Okay hotshot, so you want a successful YouTube travel channel. Where do you start? What do you do? Where do you go? Aargh! Relax; there are some very easy steps you can take to get started. Most importantly, these astute YouTube tips can be done either for free or with very little money involved.

Am I blowing your mind?

MediaKitty met with Michael Kauffman, who works in creative strategy and content marketing for YouTube to find out the right steps to successfully launch a video channel. Prior to YouTube, Michael worked in the music industry where he spearheaded teams for such companies as Universal Music Group. Surprisingly, launching a YouTube channel is not as tough as you might think. Michael provided a few key initiatives to help you start a YouTube niche channel that the masses will adore. Ready? Let’s go!

 

YOUTUBE ACADEMY

YouTube has numerous free resources for content and creative strategy. Check out the YouTube Creator Academy. This is a free educational resource that will help you reach your audience, hone production skills, and build your channel. This is a very important place to start when creating your channel. The Holy Grail of video channel creations can be found by watching the YouTube Fundamentals video series. The viewing will only take twenty minutes of your life and will provide you with a plethora of valuable resources. Plus, it’s flippin’ free!

 

JUST START

People sometimes get intimidated at launching a YouTube channel. One solution is to simply do it. Done! Consider how fast things move on the Internet; thus nobody is that far ahead of you as far as their expertise. It’s just a matter of getting started with your channel and seeing what works - and what doesn’t work. If you give yourself some time to learn a few basics you’re probably ahead of 99% of the people in the same niche space as you. It’s really all about testing, evolving, and polishing things in the early stages. Maybe your initial goal is to try and get people to sign up for your newsletter? If so, then create a content strategy where that’s your call to action.

Just do it!

 

AUDIENCE & SHAREABILITY

Take a step back and figure out who’s your target audience, what turns them on, what do they want to know, what do they want to buy, and what’s the best way to reach them. Also, research factors that have made other channels in your space successful. Increasingly people are experiencing videos on their phones. Google calls this ‘micro-moments.’ Keep this in mind with the type of videos your audience will enjoy.

Also, consider what makes people want to share videos. It could be things like funny content or stuff people can relate to (like adorable cats wearing sweaters). Trending topics often get a traffic surge; it’s what people are talking about and, in turn, makes them want to share the content. Along with that, consider your video titles, descriptions, and tags – and how they relate to your audience.

 

 

INTERACTIVITY

Involve your audience. YouTube allows you to directly address your online community and engage with them via comments. Successful channels sometimes incorporate comments into their next videos by addressing what subscribers have previously said – to keep the dialogue rolling. By giving your users a shout-out, it makes them feel like a rock star. It’s very important to engage the people that have the same passion for what you have a passion for.

 

COLLABORATE

YouTube makes creators reachable. Just click on their ‘About' section to find a contact email. Find creators within your space and reach out to them. Logistically, you can hook up with creators in your area. Once connected, creatively think of videos ideas that would make for a great collaboration. Start small and start simple. Collaborating will will help boost your traffic and build your following. A creative wild card: combine your travel channel with, say, a cooking channel. This could result in a great, creative collaboration and help crossover your channel to a new audience.

 

LOOK INTO YOUTUBE SPACES

YouTube Spaces is available in such cities as New York, Los Angeles, London, Tokyo, and other worldly locales. If your channel gets to a certain level of subscribers, you can get free access to the YouTube production facilities and equipment. New York, for example, requires that you have at least 5,000 subscribers to use their space. You can also sign up for the YouTube Spaces newsletter and attend their workshops, happy hours, and other events; which is a great idea for networking and meeting other creators for collaborations.

 

CONSISTENCY & CURATE

Be consistent. A weekly update is a good place to start. An easy way to continually update your YouTube channel is to curate playlists. YouTube has every video imaginable; curate your favorite under different categories. One week have a playlist of adventure travel videos. The next week, make the content your top travel foodie vids. Playlists humanizes your channel and cost you nothing to create; thus allowing you to have regular updates and showcase your passions. You can even have a successful YouTube travel channel by simply curating other successful YouTube travel channels.

 

SEARCH

There are two key ways people find YouTube videos. They either type a question into the search bar and the video comes up as a result. Or, YouTube’s algorithm suggests the video when you’re looking for similar content. Start the creative process by thinking about what your audience searches for. If your travel channel centers on beach resorts, go to YouTube and search the term “beach.” This will show you what most people are looking for with this term. Also, consider this valuable SEO research on good searchable names for your channel/brand.

It also creatively helps with the type of videos to create; if “beach house” is the second most searchable term – then consider every week creating a beach house video. YouTube algorithms will soon pick up on this and start recommending your videos when people search the term ‘beach house.’ It’s a free and simple way to inspire yourself for new content ideas on your channel.