" Like, does the arc of this story and the structure actually make sense for my specific audience? and if it doesn't, how should

audience? and if it doesn't, how should I improve it? You also want to ask it to help you with retention. Do you remember at the start of this video where I explained like fundamentally how YouTube works as a platform and how retention is one of the most important growth

drivers? This is a great opportunity for

drivers? This is a great opportunity for you to improve your retention by asking Claude, "Where do you think people might drop off on my video based on this outline? Like, where do you think people

outline? Like, where do you think people are going to lose interest?" Or that thing, you know, when you feel like you've got fluff on your face or like a hair on your face, but you can't find it. I'm going to watch back this footage

it. I'm going to watch back this footage and there's going to be like a big hair obviously on my face. So, that's going to be awkward. I also recommend asking Claude, "What do you think the value of this video is?" Hopefully, she'll figure it out and be like, "I actually think

this is valuable because of XY Z." But

if it's struggling, then you know you need to work on the value. And then

there's the final sense check. So, you

could just send the outline to Claude and say, "I'm about to film this. Is

there anything I'm missing? Is there

anything I should be considering?" And

just see what it says. Click the link below if you want those exact prompts just sent for free to you by email. And

also, don't forget few bonus prompts as well. Now, I want you to both prep your

well. Now, I want you to both prep your video and film your video in the same week. So, we're in week four. Do it in

week. So, we're in week four. Do it in the same week. This way, your prep session is like just before your filming session, so it's all fresh in your mind.

It makes it easier to film. Speaking of

it being easier to film, here are some tips to follow to really improve your on camera presence. The first is eye

camera presence. The first is eye contact. So rich me saying this. In my

contact. So rich me saying this. In my

first few videos, I wasn't looking directly at the lens. And if you don't believe me, those videos are still live.

So, if you want to have a laugh, go ahead and do so. I wasn't looking at the lens because it made me feel more comfortable to look at like the preview screen, which is what I'm looking at right now, versus the lens.

Unfortunately, the way YouTube has developed, you know, I mentioned before it's the new TV. We have gotten to a point where most people want to kick off their journey by looking at the lens. If

you need to give yourself a few practice runs before you get familiar with the lens, please do so. But I do recommend that you get familiar looking at the lens as soon as you can because it makes such a difference when it comes to the connection with your audience. I also

promise you, it might feel weird at first, but it gets so easy. I feel so comfortable speaking to a camera lens now. Some may say too comfortable. I

now. Some may say too comfortable. I

don't know. I also want you to film when you feel most creative. We all have different archetypes, right? Which means

we all feel more energized and creative at different times of the day. I'm a

morning person. I know I'm insufferable.

I know. But I love the mornings. So

therefore, I film in the mornings. You

might be an evening person or maybe a midday person. Figure out when you feel

midday person. Figure out when you feel the most confident and creative and film. Then that's a great segue to talk

film. Then that's a great segue to talk about where you should be filming as well. When you are first starting out or

well. When you are first starting out or when you are just getting back into the swing of things, you need to be filming where you feel comfortable. So, whilst I know you might want to start vlogging out and about straight away, at least pick areas that you feel comfortable

vlogging in. If you're going to film at

vlogging in. If you're going to film at home, film in the room that you feel most comfortable in. If you need to film when your partner or your best friend isn't in the house, so you don't feel conscious of them listening to you, fine, do it. You need to do everything you need to do to make yourself feel

comfortable in the early days. And

slowly as you get more and more comfortable on camera, you can start to make things more challenging like filming in front of your best friend or filming and vlogging outside. Right?

Don't do too much too soon. A few final things that we need to cover before we move into week five because as I mentioned at the start of this video, retention is such an important growth driver for your channel. You do need to

make sure you're hitting these key points when it comes to storytelling and creating a video that people really want to watch before and during filming your content. Right? The first is a hook. We

content. Right? The first is a hook. We

all probably know this by now. Your

first few seconds of your video are the most important. Go back and watch the

most important. Go back and watch the hook of this video if you want to see what I did. I always try to have a few different elements to my hook. There's

the words that I'm saying. They're the

images and the graphics that are appearing on the screen and maybe even another audio element like music or something as well. So try and think about using few different elements and really nailing down a hook that's going to speak directly to your audience. I

have a whole deep dive video on hooks. I

will link to it up here. The other thing to consider is what is the story you're trying to tell? What's the beginning, the middle, and the end? Who are the main characters in your video? Do you

want to use B-roll like the examples on the screen to really bring the story to life? If you would like a full

life? If you would like a full comprehensive list on all the different B-roll shots that you might want to capture for your content, I actually include them in my better content bundle, which again is another freebie because apparently I have a lot of free

stuff. It's available via the link in my

stuff. It's available via the link in my description. Also, just a really quick

description. Also, just a really quick one before we move on. I'm sorry.

Promise this is important. When you are filming, if you film a clip that you're not going to use, delete it straight away. It will save you so much mental

away. It will save you so much mental energy and frustration when you get to the editing phase, which is the next phase in week five. Also, please note that all of these tips are relevant for long form and short form. You need a hook, you need a story, all of that

stuff. You need it for long and short.

stuff. You need it for long and short.

Okay, week five. We're getting there, guys. We're getting there. If you are

guys. We're getting there. If you are enjoying this so far, can you drop me a comment or something? Because it feels so detailed and so long, but it's also really important information. So, I'm

not going to stop. Let's keep going. In

week five, we are going to be editing that beautiful video that you just filmed. Now, there are some rough things

filmed. Now, there are some rough things to keep in mind when you're editing your video. The first is to cut everything

video. The first is to cut everything that's not serving the viewer. This can

feel quite dramatic, but one of the most important parts of your video when it comes to retention is keeping the pace up so that you don't lose people halfway through the video, right? In order for you to do that, you need to cut out parts of the video that don't serve the

story or serve the audience. For

example, if you're filming a vlog and you've got a bunch of footage of you traveling from one place to another, great. That's part of the story. It's

great. That's part of the story. It's

helping people follow the fact that you're now somewhere else. However, take

a look at how long that footage is because you moving from one place to another, not speaking to the camera, just seeing the trains you're getting on, just seeing your feet walking probably shouldn't last a few minutes.

Should probably only be a few seconds, right? Alternatively, if you're doing a

right? Alternatively, if you're doing a sitdown video like the one that I'm doing now, and you end up finding yourself on a tangent that isn't entertaining, funny, or even really related to what you're speaking about, you should probably cut that, too. Yes,

I've done that many times and not cut it. I know no one's perfect. I want you

it. I know no one's perfect. I want you to be better than me, though, and cut it out. Also remember, you're not making a

out. Also remember, you're not making a film, or at least I don't think you're making a film. You're just trying to create something that is watchable and valuable to your audience. Also, the

last thing to mention before we talk about what tools you should be using to edit, get rid of that intro. If you're

creating a show, keep the intro in. I

get it. If you are creating an intro that's like coming up and it's showing what you're about to feature, like the most exciting parts of your vlog, great.

Keep that in. If you've got that generic intro what's like cute little animated version of yourself for 15 seconds and then your name appears on the screen for another 15 seconds and then it's got some cute music and then like a fade out

for 15 seconds. We're not wasting 45 seconds of your audience's time on a cute graphic. Those days are over. Max

cute graphic. Those days are over. Max

you can have an intro that's 5 seconds long max. Remember people's attention

long max. Remember people's attention spans are very short. Okay, we have to accommodate that. In terms of what you

accommodate that. In terms of what you should use to edit because I know this is what you're probably thinking. I have

different recommendations depending on where you're at in your journey. If you

are a beginner or if you're filming like a podcast style content, which podcasts do very well on YouTube by the way, then I recommend that you use Riverside.

Riverside is a cloud-based editor which has a bunch of AI tools which makes it very easy for you to edit footage quickly. They are not sponsoring this

quickly. They are not sponsoring this video, but they are one of my long-term sponsors. I should flag that. That does

sponsors. I should flag that. That does

mean that I do have a discount code where you can get 15% off when you upgrade to Riverside Plan. So, I'll

include that in the link below. But

essentially, it has a bunch of tools which allows you to do things like remove the pauses in your video so the pacing is quick, enhance the audio with just one click, remove filler words so that your pacing is better. Like, it has a bunch of tools. I'll link to a video

where I talk about it in a bit more detail up here. Great for beginners, it's great for podcast creators. If

you're someone who wants something a bit more advanced and that's like a desktop app, so it's literally sitting on your laptop because you really want to give like editing a proper go. I respect it.

There are so many different ones you can use. A lot of them are quite similar. my

use. A lot of them are quite similar. my

editor, because I do have a very talented editor. I should flag that. I

talented editor. I should flag that. I

actually edit very small amounts of my content nowadays. It's mostly like my

content nowadays. It's mostly like my Tik Toks. My editor uses Adobe Premiere

Tik Toks. My editor uses Adobe Premiere Pro. If that's wrong, editor, please

Pro. If that's wrong, editor, please just cross that out on the screen and write what you actually use. I'm pretty

sure that's what you use. But back in my day, I started my editing journey using iMovie. So, I still recommend Riverside

iMovie. So, I still recommend Riverside for beginners, but if you're going to start the whole desktop editing world, iMovie is a good like way in. Then I

moved to Da Vinci Resolve because it was free. But I also know creators who use

free. But I also know creators who use Final Cut Pro and absolutely love it. So

really, if you want to give editing a go, and I I can't stress this enough, I don't think people who don't find joy in editing need to be using like pro tools like that. I really think you should

like that. I really think you should just be using Riverside. But if you want to really dedicate your time to learning how to edit like the pros, like my editor, who's very much a pro, then those are the tools that you want to explore. Now, since we're talking about

explore. Now, since we're talking about my editor, let's talk about outsourcing and when you should hire an editor. I

recommend that you outsource and get an editor as soon as you have the income to afford to do so. The only exception to this rule is if you love editing. If you

love editing, keep it. Why get rid of the thing that you love? Keep it.

Continue doing it. You'll just get better and better. I'm very happy for you. For everyone else, us mortals, we

you. For everyone else, us mortals, we need to outsource it quickly if we don't love it because editing is likely going to be the thing that takes the most amount of time out of all of the tasks you need to do to run your channel. So,

when you have that income, when you're earning money from your channel, that's when you want to reinvest it and get an editor. And if you're wondering, but how

editor. And if you're wondering, but how do I earn money from my channel? I have

a whole video on it. You can watch it here. If you don't know how to find your

here. If you don't know how to find your editors, I usually recommend looking at freelancer websites to get started. So,

Upwork, Fiverr. I also recommend asking for recommendations. Always do a trial

for recommendations. Always do a trial with a few different editors first so you can compare what they create. And

just know that you're never going to find an editor that gets it right the first time. You have to work closely

first time. You have to work closely with your editor in order to get to a stage where you're happy with the output. Editors can't polish a turd.

output. Editors can't polish a turd.

Not the nicest phrase, but do you know what I mean? Like the final result, that video, it really is down to you. It's

down to what you filmed. It's down to the instructions you've given the editor. It's down to the feedback you

editor. It's down to the feedback you give the editor. It's not their job to make something average into something incredible. Gosh, that was a harsh

incredible. Gosh, that was a harsh moment. But let's just move on. Right.

moment. But let's just move on. Right.

Tough love. Week six. All right. It's

time to dive into thumbnails, titles, and descriptions. I'm willing to bet

and descriptions. I'm willing to bet that a lot of you have skipped ahead to this section. Naughty, you've missed out

this section. Naughty, you've missed out a lot of context. You do you. I know

it's a long video. I recommend watching the whole thing, but what do I know? So,

if we think back to the first part of this video where I explained the fundamental rules to YouTube growth.

You'll remember that one of the core growth drivers was your click-through rate. So, that's how many times people

rate. So, that's how many times people click when they see your video appear, right? It's a core driver. It's second

right? It's a core driver. It's second

in that funnel that I broke down, which means this section is very important because your thumbnails and your titles are the sole elements of your video that's going to get someone to click on it. Obviously, the topic comes into it

it. Obviously, the topic comes into it as well, but we've spoken about the topic. For now, we're just focusing on

topic. For now, we're just focusing on your thumbnails and your titles. So,

some core things you need to know about your thumbnails and titles in order for you to really leverage these assets properly. The first is that you should

properly. The first is that you should treat your thumbnails like an advert.

They're basically an advert for the video itself. The second is that people

video itself. The second is that people tend to look at your thumbnail before they read your title. So, they look at your thumbnail first and then they look at your title. It's just important to keep that in mind when you're designing your thumbnail and when you're thinking

about what text you're going to put on your thumbnail because really the text on your thumbnail should be different to the text on your title because otherwise you're kind of wasting an opportunity to say something that really lands with your audience. And the fourth is that

your audience. And the fourth is that your thumbnails and your titles should set an expectation that you must fulfill. If you don't remember anything

fulfill. If you don't remember anything from this entire video, I want it to be this. Actually, there's other things I

this. Actually, there's other things I need you to remember, but this is important, right? I interviewed the vice

important, right? I interviewed the vice president of engineering at YouTube.

Yeah, Christos Goodro, I also shared the full video up here. He is literally the guy who's in charge of YouTube's algorithm. Like, this was a huge get for

algorithm. Like, this was a huge get for me. If you want to dive into the

me. If you want to dive into the algorithm, I do recommend that you watch that entire interview. Now, something

that he made very clear to me is that the way YouTube currently works is that it values viewer satisfaction over all else. So if you've created a thumbnail

else. So if you've created a thumbnail that is clickbait, so therefore people click on it because you've set an expectation and then you don't deliver in the video itself. So people drop off, your content will not be recommended.

Okay? Remember we spoke about the fundamentals of growth on YouTube and how retention and impressions are just as important as your clicks. That's why.

So thumbnails, there's no one-izefits-all recommendation for thumbnails. I know that's a bummer.

thumbnails. I know that's a bummer.

Realistically, the type of thumbnail that you need for your content is going to depend on the video and your audience and all that good stuff. This thumbnail

is stunning and works very well for its audience. It is a travel video about

audience. It is a travel video about Germany and therefore it has very little text and it's mostly visuals of landscapes, right? The text itself says

landscapes, right? The text itself says Germany top 10. This works perfectly for its audience because these landscapes aren't what you normally think of when you think about Germany. Therefore, when

people see it, they're like, "Ah." And

it makes people want to click. On the

other hand, you have this thumbnail, which is different, but arguably still about travel. The difference with this

about travel. The difference with this video is that this one is more of a vlog. Therefore, you've got the

vlog. Therefore, you've got the creator's face in it. Very important.

You've even got a pet in it. Even

better. If you've got a pet, get that pet in your thumbnail videos. Like, as

long as it's relevant to the video.

People love pets. Where's my pet? I just

watched myself. Where's my dog? Oh,

she's in a crate. She's also got like a draw screen situation. On one side of it, she's got photos of cherry blossoms, which is what people think about when they think about spring in Tokyo. She

might not have even taken that photo of the cherry blossoms. That could be a stock image. It doesn't matter. As long

stock image. It doesn't matter. As long

as she's talking about the cherry blossoms and showing them in the video itself. this thumbnail works. And then

itself. this thumbnail works. And then

you have this thumbnail, which is completely against most of the rules that you would have to follow for a thumbnail. It doesn't have text in it,

thumbnail. It doesn't have text in it, which I do recommend all beginners have, right? Text is a great opportunity for

right? Text is a great opportunity for you to bring to light what the video is about and really capture your audience's attention. There's one photo in it, and

attention. There's one photo in it, and it doesn't really show anything going on. This is a creator named Meline. I'm

on. This is a creator named Meline. I'm

pretty sure you guys will be familiar with her. It's just her in her car. This

with her. It's just her in her car. This

works because she's famous. Make no

mistake, most of us can't do this. we

end up starting our journey doing something like this and we're like, "Oh my god, well, I didn't get clips cuz Meline did that." We're not her. We

can't do that, right? So, let's remove that one from the screen because we're not following that. Now, for you to figure out your own thumbnail style, you have to think about your audience and the content you're creating. So, I want you to always ensure you've got text on

your thumbnail, and the text itself needs to be something eye-catching. It

needs to be something engaging. Do not

include anything descriptive. This is a great example of a thumbnail from Justine, whose content I absolutely love. I will link to her channel below.

love. I will link to her channel below.

She's not describing what the video is about, but she's saying something that's going to get your attention. I also

recommend that you challenge yourself to get creative. This is more of a new tip

get creative. This is more of a new tip coming from me. To stand out on YouTube nowadays, you want to go with a thumbnail that maybe isn't the most obvious design. This is a mistake that I

obvious design. This is a mistake that I made for a long time. I stuck to the same design style and it got too obvious. It got too boring. If you look

obvious. It got too boring. If you look at another example from Justine's page, which is this thumbnail, I think this is a really great example of a thumbnail that has a really engaging but different video, great text overlaid, but also looks quite unique and interesting

because of the angle. Get creative.

Don't put yourself in the box of doing the same style that I did for so long where it was just me putting a face and then text to the side of the screen.

Forget that. Get creative. Mix it up.

Because actually, the more creative you get with the thumbnails, the more likely you are to get clicks. Now, when it comes to your titles, you've got a little bit less flexibility. The reason

why is because if you've gone for something super eye-catching in your thumbnail, which I hope you have, you do then need to anchor your video with the titles because your audience still needs to know what your video is about. So,

your title is your opportunity to do that. My biggest tip for writing titles

that. My biggest tip for writing titles is to use AI. So, get your Clawude open or whatever AI system you want to use and get that project open that we created previously. If you've not

created previously. If you've not skipped ahead, then you'll know what I'm talking about. Get the project open,

talking about. Get the project open, right? And I want you to draft your own

right? And I want you to draft your own title. Maybe you're filming a vlog and

title. Maybe you're filming a vlog and you want to figure out how to package the vlog so that people who don't follow you care about the vlog. If that's the case, you want to find like the most engaging part of that vlog. Maybe it's

that you passed your driving test and that's what you want to lead with in the title. Let's say you're new to this and

title. Let's say you're new to this and you just want to write vlog. I passed my driving test, right? Ask AI to come up with 20 alternatives to that title. You

may not pick the ones it sent, but it's going to start to have you thinking about the different ways that you can get that message across. If you really want to take it to the next level, pick the title that sparks curiosity, right?

So, in that example with the driving test, instead of saying vlog, I passed my driving test, I would probably want to say something like, I can't believe this happened at my driving test. That

way they don't know if you passed or not, so they watch to find out, right?

You may steal that one. So, now that you have some thumbnail ideas, some title ideas, you want to use the AB testing feature inside YouTube Studio because this allows you to test three different thumbnails, three different titles, and

therefore figure out which one people are responding to the most. Some tips

here is you want to start by making small changes to your title, small changes to your thumbnail for each. If

you keep on doing that and you're noticing that all the results are kind of the same, like they're kind of all around 33%. Then you might want to try

around 33%. Then you might want to try making more drastic changes because you want to get to a point where you're doing this test and you're seeing a clear outlier, like you're seeing one title or one thumbnail that clearly is

the one that's performing the best. You

can then use this information to inform your future thumbnails and future titles. Other things to keep in mind

titles. Other things to keep in mind when you're uploading this video, right?

You've got your thumbnails, you've got your titles, great. You also need a description. So, you want to be

description. So, you want to be describing what your video is about. In

this description, you want to include chapters. When I spoke to Renee Richie,

chapters. When I spoke to Renee Richie, who is a creator liazison officer at YouTube a few months ago, he explained that chapters actually increase the chances of people watching more of your video because it gives them the chance

to navigate through your video and find the bit that's most of use to them, right? So, include chapters in your

right? So, include chapters in your video. If you don't know how to format

video. If you don't know how to format them, I'll include it in my YouTube pack that I will send to you for free via email if you click the link in my description. Last but not least, your

description. Last but not least, your end screen. I will live and die on this

end screen. I will live and die on this hill. They're basically this interactive

hill. They're basically this interactive feature where you can add a link to your playlist or to a video or like a subscribe button that will appear on your video within the last 20ish seconds of it playing. And you may have noticed

that I use end screens on all of my videos. But I don't just use them. I use

videos. But I don't just use them. I use

them in this very specific way to get the most out of this feature. You want

to pitch a video that you want your audience to watch next. Okay? So the

second your video is wrapped up, you want to immediately be pitching them to watch something else. Not only that, but the video you want to pitch next ideally should be one that's somewhat similar to the video that they just watched. The

reason why is because if this next video is similar, it's more likely that your audience would want to watch it cuz they just watched that whole video, right?

This works for so many reasons. It's

going to get people to immediately watch your video next and not someone else's, right? Which is going to allow them to

right? Which is going to allow them to kind of binge your content, which is great for YouTube. YouTube loves to see when people do that. It helps you increase your watch out. Like, it's all just good. Even if they choose not to

just good. Even if they choose not to watch that next video, you're demonstrating that you've got more content that they would be interested in. So, they're just going to see you as

in. So, they're just going to see you as a creator that they should check back on or subscribe to so they can continue consuming your content in the future.

Week seven. Oh my god, I can't believe I'm still filming this video. It's been

hours. Week seven is going to be all about batching because we've gotten to the point where you have your strategy, you have your kit, you've filmed, you've edited, and you've uploaded your first video, which we're very, very excited about. What I now want you to do is

about. What I now want you to do is batch some content because this is going to help you with your consistency, right? And consistency is obviously very

right? And consistency is obviously very important. Now, long-term viewers of my

important. Now, long-term viewers of my content will be very shocked to know that I have changed my approach to batching. I used to love batching. Oh my

batching. I used to love batching. Oh my

god, I still love it. However, what I used to do was batch like a month, 2 months, I mean, I think in the early days like 3 months worth of content up front because then it allowed me to like

chill and zen out for a bit. However, we

can't do that anymore. Social media has changed. It's now become so reactive and

changed. It's now become so reactive and so trendled that if you batch too much content too far in advance, the chances of all of that content still being relevant are actually quite low, but also the chances of you missing out on

great things to talk about becomes quite high. So instead, I want you to use this

high. So instead, I want you to use this system. When you sit down to film your

system. When you sit down to film your videos, whether they're short form videos or long form videos, I want you to always try and film more than the video that you currently need. So, for

example, right now, I mean, the aim was to film three videos in this sitting, but this has taken so long that I'll probably only film two. But the point is is that I'm not just filming one. I've

set up, I've done my makeup, I've got all of this done. I'm not going to film just the one video. When I sit down to film short form videos, I will usually try and film four, maybe five in one go,

rather than the one to two that I actually only need to film, right? I'm

always trying to get ahead of the schedule. If you do that consistently

schedule. If you do that consistently and if you schedule regular filming slots consistently, you will naturally get ahead of schedule without being so far ahead that you're no longer relevant

or topical. Right? So that's the general

or topical. Right? So that's the general broad advice. It's no longer as

broad advice. It's no longer as structured as it used to be. Now, a pro tip for batching that I 100% stand by is that in order for you to get the most value out of batching, you need to separate each stage of this filming process and you need to batch all of

that together because this is what allows you to benefit from something called flow state. If you've got a filming session scheduled next week, because yes, I do recommend scheduling them in advance. If you've got one scheduled for next week and you know you're going to film five shorts, prep

five shorts in one go. Don't prep a short, film the short, edit the short, and then schedule it. I almost forgot that last part. Schedule it, right?

Don't do that. Prep for all five shorts in one go. Sit down and film all five shorts in one go. Then edit all the shorts in one go. And then schedule all the shorts in one go. that allows you to benefit from being in flow state from

doing one specific task in one chunk of time. If you split it up, then you're

time. If you split it up, then you're switching tasks too often, and then you don't end up getting one of the core benefits of batching. All right, week eight.

My throat is dry. I'm being so dramatic.

It's just this is the longest video I've ever done. Week eight, also known as the

ever done. Week eight, also known as the final week because yes, I do want you to launch and grow your YouTube channel in just two months. This week is all about growth tactics. This is the one that

growth tactics. This is the one that you're probably most excited for. I'm

going to say what I said earlier. If you

skipped ahead just cuz you want these growth tactics, you are missing out and these tactics won't work as well as they could work if you actually just watch the whole thing. Just saying. So, let's

break down some tactics that are designed to help you supercharge your growth. The first is slightly

growth. The first is slightly controversial. It's to imitate and then

controversial. It's to imitate and then innovate. What I'm referring to here is

innovate. What I'm referring to here is spending some time studying those in your niche who are successful. I want

you to study what they're doing. Have

you ever heard the phrase success leads clues? It's true. Success does leave

clues? It's true. Success does leave clues. This is why people join courses

clues. This is why people join courses because they're like, "Well, if I just follow what you've done, then I can get to the end result quicker." Right? This

is why you're watching this whole course itself because you're trying to get the shortcut. Another way to get shortcuts

shortcut. Another way to get shortcuts and a way that is more specific to you is to study the people who have come before you who are doing really well.

But the tip here isn't to study what they're doing and then copy it. It's

actually to innovate on what they're doing. So, you want to build on what

doing. So, you want to build on what they're doing. If they have a certain

they're doing. If they have a certain hook structure, amazing. How can you tweak that so it's a bit more aligned with you and your personality? If they

tend to talk about certain topics, great. Do those topics align with you?

great. Do those topics align with you?

And what is your angle on those topics?

So, you're not just copying what they're doing, you're innovating and improving on it. The next tactic is to capitalize

on it. The next tactic is to capitalize on cultural events. So, I did previously in this video, I think when we were talking about the strategy. I gave you some tips on how you could find trending topics in relation to your audience.

This tactic in particular takes it one step further. So, you're going to look

step further. So, you're going to look for big cultural moments that are happening on YouTube and capitalize on those, right? So this is things like the

those, right? So this is things like the World Cup because YouTube is an official FIFA World Cup partner, right? This is

things like the Oscars because the Oscars will be streamed on YouTube. I

think that starts in like 2029. These

are huge cultural moments that YouTube has a stake in and will therefore be pushing heavily on their platform. This

also means that you're going to get a bunch of people who are flocking to YouTube maybe for the first time in order to watch their favorite show or tournament, right? So whilst they're

tournament, right? So whilst they're doing that, capitalize on that by creating content that touches on these cultural moments but through your lens and for your audience. I spoke about this in a video recently and I had a

really good example if I do say so myself. My example would be if I wanted

myself. My example would be if I wanted to capitalize on this trend, I might create a video that's specifically about how you can become a football creator because my expertise is in the creator economy, right? So I can teach that but

economy, right? So I can teach that but people flocking to YouTube for the FIFA World Cup, they're going to be interested in football synergy. see if

you can find any synergies like that and really lean into them. Next tactic is to use Ask Studio. Ark Studio is the AI chatbot that is now integrated into your YouTube studio. You want to start using

YouTube studio. You want to start using this because all of the answers that Arc Studio gives you is based on your channel data. So, it's highly specific.

channel data. So, it's highly specific.

So, you want to get in the habit of regularly asking Ark Studio these questions. I'm just going to read them.

questions. I'm just going to read them.

That's why I'm looking down. So,

summarize the main themes in my recent comments. Right? So, it tells you what

comments. Right? So, it tells you what your audience are saying. Very, very

useful information. What topics should I cover based on my audience's interests?

Obviously very useful because it's going to give you real-time data about what your audience are searching for and why were my views so low on my last video or why were my clicks so low, my impressions so low, etc. Now, a lot of

these questions will work better once you've got some content going. So, keep

that in mind. But I will add these questions to that YouTube pack. So, as a reminder, if you want to get that pack for free, just click on the link in my description and I will send it to you.

Last, but certainly not least, collaborate. I literally harp on about

collaborate. I literally harp on about this all the time. I know this isn't an easy tactic, but it's by far one of the most powerful ones when it comes to your ability to grow. Old school YouTubers grew because they collaborated all the time. That was how they grew, right?

time. That was how they grew, right?

YouTube now has a feature which allows you to upload a video that will simultaneously appear on your channel and someone else's channel. This unlocks

so much opportunity for true collaborations and really allows you to get access to a whole new audience if you do decide to collaborate with another creator. Now, I know what you're

another creator. Now, I know what you're thinking. How do I find someone to

thinking. How do I find someone to collaborate with, though? That's so

difficult. Did I mention that I have a private community for creators that you can join for free? You get a free trial.

It's a very active community where everyone's always connecting, sharing tips, and collaborating with each other.

And also, I'm in there. I host live content audit. So, if you ever want me

content audit. So, if you ever want me to audit your post or your content, I can do that. And I just hang out in there and provide you personalized advice all the time. As I mentioned, you can get a free trial via the link in my description. Once you become a paid

description. Once you become a paid member, it's very affordable. You can

unlock benefits like my YouTube challenge, which is a three-month challenge, which is designed to help you double your YouTube subscribers in just a few months. Oh my god. Please let me know what you think about this. I would

love to do like deep dive courses like once a quarter on this channel. Let me

know if you liked it cuz like this took so much effort. The post-production is going to be wild. So, I need to know how you feel about the length of this video and about courses being on my YouTube channel. Full disclosure, I used to have

channel. Full disclosure, I used to have paid courses. I got rid of them so that

paid courses. I got rid of them so that I could create a community that's really affordable and really focus on the thing that people actually need, which is like connection and personalized advice. And

that means I have a lot of information that I've never shared on this channel that I can create courses for for free and share. But I just need to know that

and share. But I just need to know that you want that. So please let me know in the comment section. Thank you so much for watching so much. I love and appreciate you and I cannot wait to see you in my next