5 Tips For Getting Started On YouTube

Follow this advice and reap the rewards

My biggest regret as an entrepreneur is that I didn’t start doing YouTube 10 years ago.

I love Casey Neistat, and there was a period for about a year in Florida when I made vlogs. It was fun, but I stopped.

Man, I wish I kept going.

If done right, YouTube is an incredibly effective tool to grow your brand and business.

Here are a few tips to help you get started.

LFG 🔥

1. Start Recording And Hit Publish

For whatever reason, the biggest hurdle with YouTube is that people think they need high quality content.

You don’t.

You don’t need a camera. You don’t need an editor. You don’t need a backdrop. All you need is your phone, the courage to record, and most importantly, the courage to upload.

The hardest part is getting comfortable in front of the camera. So start creating helpful videos that will benefit your audience. That’s the most important part.

I know plenty of successful YouTube channels that have zero editing or production and still do quite well.

This is the most important advice I can give you. If you’re worried about production, then you’re not focused on creating content that helps people. Keep the main thing the main thing, and the rest will fall into place.

My first videos lol. Man I was a skinny runner. :)

2. Get A Little Better As You Go

I’m not saying you shouldn’t take production seriously. I’m saying you should focus on the value your content brings before anything else.

Once you start recording and publishing, you’ll find lots of ways to improve. Maybe you

start editing on iMovie

find an editor and start sending your videos to them

figure out how to add subtitles

buy a better camera

buy a better mic

find a great spot outside with natural light

Take it seriously, but improve as you go. Most importantly, you hit publish while improving.

3. Be Specific About Your Subject Matter

I’ve had a lot of fun with YouTube over the years. I made videos about working out, hikes with the family, book reviews, and other random stuff.

That was fine, but my channel didn’t start growing until I focused 100 percent of my subject matter on business. More specifically, building agencies.

Ever since I started creating videos to help people build agencies, it’s blown up.

If I had executed with this level of focus and intention 10 years ago, I’d have at least a million subscribers and a brand worth tens of millions.

You live and learn.

4. Don’t Try Too Hard

Another common hang-up is thinking “I already made a video about that,” or “this video will only be two minutes long, is that good enough?”

Just make valuable content for your audience.

As an SEO, I really struggled with this. It was hard for me to publish content that didn’t have a clear, direct intention. But once I loosened up and started sharing my experience with building agencies, everything opened up.

It’s funny. The less you care, the easier it becomes.

5. Keep Going Forever

Create a schedule and stick to it.

I record at least one video a week. Once a month, Isaac and I get together and record as many short form videos as we can.

There’s no end game. There’s no final goal. There’s only an infinite game, and the purpose is to keep playing.