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Become the Brand You Want With Our Exclusive Set of FREE Graphics

50 FREE YouTube Banners - Come See Them All

Liza Brown

Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions

0

Having an attractive banner for your YouTube channel is important if you want to show the world you’re a serious creator. At filmora.io we want to help with every step of your YouTube journey, so we created 50 YouTube channel art templates which you can download for free here.

Click here to download 50 free YouTube banners, or keep reading to see them all!

Here’s what you’ll be getting:

  1. YouTube Banners for Beauty Channels
  2. Bright YouTube Banners
  3. YouTube Banners for Comedy Channels
  4. Comic Inspired YouTube Banners
  5. YouTube Banners for Education Channels
  6. Funky YouTube Banners
  7. Galaxy YouTube Banners Featuring Outer Space
  8. YouTube Banners for Gaming Channels
  9. Minimalist YouTube Banners
  10. YouTube Banners for Travel Channels

Free YouTube Banners

1. YouTube Banners for Beauty Channels

Beauty, makeup, fashion, and lifestyle YouTubers are always there with advice and tutorials, helping the world look and feel better with every video. These channel art templates reflect the different tones and messages found in the complex genre of beauty.

YouTube Beauty Banner

Beauty Banner 1: Simply Marble-ous

This clean-cut, pristine, marble patterned banner is perfect for the sophisticated beauty, lifestyle, or fashion YouTuber.

YouTube Beauty Banner

Beauty Banner 2: Diva On The Go

You’ve got a big personality, and this channel art will help it shine through! Perfect for bold, sassy, beautiful YouTubers.

YouTube Beauty Banner

Beauty Banner 3: Spa Day

This banner is simple, fun, and ideal for channels that have a positive message. It’s upbeat, but it’s not in your face.

YouTube Beauty Banner

Beauty Banner 4: Hello, Sunshine

Bright, upbeat, and sunshiney! This cheerful banner background feels young and fresh.

YouTube Beauty Banner

Beauty Banner 5: Cool Watercolors

Makeup is about creativity, and beauty can be about wellness. This restful, artistic, banner can communicate either of those messages clearly.

2. Bright YouTube Banners

These banners have pizazz! They aren’t designed for specific genres, but anyone who takes a positive, exciting, approach to their videos will probably find something to love in this section.

bright-youtube-banner-001

Bright Banner 1: Tropical Sunset

Hot pink and warm tangerine dusted with soft clouds. Whether you think it looks more like a sunset or a fruit smoothie, this banner is great for any channel with an upbeat message.

bright-youtube-banner-002

Bright Banner 2: Unicorn Swirl

This magical banner will let the world know there’s something special about your channel. Perfect for just about any type of channel!

bright-youtube-banner-003

Bright Banner 3: Sugary Goodness

This banner might be a donut, a cake with pink icing, or a yellow cliff at the edge of a field of sugar. Whatever it is, it’s quirky – just like you!

bright-youtube-banner-004

Bright Banner 4: Full Quirk

Denim and funky doodles are the perfect combinations for showing off your fun, creative, personality. This channel art is ideal for lifestyle and vlogging channels.

bright-youtube-banner-color-splat

Bright Banner 5: Color Splat

Creative, colorful, splatters might be the best way to let your viewers know they can expect fantastical things from you. This one’s great for any type of channel, but especially great for crafts and lifestyle.

3. YouTube Banners for Comedy Channels

A lot of viewers go to YouTube to laugh, and the banner for a comedy channel is all about letting someone who found one of your videos funny know there’s more like it on the way. There are banners here for different styles of comedy, so you can choose the one that fits your brand of funny.

youtube-banner-comedy-cat

Comedy Banner 1: This Cat Is Judging You

This funny-faced cat knows what you did, and he does not approve. This banner is a great way to show viewers you don’t take things too seriously.

youtube-banner-for-comedy-pizza

Comedy Banner 2: Pizza Forever

All of the pizza, all of the time. This banner might be good for a cooking channel, but it’s great for comedy YouTubers who like pizza.

youtube-comedy-banner-splotches

Comedy Banner 3: Bold Splotches

These bold dabs of color will work well with bold styles of comedy. This banner could also be great for edgier lifestyle channels.

youtube-comedy-banner-duck-invasion

Comedy Banner 4: Duck Invasion

In an endless sea of identical rubber duckies, you’re that wonderful bird that stands out! That’s what this banner means.

youtube-comedy-banner-theater

Comedy Banner 5: The Theater

This is a serious business comedy banner. It’s such serious business that it might actually be good for a short film channel.

4. Comic-Inspired YouTube Banners

These channel art templates were inspired by comic book artwork. They’ll be great for channels that talk about comics or comic book movies, but there’s also some great stuff here for comedy or gaming channels.

Comic Banner 1: Comic Chaos

Comic Banner 1: Comic Chaos

Thought bubbles, speech bubbles, and punch doodles abound! Whether you’re interested in comedy or media, this bold and bright banner certainly makes a statement.

Comic Banner 2: Epic Frames

Comic Banner 2: Epic Frames

This bright, exciting, banner is inspired by comic book panels. Whether you review all of the superhero movies, create your own epic comedy sketches, or have a particularly heroic life you like to vlog about – this channel art is for you.

Comic Banner 3: Heroic Flare

Comic Banner 3: Heroic Flare

Are you a hero in your own mind? This banner could be perfect for any type of channel, so long as the person running it has a larger-than-life personality.

Comic Banner 4: Defender of the City

Comic Banner 4: Defender of the City

This skyline drawn in a comic-book style would be perfect for any channel that focuses on life in a city, but it’s also great for comedy or media (tv, comics, gaming) focused channels.

Comic Banner 5: Mystical Rainbow Farts

Comic Banner 5: Mystical Rainbow Farts

There’s not much explaining to do here. Either you look at this unicorn, filling the sky with rainbow farts and loving it, and think ‘yes, that’s me or you don’t.

5. YouTube Banners for Education Channels

Whether you’re a teacher with a class you want to make videos for, or just someone with a lot of knowledge you want to share, you’ll find something in this section that’ll be perfect for your channel.

Education Banner 1: Thinkpiece

Education Banner 1: Thinkpiece

Whatever kind of knowledge you’re serving up, this banner shows that you want to get the gears in your viewers’ brains going.

Education Banner 2: Science Rules

Education Banner 2: Science Rules

Having a science channel means teaching viewers on the internet, whether they’re kids or adults, about the world and how it works. This banner will let viewers know to trust you for anything to do with science.

Education Banner 3: Creative Chalkboard

Education Banner 3: Creative Chalkboard

This banner says that you think learning should be fun! This is a better choice for a channel targeted toward kids or young people than the previous 2, but it’ll still work for something targeted at grownups.

Education Banner 4: Classroom

Education Banner 4: Classroom

This banner was designed with teachers in mind, but it’s a good choice for anyone who wants to educate kids.

Education Banner 5: Creative Learning

Education Banner 5: Creative Learning

Another great choice for teachers, this banner suggests you might be teaching subjects like art or music in addition to math and science.

6. Funky YouTube Banners

You’ll find a little bit of everything in this category. These banners weren’t designed for different types of YouTube channels; they were designed for different types of personalities. If you’re looking for something that communicates who you are loud and clear, you might find it in this section.

Funky Banner 1: Urban Graffiti

Funky Banner 1: Urban Graffiti

If this slightly punky banner matches your slightly edgy self then it could be perfect for vlogging, lifestyle, or even comedy.

Funky Banner 2: Minty Fresh

Funky Banner 2: Minty Fresh

This cool, crisp, channel art template is great for lifestyle or vlogging channels that are just a bit outside the norm.

Funky Banner 3: Hypno-Cloud

Funky Banner 3: Hypno-Cloud

The perfect banner if you want to hypnotize people into subscribing to you. It’s also a great way to show that you’re different. Or that you’re some kind of clown. Is clowning a genre on YouTube? If it is: here’s your banner!

Funky Banner 4: Prismatic

Funky Banner 4: Prismatic

A bright, modern, banner for bright, modern, YouTubers. It’s fun, but it’s smart. It’s quirky, but you should still take it seriously. If the tone of your channel is more complex than ‘upbeat’ or ‘serious’ then this could be your channel art.

Funky Banner 5: Pineapple Paradise

Funky Banner 5: Pineapple Paradise

This summer-inspired banner is both very on-trend, and a great seasonal choice for any lifestyle, beauty, or vlog channel.

7. Galaxy YouTube Banners Featuring Outer Space

Space-themed banners have become popular with a lot of different types of channels, from gaming to vlogging to comedy. We’ve put together some awesome space scenes for you to choose from.

Galaxy Banner 1: Colorful Space

Galaxy Banner 1: Colorful Space

Space can be beautiful and colorful, and it certainly is in this banner. You don’t have to be into science or sci-fi for this to be the perfect choice for you.

Galaxy Banner 2: Moonrise

Galaxy Banner 2: Moonrise

Whether you’re a gamer, sci-fi enthusiast, or just someone whose content is out of this world, writing your channel name on the surface of that moon will let everyone here on earth know you mean business.

Galaxy Banner 3: Mysterious Signs

Galaxy Banner 3: Mysterious Signs

Do you ever look up at the stars and just think about how tiny we are? This banner could work for almost any type of channel (besides makeup or fashion).

Galaxy Banner 4: Space Doodles

Galaxy Banner 4: Space Doodles

This banner would be great for an educational space or science channel. It could be fun for comedy too.

Galaxy Banner 5: Nebula

Galaxy Banner 5: Nebula

An epic, gorgeous, space scene that is both cool and inspiring. Are you cool or inspiring? Consider using this in your channel art.

8. YouTube Banners for Gaming Channels

Gaming is a huge category on YouTube! We’ve put together a selection of channel art templates for different kinds of games and gamers.

Gaming Banner 1: Inspired by Minecraft

Gaming Banner 1: Inspired by Minecraft

Inspired by the creative, blocky, game that’s taken the internet by storm! This is a channel art template for gamers whose channels focus on Minecraft.

Gaming Banner 2: Commando

Gaming Banner 2: Commando

It’s kill or be killed out there, but your mission is important and you’re going to see it through. Choose the channel art template that shows you’re serious about your work.

Gaming Banner 3: Special Ops

Gaming Banner 3: Special Ops

Mount the perfect tactical strike against YouTube viewers’ eyeballs with this gaming-themed channel art template.

Gaming Banner 4: Firepower

Gaming Banner 4: Firepower

Choose a banner that says you’ve got real skills to show off. This channel art template is inspired by shooters and tactical games.

Gaming Banner 5: Esports Champ

Gaming Banner 5: Esports Champ

This victorious blue banner will serve as a bright, confident, welcome to your channel.

9. Minimalist YouTube Banners

Sometimes the best way to express yourself doesn’t involve lots of images or crazy patterns. Sometimes, the best way to let your personality shine through is to get rid of all those distractions. These modern, minimalist, channel art templates were designed for YouTubers who like to keep things simple.

Minimalist Banner 1: Clean & Airy

Minimalist Banner 1: Clean & Airy

This tidy white and baby blue banner will be great for anybody who stresses balance and simplicity on their channels. It’s great for beauty, vlogging, lifestyle, and more.

Minimalist Banner 2: Serious Business

Minimalist Banner 2: Serious Business

Darker colors can make viewers think about power, efficiency, and sleekness. This is a great banner for a creator who wants to be taken seriously.

Minimalist Banner 3: Wood Grain

Minimalist Banner 3: Wood Grain

This clean, white-painted wood, background perfectly captures the minimalist aesthetic that has become so popular in design.

Minimalist Banner 4: Zen

Minimalist Banner 4: Zen

This serene channel art template will be ideal for anyone who champions wellness and good living on their channel.

Minimalist Banner 5: Parentheses

Minimalist Banner 5: Parentheses

Minimalism doesn’t have to be soft. This bold, simple, red banner is for YouTubers who want to be a bit louder.

10. YouTube Banners for Travel Channels

These channel art templates were made for every type of travel channel, from sunny vacations to outdoor adventures to trips around the world.

Travel Banner 1: Alpine Getaway

Travel Banner 1: Alpine Getaway

This channel art template is for creators who are also adventurers. Do you love going out into the big wild world and climbing mountains, hiking through forests, and riding rapids? This banner is for you.

Travel Banner 2: Wanderlust

Travel Banner 2: Wanderlust

This postcard-themed banner is for the globetrotting travel vlogger. Backpackers, and anyone else determined to see the world and make videos about it, might want to consider this channel art.

Travel Banner 3: Beachy

Travel Banner 3: Beachy

If your ideal getaway involves beaches, sunshine, and fruity drinks with umbrellas in them – and that’s reflected in your videos – then it’ll be hard for you to find a more perfect banner.

Travel Banner 4: Rugged Living

Travel Banner 4: Rugged Living

You are a trailblazer. Literally. You probably consider ‘ruggedness’ an important factor when picking out camera gear, because anything that travels with you is going to see its fair share of wear and tear.

Travel Banner 5: Globetrotte

Travel Banner 5: Globetrotter

This channel art template is for YouTubers who want to go everywhere and see everything. No viewer who clicks on your channel and sees this banner could mistake you for anything but a travel vlogger.

Which of these YouTube banners is your favorite? And which video editing software will you use to create YouTube videos? Here, I recommend you to try Wondershare Filmora video editor.

Download Filmora9 Win Version Download Filmora9 Mac Version

author avatar

Liza Brown

Liza Brown is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Liza Brown

Liza Brown

Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions

0

Having an attractive banner for your YouTube channel is important if you want to show the world you’re a serious creator. At filmora.io we want to help with every step of your YouTube journey, so we created 50 YouTube channel art templates which you can download for free here.

Click here to download 50 free YouTube banners, or keep reading to see them all!

Here’s what you’ll be getting:

  1. YouTube Banners for Beauty Channels
  2. Bright YouTube Banners
  3. YouTube Banners for Comedy Channels
  4. Comic Inspired YouTube Banners
  5. YouTube Banners for Education Channels
  6. Funky YouTube Banners
  7. Galaxy YouTube Banners Featuring Outer Space
  8. YouTube Banners for Gaming Channels
  9. Minimalist YouTube Banners
  10. YouTube Banners for Travel Channels

Free YouTube Banners

1. YouTube Banners for Beauty Channels

Beauty, makeup, fashion, and lifestyle YouTubers are always there with advice and tutorials, helping the world look and feel better with every video. These channel art templates reflect the different tones and messages found in the complex genre of beauty.

YouTube Beauty Banner

Beauty Banner 1: Simply Marble-ous

This clean-cut, pristine, marble patterned banner is perfect for the sophisticated beauty, lifestyle, or fashion YouTuber.

YouTube Beauty Banner

Beauty Banner 2: Diva On The Go

You’ve got a big personality, and this channel art will help it shine through! Perfect for bold, sassy, beautiful YouTubers.

YouTube Beauty Banner

Beauty Banner 3: Spa Day

This banner is simple, fun, and ideal for channels that have a positive message. It’s upbeat, but it’s not in your face.

YouTube Beauty Banner

Beauty Banner 4: Hello, Sunshine

Bright, upbeat, and sunshiney! This cheerful banner background feels young and fresh.

YouTube Beauty Banner

Beauty Banner 5: Cool Watercolors

Makeup is about creativity, and beauty can be about wellness. This restful, artistic, banner can communicate either of those messages clearly.

2. Bright YouTube Banners

These banners have pizazz! They aren’t designed for specific genres, but anyone who takes a positive, exciting, approach to their videos will probably find something to love in this section.

bright-youtube-banner-001

Bright Banner 1: Tropical Sunset

Hot pink and warm tangerine dusted with soft clouds. Whether you think it looks more like a sunset or a fruit smoothie, this banner is great for any channel with an upbeat message.

bright-youtube-banner-002

Bright Banner 2: Unicorn Swirl

This magical banner will let the world know there’s something special about your channel. Perfect for just about any type of channel!

bright-youtube-banner-003

Bright Banner 3: Sugary Goodness

This banner might be a donut, a cake with pink icing, or a yellow cliff at the edge of a field of sugar. Whatever it is, it’s quirky – just like you!

bright-youtube-banner-004

Bright Banner 4: Full Quirk

Denim and funky doodles are the perfect combinations for showing off your fun, creative, personality. This channel art is ideal for lifestyle and vlogging channels.

bright-youtube-banner-color-splat

Bright Banner 5: Color Splat

Creative, colorful, splatters might be the best way to let your viewers know they can expect fantastical things from you. This one’s great for any type of channel, but especially great for crafts and lifestyle.

3. YouTube Banners for Comedy Channels

A lot of viewers go to YouTube to laugh, and the banner for a comedy channel is all about letting someone who found one of your videos funny know there’s more like it on the way. There are banners here for different styles of comedy, so you can choose the one that fits your brand of funny.

youtube-banner-comedy-cat

Comedy Banner 1: This Cat Is Judging You

This funny-faced cat knows what you did, and he does not approve. This banner is a great way to show viewers you don’t take things too seriously.

youtube-banner-for-comedy-pizza

Comedy Banner 2: Pizza Forever

All of the pizza, all of the time. This banner might be good for a cooking channel, but it’s great for comedy YouTubers who like pizza.

youtube-comedy-banner-splotches

Comedy Banner 3: Bold Splotches

These bold dabs of color will work well with bold styles of comedy. This banner could also be great for edgier lifestyle channels.

youtube-comedy-banner-duck-invasion

Comedy Banner 4: Duck Invasion

In an endless sea of identical rubber duckies, you’re that wonderful bird that stands out! That’s what this banner means.

youtube-comedy-banner-theater

Comedy Banner 5: The Theater

This is a serious business comedy banner. It’s such serious business that it might actually be good for a short film channel.

4. Comic-Inspired YouTube Banners

These channel art templates were inspired by comic book artwork. They’ll be great for channels that talk about comics or comic book movies, but there’s also some great stuff here for comedy or gaming channels.

Comic Banner 1: Comic Chaos

Comic Banner 1: Comic Chaos

Thought bubbles, speech bubbles, and punch doodles abound! Whether you’re interested in comedy or media, this bold and bright banner certainly makes a statement.

Comic Banner 2: Epic Frames

Comic Banner 2: Epic Frames

This bright, exciting, banner is inspired by comic book panels. Whether you review all of the superhero movies, create your own epic comedy sketches, or have a particularly heroic life you like to vlog about – this channel art is for you.

Comic Banner 3: Heroic Flare

Comic Banner 3: Heroic Flare

Are you a hero in your own mind? This banner could be perfect for any type of channel, so long as the person running it has a larger-than-life personality.

Comic Banner 4: Defender of the City

Comic Banner 4: Defender of the City

This skyline drawn in a comic-book style would be perfect for any channel that focuses on life in a city, but it’s also great for comedy or media (tv, comics, gaming) focused channels.

Comic Banner 5: Mystical Rainbow Farts

Comic Banner 5: Mystical Rainbow Farts

There’s not much explaining to do here. Either you look at this unicorn, filling the sky with rainbow farts and loving it, and think ‘yes, that’s me or you don’t.

5. YouTube Banners for Education Channels

Whether you’re a teacher with a class you want to make videos for, or just someone with a lot of knowledge you want to share, you’ll find something in this section that’ll be perfect for your channel.

Education Banner 1: Thinkpiece

Education Banner 1: Thinkpiece

Whatever kind of knowledge you’re serving up, this banner shows that you want to get the gears in your viewers’ brains going.

Education Banner 2: Science Rules

Education Banner 2: Science Rules

Having a science channel means teaching viewers on the internet, whether they’re kids or adults, about the world and how it works. This banner will let viewers know to trust you for anything to do with science.

Education Banner 3: Creative Chalkboard

Education Banner 3: Creative Chalkboard

This banner says that you think learning should be fun! This is a better choice for a channel targeted toward kids or young people than the previous 2, but it’ll still work for something targeted at grownups.

Education Banner 4: Classroom

Education Banner 4: Classroom

This banner was designed with teachers in mind, but it’s a good choice for anyone who wants to educate kids.

Education Banner 5: Creative Learning

Education Banner 5: Creative Learning

Another great choice for teachers, this banner suggests you might be teaching subjects like art or music in addition to math and science.

6. Funky YouTube Banners

You’ll find a little bit of everything in this category. These banners weren’t designed for different types of YouTube channels; they were designed for different types of personalities. If you’re looking for something that communicates who you are loud and clear, you might find it in this section.

Funky Banner 1: Urban Graffiti

Funky Banner 1: Urban Graffiti

If this slightly punky banner matches your slightly edgy self then it could be perfect for vlogging, lifestyle, or even comedy.

Funky Banner 2: Minty Fresh

Funky Banner 2: Minty Fresh

This cool, crisp, channel art template is great for lifestyle or vlogging channels that are just a bit outside the norm.

Funky Banner 3: Hypno-Cloud

Funky Banner 3: Hypno-Cloud

The perfect banner if you want to hypnotize people into subscribing to you. It’s also a great way to show that you’re different. Or that you’re some kind of clown. Is clowning a genre on YouTube? If it is: here’s your banner!

Funky Banner 4: Prismatic

Funky Banner 4: Prismatic

A bright, modern, banner for bright, modern, YouTubers. It’s fun, but it’s smart. It’s quirky, but you should still take it seriously. If the tone of your channel is more complex than ‘upbeat’ or ‘serious’ then this could be your channel art.

Funky Banner 5: Pineapple Paradise

Funky Banner 5: Pineapple Paradise

This summer-inspired banner is both very on-trend, and a great seasonal choice for any lifestyle, beauty, or vlog channel.

7. Galaxy YouTube Banners Featuring Outer Space

Space-themed banners have become popular with a lot of different types of channels, from gaming to vlogging to comedy. We’ve put together some awesome space scenes for you to choose from.

Galaxy Banner 1: Colorful Space

Galaxy Banner 1: Colorful Space

Space can be beautiful and colorful, and it certainly is in this banner. You don’t have to be into science or sci-fi for this to be the perfect choice for you.

Galaxy Banner 2: Moonrise

Galaxy Banner 2: Moonrise

Whether you’re a gamer, sci-fi enthusiast, or just someone whose content is out of this world, writing your channel name on the surface of that moon will let everyone here on earth know you mean business.

Galaxy Banner 3: Mysterious Signs

Galaxy Banner 3: Mysterious Signs

Do you ever look up at the stars and just think about how tiny we are? This banner could work for almost any type of channel (besides makeup or fashion).

Galaxy Banner 4: Space Doodles

Galaxy Banner 4: Space Doodles

This banner would be great for an educational space or science channel. It could be fun for comedy too.

Galaxy Banner 5: Nebula

Galaxy Banner 5: Nebula

An epic, gorgeous, space scene that is both cool and inspiring. Are you cool or inspiring? Consider using this in your channel art.

8. YouTube Banners for Gaming Channels

Gaming is a huge category on YouTube! We’ve put together a selection of channel art templates for different kinds of games and gamers.

Gaming Banner 1: Inspired by Minecraft

Gaming Banner 1: Inspired by Minecraft

Inspired by the creative, blocky, game that’s taken the internet by storm! This is a channel art template for gamers whose channels focus on Minecraft.

Gaming Banner 2: Commando

Gaming Banner 2: Commando

It’s kill or be killed out there, but your mission is important and you’re going to see it through. Choose the channel art template that shows you’re serious about your work.

Gaming Banner 3: Special Ops

Gaming Banner 3: Special Ops

Mount the perfect tactical strike against YouTube viewers’ eyeballs with this gaming-themed channel art template.

Gaming Banner 4: Firepower

Gaming Banner 4: Firepower

Choose a banner that says you’ve got real skills to show off. This channel art template is inspired by shooters and tactical games.

Gaming Banner 5: Esports Champ

Gaming Banner 5: Esports Champ

This victorious blue banner will serve as a bright, confident, welcome to your channel.

9. Minimalist YouTube Banners

Sometimes the best way to express yourself doesn’t involve lots of images or crazy patterns. Sometimes, the best way to let your personality shine through is to get rid of all those distractions. These modern, minimalist, channel art templates were designed for YouTubers who like to keep things simple.

Minimalist Banner 1: Clean & Airy

Minimalist Banner 1: Clean & Airy

This tidy white and baby blue banner will be great for anybody who stresses balance and simplicity on their channels. It’s great for beauty, vlogging, lifestyle, and more.

Minimalist Banner 2: Serious Business

Minimalist Banner 2: Serious Business

Darker colors can make viewers think about power, efficiency, and sleekness. This is a great banner for a creator who wants to be taken seriously.

Minimalist Banner 3: Wood Grain

Minimalist Banner 3: Wood Grain

This clean, white-painted wood, background perfectly captures the minimalist aesthetic that has become so popular in design.

Minimalist Banner 4: Zen

Minimalist Banner 4: Zen

This serene channel art template will be ideal for anyone who champions wellness and good living on their channel.

Minimalist Banner 5: Parentheses

Minimalist Banner 5: Parentheses

Minimalism doesn’t have to be soft. This bold, simple, red banner is for YouTubers who want to be a bit louder.

10. YouTube Banners for Travel Channels

These channel art templates were made for every type of travel channel, from sunny vacations to outdoor adventures to trips around the world.

Travel Banner 1: Alpine Getaway

Travel Banner 1: Alpine Getaway

This channel art template is for creators who are also adventurers. Do you love going out into the big wild world and climbing mountains, hiking through forests, and riding rapids? This banner is for you.

Travel Banner 2: Wanderlust

Travel Banner 2: Wanderlust

This postcard-themed banner is for the globetrotting travel vlogger. Backpackers, and anyone else determined to see the world and make videos about it, might want to consider this channel art.

Travel Banner 3: Beachy

Travel Banner 3: Beachy

If your ideal getaway involves beaches, sunshine, and fruity drinks with umbrellas in them – and that’s reflected in your videos – then it’ll be hard for you to find a more perfect banner.

Travel Banner 4: Rugged Living

Travel Banner 4: Rugged Living

You are a trailblazer. Literally. You probably consider ‘ruggedness’ an important factor when picking out camera gear, because anything that travels with you is going to see its fair share of wear and tear.

Travel Banner 5: Globetrotte

Travel Banner 5: Globetrotter

This channel art template is for YouTubers who want to go everywhere and see everything. No viewer who clicks on your channel and sees this banner could mistake you for anything but a travel vlogger.

Which of these YouTube banners is your favorite? And which video editing software will you use to create YouTube videos? Here, I recommend you to try Wondershare Filmora video editor.

Download Filmora9 Win Version Download Filmora9 Mac Version

author avatar

Liza Brown

Liza Brown is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Liza Brown

Liza Brown

Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions

0

Having an attractive banner for your YouTube channel is important if you want to show the world you’re a serious creator. At filmora.io we want to help with every step of your YouTube journey, so we created 50 YouTube channel art templates which you can download for free here.

Click here to download 50 free YouTube banners, or keep reading to see them all!

Here’s what you’ll be getting:

  1. YouTube Banners for Beauty Channels
  2. Bright YouTube Banners
  3. YouTube Banners for Comedy Channels
  4. Comic Inspired YouTube Banners
  5. YouTube Banners for Education Channels
  6. Funky YouTube Banners
  7. Galaxy YouTube Banners Featuring Outer Space
  8. YouTube Banners for Gaming Channels
  9. Minimalist YouTube Banners
  10. YouTube Banners for Travel Channels

Free YouTube Banners

1. YouTube Banners for Beauty Channels

Beauty, makeup, fashion, and lifestyle YouTubers are always there with advice and tutorials, helping the world look and feel better with every video. These channel art templates reflect the different tones and messages found in the complex genre of beauty.

YouTube Beauty Banner

Beauty Banner 1: Simply Marble-ous

This clean-cut, pristine, marble patterned banner is perfect for the sophisticated beauty, lifestyle, or fashion YouTuber.

YouTube Beauty Banner

Beauty Banner 2: Diva On The Go

You’ve got a big personality, and this channel art will help it shine through! Perfect for bold, sassy, beautiful YouTubers.

YouTube Beauty Banner

Beauty Banner 3: Spa Day

This banner is simple, fun, and ideal for channels that have a positive message. It’s upbeat, but it’s not in your face.

YouTube Beauty Banner

Beauty Banner 4: Hello, Sunshine

Bright, upbeat, and sunshiney! This cheerful banner background feels young and fresh.

YouTube Beauty Banner

Beauty Banner 5: Cool Watercolors

Makeup is about creativity, and beauty can be about wellness. This restful, artistic, banner can communicate either of those messages clearly.

2. Bright YouTube Banners

These banners have pizazz! They aren’t designed for specific genres, but anyone who takes a positive, exciting, approach to their videos will probably find something to love in this section.

bright-youtube-banner-001

Bright Banner 1: Tropical Sunset

Hot pink and warm tangerine dusted with soft clouds. Whether you think it looks more like a sunset or a fruit smoothie, this banner is great for any channel with an upbeat message.

bright-youtube-banner-002

Bright Banner 2: Unicorn Swirl

This magical banner will let the world know there’s something special about your channel. Perfect for just about any type of channel!

bright-youtube-banner-003

Bright Banner 3: Sugary Goodness

This banner might be a donut, a cake with pink icing, or a yellow cliff at the edge of a field of sugar. Whatever it is, it’s quirky – just like you!

bright-youtube-banner-004

Bright Banner 4: Full Quirk

Denim and funky doodles are the perfect combinations for showing off your fun, creative, personality. This channel art is ideal for lifestyle and vlogging channels.

bright-youtube-banner-color-splat

Bright Banner 5: Color Splat

Creative, colorful, splatters might be the best way to let your viewers know they can expect fantastical things from you. This one’s great for any type of channel, but especially great for crafts and lifestyle.

3. YouTube Banners for Comedy Channels

A lot of viewers go to YouTube to laugh, and the banner for a comedy channel is all about letting someone who found one of your videos funny know there’s more like it on the way. There are banners here for different styles of comedy, so you can choose the one that fits your brand of funny.

youtube-banner-comedy-cat

Comedy Banner 1: This Cat Is Judging You

This funny-faced cat knows what you did, and he does not approve. This banner is a great way to show viewers you don’t take things too seriously.

youtube-banner-for-comedy-pizza

Comedy Banner 2: Pizza Forever

All of the pizza, all of the time. This banner might be good for a cooking channel, but it’s great for comedy YouTubers who like pizza.

youtube-comedy-banner-splotches

Comedy Banner 3: Bold Splotches

These bold dabs of color will work well with bold styles of comedy. This banner could also be great for edgier lifestyle channels.

youtube-comedy-banner-duck-invasion

Comedy Banner 4: Duck Invasion

In an endless sea of identical rubber duckies, you’re that wonderful bird that stands out! That’s what this banner means.

youtube-comedy-banner-theater

Comedy Banner 5: The Theater

This is a serious business comedy banner. It’s such serious business that it might actually be good for a short film channel.

4. Comic-Inspired YouTube Banners

These channel art templates were inspired by comic book artwork. They’ll be great for channels that talk about comics or comic book movies, but there’s also some great stuff here for comedy or gaming channels.

Comic Banner 1: Comic Chaos

Comic Banner 1: Comic Chaos

Thought bubbles, speech bubbles, and punch doodles abound! Whether you’re interested in comedy or media, this bold and bright banner certainly makes a statement.

Comic Banner 2: Epic Frames

Comic Banner 2: Epic Frames

This bright, exciting, banner is inspired by comic book panels. Whether you review all of the superhero movies, create your own epic comedy sketches, or have a particularly heroic life you like to vlog about – this channel art is for you.

Comic Banner 3: Heroic Flare

Comic Banner 3: Heroic Flare

Are you a hero in your own mind? This banner could be perfect for any type of channel, so long as the person running it has a larger-than-life personality.

Comic Banner 4: Defender of the City

Comic Banner 4: Defender of the City

This skyline drawn in a comic-book style would be perfect for any channel that focuses on life in a city, but it’s also great for comedy or media (tv, comics, gaming) focused channels.

Comic Banner 5: Mystical Rainbow Farts

Comic Banner 5: Mystical Rainbow Farts

There’s not much explaining to do here. Either you look at this unicorn, filling the sky with rainbow farts and loving it, and think ‘yes, that’s me or you don’t.

5. YouTube Banners for Education Channels

Whether you’re a teacher with a class you want to make videos for, or just someone with a lot of knowledge you want to share, you’ll find something in this section that’ll be perfect for your channel.

Education Banner 1: Thinkpiece

Education Banner 1: Thinkpiece

Whatever kind of knowledge you’re serving up, this banner shows that you want to get the gears in your viewers’ brains going.

Education Banner 2: Science Rules

Education Banner 2: Science Rules

Having a science channel means teaching viewers on the internet, whether they’re kids or adults, about the world and how it works. This banner will let viewers know to trust you for anything to do with science.

Education Banner 3: Creative Chalkboard

Education Banner 3: Creative Chalkboard

This banner says that you think learning should be fun! This is a better choice for a channel targeted toward kids or young people than the previous 2, but it’ll still work for something targeted at grownups.

Education Banner 4: Classroom

Education Banner 4: Classroom

This banner was designed with teachers in mind, but it’s a good choice for anyone who wants to educate kids.

Education Banner 5: Creative Learning

Education Banner 5: Creative Learning

Another great choice for teachers, this banner suggests you might be teaching subjects like art or music in addition to math and science.

6. Funky YouTube Banners

You’ll find a little bit of everything in this category. These banners weren’t designed for different types of YouTube channels; they were designed for different types of personalities. If you’re looking for something that communicates who you are loud and clear, you might find it in this section.

Funky Banner 1: Urban Graffiti

Funky Banner 1: Urban Graffiti

If this slightly punky banner matches your slightly edgy self then it could be perfect for vlogging, lifestyle, or even comedy.

Funky Banner 2: Minty Fresh

Funky Banner 2: Minty Fresh

This cool, crisp, channel art template is great for lifestyle or vlogging channels that are just a bit outside the norm.

Funky Banner 3: Hypno-Cloud

Funky Banner 3: Hypno-Cloud

The perfect banner if you want to hypnotize people into subscribing to you. It’s also a great way to show that you’re different. Or that you’re some kind of clown. Is clowning a genre on YouTube? If it is: here’s your banner!

Funky Banner 4: Prismatic

Funky Banner 4: Prismatic

A bright, modern, banner for bright, modern, YouTubers. It’s fun, but it’s smart. It’s quirky, but you should still take it seriously. If the tone of your channel is more complex than ‘upbeat’ or ‘serious’ then this could be your channel art.

Funky Banner 5: Pineapple Paradise

Funky Banner 5: Pineapple Paradise

This summer-inspired banner is both very on-trend, and a great seasonal choice for any lifestyle, beauty, or vlog channel.

7. Galaxy YouTube Banners Featuring Outer Space

Space-themed banners have become popular with a lot of different types of channels, from gaming to vlogging to comedy. We’ve put together some awesome space scenes for you to choose from.

Galaxy Banner 1: Colorful Space

Galaxy Banner 1: Colorful Space

Space can be beautiful and colorful, and it certainly is in this banner. You don’t have to be into science or sci-fi for this to be the perfect choice for you.

Galaxy Banner 2: Moonrise

Galaxy Banner 2: Moonrise

Whether you’re a gamer, sci-fi enthusiast, or just someone whose content is out of this world, writing your channel name on the surface of that moon will let everyone here on earth know you mean business.

Galaxy Banner 3: Mysterious Signs

Galaxy Banner 3: Mysterious Signs

Do you ever look up at the stars and just think about how tiny we are? This banner could work for almost any type of channel (besides makeup or fashion).

Galaxy Banner 4: Space Doodles

Galaxy Banner 4: Space Doodles

This banner would be great for an educational space or science channel. It could be fun for comedy too.

Galaxy Banner 5: Nebula

Galaxy Banner 5: Nebula

An epic, gorgeous, space scene that is both cool and inspiring. Are you cool or inspiring? Consider using this in your channel art.

8. YouTube Banners for Gaming Channels

Gaming is a huge category on YouTube! We’ve put together a selection of channel art templates for different kinds of games and gamers.

Gaming Banner 1: Inspired by Minecraft

Gaming Banner 1: Inspired by Minecraft

Inspired by the creative, blocky, game that’s taken the internet by storm! This is a channel art template for gamers whose channels focus on Minecraft.

Gaming Banner 2: Commando

Gaming Banner 2: Commando

It’s kill or be killed out there, but your mission is important and you’re going to see it through. Choose the channel art template that shows you’re serious about your work.

Gaming Banner 3: Special Ops

Gaming Banner 3: Special Ops

Mount the perfect tactical strike against YouTube viewers’ eyeballs with this gaming-themed channel art template.

Gaming Banner 4: Firepower

Gaming Banner 4: Firepower

Choose a banner that says you’ve got real skills to show off. This channel art template is inspired by shooters and tactical games.

Gaming Banner 5: Esports Champ

Gaming Banner 5: Esports Champ

This victorious blue banner will serve as a bright, confident, welcome to your channel.

9. Minimalist YouTube Banners

Sometimes the best way to express yourself doesn’t involve lots of images or crazy patterns. Sometimes, the best way to let your personality shine through is to get rid of all those distractions. These modern, minimalist, channel art templates were designed for YouTubers who like to keep things simple.

Minimalist Banner 1: Clean & Airy

Minimalist Banner 1: Clean & Airy

This tidy white and baby blue banner will be great for anybody who stresses balance and simplicity on their channels. It’s great for beauty, vlogging, lifestyle, and more.

Minimalist Banner 2: Serious Business

Minimalist Banner 2: Serious Business

Darker colors can make viewers think about power, efficiency, and sleekness. This is a great banner for a creator who wants to be taken seriously.

Minimalist Banner 3: Wood Grain

Minimalist Banner 3: Wood Grain

This clean, white-painted wood, background perfectly captures the minimalist aesthetic that has become so popular in design.

Minimalist Banner 4: Zen

Minimalist Banner 4: Zen

This serene channel art template will be ideal for anyone who champions wellness and good living on their channel.

Minimalist Banner 5: Parentheses

Minimalist Banner 5: Parentheses

Minimalism doesn’t have to be soft. This bold, simple, red banner is for YouTubers who want to be a bit louder.

10. YouTube Banners for Travel Channels

These channel art templates were made for every type of travel channel, from sunny vacations to outdoor adventures to trips around the world.

Travel Banner 1: Alpine Getaway

Travel Banner 1: Alpine Getaway

This channel art template is for creators who are also adventurers. Do you love going out into the big wild world and climbing mountains, hiking through forests, and riding rapids? This banner is for you.

Travel Banner 2: Wanderlust

Travel Banner 2: Wanderlust

This postcard-themed banner is for the globetrotting travel vlogger. Backpackers, and anyone else determined to see the world and make videos about it, might want to consider this channel art.

Travel Banner 3: Beachy

Travel Banner 3: Beachy

If your ideal getaway involves beaches, sunshine, and fruity drinks with umbrellas in them – and that’s reflected in your videos – then it’ll be hard for you to find a more perfect banner.

Travel Banner 4: Rugged Living

Travel Banner 4: Rugged Living

You are a trailblazer. Literally. You probably consider ‘ruggedness’ an important factor when picking out camera gear, because anything that travels with you is going to see its fair share of wear and tear.

Travel Banner 5: Globetrotte

Travel Banner 5: Globetrotter

This channel art template is for YouTubers who want to go everywhere and see everything. No viewer who clicks on your channel and sees this banner could mistake you for anything but a travel vlogger.

Which of these YouTube banners is your favorite? And which video editing software will you use to create YouTube videos? Here, I recommend you to try Wondershare Filmora video editor.

Download Filmora9 Win Version Download Filmora9 Mac Version

author avatar

Liza Brown

Liza Brown is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Liza Brown

Liza Brown

Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions

0

Having an attractive banner for your YouTube channel is important if you want to show the world you’re a serious creator. At filmora.io we want to help with every step of your YouTube journey, so we created 50 YouTube channel art templates which you can download for free here.

Click here to download 50 free YouTube banners, or keep reading to see them all!

Here’s what you’ll be getting:

  1. YouTube Banners for Beauty Channels
  2. Bright YouTube Banners
  3. YouTube Banners for Comedy Channels
  4. Comic Inspired YouTube Banners
  5. YouTube Banners for Education Channels
  6. Funky YouTube Banners
  7. Galaxy YouTube Banners Featuring Outer Space
  8. YouTube Banners for Gaming Channels
  9. Minimalist YouTube Banners
  10. YouTube Banners for Travel Channels

Free YouTube Banners

1. YouTube Banners for Beauty Channels

Beauty, makeup, fashion, and lifestyle YouTubers are always there with advice and tutorials, helping the world look and feel better with every video. These channel art templates reflect the different tones and messages found in the complex genre of beauty.

YouTube Beauty Banner

Beauty Banner 1: Simply Marble-ous

This clean-cut, pristine, marble patterned banner is perfect for the sophisticated beauty, lifestyle, or fashion YouTuber.

YouTube Beauty Banner

Beauty Banner 2: Diva On The Go

You’ve got a big personality, and this channel art will help it shine through! Perfect for bold, sassy, beautiful YouTubers.

YouTube Beauty Banner

Beauty Banner 3: Spa Day

This banner is simple, fun, and ideal for channels that have a positive message. It’s upbeat, but it’s not in your face.

YouTube Beauty Banner

Beauty Banner 4: Hello, Sunshine

Bright, upbeat, and sunshiney! This cheerful banner background feels young and fresh.

YouTube Beauty Banner

Beauty Banner 5: Cool Watercolors

Makeup is about creativity, and beauty can be about wellness. This restful, artistic, banner can communicate either of those messages clearly.

2. Bright YouTube Banners

These banners have pizazz! They aren’t designed for specific genres, but anyone who takes a positive, exciting, approach to their videos will probably find something to love in this section.

bright-youtube-banner-001

Bright Banner 1: Tropical Sunset

Hot pink and warm tangerine dusted with soft clouds. Whether you think it looks more like a sunset or a fruit smoothie, this banner is great for any channel with an upbeat message.

bright-youtube-banner-002

Bright Banner 2: Unicorn Swirl

This magical banner will let the world know there’s something special about your channel. Perfect for just about any type of channel!

bright-youtube-banner-003

Bright Banner 3: Sugary Goodness

This banner might be a donut, a cake with pink icing, or a yellow cliff at the edge of a field of sugar. Whatever it is, it’s quirky – just like you!

bright-youtube-banner-004

Bright Banner 4: Full Quirk

Denim and funky doodles are the perfect combinations for showing off your fun, creative, personality. This channel art is ideal for lifestyle and vlogging channels.

bright-youtube-banner-color-splat

Bright Banner 5: Color Splat

Creative, colorful, splatters might be the best way to let your viewers know they can expect fantastical things from you. This one’s great for any type of channel, but especially great for crafts and lifestyle.

3. YouTube Banners for Comedy Channels

A lot of viewers go to YouTube to laugh, and the banner for a comedy channel is all about letting someone who found one of your videos funny know there’s more like it on the way. There are banners here for different styles of comedy, so you can choose the one that fits your brand of funny.

youtube-banner-comedy-cat

Comedy Banner 1: This Cat Is Judging You

This funny-faced cat knows what you did, and he does not approve. This banner is a great way to show viewers you don’t take things too seriously.

youtube-banner-for-comedy-pizza

Comedy Banner 2: Pizza Forever

All of the pizza, all of the time. This banner might be good for a cooking channel, but it’s great for comedy YouTubers who like pizza.

youtube-comedy-banner-splotches

Comedy Banner 3: Bold Splotches

These bold dabs of color will work well with bold styles of comedy. This banner could also be great for edgier lifestyle channels.

youtube-comedy-banner-duck-invasion

Comedy Banner 4: Duck Invasion

In an endless sea of identical rubber duckies, you’re that wonderful bird that stands out! That’s what this banner means.

youtube-comedy-banner-theater

Comedy Banner 5: The Theater

This is a serious business comedy banner. It’s such serious business that it might actually be good for a short film channel.

4. Comic-Inspired YouTube Banners

These channel art templates were inspired by comic book artwork. They’ll be great for channels that talk about comics or comic book movies, but there’s also some great stuff here for comedy or gaming channels.

Comic Banner 1: Comic Chaos

Comic Banner 1: Comic Chaos

Thought bubbles, speech bubbles, and punch doodles abound! Whether you’re interested in comedy or media, this bold and bright banner certainly makes a statement.

Comic Banner 2: Epic Frames

Comic Banner 2: Epic Frames

This bright, exciting, banner is inspired by comic book panels. Whether you review all of the superhero movies, create your own epic comedy sketches, or have a particularly heroic life you like to vlog about – this channel art is for you.

Comic Banner 3: Heroic Flare

Comic Banner 3: Heroic Flare

Are you a hero in your own mind? This banner could be perfect for any type of channel, so long as the person running it has a larger-than-life personality.

Comic Banner 4: Defender of the City

Comic Banner 4: Defender of the City

This skyline drawn in a comic-book style would be perfect for any channel that focuses on life in a city, but it’s also great for comedy or media (tv, comics, gaming) focused channels.

Comic Banner 5: Mystical Rainbow Farts

Comic Banner 5: Mystical Rainbow Farts

There’s not much explaining to do here. Either you look at this unicorn, filling the sky with rainbow farts and loving it, and think ‘yes, that’s me or you don’t.

5. YouTube Banners for Education Channels

Whether you’re a teacher with a class you want to make videos for, or just someone with a lot of knowledge you want to share, you’ll find something in this section that’ll be perfect for your channel.

Education Banner 1: Thinkpiece

Education Banner 1: Thinkpiece

Whatever kind of knowledge you’re serving up, this banner shows that you want to get the gears in your viewers’ brains going.

Education Banner 2: Science Rules

Education Banner 2: Science Rules

Having a science channel means teaching viewers on the internet, whether they’re kids or adults, about the world and how it works. This banner will let viewers know to trust you for anything to do with science.

Education Banner 3: Creative Chalkboard

Education Banner 3: Creative Chalkboard

This banner says that you think learning should be fun! This is a better choice for a channel targeted toward kids or young people than the previous 2, but it’ll still work for something targeted at grownups.

Education Banner 4: Classroom

Education Banner 4: Classroom

This banner was designed with teachers in mind, but it’s a good choice for anyone who wants to educate kids.

Education Banner 5: Creative Learning

Education Banner 5: Creative Learning

Another great choice for teachers, this banner suggests you might be teaching subjects like art or music in addition to math and science.

6. Funky YouTube Banners

You’ll find a little bit of everything in this category. These banners weren’t designed for different types of YouTube channels; they were designed for different types of personalities. If you’re looking for something that communicates who you are loud and clear, you might find it in this section.

Funky Banner 1: Urban Graffiti

Funky Banner 1: Urban Graffiti

If this slightly punky banner matches your slightly edgy self then it could be perfect for vlogging, lifestyle, or even comedy.

Funky Banner 2: Minty Fresh

Funky Banner 2: Minty Fresh

This cool, crisp, channel art template is great for lifestyle or vlogging channels that are just a bit outside the norm.

Funky Banner 3: Hypno-Cloud

Funky Banner 3: Hypno-Cloud

The perfect banner if you want to hypnotize people into subscribing to you. It’s also a great way to show that you’re different. Or that you’re some kind of clown. Is clowning a genre on YouTube? If it is: here’s your banner!

Funky Banner 4: Prismatic

Funky Banner 4: Prismatic

A bright, modern, banner for bright, modern, YouTubers. It’s fun, but it’s smart. It’s quirky, but you should still take it seriously. If the tone of your channel is more complex than ‘upbeat’ or ‘serious’ then this could be your channel art.

Funky Banner 5: Pineapple Paradise

Funky Banner 5: Pineapple Paradise

This summer-inspired banner is both very on-trend, and a great seasonal choice for any lifestyle, beauty, or vlog channel.

7. Galaxy YouTube Banners Featuring Outer Space

Space-themed banners have become popular with a lot of different types of channels, from gaming to vlogging to comedy. We’ve put together some awesome space scenes for you to choose from.

Galaxy Banner 1: Colorful Space

Galaxy Banner 1: Colorful Space

Space can be beautiful and colorful, and it certainly is in this banner. You don’t have to be into science or sci-fi for this to be the perfect choice for you.

Galaxy Banner 2: Moonrise

Galaxy Banner 2: Moonrise

Whether you’re a gamer, sci-fi enthusiast, or just someone whose content is out of this world, writing your channel name on the surface of that moon will let everyone here on earth know you mean business.

Galaxy Banner 3: Mysterious Signs

Galaxy Banner 3: Mysterious Signs

Do you ever look up at the stars and just think about how tiny we are? This banner could work for almost any type of channel (besides makeup or fashion).

Galaxy Banner 4: Space Doodles

Galaxy Banner 4: Space Doodles

This banner would be great for an educational space or science channel. It could be fun for comedy too.

Galaxy Banner 5: Nebula

Galaxy Banner 5: Nebula

An epic, gorgeous, space scene that is both cool and inspiring. Are you cool or inspiring? Consider using this in your channel art.

8. YouTube Banners for Gaming Channels

Gaming is a huge category on YouTube! We’ve put together a selection of channel art templates for different kinds of games and gamers.

Gaming Banner 1: Inspired by Minecraft

Gaming Banner 1: Inspired by Minecraft

Inspired by the creative, blocky, game that’s taken the internet by storm! This is a channel art template for gamers whose channels focus on Minecraft.

Gaming Banner 2: Commando

Gaming Banner 2: Commando

It’s kill or be killed out there, but your mission is important and you’re going to see it through. Choose the channel art template that shows you’re serious about your work.

Gaming Banner 3: Special Ops

Gaming Banner 3: Special Ops

Mount the perfect tactical strike against YouTube viewers’ eyeballs with this gaming-themed channel art template.

Gaming Banner 4: Firepower

Gaming Banner 4: Firepower

Choose a banner that says you’ve got real skills to show off. This channel art template is inspired by shooters and tactical games.

Gaming Banner 5: Esports Champ

Gaming Banner 5: Esports Champ

This victorious blue banner will serve as a bright, confident, welcome to your channel.

9. Minimalist YouTube Banners

Sometimes the best way to express yourself doesn’t involve lots of images or crazy patterns. Sometimes, the best way to let your personality shine through is to get rid of all those distractions. These modern, minimalist, channel art templates were designed for YouTubers who like to keep things simple.

Minimalist Banner 1: Clean & Airy

Minimalist Banner 1: Clean & Airy

This tidy white and baby blue banner will be great for anybody who stresses balance and simplicity on their channels. It’s great for beauty, vlogging, lifestyle, and more.

Minimalist Banner 2: Serious Business

Minimalist Banner 2: Serious Business

Darker colors can make viewers think about power, efficiency, and sleekness. This is a great banner for a creator who wants to be taken seriously.

Minimalist Banner 3: Wood Grain

Minimalist Banner 3: Wood Grain

This clean, white-painted wood, background perfectly captures the minimalist aesthetic that has become so popular in design.

Minimalist Banner 4: Zen

Minimalist Banner 4: Zen

This serene channel art template will be ideal for anyone who champions wellness and good living on their channel.

Minimalist Banner 5: Parentheses

Minimalist Banner 5: Parentheses

Minimalism doesn’t have to be soft. This bold, simple, red banner is for YouTubers who want to be a bit louder.

10. YouTube Banners for Travel Channels

These channel art templates were made for every type of travel channel, from sunny vacations to outdoor adventures to trips around the world.

Travel Banner 1: Alpine Getaway

Travel Banner 1: Alpine Getaway

This channel art template is for creators who are also adventurers. Do you love going out into the big wild world and climbing mountains, hiking through forests, and riding rapids? This banner is for you.

Travel Banner 2: Wanderlust

Travel Banner 2: Wanderlust

This postcard-themed banner is for the globetrotting travel vlogger. Backpackers, and anyone else determined to see the world and make videos about it, might want to consider this channel art.

Travel Banner 3: Beachy

Travel Banner 3: Beachy

If your ideal getaway involves beaches, sunshine, and fruity drinks with umbrellas in them – and that’s reflected in your videos – then it’ll be hard for you to find a more perfect banner.

Travel Banner 4: Rugged Living

Travel Banner 4: Rugged Living

You are a trailblazer. Literally. You probably consider ‘ruggedness’ an important factor when picking out camera gear, because anything that travels with you is going to see its fair share of wear and tear.

Travel Banner 5: Globetrotte

Travel Banner 5: Globetrotter

This channel art template is for YouTubers who want to go everywhere and see everything. No viewer who clicks on your channel and sees this banner could mistake you for anything but a travel vlogger.

Which of these YouTube banners is your favorite? And which video editing software will you use to create YouTube videos? Here, I recommend you to try Wondershare Filmora video editor.

Download Filmora9 Win Version Download Filmora9 Mac Version

author avatar

Liza Brown

Liza Brown is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Liza Brown

Your First Step Into YouTube: Creating an Engaging Channel

How to Create A YouTube Channel Today

Richard Bennett

Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions

0

After all the planning and brainstorming, you are ready to create a YouTube channel. You have spent countless hours watching videos and aspiring to be a creator. You know it will be work, but you are passionate. You are willing to learn. You are ready!

YouTube fame is in your future, but where do you start?

In this guide, we’ll start at the beginning, at the point before you even have a YouTube channel. From there, we will walk you through your content strategy and properly prepare you for the journey of creating videos for a massive YouTube following. Then we will wrap it up by teaching you the best practices for YouTube video optimization, ensuring that all your efforts will lead to the best results.

Part 1: Setting Up Your YouTube Channel

Part 2: Building Out a YouTube Content Plan

Part 3: Producing Your Content

Part 4: Optimizing and Distributing Your YouTube Video

Okay, there is a lot to cover, so enough small talk. Let’s get started.

Part 1: Setting Up Your YouTube Channel

Before you start making awesome videos, you got to set up your YouTube account. Activating YouTube is pretty straightforward if you already have a Google account. The odds are you have already set one up to subscribe to all your favorite channels. If not, here are the steps:

Step 1: Sign in to YouTube with your Google account

Step 2: Access YouTube Creator Studio to Activate YouTube

Step 3: Create a Channel

1. Picking a YouTube Channel Name

A YouTube channel name is beneficial to your channel’s growth if selected strategically. It can separate you from all the other channels on the platform, it can help the viewers understand what your channel is all about, and it will represent you and your brand. When naming your channel, here are 3 things to remember:

  • Memorable: You’d want a name that sticks in people’s brains. Picking a name that is hard to forget will be a huge advantage for you while growing your channel. But what makes a name memorable?
  • Alliteration and assonance: By using the repetition of consonant or vowel sounds, you create a fluidity to the name. examples: Pewdiepie, GoPro, or League of Legend.
  • Fun to say: Some words stay in the brain because it is simply pleasurable to say. It could have a genuine meaning or it can be an abstract word. Commonly these names have one of these sharp, biting consonants: C, K, Q, X, or Z. examples: Markiplier, Kwebbelkop, Squeezie, and Vox.
  • Abbreviations: A name can have a greater meaning, but long names might not be catchy, therefore, you should abbreviate it to a few memorable letters. Examples: TED ED, TGFbro, ERB, and FBE.
  • Longer Phrases: You may think that having a long name may be hard to remember, but sometimes, depending on your channel, a snappy phrase works. Example: How It Should Have Ended, You Always Win, and People Are Awesome.
  • Your Name Plus Descriptor: Combining two words effectively can make a name more memorable like Markiplier (Mark + Multiplier), LaurDIY (Lauren and she makes DIY projects), and Shameless Maya (Maya and she’s shameless).
  • Unique: Be creative with your name, especially if your real name is generic. YouTube is a crowded space and if you simply call your channel: Jake, not only will you be competing with all the creators named Jake, but also all the content with Jake as the keywords.

Also, avoid generic names that are based around your channel topics. For example, Fashion Talk sounds like a good name, but if you do a quick search you will see that it is a crowded space with vloggers, keynote presentations, and product reviews.

If you are starting a fashion channel why not try to find a link between your name and the topic? The connection between two different things often spawns something creative: Fabric Feud, for example. Just by the name, I know this channel will contain interesting perspectives on garments.

  • Keep it Simple: In the end, simplicity is the way to go. Don’t make it hard to type or hard to remember: cantunderstandthistopic88768 is not a good name, even if it’s strange and cryptic.

If you have a simple name in mind, it’s also a good idea to do a quick search on YouTube and Google to make sure it isn’t already used or similar to another account. Additionally, it’s worth knowing whether the social media handle is available as you will need it to expand your channel.

Consider using your real full name, it’s unlikely to ever change. Many YouTubers start out with a stage name but end up growing out of it and simply using their real name later on in their journey.

We’ve summarized some creative ways of picking up a YouTube name, you can check our guide to picking YouTube Channel Name [4 Aspects]

2. Writing a YouTube Channel Description

YouTube is a search engine and the channel description can be treated much like an About page for a website. That is why keywords are important when composing the channel description.

What are YouTube SEO keywords?

Keywords are the words and phrases people use when they are typing into the search engine to find content. Without the right keywords, your audience may never find your videos.

If you want to start discovering new keywords for your YouTube channel, you can use Ubersuggest . This tool shows you the search volume (how frequently it is searched for) as well as how competitive (how many other channels are using it) the keyword is.

Heighten your chance of discoverability by putting keywords as close to the beginning of the description as possible. Later on in this post, we will go through how to properly conduct a keyword strategy. Hang tight.

In addition to keywords, you should also introduce who you are and what the channel is about. Give them a reason to care about your channel, how is it different than all the other ones on YouTube? Why are you the best person to be producing the content on your channel?

Then encourage the viewers to subscribe if they are interested in what the channel offers: education, entertainment, adventure, or something they can’t get anywhere else. It’s your channel, sell it.

Finally supply some extra details, including when to expect videos to be published and other social platforms where you are active on. If someone is reading your YouTube description , you have already hooked them. Here is your chance to reel them in with your channel’s purpose.

3. Creating the Perfect Logo for Your YouTube Channel

#1. What Icon Should You Use for YouTube?

You may choose an icon that best represents the content your channel is producing. For example, if your channel is about technology, you can have an icon of a robot or an iPhone. This way, when viewers only see your icon, they have an idea that they can expect content around tech.

Here are some websites in which you can download logos and icons for YouTube videos .

#2. What Color Should Your YouTube Logo Be?

When creating your logo, avoid trendy colors as they may go out of style. Instead, consider the psychology of color .

What emotions do you want your channel to evoke to your viewers?

Answering this question helps you develop a consistent branding that applies to all your content as your channel grows. Blue evokes calm and trust, whereas, red is known to increase heart rate and is associated with danger. Before you select a color scheme, know how you want your audience to feel.

#3. What Font Should Your YouTube Logo Have?

While YouTube doesn’t offer a lot of real-estate for text, you might still want to include the name of your brand on your logo.

Potentially, the font you choose for your logo will also be the font for the text that appears on your YouTube videos and your channel art. With that in mind, it is important that you pick one that works best for you at the start. Here are some details to look for when selecting a font.

Legibility: Does the font get too hard to read the smaller it gets? It’s not uncommon for some fonts to become a messy blur once the size is reduced on desktop and mobile.

Simplicity: The most important thing about the font is its readability. If it looks like your doctor’s handwriting, then it might not be the best choice.

Consistency: Placed next to your icon, does the font look natural? You might not want to put an icon of a robot next to a font that looks like calligraphy.

Do you really need borders or supporting texts? I ask because the more you have on your logo, the less space it will have to stand out.

White space is your friend, it keeps the viewer’s attention focused on what matters and keeps the design uncluttered.

Save your logo as a vector so that you have the ability to scale without losing the image’s quality.

I get it, you are here to make a YouTube channel, not to design a logo. You’re not a designer. Don’t fret, we have a bunch of free logo making tools for you to create an awesome logo.

If you don’t want to create a logo or if the channel is of your own personal brand, then use a quality photograph or headshot of yourself. Doing so allows people to see who you are and develop an instant connection with you.

#5. What Makes A Good YouTube Channel Banner?

Your YouTube banner, or sometimes known as the channel art, is the cover page for your YouTube channel.

While the old adage tells us not to judge anything by the cover, in a world where we have a surplus of content, it is something we all must do for the sake of our time. If we see channel art that doesn’t appeal to us or doesn’t match the video content created, it is jarring. We are distracted from what matters and left questioning why we are on this channel in the first place.

Alternatively, if YouTube channel art is well designed and matches the aesthetic of the channel, then it can inspire your viewers to watch more, share, and subscribe.

So with that said, what makes a great YouTube banner?

Sizing: YouTube comes with sizing recommendations . The size they suggest is because of all the different devices viewers use to consume content.

You cannot control where and how your viewers consume your content. They can be watching on desktop, smartphone, tablet, or tv via Apple TV or Chromecast. That is why it is so important to have a responsive design: appropriate sizing and layout ensures that nothing important is cut off.

YouTube Banners

Less is more: There is already a lot happening on your YouTube channel page. Crowding your channel art will add more chaos than clarity. Additionally, since the design will shift from device to device, you may lose elements of the design if it is overcrowded.

Keep it in the middle: By keeping all the design elements and text within the safe zone, you can assure nothing will be cut out even if it is viewed on a less than optimal screen. It is a shame when you see that a headline is cut out and you cannot read the whole banner. Use YouTube’s template to help guide your design and ensure that everything important is visible.

High-resolution images: Nothing shouts “I’m an amateur” like having a pixelated image for your banner. Setting a high standard for images at the start will ensure that your whole channel will look professional from the beginning.

Take a go at creating your own channel art with some great YouTube design tools such as Canva and Crello.

Don’t have time to design at the moment? Download 50 free YouTube banner that we created to help busy creators like yourself get a professional page up and running right away.

Part 2: Building Out a YouTube Content Plan

Now that you know how to create a YouTube channel, you will need content to fill it up.

There are many factors to having success on YouTube and one has always been delivering content consistently. You may feel at this moment, that your brain is storming with ideas, but believe me, you don’t want to get caught in a drought. The way to avoid major blockers for your channel is to have a content plan at the onset.

A content plan helps guide you towards the mission, the reason you are building this YouTube channel in the first place.

Topics: Your YouTube channel will be focused on one broad topic, whether it be fashion, health, food, etc. It is hard to fly on a whim with a topic that covers such a wide scope. Creating content for these topics will require preparations and that’s why the earlier you have the content ideas for your video the more time you’ll have to research, rehearse, and get the best result.

Begin with a blank piece of paper and break down your topic into 5-10 different categories. If you have a channel about cooking, it may look something like this: breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert, snack, etc.

From there, you can drill down more and explore specific topics such as “cheap meals,” “street food,” , etc. Niching down allows those who are looking for a more specific piece of content to find your material. Also, when one specific piece of content performs well, it will give a boost to all the other content related to that broader topic.

Researching Your Ideas: Now that you have a big list of ideas, it’s time to do some research. With so many idea options, it’s easy to get overwhelmed by the work ahead, but stay focused and tackle one idea at a time.

When it comes to videos, discoverability is an important aspect of everything you create. You aren’t only competing with other YouTube channels, you are competing with everything in the world that can turn your viewer away from your channel. That is why you should make it as easy as possible for your content to be discovered.

Pro Tip: Search on YouTube and see if there is already a video for the idea you have. By taking a quick look at what content is out there, you can see who you’ll be competing with and determine if it is worth pursuing. If there are already a lot of existing videos on that topic, it might be too hard to for people find your content at first.

Keyword Research: For each of your ideas, you will want to conduct extensive keyword research. This research will help dictate the tags, titles, and descriptions of your videos once they are ready to publish.

There are a few ways to conduct keyword research, but we suggest using free online tools to help cut down the time spent.

1. Free tools

Ubersuggest : Type in a keyword and Ubersuggest will populate with related terms that you can use in your strategy.

Google Trends : Examine the historical trends of a keyword and determine its popularity in Google search and how it is affected annually and seasonally. Google Trends is also a good tool for seeing which topics are trending. By understanding this, you can plan your content around the hottest trends and ride the wave.

YouTube search bar : Enter your keyword into the YouTube search bar and the platform will automatically suggest the most popular searches with your keywords.

VidIQ : See what keywords other popular videos in your niche are using.

Google Adwords : Created as an advertising platform, Google Adwords also has a tool called Keyword Planner that allows you to see the monthly search traffic and the level of competition for each keyword. This tool is extremely useful for trimming down your long list of keyword ideas.

2. What Are Some Value-adding Content for YouTube?

Inspirational, educational, and entertaining: these are 3 resonating types of content as defined by Google for a YouTube audience.

Inspirational content that triggers an emotion in your audience. These content lean on good storytelling and relatable or unique experiences.

Educational content teaches the audience how to accomplish a task, improve a skill set, and discover new products or ideas.

Entertaining content is an escape for the audience. It allows them to sit back and enjoy your content and forget about what they have to deal with in real life.


You might be interested in:


3. Set Up a Content Calendar to Be Consistent on YouTube

A common issue for many YouTubers is consistency and accountability. Without a proper routine and schedule, YouTubers will end up procrastinating and publishing whenever they finish their content.

In order to properly establish an audience for your channel, there needs to be consistency and that is why it is so important to have a content calendar to affirm when a piece of content is due to be published, thus giving the creator a good idea of when to start each step of the process to meet publishing date.

There are many ways to build out a content calendar, you can simply use a spreadsheet, a calendar, or you can use other management/organization tools such as Trello or Asana . We recommend using Google Sheet and Google Calendar to start, as it is free and easy to use.

Since you are starting out, we suggest that you plan on a monthly basis, as it’ll allow you to be flexible to trending topics and adjust to insights that you’ll acquire as you analyze your content’s performance.

Part 3: Producing Your Content

YouTube Creator Filming

Now that you have a plan it is time to start producing your content. There are many ways to approach this, as different types of channels will have different processes for researching, capturing footage, and editing.

Planning: It doesn’t have to be a fully flushed script, but any bit of planning before hitting the record button will help you prepare some valuable content to be captured. It can be an outline, breaking down the topics you want to touch on.

If it’s a food YouTube channel, you’d want the recipe and all the ingredients ready on hand. Mise en place is the French phrase that chefs use meaning “everything in its place” or having everything they need on hand so when dinner rush comes preparation is done and now they are ready to produce. This same mentality works when preparing to shoot a YouTube video. The more you prepare the easier the shoot and the editing will be.

Equipment: At the start, you can get everything done on your smartphone. But that does depend on what your channel is going to be about and who your target audiences are. If you want to film some simple sketches to entertain people, yes, a smartphone camera can work for start. But if you are reaching a professional crowd or want to appear credible, then it might be worth it to invest in a better camera, audio, and lighting equipment.

Filming/Capturing: Always do some checks before shooting your YouTube videos as bad camera angles, poor audio quality, inadequate lighting are all easier to fix before rather than after the filming. Additionally, set a reminder to backup your footage and charge your batteries after every shoot and have an extension cord or a separate hard drive ready.

Editing: Over time, you will develop your own editing style. At the start, it is best to learn the fundamentals and improve on the basics.

Selecting the software: Some video editing software programs are free and others cost a lot. Do your research, sign up for free trials, and understand the limitations of the applications and the requirements you need. If money is a factor, you might want to stick with the free options such as iMovie or affordable options such as Filmora .

Download Filmora9 Win Version Download Filmora9 Mac Version

Storytelling: Skilled editing enables YouTube creators to tell the story in the most effective way. This does not mean in chronological order. Think of what will hook the audience right away and what will be most impactful at the very end. Pro-tip: Use pre-set transitions sparingly, jump cuts are often the most effective and least distracting. Editing is an invisible art.

Text, graphic or special effects: Video is a show that doesn’t tell medium, so use text sparingly. People aren’t going to your channel to read. However, text when used properly compliments the video and supplies context. Graphics and special effects are good when they support the story you are telling and cheesy when used egregiously to impress the viewer.

Export to the right format: You can pretty much upload any video format to YouTube and they can figure it out. Nevertheless, YouTube recommends using MP4 and encoded with the codec.

Part 4: Optimizing and Distributing Your YouTube Video

Your job is not done after you’ve filmed, edited, and published your video on YouTube. In order to help it get discovered, you’ll need to understand what will drive your audience to click and watch your video as opposed to all the other videos on YouTube.

By performing video optimization and sharing your content in communities interested in what you are creating, you can increase the chances that your video will be seen.

1. Tips for Writing the Best Title for YouTube Video

When coming up with titles for your YouTube video, you should always have your keyword research-ready on hand for reference.

YouTube keyword crawlers read from top to bottom, so it is most effective to have your keywords at the beginning of the title. Strive to build click-worthy titles that inspire curiosity, evoke an emotion, or offer a benefit.

Example:

Good: How to Deep Fry Chicken

Better: Deep Frying Chicken That’s Better Than KFC

While you have 100 characters to work with, anything beyond 70 characters will be truncated by YouTube.

Caution: Always deliver what your title is selling. Misleading viewers can cause mistrust in your content and will turn people off your channel.

2. Tips for Writing the Best Description for YouTube Video

Treat the description as a short synopsis for your video with the keywords strategically placed at the beginning. Include a URL to your website or blog and have any other supporting information or links.

Also, the description is where you can include some boilerplate channel information.

You have 5,000 characters to work with, but only the first three lines will be above the fold.

Pro Tip: If your video is on the longer end (over 20 minutes) or has multiple sections, then you should consider adding timestamps in the description to help the viewer skip to the spot they are most interested in.

3. Tips for Writing the Best Tags for YouTube Video

Keeping that keyword research handy write 5-15 tags. Start with specific keywords, then move into general keywords, and then branded keywords.

Specific keywords: how to deep fry chicken

General keywords: fried chicken recipe

Branded keywords: KFC

4. Tips for Designing the Best Thumbnail Image

Customize thumbnails: It is recommended that you take some time to customize a thumbnail image for your video. This is the first impression and you want to entice the viewer to click and watch.

YouTube auto-selects your thumbnail from a random position on your timeline, so it isn’t mandatory to create a thumbnail, however, the image YouTube selects might not be what you want to use to attract your audience.

Use photo editing software: To control how you want an image to look, you will need to choose a photo editing software. Wondershare PixStudio is a good choice that provides various types of templates for YouTube Thumbnails, Logos, Posters, etc.

pixstudio-online-graphic-design-maker

Have a consistent look: By having consistency, people will begin to recognize your thumbnails and even getting them excited to watch your video.

Pro Tips:

- Avoid using YouTube’s randomly selected thumbnail. Personalize it to stay consistent with your brand.

- Don’t clutter thumbnails. Less is more.

- Make fonts big if you are going to use text.

- Thumbnails have to have context, what is their story? Deliver on that promise.

- Using emotive faces have shown to appeal to people’s emotional cues and increases the likelihood of them clicking.

- Thumbnail file size should be 1280 x 720

5. Closed Captions and Uploading a Transcript

There are two key reasons why it is worth your time to use closed captions or upload a transcript for your YouTube videos.

  1. Having closed captions improves the video’s SEO, as Google indexes and crawls the keywords.
  2. For those that don’t want to or can’t hear the audio will appreciate having closed caption to allow them to enjoy the content.

6. How to Share Your Video with Social Media

Unless you have a huge social media following, it will be challenging to get many views from those channels at the start.

Grow your social media channel gradually by targeting your ideal viewer persona and hashtagging your content. On social media channels such as Facebook and Twitter, keep producing content for them, but don’t forget to share content from other YouTubers. If you see a cool video relevant to your audience, share it as well.

Lead your followers to your YouTube channel with content designed specifically for your social media channel. For example, Instagram Stories are a great way to engage directly with your followers, giving them a sneak peek or letting them know that your latest YouTube videos are up. You can even link directly to your YouTube channel from your Instagram story.

Instagram Story Caspar Lee

YouTuber, Caspar Lee

Join groups on social networks such as Facebook, Reddit, etc. and engage in conversations that are related or complementary to your YouTube channel. The key is to find communities that are interested in the content you are producing, but approach those groups with caution and ensure that anything you share won’t be perceived as spam.

Conclusion

There you go, now you have made your first YouTube video. It might be something you are incredibly proud of or it might have been a great learning experience. It might have gone without a hitch or you might have encountered obstacles you weren’t anticipating. Either way, you followed through and we are happy for you.

Now, get ready for the next one. The job of a YouTuber is never complete as there is always another video to make. By executing what we taught you in this guide, you now have the foundation to grow your channel. Good luck!

author avatar

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

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Richard Bennett

Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions

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After all the planning and brainstorming, you are ready to create a YouTube channel. You have spent countless hours watching videos and aspiring to be a creator. You know it will be work, but you are passionate. You are willing to learn. You are ready!

YouTube fame is in your future, but where do you start?

In this guide, we’ll start at the beginning, at the point before you even have a YouTube channel. From there, we will walk you through your content strategy and properly prepare you for the journey of creating videos for a massive YouTube following. Then we will wrap it up by teaching you the best practices for YouTube video optimization, ensuring that all your efforts will lead to the best results.

Part 1: Setting Up Your YouTube Channel

Part 2: Building Out a YouTube Content Plan

Part 3: Producing Your Content

Part 4: Optimizing and Distributing Your YouTube Video

Okay, there is a lot to cover, so enough small talk. Let’s get started.

Part 1: Setting Up Your YouTube Channel

Before you start making awesome videos, you got to set up your YouTube account. Activating YouTube is pretty straightforward if you already have a Google account. The odds are you have already set one up to subscribe to all your favorite channels. If not, here are the steps:

Step 1: Sign in to YouTube with your Google account

Step 2: Access YouTube Creator Studio to Activate YouTube

Step 3: Create a Channel

1. Picking a YouTube Channel Name

A YouTube channel name is beneficial to your channel’s growth if selected strategically. It can separate you from all the other channels on the platform, it can help the viewers understand what your channel is all about, and it will represent you and your brand. When naming your channel, here are 3 things to remember:

  • Memorable: You’d want a name that sticks in people’s brains. Picking a name that is hard to forget will be a huge advantage for you while growing your channel. But what makes a name memorable?
  • Alliteration and assonance: By using the repetition of consonant or vowel sounds, you create a fluidity to the name. examples: Pewdiepie, GoPro, or League of Legend.
  • Fun to say: Some words stay in the brain because it is simply pleasurable to say. It could have a genuine meaning or it can be an abstract word. Commonly these names have one of these sharp, biting consonants: C, K, Q, X, or Z. examples: Markiplier, Kwebbelkop, Squeezie, and Vox.
  • Abbreviations: A name can have a greater meaning, but long names might not be catchy, therefore, you should abbreviate it to a few memorable letters. Examples: TED ED, TGFbro, ERB, and FBE.
  • Longer Phrases: You may think that having a long name may be hard to remember, but sometimes, depending on your channel, a snappy phrase works. Example: How It Should Have Ended, You Always Win, and People Are Awesome.
  • Your Name Plus Descriptor: Combining two words effectively can make a name more memorable like Markiplier (Mark + Multiplier), LaurDIY (Lauren and she makes DIY projects), and Shameless Maya (Maya and she’s shameless).
  • Unique: Be creative with your name, especially if your real name is generic. YouTube is a crowded space and if you simply call your channel: Jake, not only will you be competing with all the creators named Jake, but also all the content with Jake as the keywords.

Also, avoid generic names that are based around your channel topics. For example, Fashion Talk sounds like a good name, but if you do a quick search you will see that it is a crowded space with vloggers, keynote presentations, and product reviews.

If you are starting a fashion channel why not try to find a link between your name and the topic? The connection between two different things often spawns something creative: Fabric Feud, for example. Just by the name, I know this channel will contain interesting perspectives on garments.

  • Keep it Simple: In the end, simplicity is the way to go. Don’t make it hard to type or hard to remember: cantunderstandthistopic88768 is not a good name, even if it’s strange and cryptic.

If you have a simple name in mind, it’s also a good idea to do a quick search on YouTube and Google to make sure it isn’t already used or similar to another account. Additionally, it’s worth knowing whether the social media handle is available as you will need it to expand your channel.

Consider using your real full name, it’s unlikely to ever change. Many YouTubers start out with a stage name but end up growing out of it and simply using their real name later on in their journey.

We’ve summarized some creative ways of picking up a YouTube name, you can check our guide to picking YouTube Channel Name [4 Aspects]

2. Writing a YouTube Channel Description

YouTube is a search engine and the channel description can be treated much like an About page for a website. That is why keywords are important when composing the channel description.

What are YouTube SEO keywords?

Keywords are the words and phrases people use when they are typing into the search engine to find content. Without the right keywords, your audience may never find your videos.

If you want to start discovering new keywords for your YouTube channel, you can use Ubersuggest . This tool shows you the search volume (how frequently it is searched for) as well as how competitive (how many other channels are using it) the keyword is.

Heighten your chance of discoverability by putting keywords as close to the beginning of the description as possible. Later on in this post, we will go through how to properly conduct a keyword strategy. Hang tight.

In addition to keywords, you should also introduce who you are and what the channel is about. Give them a reason to care about your channel, how is it different than all the other ones on YouTube? Why are you the best person to be producing the content on your channel?

Then encourage the viewers to subscribe if they are interested in what the channel offers: education, entertainment, adventure, or something they can’t get anywhere else. It’s your channel, sell it.

Finally supply some extra details, including when to expect videos to be published and other social platforms where you are active on. If someone is reading your YouTube description , you have already hooked them. Here is your chance to reel them in with your channel’s purpose.

3. Creating the Perfect Logo for Your YouTube Channel

#1. What Icon Should You Use for YouTube?

You may choose an icon that best represents the content your channel is producing. For example, if your channel is about technology, you can have an icon of a robot or an iPhone. This way, when viewers only see your icon, they have an idea that they can expect content around tech.

Here are some websites in which you can download logos and icons for YouTube videos .

#2. What Color Should Your YouTube Logo Be?

When creating your logo, avoid trendy colors as they may go out of style. Instead, consider the psychology of color .

What emotions do you want your channel to evoke to your viewers?

Answering this question helps you develop a consistent branding that applies to all your content as your channel grows. Blue evokes calm and trust, whereas, red is known to increase heart rate and is associated with danger. Before you select a color scheme, know how you want your audience to feel.

#3. What Font Should Your YouTube Logo Have?

While YouTube doesn’t offer a lot of real-estate for text, you might still want to include the name of your brand on your logo.

Potentially, the font you choose for your logo will also be the font for the text that appears on your YouTube videos and your channel art. With that in mind, it is important that you pick one that works best for you at the start. Here are some details to look for when selecting a font.

Legibility: Does the font get too hard to read the smaller it gets? It’s not uncommon for some fonts to become a messy blur once the size is reduced on desktop and mobile.

Simplicity: The most important thing about the font is its readability. If it looks like your doctor’s handwriting, then it might not be the best choice.

Consistency: Placed next to your icon, does the font look natural? You might not want to put an icon of a robot next to a font that looks like calligraphy.

#4. How Should You Design Your YouTube Logo?

Do you really need borders or supporting texts? I ask because the more you have on your logo, the less space it will have to stand out.

White space is your friend, it keeps the viewer’s attention focused on what matters and keeps the design uncluttered.

Save your logo as a vector so that you have the ability to scale without losing the image’s quality.

I get it, you are here to make a YouTube channel, not to design a logo. You’re not a designer. Don’t fret, we have a bunch of free logo making tools for you to create an awesome logo.

If you don’t want to create a logo or if the channel is of your own personal brand, then use a quality photograph or headshot of yourself. Doing so allows people to see who you are and develop an instant connection with you.

#5. What Makes A Good YouTube Channel Banner?

Your YouTube banner, or sometimes known as the channel art, is the cover page for your YouTube channel.

While the old adage tells us not to judge anything by the cover, in a world where we have a surplus of content, it is something we all must do for the sake of our time. If we see channel art that doesn’t appeal to us or doesn’t match the video content created, it is jarring. We are distracted from what matters and left questioning why we are on this channel in the first place.

Alternatively, if YouTube channel art is well designed and matches the aesthetic of the channel, then it can inspire your viewers to watch more, share, and subscribe.

So with that said, what makes a great YouTube banner?

Sizing: YouTube comes with sizing recommendations . The size they suggest is because of all the different devices viewers use to consume content.

You cannot control where and how your viewers consume your content. They can be watching on desktop, smartphone, tablet, or tv via Apple TV or Chromecast. That is why it is so important to have a responsive design: appropriate sizing and layout ensures that nothing important is cut off.

YouTube Banners

Less is more: There is already a lot happening on your YouTube channel page. Crowding your channel art will add more chaos than clarity. Additionally, since the design will shift from device to device, you may lose elements of the design if it is overcrowded.

Keep it in the middle: By keeping all the design elements and text within the safe zone, you can assure nothing will be cut out even if it is viewed on a less than optimal screen. It is a shame when you see that a headline is cut out and you cannot read the whole banner. Use YouTube’s template to help guide your design and ensure that everything important is visible.

High-resolution images: Nothing shouts “I’m an amateur” like having a pixelated image for your banner. Setting a high standard for images at the start will ensure that your whole channel will look professional from the beginning.

Take a go at creating your own channel art with some great YouTube design tools such as Canva and Crello.

Don’t have time to design at the moment? Download 50 free YouTube banner that we created to help busy creators like yourself get a professional page up and running right away.

Part 2: Building Out a YouTube Content Plan

Now that you know how to create a YouTube channel, you will need content to fill it up.

There are many factors to having success on YouTube and one has always been delivering content consistently. You may feel at this moment, that your brain is storming with ideas, but believe me, you don’t want to get caught in a drought. The way to avoid major blockers for your channel is to have a content plan at the onset.

A content plan helps guide you towards the mission, the reason you are building this YouTube channel in the first place.

Topics: Your YouTube channel will be focused on one broad topic, whether it be fashion, health, food, etc. It is hard to fly on a whim with a topic that covers such a wide scope. Creating content for these topics will require preparations and that’s why the earlier you have the content ideas for your video the more time you’ll have to research, rehearse, and get the best result.

Begin with a blank piece of paper and break down your topic into 5-10 different categories. If you have a channel about cooking, it may look something like this: breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert, snack, etc.

From there, you can drill down more and explore specific topics such as “cheap meals,” “street food,” , etc. Niching down allows those who are looking for a more specific piece of content to find your material. Also, when one specific piece of content performs well, it will give a boost to all the other content related to that broader topic.

Researching Your Ideas: Now that you have a big list of ideas, it’s time to do some research. With so many idea options, it’s easy to get overwhelmed by the work ahead, but stay focused and tackle one idea at a time.

When it comes to videos, discoverability is an important aspect of everything you create. You aren’t only competing with other YouTube channels, you are competing with everything in the world that can turn your viewer away from your channel. That is why you should make it as easy as possible for your content to be discovered.

Pro Tip: Search on YouTube and see if there is already a video for the idea you have. By taking a quick look at what content is out there, you can see who you’ll be competing with and determine if it is worth pursuing. If there are already a lot of existing videos on that topic, it might be too hard to for people find your content at first.

Keyword Research: For each of your ideas, you will want to conduct extensive keyword research. This research will help dictate the tags, titles, and descriptions of your videos once they are ready to publish.

There are a few ways to conduct keyword research, but we suggest using free online tools to help cut down the time spent.

1. Free tools

Ubersuggest : Type in a keyword and Ubersuggest will populate with related terms that you can use in your strategy.

Google Trends : Examine the historical trends of a keyword and determine its popularity in Google search and how it is affected annually and seasonally. Google Trends is also a good tool for seeing which topics are trending. By understanding this, you can plan your content around the hottest trends and ride the wave.

YouTube search bar : Enter your keyword into the YouTube search bar and the platform will automatically suggest the most popular searches with your keywords.

VidIQ : See what keywords other popular videos in your niche are using.

Google Adwords : Created as an advertising platform, Google Adwords also has a tool called Keyword Planner that allows you to see the monthly search traffic and the level of competition for each keyword. This tool is extremely useful for trimming down your long list of keyword ideas.

2. What Are Some Value-adding Content for YouTube?

Inspirational, educational, and entertaining: these are 3 resonating types of content as defined by Google for a YouTube audience.

Inspirational content that triggers an emotion in your audience. These content lean on good storytelling and relatable or unique experiences.

Educational content teaches the audience how to accomplish a task, improve a skill set, and discover new products or ideas.

Entertaining content is an escape for the audience. It allows them to sit back and enjoy your content and forget about what they have to deal with in real life.


You might be interested in:


3. Set Up a Content Calendar to Be Consistent on YouTube

A common issue for many YouTubers is consistency and accountability. Without a proper routine and schedule, YouTubers will end up procrastinating and publishing whenever they finish their content.

In order to properly establish an audience for your channel, there needs to be consistency and that is why it is so important to have a content calendar to affirm when a piece of content is due to be published, thus giving the creator a good idea of when to start each step of the process to meet publishing date.

There are many ways to build out a content calendar, you can simply use a spreadsheet, a calendar, or you can use other management/organization tools such as Trello or Asana . We recommend using Google Sheet and Google Calendar to start, as it is free and easy to use.

Since you are starting out, we suggest that you plan on a monthly basis, as it’ll allow you to be flexible to trending topics and adjust to insights that you’ll acquire as you analyze your content’s performance.

Part 3: Producing Your Content

YouTube Creator Filming

Now that you have a plan it is time to start producing your content. There are many ways to approach this, as different types of channels will have different processes for researching, capturing footage, and editing.

Planning: It doesn’t have to be a fully flushed script, but any bit of planning before hitting the record button will help you prepare some valuable content to be captured. It can be an outline, breaking down the topics you want to touch on.

If it’s a food YouTube channel, you’d want the recipe and all the ingredients ready on hand. Mise en place is the French phrase that chefs use meaning “everything in its place” or having everything they need on hand so when dinner rush comes preparation is done and now they are ready to produce. This same mentality works when preparing to shoot a YouTube video. The more you prepare the easier the shoot and the editing will be.

Equipment: At the start, you can get everything done on your smartphone. But that does depend on what your channel is going to be about and who your target audiences are. If you want to film some simple sketches to entertain people, yes, a smartphone camera can work for start. But if you are reaching a professional crowd or want to appear credible, then it might be worth it to invest in a better camera, audio, and lighting equipment.

Filming/Capturing: Always do some checks before shooting your YouTube videos as bad camera angles, poor audio quality, inadequate lighting are all easier to fix before rather than after the filming. Additionally, set a reminder to backup your footage and charge your batteries after every shoot and have an extension cord or a separate hard drive ready.

Editing: Over time, you will develop your own editing style. At the start, it is best to learn the fundamentals and improve on the basics.

Selecting the software: Some video editing software programs are free and others cost a lot. Do your research, sign up for free trials, and understand the limitations of the applications and the requirements you need. If money is a factor, you might want to stick with the free options such as iMovie or affordable options such as Filmora .

Download Filmora9 Win Version Download Filmora9 Mac Version

Storytelling: Skilled editing enables YouTube creators to tell the story in the most effective way. This does not mean in chronological order. Think of what will hook the audience right away and what will be most impactful at the very end. Pro-tip: Use pre-set transitions sparingly, jump cuts are often the most effective and least distracting. Editing is an invisible art.

Text, graphic or special effects: Video is a show that doesn’t tell medium, so use text sparingly. People aren’t going to your channel to read. However, text when used properly compliments the video and supplies context. Graphics and special effects are good when they support the story you are telling and cheesy when used egregiously to impress the viewer.

Export to the right format: You can pretty much upload any video format to YouTube and they can figure it out. Nevertheless, YouTube recommends using MP4 and encoded with the codec.

Part 4: Optimizing and Distributing Your YouTube Video

Your job is not done after you’ve filmed, edited, and published your video on YouTube. In order to help it get discovered, you’ll need to understand what will drive your audience to click and watch your video as opposed to all the other videos on YouTube.

By performing video optimization and sharing your content in communities interested in what you are creating, you can increase the chances that your video will be seen.

1. Tips for Writing the Best Title for YouTube Video

When coming up with titles for your YouTube video, you should always have your keyword research-ready on hand for reference.

YouTube keyword crawlers read from top to bottom, so it is most effective to have your keywords at the beginning of the title. Strive to build click-worthy titles that inspire curiosity, evoke an emotion, or offer a benefit.

Example:

Good: How to Deep Fry Chicken

Better: Deep Frying Chicken That’s Better Than KFC

While you have 100 characters to work with, anything beyond 70 characters will be truncated by YouTube.

Caution: Always deliver what your title is selling. Misleading viewers can cause mistrust in your content and will turn people off your channel.

2. Tips for Writing the Best Description for YouTube Video

Treat the description as a short synopsis for your video with the keywords strategically placed at the beginning. Include a URL to your website or blog and have any other supporting information or links.

Also, the description is where you can include some boilerplate channel information.

You have 5,000 characters to work with, but only the first three lines will be above the fold.

Pro Tip: If your video is on the longer end (over 20 minutes) or has multiple sections, then you should consider adding timestamps in the description to help the viewer skip to the spot they are most interested in.

3. Tips for Writing the Best Tags for YouTube Video

Keeping that keyword research handy write 5-15 tags. Start with specific keywords, then move into general keywords, and then branded keywords.

Specific keywords: how to deep fry chicken

General keywords: fried chicken recipe

Branded keywords: KFC

4. Tips for Designing the Best Thumbnail Image

Customize thumbnails: It is recommended that you take some time to customize a thumbnail image for your video. This is the first impression and you want to entice the viewer to click and watch.

YouTube auto-selects your thumbnail from a random position on your timeline, so it isn’t mandatory to create a thumbnail, however, the image YouTube selects might not be what you want to use to attract your audience.

Use photo editing software: To control how you want an image to look, you will need to choose a photo editing software. Wondershare PixStudio is a good choice that provides various types of templates for YouTube Thumbnails, Logos, Posters, etc.

pixstudio-online-graphic-design-maker

Have a consistent look: By having consistency, people will begin to recognize your thumbnails and even getting them excited to watch your video.

Pro Tips:

- Avoid using YouTube’s randomly selected thumbnail. Personalize it to stay consistent with your brand.

- Don’t clutter thumbnails. Less is more.

- Make fonts big if you are going to use text.

- Thumbnails have to have context, what is their story? Deliver on that promise.

- Using emotive faces have shown to appeal to people’s emotional cues and increases the likelihood of them clicking.

- Thumbnail file size should be 1280 x 720

5. Closed Captions and Uploading a Transcript

There are two key reasons why it is worth your time to use closed captions or upload a transcript for your YouTube videos.

  1. Having closed captions improves the video’s SEO, as Google indexes and crawls the keywords.
  2. For those that don’t want to or can’t hear the audio will appreciate having closed caption to allow them to enjoy the content.

6. How to Share Your Video with Social Media

Unless you have a huge social media following, it will be challenging to get many views from those channels at the start.

Grow your social media channel gradually by targeting your ideal viewer persona and hashtagging your content. On social media channels such as Facebook and Twitter, keep producing content for them, but don’t forget to share content from other YouTubers. If you see a cool video relevant to your audience, share it as well.

Lead your followers to your YouTube channel with content designed specifically for your social media channel. For example, Instagram Stories are a great way to engage directly with your followers, giving them a sneak peek or letting them know that your latest YouTube videos are up. You can even link directly to your YouTube channel from your Instagram story.

Instagram Story Caspar Lee

YouTuber, Caspar Lee

Join groups on social networks such as Facebook, Reddit, etc. and engage in conversations that are related or complementary to your YouTube channel. The key is to find communities that are interested in the content you are producing, but approach those groups with caution and ensure that anything you share won’t be perceived as spam.

Conclusion

There you go, now you have made your first YouTube video. It might be something you are incredibly proud of or it might have been a great learning experience. It might have gone without a hitch or you might have encountered obstacles you weren’t anticipating. Either way, you followed through and we are happy for you.

Now, get ready for the next one. The job of a YouTuber is never complete as there is always another video to make. By executing what we taught you in this guide, you now have the foundation to grow your channel. Good luck!

author avatar

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions

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After all the planning and brainstorming, you are ready to create a YouTube channel. You have spent countless hours watching videos and aspiring to be a creator. You know it will be work, but you are passionate. You are willing to learn. You are ready!

YouTube fame is in your future, but where do you start?

In this guide, we’ll start at the beginning, at the point before you even have a YouTube channel. From there, we will walk you through your content strategy and properly prepare you for the journey of creating videos for a massive YouTube following. Then we will wrap it up by teaching you the best practices for YouTube video optimization, ensuring that all your efforts will lead to the best results.

Part 1: Setting Up Your YouTube Channel

Part 2: Building Out a YouTube Content Plan

Part 3: Producing Your Content

Part 4: Optimizing and Distributing Your YouTube Video

Okay, there is a lot to cover, so enough small talk. Let’s get started.

Part 1: Setting Up Your YouTube Channel

Before you start making awesome videos, you got to set up your YouTube account. Activating YouTube is pretty straightforward if you already have a Google account. The odds are you have already set one up to subscribe to all your favorite channels. If not, here are the steps:

Step 1: Sign in to YouTube with your Google account

Step 2: Access YouTube Creator Studio to Activate YouTube

Step 3: Create a Channel

1. Picking a YouTube Channel Name

A YouTube channel name is beneficial to your channel’s growth if selected strategically. It can separate you from all the other channels on the platform, it can help the viewers understand what your channel is all about, and it will represent you and your brand. When naming your channel, here are 3 things to remember:

  • Memorable: You’d want a name that sticks in people’s brains. Picking a name that is hard to forget will be a huge advantage for you while growing your channel. But what makes a name memorable?
  • Alliteration and assonance: By using the repetition of consonant or vowel sounds, you create a fluidity to the name. examples: Pewdiepie, GoPro, or League of Legend.
  • Fun to say: Some words stay in the brain because it is simply pleasurable to say. It could have a genuine meaning or it can be an abstract word. Commonly these names have one of these sharp, biting consonants: C, K, Q, X, or Z. examples: Markiplier, Kwebbelkop, Squeezie, and Vox.
  • Abbreviations: A name can have a greater meaning, but long names might not be catchy, therefore, you should abbreviate it to a few memorable letters. Examples: TED ED, TGFbro, ERB, and FBE.
  • Longer Phrases: You may think that having a long name may be hard to remember, but sometimes, depending on your channel, a snappy phrase works. Example: How It Should Have Ended, You Always Win, and People Are Awesome.
  • Your Name Plus Descriptor: Combining two words effectively can make a name more memorable like Markiplier (Mark + Multiplier), LaurDIY (Lauren and she makes DIY projects), and Shameless Maya (Maya and she’s shameless).
  • Unique: Be creative with your name, especially if your real name is generic. YouTube is a crowded space and if you simply call your channel: Jake, not only will you be competing with all the creators named Jake, but also all the content with Jake as the keywords.

Also, avoid generic names that are based around your channel topics. For example, Fashion Talk sounds like a good name, but if you do a quick search you will see that it is a crowded space with vloggers, keynote presentations, and product reviews.

If you are starting a fashion channel why not try to find a link between your name and the topic? The connection between two different things often spawns something creative: Fabric Feud, for example. Just by the name, I know this channel will contain interesting perspectives on garments.

  • Keep it Simple: In the end, simplicity is the way to go. Don’t make it hard to type or hard to remember: cantunderstandthistopic88768 is not a good name, even if it’s strange and cryptic.

If you have a simple name in mind, it’s also a good idea to do a quick search on YouTube and Google to make sure it isn’t already used or similar to another account. Additionally, it’s worth knowing whether the social media handle is available as you will need it to expand your channel.

Consider using your real full name, it’s unlikely to ever change. Many YouTubers start out with a stage name but end up growing out of it and simply using their real name later on in their journey.

We’ve summarized some creative ways of picking up a YouTube name, you can check our guide to picking YouTube Channel Name [4 Aspects]

2. Writing a YouTube Channel Description

YouTube is a search engine and the channel description can be treated much like an About page for a website. That is why keywords are important when composing the channel description.

What are YouTube SEO keywords?

Keywords are the words and phrases people use when they are typing into the search engine to find content. Without the right keywords, your audience may never find your videos.

If you want to start discovering new keywords for your YouTube channel, you can use Ubersuggest . This tool shows you the search volume (how frequently it is searched for) as well as how competitive (how many other channels are using it) the keyword is.

Heighten your chance of discoverability by putting keywords as close to the beginning of the description as possible. Later on in this post, we will go through how to properly conduct a keyword strategy. Hang tight.

In addition to keywords, you should also introduce who you are and what the channel is about. Give them a reason to care about your channel, how is it different than all the other ones on YouTube? Why are you the best person to be producing the content on your channel?

Then encourage the viewers to subscribe if they are interested in what the channel offers: education, entertainment, adventure, or something they can’t get anywhere else. It’s your channel, sell it.

Finally supply some extra details, including when to expect videos to be published and other social platforms where you are active on. If someone is reading your YouTube description , you have already hooked them. Here is your chance to reel them in with your channel’s purpose.

3. Creating the Perfect Logo for Your YouTube Channel

#1. What Icon Should You Use for YouTube?

You may choose an icon that best represents the content your channel is producing. For example, if your channel is about technology, you can have an icon of a robot or an iPhone. This way, when viewers only see your icon, they have an idea that they can expect content around tech.

Here are some websites in which you can download logos and icons for YouTube videos .

#2. What Color Should Your YouTube Logo Be?

When creating your logo, avoid trendy colors as they may go out of style. Instead, consider the psychology of color .

What emotions do you want your channel to evoke to your viewers?

Answering this question helps you develop a consistent branding that applies to all your content as your channel grows. Blue evokes calm and trust, whereas, red is known to increase heart rate and is associated with danger. Before you select a color scheme, know how you want your audience to feel.

#3. What Font Should Your YouTube Logo Have?

While YouTube doesn’t offer a lot of real-estate for text, you might still want to include the name of your brand on your logo.

Potentially, the font you choose for your logo will also be the font for the text that appears on your YouTube videos and your channel art. With that in mind, it is important that you pick one that works best for you at the start. Here are some details to look for when selecting a font.

Legibility: Does the font get too hard to read the smaller it gets? It’s not uncommon for some fonts to become a messy blur once the size is reduced on desktop and mobile.

Simplicity: The most important thing about the font is its readability. If it looks like your doctor’s handwriting, then it might not be the best choice.

Consistency: Placed next to your icon, does the font look natural? You might not want to put an icon of a robot next to a font that looks like calligraphy.

#4. How Should You Design Your YouTube Logo?

Do you really need borders or supporting texts? I ask because the more you have on your logo, the less space it will have to stand out.

White space is your friend, it keeps the viewer’s attention focused on what matters and keeps the design uncluttered.

Save your logo as a vector so that you have the ability to scale without losing the image’s quality.

I get it, you are here to make a YouTube channel, not to design a logo. You’re not a designer. Don’t fret, we have a bunch of free logo making tools for you to create an awesome logo.

If you don’t want to create a logo or if the channel is of your own personal brand, then use a quality photograph or headshot of yourself. Doing so allows people to see who you are and develop an instant connection with you.

#5. What Makes A Good YouTube Channel Banner?

Your YouTube banner, or sometimes known as the channel art, is the cover page for your YouTube channel.

While the old adage tells us not to judge anything by the cover, in a world where we have a surplus of content, it is something we all must do for the sake of our time. If we see channel art that doesn’t appeal to us or doesn’t match the video content created, it is jarring. We are distracted from what matters and left questioning why we are on this channel in the first place.

Alternatively, if YouTube channel art is well designed and matches the aesthetic of the channel, then it can inspire your viewers to watch more, share, and subscribe.

So with that said, what makes a great YouTube banner?

Sizing: YouTube comes with sizing recommendations . The size they suggest is because of all the different devices viewers use to consume content.

You cannot control where and how your viewers consume your content. They can be watching on desktop, smartphone, tablet, or tv via Apple TV or Chromecast. That is why it is so important to have a responsive design: appropriate sizing and layout ensures that nothing important is cut off.

YouTube Banners

Less is more: There is already a lot happening on your YouTube channel page. Crowding your channel art will add more chaos than clarity. Additionally, since the design will shift from device to device, you may lose elements of the design if it is overcrowded.

Keep it in the middle: By keeping all the design elements and text within the safe zone, you can assure nothing will be cut out even if it is viewed on a less than optimal screen. It is a shame when you see that a headline is cut out and you cannot read the whole banner. Use YouTube’s template to help guide your design and ensure that everything important is visible.

High-resolution images: Nothing shouts “I’m an amateur” like having a pixelated image for your banner. Setting a high standard for images at the start will ensure that your whole channel will look professional from the beginning.

Take a go at creating your own channel art with some great YouTube design tools such as Canva and Crello.

Don’t have time to design at the moment? Download 50 free YouTube banner that we created to help busy creators like yourself get a professional page up and running right away.

Part 2: Building Out a YouTube Content Plan

Now that you know how to create a YouTube channel, you will need content to fill it up.

There are many factors to having success on YouTube and one has always been delivering content consistently. You may feel at this moment, that your brain is storming with ideas, but believe me, you don’t want to get caught in a drought. The way to avoid major blockers for your channel is to have a content plan at the onset.

A content plan helps guide you towards the mission, the reason you are building this YouTube channel in the first place.

Topics: Your YouTube channel will be focused on one broad topic, whether it be fashion, health, food, etc. It is hard to fly on a whim with a topic that covers such a wide scope. Creating content for these topics will require preparations and that’s why the earlier you have the content ideas for your video the more time you’ll have to research, rehearse, and get the best result.

Begin with a blank piece of paper and break down your topic into 5-10 different categories. If you have a channel about cooking, it may look something like this: breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert, snack, etc.

From there, you can drill down more and explore specific topics such as “cheap meals,” “street food,” , etc. Niching down allows those who are looking for a more specific piece of content to find your material. Also, when one specific piece of content performs well, it will give a boost to all the other content related to that broader topic.

Researching Your Ideas: Now that you have a big list of ideas, it’s time to do some research. With so many idea options, it’s easy to get overwhelmed by the work ahead, but stay focused and tackle one idea at a time.

When it comes to videos, discoverability is an important aspect of everything you create. You aren’t only competing with other YouTube channels, you are competing with everything in the world that can turn your viewer away from your channel. That is why you should make it as easy as possible for your content to be discovered.

Pro Tip: Search on YouTube and see if there is already a video for the idea you have. By taking a quick look at what content is out there, you can see who you’ll be competing with and determine if it is worth pursuing. If there are already a lot of existing videos on that topic, it might be too hard to for people find your content at first.

Keyword Research: For each of your ideas, you will want to conduct extensive keyword research. This research will help dictate the tags, titles, and descriptions of your videos once they are ready to publish.

There are a few ways to conduct keyword research, but we suggest using free online tools to help cut down the time spent.

1. Free tools

Ubersuggest : Type in a keyword and Ubersuggest will populate with related terms that you can use in your strategy.

Google Trends : Examine the historical trends of a keyword and determine its popularity in Google search and how it is affected annually and seasonally. Google Trends is also a good tool for seeing which topics are trending. By understanding this, you can plan your content around the hottest trends and ride the wave.

YouTube search bar : Enter your keyword into the YouTube search bar and the platform will automatically suggest the most popular searches with your keywords.

VidIQ : See what keywords other popular videos in your niche are using.

Google Adwords : Created as an advertising platform, Google Adwords also has a tool called Keyword Planner that allows you to see the monthly search traffic and the level of competition for each keyword. This tool is extremely useful for trimming down your long list of keyword ideas.

2. What Are Some Value-adding Content for YouTube?

Inspirational, educational, and entertaining: these are 3 resonating types of content as defined by Google for a YouTube audience.

Inspirational content that triggers an emotion in your audience. These content lean on good storytelling and relatable or unique experiences.

Educational content teaches the audience how to accomplish a task, improve a skill set, and discover new products or ideas.

Entertaining content is an escape for the audience. It allows them to sit back and enjoy your content and forget about what they have to deal with in real life.


You might be interested in:


3. Set Up a Content Calendar to Be Consistent on YouTube

A common issue for many YouTubers is consistency and accountability. Without a proper routine and schedule, YouTubers will end up procrastinating and publishing whenever they finish their content.

In order to properly establish an audience for your channel, there needs to be consistency and that is why it is so important to have a content calendar to affirm when a piece of content is due to be published, thus giving the creator a good idea of when to start each step of the process to meet publishing date.

There are many ways to build out a content calendar, you can simply use a spreadsheet, a calendar, or you can use other management/organization tools such as Trello or Asana . We recommend using Google Sheet and Google Calendar to start, as it is free and easy to use.

Since you are starting out, we suggest that you plan on a monthly basis, as it’ll allow you to be flexible to trending topics and adjust to insights that you’ll acquire as you analyze your content’s performance.

Part 3: Producing Your Content

YouTube Creator Filming

Now that you have a plan it is time to start producing your content. There are many ways to approach this, as different types of channels will have different processes for researching, capturing footage, and editing.

Planning: It doesn’t have to be a fully flushed script, but any bit of planning before hitting the record button will help you prepare some valuable content to be captured. It can be an outline, breaking down the topics you want to touch on.

If it’s a food YouTube channel, you’d want the recipe and all the ingredients ready on hand. Mise en place is the French phrase that chefs use meaning “everything in its place” or having everything they need on hand so when dinner rush comes preparation is done and now they are ready to produce. This same mentality works when preparing to shoot a YouTube video. The more you prepare the easier the shoot and the editing will be.

Equipment: At the start, you can get everything done on your smartphone. But that does depend on what your channel is going to be about and who your target audiences are. If you want to film some simple sketches to entertain people, yes, a smartphone camera can work for start. But if you are reaching a professional crowd or want to appear credible, then it might be worth it to invest in a better camera, audio, and lighting equipment.

Filming/Capturing: Always do some checks before shooting your YouTube videos as bad camera angles, poor audio quality, inadequate lighting are all easier to fix before rather than after the filming. Additionally, set a reminder to backup your footage and charge your batteries after every shoot and have an extension cord or a separate hard drive ready.

Editing: Over time, you will develop your own editing style. At the start, it is best to learn the fundamentals and improve on the basics.

Selecting the software: Some video editing software programs are free and others cost a lot. Do your research, sign up for free trials, and understand the limitations of the applications and the requirements you need. If money is a factor, you might want to stick with the free options such as iMovie or affordable options such as Filmora .

Download Filmora9 Win Version Download Filmora9 Mac Version

Storytelling: Skilled editing enables YouTube creators to tell the story in the most effective way. This does not mean in chronological order. Think of what will hook the audience right away and what will be most impactful at the very end. Pro-tip: Use pre-set transitions sparingly, jump cuts are often the most effective and least distracting. Editing is an invisible art.

Text, graphic or special effects: Video is a show that doesn’t tell medium, so use text sparingly. People aren’t going to your channel to read. However, text when used properly compliments the video and supplies context. Graphics and special effects are good when they support the story you are telling and cheesy when used egregiously to impress the viewer.

Export to the right format: You can pretty much upload any video format to YouTube and they can figure it out. Nevertheless, YouTube recommends using MP4 and encoded with the codec.

Part 4: Optimizing and Distributing Your YouTube Video

Your job is not done after you’ve filmed, edited, and published your video on YouTube. In order to help it get discovered, you’ll need to understand what will drive your audience to click and watch your video as opposed to all the other videos on YouTube.

By performing video optimization and sharing your content in communities interested in what you are creating, you can increase the chances that your video will be seen.

1. Tips for Writing the Best Title for YouTube Video

When coming up with titles for your YouTube video, you should always have your keyword research-ready on hand for reference.

YouTube keyword crawlers read from top to bottom, so it is most effective to have your keywords at the beginning of the title. Strive to build click-worthy titles that inspire curiosity, evoke an emotion, or offer a benefit.

Example:

Good: How to Deep Fry Chicken

Better: Deep Frying Chicken That’s Better Than KFC

While you have 100 characters to work with, anything beyond 70 characters will be truncated by YouTube.

Caution: Always deliver what your title is selling. Misleading viewers can cause mistrust in your content and will turn people off your channel.

2. Tips for Writing the Best Description for YouTube Video

Treat the description as a short synopsis for your video with the keywords strategically placed at the beginning. Include a URL to your website or blog and have any other supporting information or links.

Also, the description is where you can include some boilerplate channel information.

You have 5,000 characters to work with, but only the first three lines will be above the fold.

Pro Tip: If your video is on the longer end (over 20 minutes) or has multiple sections, then you should consider adding timestamps in the description to help the viewer skip to the spot they are most interested in.

3. Tips for Writing the Best Tags for YouTube Video

Keeping that keyword research handy write 5-15 tags. Start with specific keywords, then move into general keywords, and then branded keywords.

Specific keywords: how to deep fry chicken

General keywords: fried chicken recipe

Branded keywords: KFC

4. Tips for Designing the Best Thumbnail Image

Customize thumbnails: It is recommended that you take some time to customize a thumbnail image for your video. This is the first impression and you want to entice the viewer to click and watch.

YouTube auto-selects your thumbnail from a random position on your timeline, so it isn’t mandatory to create a thumbnail, however, the image YouTube selects might not be what you want to use to attract your audience.

Use photo editing software: To control how you want an image to look, you will need to choose a photo editing software. Wondershare PixStudio is a good choice that provides various types of templates for YouTube Thumbnails, Logos, Posters, etc.

pixstudio-online-graphic-design-maker

Have a consistent look: By having consistency, people will begin to recognize your thumbnails and even getting them excited to watch your video.

Pro Tips:

- Avoid using YouTube’s randomly selected thumbnail. Personalize it to stay consistent with your brand.

- Don’t clutter thumbnails. Less is more.

- Make fonts big if you are going to use text.

- Thumbnails have to have context, what is their story? Deliver on that promise.

- Using emotive faces have shown to appeal to people’s emotional cues and increases the likelihood of them clicking.

- Thumbnail file size should be 1280 x 720

5. Closed Captions and Uploading a Transcript

There are two key reasons why it is worth your time to use closed captions or upload a transcript for your YouTube videos.

  1. Having closed captions improves the video’s SEO, as Google indexes and crawls the keywords.
  2. For those that don’t want to or can’t hear the audio will appreciate having closed caption to allow them to enjoy the content.

6. How to Share Your Video with Social Media

Unless you have a huge social media following, it will be challenging to get many views from those channels at the start.

Grow your social media channel gradually by targeting your ideal viewer persona and hashtagging your content. On social media channels such as Facebook and Twitter, keep producing content for them, but don’t forget to share content from other YouTubers. If you see a cool video relevant to your audience, share it as well.

Lead your followers to your YouTube channel with content designed specifically for your social media channel. For example, Instagram Stories are a great way to engage directly with your followers, giving them a sneak peek or letting them know that your latest YouTube videos are up. You can even link directly to your YouTube channel from your Instagram story.

Instagram Story Caspar Lee

YouTuber, Caspar Lee

Join groups on social networks such as Facebook, Reddit, etc. and engage in conversations that are related or complementary to your YouTube channel. The key is to find communities that are interested in the content you are producing, but approach those groups with caution and ensure that anything you share won’t be perceived as spam.

Conclusion

There you go, now you have made your first YouTube video. It might be something you are incredibly proud of or it might have been a great learning experience. It might have gone without a hitch or you might have encountered obstacles you weren’t anticipating. Either way, you followed through and we are happy for you.

Now, get ready for the next one. The job of a YouTuber is never complete as there is always another video to make. By executing what we taught you in this guide, you now have the foundation to grow your channel. Good luck!

author avatar

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions

0

After all the planning and brainstorming, you are ready to create a YouTube channel. You have spent countless hours watching videos and aspiring to be a creator. You know it will be work, but you are passionate. You are willing to learn. You are ready!

YouTube fame is in your future, but where do you start?

In this guide, we’ll start at the beginning, at the point before you even have a YouTube channel. From there, we will walk you through your content strategy and properly prepare you for the journey of creating videos for a massive YouTube following. Then we will wrap it up by teaching you the best practices for YouTube video optimization, ensuring that all your efforts will lead to the best results.

Part 1: Setting Up Your YouTube Channel

Part 2: Building Out a YouTube Content Plan

Part 3: Producing Your Content

Part 4: Optimizing and Distributing Your YouTube Video

Okay, there is a lot to cover, so enough small talk. Let’s get started.

Part 1: Setting Up Your YouTube Channel

Before you start making awesome videos, you got to set up your YouTube account. Activating YouTube is pretty straightforward if you already have a Google account. The odds are you have already set one up to subscribe to all your favorite channels. If not, here are the steps:

Step 1: Sign in to YouTube with your Google account

Step 2: Access YouTube Creator Studio to Activate YouTube

Step 3: Create a Channel

1. Picking a YouTube Channel Name

A YouTube channel name is beneficial to your channel’s growth if selected strategically. It can separate you from all the other channels on the platform, it can help the viewers understand what your channel is all about, and it will represent you and your brand. When naming your channel, here are 3 things to remember:

  • Memorable: You’d want a name that sticks in people’s brains. Picking a name that is hard to forget will be a huge advantage for you while growing your channel. But what makes a name memorable?
  • Alliteration and assonance: By using the repetition of consonant or vowel sounds, you create a fluidity to the name. examples: Pewdiepie, GoPro, or League of Legend.
  • Fun to say: Some words stay in the brain because it is simply pleasurable to say. It could have a genuine meaning or it can be an abstract word. Commonly these names have one of these sharp, biting consonants: C, K, Q, X, or Z. examples: Markiplier, Kwebbelkop, Squeezie, and Vox.
  • Abbreviations: A name can have a greater meaning, but long names might not be catchy, therefore, you should abbreviate it to a few memorable letters. Examples: TED ED, TGFbro, ERB, and FBE.
  • Longer Phrases: You may think that having a long name may be hard to remember, but sometimes, depending on your channel, a snappy phrase works. Example: How It Should Have Ended, You Always Win, and People Are Awesome.
  • Your Name Plus Descriptor: Combining two words effectively can make a name more memorable like Markiplier (Mark + Multiplier), LaurDIY (Lauren and she makes DIY projects), and Shameless Maya (Maya and she’s shameless).
  • Unique: Be creative with your name, especially if your real name is generic. YouTube is a crowded space and if you simply call your channel: Jake, not only will you be competing with all the creators named Jake, but also all the content with Jake as the keywords.

Also, avoid generic names that are based around your channel topics. For example, Fashion Talk sounds like a good name, but if you do a quick search you will see that it is a crowded space with vloggers, keynote presentations, and product reviews.

If you are starting a fashion channel why not try to find a link between your name and the topic? The connection between two different things often spawns something creative: Fabric Feud, for example. Just by the name, I know this channel will contain interesting perspectives on garments.

  • Keep it Simple: In the end, simplicity is the way to go. Don’t make it hard to type or hard to remember: cantunderstandthistopic88768 is not a good name, even if it’s strange and cryptic.

If you have a simple name in mind, it’s also a good idea to do a quick search on YouTube and Google to make sure it isn’t already used or similar to another account. Additionally, it’s worth knowing whether the social media handle is available as you will need it to expand your channel.

Consider using your real full name, it’s unlikely to ever change. Many YouTubers start out with a stage name but end up growing out of it and simply using their real name later on in their journey.

We’ve summarized some creative ways of picking up a YouTube name, you can check our guide to picking YouTube Channel Name [4 Aspects]

2. Writing a YouTube Channel Description

YouTube is a search engine and the channel description can be treated much like an About page for a website. That is why keywords are important when composing the channel description.

What are YouTube SEO keywords?

Keywords are the words and phrases people use when they are typing into the search engine to find content. Without the right keywords, your audience may never find your videos.

If you want to start discovering new keywords for your YouTube channel, you can use Ubersuggest . This tool shows you the search volume (how frequently it is searched for) as well as how competitive (how many other channels are using it) the keyword is.

Heighten your chance of discoverability by putting keywords as close to the beginning of the description as possible. Later on in this post, we will go through how to properly conduct a keyword strategy. Hang tight.

In addition to keywords, you should also introduce who you are and what the channel is about. Give them a reason to care about your channel, how is it different than all the other ones on YouTube? Why are you the best person to be producing the content on your channel?

Then encourage the viewers to subscribe if they are interested in what the channel offers: education, entertainment, adventure, or something they can’t get anywhere else. It’s your channel, sell it.

Finally supply some extra details, including when to expect videos to be published and other social platforms where you are active on. If someone is reading your YouTube description , you have already hooked them. Here is your chance to reel them in with your channel’s purpose.

3. Creating the Perfect Logo for Your YouTube Channel

#1. What Icon Should You Use for YouTube?

You may choose an icon that best represents the content your channel is producing. For example, if your channel is about technology, you can have an icon of a robot or an iPhone. This way, when viewers only see your icon, they have an idea that they can expect content around tech.

Here are some websites in which you can download logos and icons for YouTube videos .

#2. What Color Should Your YouTube Logo Be?

When creating your logo, avoid trendy colors as they may go out of style. Instead, consider the psychology of color .

What emotions do you want your channel to evoke to your viewers?

Answering this question helps you develop a consistent branding that applies to all your content as your channel grows. Blue evokes calm and trust, whereas, red is known to increase heart rate and is associated with danger. Before you select a color scheme, know how you want your audience to feel.

#3. What Font Should Your YouTube Logo Have?

While YouTube doesn’t offer a lot of real-estate for text, you might still want to include the name of your brand on your logo.

Potentially, the font you choose for your logo will also be the font for the text that appears on your YouTube videos and your channel art. With that in mind, it is important that you pick one that works best for you at the start. Here are some details to look for when selecting a font.

Legibility: Does the font get too hard to read the smaller it gets? It’s not uncommon for some fonts to become a messy blur once the size is reduced on desktop and mobile.

Simplicity: The most important thing about the font is its readability. If it looks like your doctor’s handwriting, then it might not be the best choice.

Consistency: Placed next to your icon, does the font look natural? You might not want to put an icon of a robot next to a font that looks like calligraphy.

#4. How Should You Design Your YouTube Logo?

Do you really need borders or supporting texts? I ask because the more you have on your logo, the less space it will have to stand out.

White space is your friend, it keeps the viewer’s attention focused on what matters and keeps the design uncluttered.

Save your logo as a vector so that you have the ability to scale without losing the image’s quality.

I get it, you are here to make a YouTube channel, not to design a logo. You’re not a designer. Don’t fret, we have a bunch of free logo making tools for you to create an awesome logo.

If you don’t want to create a logo or if the channel is of your own personal brand, then use a quality photograph or headshot of yourself. Doing so allows people to see who you are and develop an instant connection with you.

#5. What Makes A Good YouTube Channel Banner?

Your YouTube banner, or sometimes known as the channel art, is the cover page for your YouTube channel.

While the old adage tells us not to judge anything by the cover, in a world where we have a surplus of content, it is something we all must do for the sake of our time. If we see channel art that doesn’t appeal to us or doesn’t match the video content created, it is jarring. We are distracted from what matters and left questioning why we are on this channel in the first place.

Alternatively, if YouTube channel art is well designed and matches the aesthetic of the channel, then it can inspire your viewers to watch more, share, and subscribe.

So with that said, what makes a great YouTube banner?

Sizing: YouTube comes with sizing recommendations . The size they suggest is because of all the different devices viewers use to consume content.

You cannot control where and how your viewers consume your content. They can be watching on desktop, smartphone, tablet, or tv via Apple TV or Chromecast. That is why it is so important to have a responsive design: appropriate sizing and layout ensures that nothing important is cut off.

YouTube Banners

Less is more: There is already a lot happening on your YouTube channel page. Crowding your channel art will add more chaos than clarity. Additionally, since the design will shift from device to device, you may lose elements of the design if it is overcrowded.

Keep it in the middle: By keeping all the design elements and text within the safe zone, you can assure nothing will be cut out even if it is viewed on a less than optimal screen. It is a shame when you see that a headline is cut out and you cannot read the whole banner. Use YouTube’s template to help guide your design and ensure that everything important is visible.

High-resolution images: Nothing shouts “I’m an amateur” like having a pixelated image for your banner. Setting a high standard for images at the start will ensure that your whole channel will look professional from the beginning.

Take a go at creating your own channel art with some great YouTube design tools such as Canva and Crello.

Don’t have time to design at the moment? Download 50 free YouTube banner that we created to help busy creators like yourself get a professional page up and running right away.

Part 2: Building Out a YouTube Content Plan

Now that you know how to create a YouTube channel, you will need content to fill it up.

There are many factors to having success on YouTube and one has always been delivering content consistently. You may feel at this moment, that your brain is storming with ideas, but believe me, you don’t want to get caught in a drought. The way to avoid major blockers for your channel is to have a content plan at the onset.

A content plan helps guide you towards the mission, the reason you are building this YouTube channel in the first place.

Topics: Your YouTube channel will be focused on one broad topic, whether it be fashion, health, food, etc. It is hard to fly on a whim with a topic that covers such a wide scope. Creating content for these topics will require preparations and that’s why the earlier you have the content ideas for your video the more time you’ll have to research, rehearse, and get the best result.

Begin with a blank piece of paper and break down your topic into 5-10 different categories. If you have a channel about cooking, it may look something like this: breakfast, lunch, dinner, dessert, snack, etc.

From there, you can drill down more and explore specific topics such as “cheap meals,” “street food,” , etc. Niching down allows those who are looking for a more specific piece of content to find your material. Also, when one specific piece of content performs well, it will give a boost to all the other content related to that broader topic.

Researching Your Ideas: Now that you have a big list of ideas, it’s time to do some research. With so many idea options, it’s easy to get overwhelmed by the work ahead, but stay focused and tackle one idea at a time.

When it comes to videos, discoverability is an important aspect of everything you create. You aren’t only competing with other YouTube channels, you are competing with everything in the world that can turn your viewer away from your channel. That is why you should make it as easy as possible for your content to be discovered.

Pro Tip: Search on YouTube and see if there is already a video for the idea you have. By taking a quick look at what content is out there, you can see who you’ll be competing with and determine if it is worth pursuing. If there are already a lot of existing videos on that topic, it might be too hard to for people find your content at first.

Keyword Research: For each of your ideas, you will want to conduct extensive keyword research. This research will help dictate the tags, titles, and descriptions of your videos once they are ready to publish.

There are a few ways to conduct keyword research, but we suggest using free online tools to help cut down the time spent.

1. Free tools

Ubersuggest : Type in a keyword and Ubersuggest will populate with related terms that you can use in your strategy.

Google Trends : Examine the historical trends of a keyword and determine its popularity in Google search and how it is affected annually and seasonally. Google Trends is also a good tool for seeing which topics are trending. By understanding this, you can plan your content around the hottest trends and ride the wave.

YouTube search bar : Enter your keyword into the YouTube search bar and the platform will automatically suggest the most popular searches with your keywords.

VidIQ : See what keywords other popular videos in your niche are using.

Google Adwords : Created as an advertising platform, Google Adwords also has a tool called Keyword Planner that allows you to see the monthly search traffic and the level of competition for each keyword. This tool is extremely useful for trimming down your long list of keyword ideas.

2. What Are Some Value-adding Content for YouTube?

Inspirational, educational, and entertaining: these are 3 resonating types of content as defined by Google for a YouTube audience.

Inspirational content that triggers an emotion in your audience. These content lean on good storytelling and relatable or unique experiences.

Educational content teaches the audience how to accomplish a task, improve a skill set, and discover new products or ideas.

Entertaining content is an escape for the audience. It allows them to sit back and enjoy your content and forget about what they have to deal with in real life.


You might be interested in:


3. Set Up a Content Calendar to Be Consistent on YouTube

A common issue for many YouTubers is consistency and accountability. Without a proper routine and schedule, YouTubers will end up procrastinating and publishing whenever they finish their content.

In order to properly establish an audience for your channel, there needs to be consistency and that is why it is so important to have a content calendar to affirm when a piece of content is due to be published, thus giving the creator a good idea of when to start each step of the process to meet publishing date.

There are many ways to build out a content calendar, you can simply use a spreadsheet, a calendar, or you can use other management/organization tools such as Trello or Asana . We recommend using Google Sheet and Google Calendar to start, as it is free and easy to use.

Since you are starting out, we suggest that you plan on a monthly basis, as it’ll allow you to be flexible to trending topics and adjust to insights that you’ll acquire as you analyze your content’s performance.

Part 3: Producing Your Content

YouTube Creator Filming

Now that you have a plan it is time to start producing your content. There are many ways to approach this, as different types of channels will have different processes for researching, capturing footage, and editing.

Planning: It doesn’t have to be a fully flushed script, but any bit of planning before hitting the record button will help you prepare some valuable content to be captured. It can be an outline, breaking down the topics you want to touch on.

If it’s a food YouTube channel, you’d want the recipe and all the ingredients ready on hand. Mise en place is the French phrase that chefs use meaning “everything in its place” or having everything they need on hand so when dinner rush comes preparation is done and now they are ready to produce. This same mentality works when preparing to shoot a YouTube video. The more you prepare the easier the shoot and the editing will be.

Equipment: At the start, you can get everything done on your smartphone. But that does depend on what your channel is going to be about and who your target audiences are. If you want to film some simple sketches to entertain people, yes, a smartphone camera can work for start. But if you are reaching a professional crowd or want to appear credible, then it might be worth it to invest in a better camera, audio, and lighting equipment.

Filming/Capturing: Always do some checks before shooting your YouTube videos as bad camera angles, poor audio quality, inadequate lighting are all easier to fix before rather than after the filming. Additionally, set a reminder to backup your footage and charge your batteries after every shoot and have an extension cord or a separate hard drive ready.

Editing: Over time, you will develop your own editing style. At the start, it is best to learn the fundamentals and improve on the basics.

Selecting the software: Some video editing software programs are free and others cost a lot. Do your research, sign up for free trials, and understand the limitations of the applications and the requirements you need. If money is a factor, you might want to stick with the free options such as iMovie or affordable options such as Filmora .

Download Filmora9 Win Version Download Filmora9 Mac Version

Storytelling: Skilled editing enables YouTube creators to tell the story in the most effective way. This does not mean in chronological order. Think of what will hook the audience right away and what will be most impactful at the very end. Pro-tip: Use pre-set transitions sparingly, jump cuts are often the most effective and least distracting. Editing is an invisible art.

Text, graphic or special effects: Video is a show that doesn’t tell medium, so use text sparingly. People aren’t going to your channel to read. However, text when used properly compliments the video and supplies context. Graphics and special effects are good when they support the story you are telling and cheesy when used egregiously to impress the viewer.

Export to the right format: You can pretty much upload any video format to YouTube and they can figure it out. Nevertheless, YouTube recommends using MP4 and encoded with the codec.

Part 4: Optimizing and Distributing Your YouTube Video

Your job is not done after you’ve filmed, edited, and published your video on YouTube. In order to help it get discovered, you’ll need to understand what will drive your audience to click and watch your video as opposed to all the other videos on YouTube.

By performing video optimization and sharing your content in communities interested in what you are creating, you can increase the chances that your video will be seen.

1. Tips for Writing the Best Title for YouTube Video

When coming up with titles for your YouTube video, you should always have your keyword research-ready on hand for reference.

YouTube keyword crawlers read from top to bottom, so it is most effective to have your keywords at the beginning of the title. Strive to build click-worthy titles that inspire curiosity, evoke an emotion, or offer a benefit.

Example:

Good: How to Deep Fry Chicken

Better: Deep Frying Chicken That’s Better Than KFC

While you have 100 characters to work with, anything beyond 70 characters will be truncated by YouTube.

Caution: Always deliver what your title is selling. Misleading viewers can cause mistrust in your content and will turn people off your channel.

2. Tips for Writing the Best Description for YouTube Video

Treat the description as a short synopsis for your video with the keywords strategically placed at the beginning. Include a URL to your website or blog and have any other supporting information or links.

Also, the description is where you can include some boilerplate channel information.

You have 5,000 characters to work with, but only the first three lines will be above the fold.

Pro Tip: If your video is on the longer end (over 20 minutes) or has multiple sections, then you should consider adding timestamps in the description to help the viewer skip to the spot they are most interested in.

3. Tips for Writing the Best Tags for YouTube Video

Keeping that keyword research handy write 5-15 tags. Start with specific keywords, then move into general keywords, and then branded keywords.

Specific keywords: how to deep fry chicken

General keywords: fried chicken recipe

Branded keywords: KFC

4. Tips for Designing the Best Thumbnail Image

Customize thumbnails: It is recommended that you take some time to customize a thumbnail image for your video. This is the first impression and you want to entice the viewer to click and watch.

YouTube auto-selects your thumbnail from a random position on your timeline, so it isn’t mandatory to create a thumbnail, however, the image YouTube selects might not be what you want to use to attract your audience.

Use photo editing software: To control how you want an image to look, you will need to choose a photo editing software. Wondershare PixStudio is a good choice that provides various types of templates for YouTube Thumbnails, Logos, Posters, etc.

pixstudio-online-graphic-design-maker

Have a consistent look: By having consistency, people will begin to recognize your thumbnails and even getting them excited to watch your video.

Pro Tips:

- Avoid using YouTube’s randomly selected thumbnail. Personalize it to stay consistent with your brand.

- Don’t clutter thumbnails. Less is more.

- Make fonts big if you are going to use text.

- Thumbnails have to have context, what is their story? Deliver on that promise.

- Using emotive faces have shown to appeal to people’s emotional cues and increases the likelihood of them clicking.

- Thumbnail file size should be 1280 x 720

5. Closed Captions and Uploading a Transcript

There are two key reasons why it is worth your time to use closed captions or upload a transcript for your YouTube videos.

  1. Having closed captions improves the video’s SEO, as Google indexes and crawls the keywords.
  2. For those that don’t want to or can’t hear the audio will appreciate having closed caption to allow them to enjoy the content.

6. How to Share Your Video with Social Media

Unless you have a huge social media following, it will be challenging to get many views from those channels at the start.

Grow your social media channel gradually by targeting your ideal viewer persona and hashtagging your content. On social media channels such as Facebook and Twitter, keep producing content for them, but don’t forget to share content from other YouTubers. If you see a cool video relevant to your audience, share it as well.

Lead your followers to your YouTube channel with content designed specifically for your social media channel. For example, Instagram Stories are a great way to engage directly with your followers, giving them a sneak peek or letting them know that your latest YouTube videos are up. You can even link directly to your YouTube channel from your Instagram story.

Instagram Story Caspar Lee

YouTuber, Caspar Lee

Join groups on social networks such as Facebook, Reddit, etc. and engage in conversations that are related or complementary to your YouTube channel. The key is to find communities that are interested in the content you are producing, but approach those groups with caution and ensure that anything you share won’t be perceived as spam.

Conclusion

There you go, now you have made your first YouTube video. It might be something you are incredibly proud of or it might have been a great learning experience. It might have gone without a hitch or you might have encountered obstacles you weren’t anticipating. Either way, you followed through and we are happy for you.

Now, get ready for the next one. The job of a YouTuber is never complete as there is always another video to make. By executing what we taught you in this guide, you now have the foundation to grow your channel. Good luck!

author avatar

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Also read:

  • Title: "2024 Approved Become the Brand You Want With Our Exclusive Set of FREE Graphics"
  • Author: Brian
  • Created at : 2024-05-25 11:00:02
  • Updated at : 2024-05-26 11:00:02
  • Link: https://youtube-video-recordings.techidaily.com/2024-approved-become-the-brand-you-want-with-our-exclusive-set-of-free-graphics/
  • License: This work is licensed under CC BY-NC-SA 4.0.
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