9 tips to to answer how to upload videos on YouTube

As of 2021, YouTube has 2.3 Billion users worldwide. That is as big as an audience can get in today’s world.

If you are a YouTube creator or planning to be one, here’s another statistic for you. Every minute, 500 hours worth of video content gets uploaded to YouTube.

So, despite a high number of users, do you have any chance of succeeding if you are starting now?

The chance is getting slimmer but the answer is yes. And if you follow the rules mentioned below, you improve your chances.

Tip #01: Don’t get into an overused Niche

There are numerous niches on YouTube. It’s hard to imagine that you’d get into one overcrowded niche.

But that’s easily possible.

I recently started two channels — one of them was in an overcrowded niche (Gaming). The growth of that channel has been painfully slow.

The other channel, which creates some basic productivity tools, has a significantly higher growth rate.

It’s easier to progress in less competitive niches.

To find them, you can research them on YouTube. Usually, the less glamorous niches have a lower number of creators.

Tip #02: It’s all in the name – How to upload videos on YouTube

YouTube is the world’s second most popular search engine. Millions of people search for desired videos every hour.

If your new video has a well-researched title, then your views & impressions will increase.

For that, you can use either of the following extensions. These extensions allow you to check how popular your search title is among viewers and other creators.

• Vidiq
• Tubebuddy

You should choose one that has high demand among viewers but relatively less among other creators.

Tip #03: Don’t forget to use Tags

Like Medium, you can add tags while uploading content on YouTube.

You can add as many tags as you want — as long as your total character count doesn’t cross 500.

The paid version of Tubebuddy shows what tags do well in your niche. But before you take the paid version, you can check videos of your competitors to see what tag they are using. Tubebuddy can identify that.

The purpose of the tag is to capture all possible search options. Your video might be searched using a term different from your title — you can add those in your tag. You can add your category details there as well.

Tip #04: Spend some time on video descriptions

YouTube algorithm scans through your video description to understand what it’s about.

Then it shows that video to your potential audiences.

Because of that, the description has to briefly describe what’s in the video. YouTube will then realize what it is about and then promotes it to users who are looking for videos in that niche.

Don’t past your tags in descriptions. YouTube may penalize you for that

What else can you do with descriptions:

• Add hashtags to connect all of your relevant videos
• Link to your sponsor, or anything that you want to promote
• Promote affiliate links to earn some extra money

Tip #05: Make a custom thumbnail

The custom thumbnail is a necessity these days.

A large number of your viewers will come from YouTube recommendations. Those recommendations appear on the home page or along with another video you are watching.

Users can see the title, channel name, and thumbnail.

From these three, they will decide whether they want to click on your video.

Thumbnails should have:

• High color contrast
• Large and legible text
• BYOG color combination (Blue, Yellow, Orange, or Green)
• No YouTube color (Red, Black, or White)should be used as a prominent part

Tip #06: Don’t forget Metadata

What’s Metadata?

YouTube can’t see your video. It can read the strings of data that you upload

To ensure you are providing consistent information and reinforcing your message, you should —

• Use the same title for your YouTube video, the video file that you’d upload from your computer, and the thumbnail image. Add that title as your title and subject in the properties file.
• Add the tags in the video file and thumbnail image. To do that, go to properties, then select the details tab and add the tags
• Lastly, make a shorter version of your description (with the right keywords) and add that as a comment in the same details tab

Tip #07: The right category is crucial

Usually, it’s easy to select a category — like Gaming is a standalone category.

What about cooking? YouTube doesn’t have a cooking category. The video can go into “People & Blog” or “How to & Style” or “Entertainment”.

But what if that’s the wrong category? You’ll not get any audience then.

You can check out what other popular YouTubers are doing in your niche and then follow it. That will signal YouTube to show your video to that same group of audience.

Tip #08: When to upload?

Once your videos reach a large enough audience (5k viewers in my case), YouTube will show when is the best time to upload.

It varies based on categories and geography. Before you have that information, you can follow the image below to start.

Eventually, you should upload as per YouTube’s direction.

Tip #09: Upload frequency

You should upload at least once a week.

Some YouTubers do it more than once per week. Some even upload daily.

You should choose a frequency that works for you. If you upload Shorts as well, then you can even do more than once per day.

YouTube values your effort. Anyone can upload one video. But only a serious YouTuber will continue uploading at a consistent pace.

For you, consistency is crucial. Whatever frequency you choose, stick to that.

So, it’s always better to have some videos ready before you start a channel. Otherwise, you will play catch up and your video quality will deteriorate.

Do You Now Know How To Upload Videos On YouTube?

Remember that the YouTube algorithm can’t see your videos. It can read the data you provide and check how its audience is performing.

Its sole purpose is to ensure that the viewers stay on the platform for a longer time. If your video helps in that goal, YouTube will boost it. Otherwise, that video will get sidelined.

So, on top of all the points, your video content has to be useful & interesting enough for the users. If not, no technique can save you.

Beyond that, feed the algorithm and it will give you views in return.

Because ultimately you are going to get most of your views from YouTube itself, not any external sources.

This was first published on Better Marketing.