The Art of YouTube Channels: Crafting Brands That Attract Viewers

How to Brand Your YouTube Channel to Get More Subscribers

Shanoon Cox

Nov 01, 2022• Proven solutions

0

Epic Meal Time. Michelle Phan. Peter McKinnon. When you think of each of these YouTube creators, what comes to mind? The feelings and thoughts you have are vastly different because each one of these channels has its own unique branding.

Epic Meal Time’s YouTube brand is in-your-face and intense. It pumps you full of adrenaline and increases your heart rate.

Michelle Phan’s YouTube brand is calm, whimsical, and aspirational.

The color palette she chose is pleasing to the eyes and doesn’t evoke any of the stress we get from Epic Meal Time.

They have different branding because they want to reflect different feelings for different audiences.

Bad Branding Causes Mistrust

When a branding element does not align with the message or the tone does not match with the material, then the audience is not going to trust what you offer. Without trust, you won’t be able to get the advocacy that is essential for a YouTube channel to grow.

Imagine Michelle Phan using the aggressive colors of Epic Meal Time or vice versa. Pretty weird, huh?

What is YouTube Branding?

You might think that branding simply comes together while making videos, but that’s not true. Branding takes a bit of preparation and foresight.

YouTube branding is the idea your viewers have in mind and the emotion they get when they think about your channel.

Here are notable elements of your channel’s branding:

- Channel name

- Channel art

- Video thumbnail

- Video title

- Icon

- Watermark

- Catchphrase

- Style of video

How to Start Branding Your YouTube Channel?

Before you start designing thumbnails and coming up with a catchphrase, the first step in branding is understanding the purpose of your channel. Once you have a purpose, you will know how you want your viewers to feel.

Here is a quick exercise to find your channel’s purpose:

Draw a 3 circle Venn diagram.

In circle 1, write down everything you consider yourself an expert in.

- What do your friends know you for?

- What can you give advice on?

- What did you go to school to learn?

In circle 2, write down all the topics you are passionate about.

- What can you talk effortlessly about for hours?

- At a party, where do you lead conversations towards?

In circle 3, write down everything that people will pay for that you can supply. Here is where you find the demand of the audience.

- Can you give me travel advice?

- Can you make people forget about their stressful day?

- Do you have experience in a specialized field?

Understanding what people will pay money for will help guide you in creating content that has true value.

In the center, come up with all the ideas that can be associated with all three circles. This will be the ideal purpose for your YouTube channel as it harnesses your expertise, your passion, and the demand of a viewership.

Examples:

Epic Meal Time

Expertise = Eating

Passion = Fast Food Culture

Demand = Unique Meals

PURPOSE: Showcase a unique combination of fast food people won’t make at home.

Michelle Phan

Expertise = Beauty Products

Passion = Makeup and Fashion

Demand = Beauty School

PURPOSE: Give people more confidence in beauty products.

How Is Your Channel Different From the Others?

Now that you have your purpose, it’s time to separate you from others with similar purposes. YouTube is a crowded space for content creators. If your channel is mimicking another more successful channel, you will be in the shadows.

Good branding allows you to differentiate from others .

Pick a Unique and Memorable Name

If your name is Michelle Phan, and you are not the Michelle Phan, I’m sorry, but you will need to pick another name for your YouTube channel:

If you do have to pick another name or if your channel is an ensemble with multiple members, make sure the name you choose is original, memorable, and short (4 words max).

Picking an Icon

Not every YouTuber needs to design an original logo for their brand. In fact, if the channel is about you — the YouTuber — you are the brand, so using a high-quality picture of yourself as the icon is okay.

However, if your channel has a specific theme or topic and you want your branding to convey it so it sticks in the viewers’ heads, especially if it’s their first time viewing your channel. A clear logo will help in amplifying your message:

Create Video Thumbnails That Stand Out

The power of good branding is that your viewers will be able to spot your brand in a crowded space. On YouTube, the crowded space is the suggested video section.

Epic Meal Time thumbnails standing out amongst other loud thumbnails.

Once you have the feeling you want to evoke, test out different thumbnails. Go incognito, search up your videos, and see how the visuals appear beside your competitions. Do they all have the same style or is your far more impressive?

Good branding doesn’t happen in the first try so keep experimenting.

Designing Your Icon, Thumbnail, and Channel Art

There is a lot to consider when designing all the visual elements for your channel. I won’t get into all of it, but here are some tips that you should always keep in mind.

- Less is more: Don’t clutter your icons, thumbnails, or banner.

- Have a single focus: A channel and a video can have a lot of different topics, but the image can’t show everything a video can. Pick one important area and highlight that in the image.

- Quality matters: Your audience is savvier than ever. If they see a pixelated image, they will judge your channel poorly. That’s bad branding. Always use high-quality pictures.

- Make sure the color pops and the text is visible: Use eye-catching colors and visible text. This is a billboard, you have milliseconds to get people’s attention as they scroll past.

Want more resources for creating your channel’s visual elements? Yes? Well, we made this for you:

- How to Make YouTube Video Thumbnail

- How to Make YouTube Icons

- Free Youtube Banners

How to Make Your Visuals Consistent?

When a viewer finds your video and considers it pretty interesting, they will then go into your channel page to learn more. Here is where they make their decision: subscribe or not subscribe?

Consistent branding affirms the viewer that they are in the right place. Peter McKinnon’s brand is built upon his amazing photography, it only makes sense that his visual elements are awesome.

Peter McKinnon is best known for his photography and cinematography, and his branding amplifies that.

But Branding Is Not Designing, It’s A Feeling

Don’t get too caught up with a design.

Look at PewDiePie’s branding. You can argue that it is inconsistent and the design is not professional, but actually, his branding is spot on, because he is making you feel a certain way.

PewDiePie’s brand highlights its upbeat and unpredictable personality.

PewDiePie wants you to laugh. He is not branding his expertise like Peter McKinnon is, he’s branding his personality.

Consistent branding is about making the elements of your channel: channel art, logo, thumbnails, titles, etc. all harmonize together to evoke a sensation.

The humor in PewDiePie’s brand is consistent, even though his thumbnails don’t look like Philip DeFranco’s. It is up to you how you define consistency, and that will happen over time.

Philip DeFranco supplies commentary on current events with a satirical flair. Like a news broadcast, his branding and video format are consistent, while the daily news is different.

Inserting A Watermark

The main point of a watermark is to let the viewers know when they are watching your video that it is in fact your video.

Let’s be honest, YouTube content can all look the same, especially if you are making content that is quite general (like beauty or tech), so a watermark helps differentiate, so when viewers are ready to subscribe, they have an extra branding element connecting them to your channel.

Improvement Pill is a YouTube channel focused on inspiring and motivating its viewer to live a better life.

Above we see an example of a watermark from the YouTube channel Improvement Pill. You can see the watermark in the lower right-hand corner.

Improvement Pill is not the only channel that uses whiteboard animation to illustrate their story, and because of that, they need to set themselves apart. A watermark helps do that.

When a viewer lands on their video, the watermark gives the viewer another way to get more familiar with the channel, and if they are to scroll over the watermark a subscription button pops up.

Want to set up your subscription watermark? Here is a quick tutorial:

Coming Up With A Catchphrase

A catchphrase can be your greeting or sign off, but it doesn’t have to be an original line, it can simply be the way you say “hello.”

Check out some of the popular YouTuber’s catchphrases:

When coming up with a catchphrase that is connected to your channel’s branding remember how you want the viewer to feel. Do you want to leave them with a smile? Or do you want them to take action?

Final Thoughts On YouTube Branding

As you build and grow your YouTube channel, you can expand your purpose while still sticking within the overall theme. You might have started a channel that focused on the topic of nutrition, but as you grow, you will discover that your audience may also be interested in fitness tips or workout accessories as well. Take it slowly and grow with purpose.

Your branding doesn’t dictate the content you create, but it does affect how you go about making it.

Got more questions about branding your YouTube channel? Let us know in the comments below.

Shanoon Cox

Shanoon Cox is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Shanoon Cox

Shanoon Cox

Nov 01, 2022• Proven solutions

0

Epic Meal Time. Michelle Phan. Peter McKinnon. When you think of each of these YouTube creators, what comes to mind? The feelings and thoughts you have are vastly different because each one of these channels has its own unique branding.

Epic Meal Time’s YouTube brand is in-your-face and intense. It pumps you full of adrenaline and increases your heart rate.

Michelle Phan’s YouTube brand is calm, whimsical, and aspirational.

The color palette she chose is pleasing to the eyes and doesn’t evoke any of the stress we get from Epic Meal Time.

They have different branding because they want to reflect different feelings for different audiences.

Bad Branding Causes Mistrust

When a branding element does not align with the message or the tone does not match with the material, then the audience is not going to trust what you offer. Without trust, you won’t be able to get the advocacy that is essential for a YouTube channel to grow.

Imagine Michelle Phan using the aggressive colors of Epic Meal Time or vice versa. Pretty weird, huh?

What is YouTube Branding?

You might think that branding simply comes together while making videos, but that’s not true. Branding takes a bit of preparation and foresight.

YouTube branding is the idea your viewers have in mind and the emotion they get when they think about your channel.

Here are notable elements of your channel’s branding:

- Channel name

- Channel art

- Video thumbnail

- Video title

- Icon

- Watermark

- Catchphrase

- Style of video

How to Start Branding Your YouTube Channel?

Before you start designing thumbnails and coming up with a catchphrase, the first step in branding is understanding the purpose of your channel. Once you have a purpose, you will know how you want your viewers to feel.

Here is a quick exercise to find your channel’s purpose:

Draw a 3 circle Venn diagram.

In circle 1, write down everything you consider yourself an expert in.

- What do your friends know you for?

- What can you give advice on?

- What did you go to school to learn?

In circle 2, write down all the topics you are passionate about.

- What can you talk effortlessly about for hours?

- At a party, where do you lead conversations towards?

In circle 3, write down everything that people will pay for that you can supply. Here is where you find the demand of the audience.

- Can you give me travel advice?

- Can you make people forget about their stressful day?

- Do you have experience in a specialized field?

Understanding what people will pay money for will help guide you in creating content that has true value.

In the center, come up with all the ideas that can be associated with all three circles. This will be the ideal purpose for your YouTube channel as it harnesses your expertise, your passion, and the demand of a viewership.

Examples:

Epic Meal Time

Expertise = Eating

Passion = Fast Food Culture

Demand = Unique Meals

PURPOSE: Showcase a unique combination of fast food people won’t make at home.

Michelle Phan

Expertise = Beauty Products

Passion = Makeup and Fashion

Demand = Beauty School

PURPOSE: Give people more confidence in beauty products.

How Is Your Channel Different From the Others?

Now that you have your purpose, it’s time to separate you from others with similar purposes. YouTube is a crowded space for content creators. If your channel is mimicking another more successful channel, you will be in the shadows.

Good branding allows you to differentiate from others .

Pick a Unique and Memorable Name

If your name is Michelle Phan, and you are not the Michelle Phan, I’m sorry, but you will need to pick another name for your YouTube channel:

If you do have to pick another name or if your channel is an ensemble with multiple members, make sure the name you choose is original, memorable, and short (4 words max).

Picking an Icon

Not every YouTuber needs to design an original logo for their brand. In fact, if the channel is about you — the YouTuber — you are the brand, so using a high-quality picture of yourself as the icon is okay.

However, if your channel has a specific theme or topic and you want your branding to convey it so it sticks in the viewers’ heads, especially if it’s their first time viewing your channel. A clear logo will help in amplifying your message:

Create Video Thumbnails That Stand Out

The power of good branding is that your viewers will be able to spot your brand in a crowded space. On YouTube, the crowded space is the suggested video section.

Epic Meal Time thumbnails standing out amongst other loud thumbnails.

Once you have the feeling you want to evoke, test out different thumbnails. Go incognito, search up your videos, and see how the visuals appear beside your competitions. Do they all have the same style or is your far more impressive?

Good branding doesn’t happen in the first try so keep experimenting.

Designing Your Icon, Thumbnail, and Channel Art

There is a lot to consider when designing all the visual elements for your channel. I won’t get into all of it, but here are some tips that you should always keep in mind.

- Less is more: Don’t clutter your icons, thumbnails, or banner.

- Have a single focus: A channel and a video can have a lot of different topics, but the image can’t show everything a video can. Pick one important area and highlight that in the image.

- Quality matters: Your audience is savvier than ever. If they see a pixelated image, they will judge your channel poorly. That’s bad branding. Always use high-quality pictures.

- Make sure the color pops and the text is visible: Use eye-catching colors and visible text. This is a billboard, you have milliseconds to get people’s attention as they scroll past.

Want more resources for creating your channel’s visual elements? Yes? Well, we made this for you:

- How to Make YouTube Video Thumbnail

- How to Make YouTube Icons

- Free Youtube Banners

How to Make Your Visuals Consistent?

When a viewer finds your video and considers it pretty interesting, they will then go into your channel page to learn more. Here is where they make their decision: subscribe or not subscribe?

Consistent branding affirms the viewer that they are in the right place. Peter McKinnon’s brand is built upon his amazing photography, it only makes sense that his visual elements are awesome.

Peter McKinnon is best known for his photography and cinematography, and his branding amplifies that.

But Branding Is Not Designing, It’s A Feeling

Don’t get too caught up with a design.

Look at PewDiePie’s branding. You can argue that it is inconsistent and the design is not professional, but actually, his branding is spot on, because he is making you feel a certain way.

PewDiePie’s brand highlights its upbeat and unpredictable personality.

PewDiePie wants you to laugh. He is not branding his expertise like Peter McKinnon is, he’s branding his personality.

Consistent branding is about making the elements of your channel: channel art, logo, thumbnails, titles, etc. all harmonize together to evoke a sensation.

The humor in PewDiePie’s brand is consistent, even though his thumbnails don’t look like Philip DeFranco’s. It is up to you how you define consistency, and that will happen over time.

Philip DeFranco supplies commentary on current events with a satirical flair. Like a news broadcast, his branding and video format are consistent, while the daily news is different.

Inserting A Watermark

The main point of a watermark is to let the viewers know when they are watching your video that it is in fact your video.

Let’s be honest, YouTube content can all look the same, especially if you are making content that is quite general (like beauty or tech), so a watermark helps differentiate, so when viewers are ready to subscribe, they have an extra branding element connecting them to your channel.

Improvement Pill is a YouTube channel focused on inspiring and motivating its viewer to live a better life.

Above we see an example of a watermark from the YouTube channel Improvement Pill. You can see the watermark in the lower right-hand corner.

Improvement Pill is not the only channel that uses whiteboard animation to illustrate their story, and because of that, they need to set themselves apart. A watermark helps do that.

When a viewer lands on their video, the watermark gives the viewer another way to get more familiar with the channel, and if they are to scroll over the watermark a subscription button pops up.

Want to set up your subscription watermark? Here is a quick tutorial:

Coming Up With A Catchphrase

A catchphrase can be your greeting or sign off, but it doesn’t have to be an original line, it can simply be the way you say “hello.”

Check out some of the popular YouTuber’s catchphrases:

When coming up with a catchphrase that is connected to your channel’s branding remember how you want the viewer to feel. Do you want to leave them with a smile? Or do you want them to take action?

Final Thoughts On YouTube Branding

As you build and grow your YouTube channel, you can expand your purpose while still sticking within the overall theme. You might have started a channel that focused on the topic of nutrition, but as you grow, you will discover that your audience may also be interested in fitness tips or workout accessories as well. Take it slowly and grow with purpose.

Your branding doesn’t dictate the content you create, but it does affect how you go about making it.

Got more questions about branding your YouTube channel? Let us know in the comments below.

Shanoon Cox

Shanoon Cox is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Shanoon Cox

Shanoon Cox

Nov 01, 2022• Proven solutions

0

Epic Meal Time. Michelle Phan. Peter McKinnon. When you think of each of these YouTube creators, what comes to mind? The feelings and thoughts you have are vastly different because each one of these channels has its own unique branding.

Epic Meal Time’s YouTube brand is in-your-face and intense. It pumps you full of adrenaline and increases your heart rate.

Michelle Phan’s YouTube brand is calm, whimsical, and aspirational.

The color palette she chose is pleasing to the eyes and doesn’t evoke any of the stress we get from Epic Meal Time.

They have different branding because they want to reflect different feelings for different audiences.

Bad Branding Causes Mistrust

When a branding element does not align with the message or the tone does not match with the material, then the audience is not going to trust what you offer. Without trust, you won’t be able to get the advocacy that is essential for a YouTube channel to grow.

Imagine Michelle Phan using the aggressive colors of Epic Meal Time or vice versa. Pretty weird, huh?

What is YouTube Branding?

You might think that branding simply comes together while making videos, but that’s not true. Branding takes a bit of preparation and foresight.

YouTube branding is the idea your viewers have in mind and the emotion they get when they think about your channel.

Here are notable elements of your channel’s branding:

- Channel name

- Channel art

- Video thumbnail

- Video title

- Icon

- Watermark

- Catchphrase

- Style of video

How to Start Branding Your YouTube Channel?

Before you start designing thumbnails and coming up with a catchphrase, the first step in branding is understanding the purpose of your channel. Once you have a purpose, you will know how you want your viewers to feel.

Here is a quick exercise to find your channel’s purpose:

Draw a 3 circle Venn diagram.

In circle 1, write down everything you consider yourself an expert in.

- What do your friends know you for?

- What can you give advice on?

- What did you go to school to learn?

In circle 2, write down all the topics you are passionate about.

- What can you talk effortlessly about for hours?

- At a party, where do you lead conversations towards?

In circle 3, write down everything that people will pay for that you can supply. Here is where you find the demand of the audience.

- Can you give me travel advice?

- Can you make people forget about their stressful day?

- Do you have experience in a specialized field?

Understanding what people will pay money for will help guide you in creating content that has true value.

In the center, come up with all the ideas that can be associated with all three circles. This will be the ideal purpose for your YouTube channel as it harnesses your expertise, your passion, and the demand of a viewership.

Examples:

Epic Meal Time

Expertise = Eating

Passion = Fast Food Culture

Demand = Unique Meals

PURPOSE: Showcase a unique combination of fast food people won’t make at home.

Michelle Phan

Expertise = Beauty Products

Passion = Makeup and Fashion

Demand = Beauty School

PURPOSE: Give people more confidence in beauty products.

How Is Your Channel Different From the Others?

Now that you have your purpose, it’s time to separate you from others with similar purposes. YouTube is a crowded space for content creators. If your channel is mimicking another more successful channel, you will be in the shadows.

Good branding allows you to differentiate from others .

Pick a Unique and Memorable Name

If your name is Michelle Phan, and you are not the Michelle Phan, I’m sorry, but you will need to pick another name for your YouTube channel:

If you do have to pick another name or if your channel is an ensemble with multiple members, make sure the name you choose is original, memorable, and short (4 words max).

Picking an Icon

Not every YouTuber needs to design an original logo for their brand. In fact, if the channel is about you — the YouTuber — you are the brand, so using a high-quality picture of yourself as the icon is okay.

However, if your channel has a specific theme or topic and you want your branding to convey it so it sticks in the viewers’ heads, especially if it’s their first time viewing your channel. A clear logo will help in amplifying your message:

Create Video Thumbnails That Stand Out

The power of good branding is that your viewers will be able to spot your brand in a crowded space. On YouTube, the crowded space is the suggested video section.

Epic Meal Time thumbnails standing out amongst other loud thumbnails.

Once you have the feeling you want to evoke, test out different thumbnails. Go incognito, search up your videos, and see how the visuals appear beside your competitions. Do they all have the same style or is your far more impressive?

Good branding doesn’t happen in the first try so keep experimenting.

Designing Your Icon, Thumbnail, and Channel Art

There is a lot to consider when designing all the visual elements for your channel. I won’t get into all of it, but here are some tips that you should always keep in mind.

- Less is more: Don’t clutter your icons, thumbnails, or banner.

- Have a single focus: A channel and a video can have a lot of different topics, but the image can’t show everything a video can. Pick one important area and highlight that in the image.

- Quality matters: Your audience is savvier than ever. If they see a pixelated image, they will judge your channel poorly. That’s bad branding. Always use high-quality pictures.

- Make sure the color pops and the text is visible: Use eye-catching colors and visible text. This is a billboard, you have milliseconds to get people’s attention as they scroll past.

Want more resources for creating your channel’s visual elements? Yes? Well, we made this for you:

- How to Make YouTube Video Thumbnail

- How to Make YouTube Icons

- Free Youtube Banners

How to Make Your Visuals Consistent?

When a viewer finds your video and considers it pretty interesting, they will then go into your channel page to learn more. Here is where they make their decision: subscribe or not subscribe?

Consistent branding affirms the viewer that they are in the right place. Peter McKinnon’s brand is built upon his amazing photography, it only makes sense that his visual elements are awesome.

Peter McKinnon is best known for his photography and cinematography, and his branding amplifies that.

But Branding Is Not Designing, It’s A Feeling

Don’t get too caught up with a design.

Look at PewDiePie’s branding. You can argue that it is inconsistent and the design is not professional, but actually, his branding is spot on, because he is making you feel a certain way.

PewDiePie’s brand highlights its upbeat and unpredictable personality.

PewDiePie wants you to laugh. He is not branding his expertise like Peter McKinnon is, he’s branding his personality.

Consistent branding is about making the elements of your channel: channel art, logo, thumbnails, titles, etc. all harmonize together to evoke a sensation.

The humor in PewDiePie’s brand is consistent, even though his thumbnails don’t look like Philip DeFranco’s. It is up to you how you define consistency, and that will happen over time.

Philip DeFranco supplies commentary on current events with a satirical flair. Like a news broadcast, his branding and video format are consistent, while the daily news is different.

Inserting A Watermark

The main point of a watermark is to let the viewers know when they are watching your video that it is in fact your video.

Let’s be honest, YouTube content can all look the same, especially if you are making content that is quite general (like beauty or tech), so a watermark helps differentiate, so when viewers are ready to subscribe, they have an extra branding element connecting them to your channel.

Improvement Pill is a YouTube channel focused on inspiring and motivating its viewer to live a better life.

Above we see an example of a watermark from the YouTube channel Improvement Pill. You can see the watermark in the lower right-hand corner.

Improvement Pill is not the only channel that uses whiteboard animation to illustrate their story, and because of that, they need to set themselves apart. A watermark helps do that.

When a viewer lands on their video, the watermark gives the viewer another way to get more familiar with the channel, and if they are to scroll over the watermark a subscription button pops up.

Want to set up your subscription watermark? Here is a quick tutorial:

Coming Up With A Catchphrase

A catchphrase can be your greeting or sign off, but it doesn’t have to be an original line, it can simply be the way you say “hello.”

Check out some of the popular YouTuber’s catchphrases:

When coming up with a catchphrase that is connected to your channel’s branding remember how you want the viewer to feel. Do you want to leave them with a smile? Or do you want them to take action?

Final Thoughts On YouTube Branding

As you build and grow your YouTube channel, you can expand your purpose while still sticking within the overall theme. You might have started a channel that focused on the topic of nutrition, but as you grow, you will discover that your audience may also be interested in fitness tips or workout accessories as well. Take it slowly and grow with purpose.

Your branding doesn’t dictate the content you create, but it does affect how you go about making it.

Got more questions about branding your YouTube channel? Let us know in the comments below.

Shanoon Cox

Shanoon Cox is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Shanoon Cox

Shanoon Cox

Nov 01, 2022• Proven solutions

0

Epic Meal Time. Michelle Phan. Peter McKinnon. When you think of each of these YouTube creators, what comes to mind? The feelings and thoughts you have are vastly different because each one of these channels has its own unique branding.

Epic Meal Time’s YouTube brand is in-your-face and intense. It pumps you full of adrenaline and increases your heart rate.

Michelle Phan’s YouTube brand is calm, whimsical, and aspirational.

The color palette she chose is pleasing to the eyes and doesn’t evoke any of the stress we get from Epic Meal Time.

They have different branding because they want to reflect different feelings for different audiences.

Bad Branding Causes Mistrust

When a branding element does not align with the message or the tone does not match with the material, then the audience is not going to trust what you offer. Without trust, you won’t be able to get the advocacy that is essential for a YouTube channel to grow.

Imagine Michelle Phan using the aggressive colors of Epic Meal Time or vice versa. Pretty weird, huh?

What is YouTube Branding?

You might think that branding simply comes together while making videos, but that’s not true. Branding takes a bit of preparation and foresight.

YouTube branding is the idea your viewers have in mind and the emotion they get when they think about your channel.

Here are notable elements of your channel’s branding:

- Channel name

- Channel art

- Video thumbnail

- Video title

- Icon

- Watermark

- Catchphrase

- Style of video

How to Start Branding Your YouTube Channel?

Before you start designing thumbnails and coming up with a catchphrase, the first step in branding is understanding the purpose of your channel. Once you have a purpose, you will know how you want your viewers to feel.

Here is a quick exercise to find your channel’s purpose:

Draw a 3 circle Venn diagram.

In circle 1, write down everything you consider yourself an expert in.

- What do your friends know you for?

- What can you give advice on?

- What did you go to school to learn?

In circle 2, write down all the topics you are passionate about.

- What can you talk effortlessly about for hours?

- At a party, where do you lead conversations towards?

In circle 3, write down everything that people will pay for that you can supply. Here is where you find the demand of the audience.

- Can you give me travel advice?

- Can you make people forget about their stressful day?

- Do you have experience in a specialized field?

Understanding what people will pay money for will help guide you in creating content that has true value.

In the center, come up with all the ideas that can be associated with all three circles. This will be the ideal purpose for your YouTube channel as it harnesses your expertise, your passion, and the demand of a viewership.

Examples:

Epic Meal Time

Expertise = Eating

Passion = Fast Food Culture

Demand = Unique Meals

PURPOSE: Showcase a unique combination of fast food people won’t make at home.

Michelle Phan

Expertise = Beauty Products

Passion = Makeup and Fashion

Demand = Beauty School

PURPOSE: Give people more confidence in beauty products.

How Is Your Channel Different From the Others?

Now that you have your purpose, it’s time to separate you from others with similar purposes. YouTube is a crowded space for content creators. If your channel is mimicking another more successful channel, you will be in the shadows.

Good branding allows you to differentiate from others .

Pick a Unique and Memorable Name

If your name is Michelle Phan, and you are not the Michelle Phan, I’m sorry, but you will need to pick another name for your YouTube channel:

If you do have to pick another name or if your channel is an ensemble with multiple members, make sure the name you choose is original, memorable, and short (4 words max).

Picking an Icon

Not every YouTuber needs to design an original logo for their brand. In fact, if the channel is about you — the YouTuber — you are the brand, so using a high-quality picture of yourself as the icon is okay.

However, if your channel has a specific theme or topic and you want your branding to convey it so it sticks in the viewers’ heads, especially if it’s their first time viewing your channel. A clear logo will help in amplifying your message:

Create Video Thumbnails That Stand Out

The power of good branding is that your viewers will be able to spot your brand in a crowded space. On YouTube, the crowded space is the suggested video section.

Epic Meal Time thumbnails standing out amongst other loud thumbnails.

Once you have the feeling you want to evoke, test out different thumbnails. Go incognito, search up your videos, and see how the visuals appear beside your competitions. Do they all have the same style or is your far more impressive?

Good branding doesn’t happen in the first try so keep experimenting.

Designing Your Icon, Thumbnail, and Channel Art

There is a lot to consider when designing all the visual elements for your channel. I won’t get into all of it, but here are some tips that you should always keep in mind.

- Less is more: Don’t clutter your icons, thumbnails, or banner.

- Have a single focus: A channel and a video can have a lot of different topics, but the image can’t show everything a video can. Pick one important area and highlight that in the image.

- Quality matters: Your audience is savvier than ever. If they see a pixelated image, they will judge your channel poorly. That’s bad branding. Always use high-quality pictures.

- Make sure the color pops and the text is visible: Use eye-catching colors and visible text. This is a billboard, you have milliseconds to get people’s attention as they scroll past.

Want more resources for creating your channel’s visual elements? Yes? Well, we made this for you:

- How to Make YouTube Video Thumbnail

- How to Make YouTube Icons

- Free Youtube Banners

How to Make Your Visuals Consistent?

When a viewer finds your video and considers it pretty interesting, they will then go into your channel page to learn more. Here is where they make their decision: subscribe or not subscribe?

Consistent branding affirms the viewer that they are in the right place. Peter McKinnon’s brand is built upon his amazing photography, it only makes sense that his visual elements are awesome.

Peter McKinnon is best known for his photography and cinematography, and his branding amplifies that.

But Branding Is Not Designing, It’s A Feeling

Don’t get too caught up with a design.

Look at PewDiePie’s branding. You can argue that it is inconsistent and the design is not professional, but actually, his branding is spot on, because he is making you feel a certain way.

PewDiePie’s brand highlights its upbeat and unpredictable personality.

PewDiePie wants you to laugh. He is not branding his expertise like Peter McKinnon is, he’s branding his personality.

Consistent branding is about making the elements of your channel: channel art, logo, thumbnails, titles, etc. all harmonize together to evoke a sensation.

The humor in PewDiePie’s brand is consistent, even though his thumbnails don’t look like Philip DeFranco’s. It is up to you how you define consistency, and that will happen over time.

Philip DeFranco supplies commentary on current events with a satirical flair. Like a news broadcast, his branding and video format are consistent, while the daily news is different.

Inserting A Watermark

The main point of a watermark is to let the viewers know when they are watching your video that it is in fact your video.

Let’s be honest, YouTube content can all look the same, especially if you are making content that is quite general (like beauty or tech), so a watermark helps differentiate, so when viewers are ready to subscribe, they have an extra branding element connecting them to your channel.

Improvement Pill is a YouTube channel focused on inspiring and motivating its viewer to live a better life.

Above we see an example of a watermark from the YouTube channel Improvement Pill. You can see the watermark in the lower right-hand corner.

Improvement Pill is not the only channel that uses whiteboard animation to illustrate their story, and because of that, they need to set themselves apart. A watermark helps do that.

When a viewer lands on their video, the watermark gives the viewer another way to get more familiar with the channel, and if they are to scroll over the watermark a subscription button pops up.

Want to set up your subscription watermark? Here is a quick tutorial:

Coming Up With A Catchphrase

A catchphrase can be your greeting or sign off, but it doesn’t have to be an original line, it can simply be the way you say “hello.”

Check out some of the popular YouTuber’s catchphrases:

When coming up with a catchphrase that is connected to your channel’s branding remember how you want the viewer to feel. Do you want to leave them with a smile? Or do you want them to take action?

Final Thoughts On YouTube Branding

As you build and grow your YouTube channel, you can expand your purpose while still sticking within the overall theme. You might have started a channel that focused on the topic of nutrition, but as you grow, you will discover that your audience may also be interested in fitness tips or workout accessories as well. Take it slowly and grow with purpose.

Your branding doesn’t dictate the content you create, but it does affect how you go about making it.

Got more questions about branding your YouTube channel? Let us know in the comments below.

Shanoon Cox

Shanoon Cox is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Shanoon Cox

The Foundation for Success: Equipping New Channels

Essential YouTube Equipment For Starting Your Channel - What Do You Really Need?

Richard Bennett

Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions

0

Check out our most updated guide on this topic: YouTube Equipment Starter Guide For Beginners .

The first thing to make sure of before starting a YouTube channel is having all that you need to record and upload high-quality videos regularly. That doesn’t mean you have to take out a loan and spend thousands to purchase a brand new camera and all other gadgets that professional filmmakers use.

The smartest way to get started is to go through a list of necessary equipment for YouTube and check whether or not you already own some of it. Once your channel starts growing, you can then start thinking about whether you want to invest in upgraded equipment. Here is a quick overview of all items that you need to start entertaining your online audience and gaining subscribers to your YouTube channel:

• Your YouTube Camera
• Microphones and Audio
• Lighting Gear for YouTube
• Tripods and Camera Stands
• Smartphone Camera Gear

YouTube Cameras

The short version: Use whatever you already have, even if it’s your phone or webcam. It’s nice to have sharp, fine-tuned, 4K footage, but viewers will forgive lower visual quality if your content is good.

The long version: You will need a camera, but there are a lot of different devices you can use including DSLRs, point and shoots, webcams, and your smartphone.

Your choice of camera will have a tremendous impact on the visual quality of your content and might drive your decisions regarding other pieces of equipment. However, you shouldn’t feel obliged to work with a top-notch camera from day one, especially since cheaper options can produce great results if used the right way.

On one end of the spectrum, you have basic smartphone cameras and web cameras, which are easy to come by and simple to operate. These days, high-end phones come equipped with quite powerful cameras that are more than sufficient for the needs of the average YouTuber. Better webcams can also do the job, although high-performance webcam models can get pretty expensive too. It is probably wise to resist the urge to start broadcasting with the built-in camera in your laptop and at least get a webcam or use your phone, but your computer’s camera is still always an option. Not having a better camera should never stop you from making YouTube videos.

If you already have a DSLR camera then it’s a good idea to familiarize yourself with it. You have far more freedom to adjust the settings and achieve a professional look for your videos with a DSLR, but that does mean it’ll take some time to become an expert at using it. Ultra-high resolution is not required for YouTube, but it certainly won’t hurt to have additional sharpness and more detail in the scene. If you’re shopping for a DSLR, look for one with a flip screen that allows you to quickly check what your viewers see.

YouTube Microphone and Audio

The short version: Audio quality is extremely important. If you can buy either a new camera or an external microphone, but not both, it might be better to go for the microphone. Click here for advice on upping your audio quality without an external microphone.

The long version: Sound capturing is every bit as important for your success as your video feed. In fact, poor audio can be even more damaging to your subscriber count than grainy video, since people won’t spend their time listening to something they have to put effort into understanding.

Again, most YouTube video makers have a limited budget at their disposal, so professional microphones are mostly off the table. However, investing in a directional microphone (‘shotgun mic’) that can pick up your voice clearly and without background noise is certainly a smart move. Such microphones can be pointed towards you while you speak, and since most YouTubers sit still while doing their shows there won’t be too much need for in-session adjustments.

If you’re not ready to invest in a shotgun mic, you can also find very inexpensive (often under $20) LAV mics. These small microphones can be pinned to your shirt, which allows them to record very clear dialogue because they’re so close to your mouth.

Lights for YouTube

The short version: You need as much light as you can get. Lighting kits can be affordable on Amazon, but you can also achieve a great look using daylight/windows and ‘daylight’ lightbulbs.

The long version: If you’ve ever tried to make a video indoors, you already know that it’s necessary to have additional light. Often just filming with the normal lights in a room will cause your footage to look dark and grainy, and possibly be tinted orange. To overcome these problems you need to increase the amount of light you have available.

Sometimes, it is enough to film near windows and/or bring more household lamps into your filming area. For any household lamps or lighting fixtures you use, make sure to put in white or ‘daylight’ lightbulbs instead of using the orange/tungsten bulbs that you might have for everyday use (this is how you avoid tinting things orange).

If you have the budget available to get some lighting equipment, you can find softbox lights or LED panel lights available fairly inexpensively online. Softbox lights are great because they provide even, diffused, light.

Another useful piece of lighting equipment to have is a reflector. A reflector is usually a piece of white, silver, or gold fabric stretched over a frame. You can use it to bounce light from one light source back towards yourself (this is a great way to fill shadows cast by your main light). Reflectors tend to be inexpensive, but you can also use white cardboard or tinfoil in place of purchasing a reflector.

Tripods and Camera Stands

The short version: You need something to hold your camera. If you mostly film in your own home that can be a desk or a stack of books, but if you make a lot of videos while you’re on the go you probably need a tripod or gimbal. Heavier cameras need heavier tripods.

The long version: While handheld cameras can deliver solid results for vloggers and casual streamers, viewers do expect reasonably stable footage. For many types of videos, the camera needs to be completely still and flatly positioned on a horizontal plane. Tripods and camera stands can cost very little, so it’s a good idea to look into getting some kind of stabilizer.

When you are choosing a tripod, pay attention to how much it weighs. If the camera that needs to be mounted on it is very heavy (like some DSLR models), you want to ensure that the structure itself weighs enough not to be easily tipped over. Too thin tripods can put your camera at risk, and that’s the last thing you want. Smaller cameras such as GoPros are more flexible in this regard and can be placed on a wider range of tripods.

Even if you are using a phone or a webcam to record YouTube videos, you should consider mounting the device on a stable stand. It is possible to find mini tripods ideal for smartphones for as little as $10. These tripods are small enough to carry in your pocket, so you will be prepared to start making a video no matter where your adventures take you. If you are using a web camera, you should attach it to the stand so that it won’t move accidentally after you touch the surface it is placed on.

Smartphone Camera Gear

The short version: There’s a lot of gear out there designed with smartphone photos and videos in mind, including clip-on lenses, tripod mounts, phone-mounted LED lights, and inexpensive microphones that plug into the audio jack.

The long version: Recording your videos with a mobile phone can be a good decision. It all depends on the phone you have and the range of add-ons and apps that you complement it with. Almost every high-end model released in the past five years can shoot videos in 1080p or higher. Some can even produce 4K footage. If you perfect your smartphone filming technique, your YouTube videos could look as if they were made with pro equipment.

On the flip side, smartphone cameras typically perform poorly in low light. It is possible to download an app that lets you play around with settings to overcome this, but a phone-mounted LED light is probably a better solution. An external microphone might also be a necessity, but there are some good (inexpensive) options that can simply be plugged in through the headphone jack.

Another common downside of smartphone cameras is that most of them use digital zoom, which is vastly inferior to optical zoom. If you intend to shoot anything that’s further away than a few feet, you need a clip-on lens that goes on top of the built-in camera. This inexpensive device will give you a lot of freedom to work in space, and allow you to make spectacular shots even without high-end YouTube equipment.

Equipment with Easy-to-Use Video Editor

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

Check out our most updated guide on this topic: YouTube Equipment Starter Guide For Beginners .

The first thing to make sure of before starting a YouTube channel is having all that you need to record and upload high-quality videos regularly. That doesn’t mean you have to take out a loan and spend thousands to purchase a brand new camera and all other gadgets that professional filmmakers use.

The smartest way to get started is to go through a list of necessary equipment for YouTube and check whether or not you already own some of it. Once your channel starts growing, you can then start thinking about whether you want to invest in upgraded equipment. Here is a quick overview of all items that you need to start entertaining your online audience and gaining subscribers to your YouTube channel:

• Your YouTube Camera
• Microphones and Audio
• Lighting Gear for YouTube
• Tripods and Camera Stands
• Smartphone Camera Gear

YouTube Cameras

The short version: Use whatever you already have, even if it’s your phone or webcam. It’s nice to have sharp, fine-tuned, 4K footage, but viewers will forgive lower visual quality if your content is good.

The long version: You will need a camera, but there are a lot of different devices you can use including DSLRs, point and shoots, webcams, and your smartphone.

Your choice of camera will have a tremendous impact on the visual quality of your content and might drive your decisions regarding other pieces of equipment. However, you shouldn’t feel obliged to work with a top-notch camera from day one, especially since cheaper options can produce great results if used the right way.

On one end of the spectrum, you have basic smartphone cameras and web cameras, which are easy to come by and simple to operate. These days, high-end phones come equipped with quite powerful cameras that are more than sufficient for the needs of the average YouTuber. Better webcams can also do the job, although high-performance webcam models can get pretty expensive too. It is probably wise to resist the urge to start broadcasting with the built-in camera in your laptop and at least get a webcam or use your phone, but your computer’s camera is still always an option. Not having a better camera should never stop you from making YouTube videos.

If you already have a DSLR camera then it’s a good idea to familiarize yourself with it. You have far more freedom to adjust the settings and achieve a professional look for your videos with a DSLR, but that does mean it’ll take some time to become an expert at using it. Ultra-high resolution is not required for YouTube, but it certainly won’t hurt to have additional sharpness and more detail in the scene. If you’re shopping for a DSLR, look for one with a flip screen that allows you to quickly check what your viewers see.

YouTube Microphone and Audio

The short version: Audio quality is extremely important. If you can buy either a new camera or an external microphone, but not both, it might be better to go for the microphone. Click here for advice on upping your audio quality without an external microphone.

The long version: Sound capturing is every bit as important for your success as your video feed. In fact, poor audio can be even more damaging to your subscriber count than grainy video, since people won’t spend their time listening to something they have to put effort into understanding.

Again, most YouTube video makers have a limited budget at their disposal, so professional microphones are mostly off the table. However, investing in a directional microphone (‘shotgun mic’) that can pick up your voice clearly and without background noise is certainly a smart move. Such microphones can be pointed towards you while you speak, and since most YouTubers sit still while doing their shows there won’t be too much need for in-session adjustments.

If you’re not ready to invest in a shotgun mic, you can also find very inexpensive (often under $20) LAV mics. These small microphones can be pinned to your shirt, which allows them to record very clear dialogue because they’re so close to your mouth.

Lights for YouTube

The short version: You need as much light as you can get. Lighting kits can be affordable on Amazon, but you can also achieve a great look using daylight/windows and ‘daylight’ lightbulbs.

The long version: If you’ve ever tried to make a video indoors, you already know that it’s necessary to have additional light. Often just filming with the normal lights in a room will cause your footage to look dark and grainy, and possibly be tinted orange. To overcome these problems you need to increase the amount of light you have available.

Sometimes, it is enough to film near windows and/or bring more household lamps into your filming area. For any household lamps or lighting fixtures you use, make sure to put in white or ‘daylight’ lightbulbs instead of using the orange/tungsten bulbs that you might have for everyday use (this is how you avoid tinting things orange).

If you have the budget available to get some lighting equipment, you can find softbox lights or LED panel lights available fairly inexpensively online. Softbox lights are great because they provide even, diffused, light.

Another useful piece of lighting equipment to have is a reflector. A reflector is usually a piece of white, silver, or gold fabric stretched over a frame. You can use it to bounce light from one light source back towards yourself (this is a great way to fill shadows cast by your main light). Reflectors tend to be inexpensive, but you can also use white cardboard or tinfoil in place of purchasing a reflector.

Tripods and Camera Stands

The short version: You need something to hold your camera. If you mostly film in your own home that can be a desk or a stack of books, but if you make a lot of videos while you’re on the go you probably need a tripod or gimbal. Heavier cameras need heavier tripods.

The long version: While handheld cameras can deliver solid results for vloggers and casual streamers, viewers do expect reasonably stable footage. For many types of videos, the camera needs to be completely still and flatly positioned on a horizontal plane. Tripods and camera stands can cost very little, so it’s a good idea to look into getting some kind of stabilizer.

When you are choosing a tripod, pay attention to how much it weighs. If the camera that needs to be mounted on it is very heavy (like some DSLR models), you want to ensure that the structure itself weighs enough not to be easily tipped over. Too thin tripods can put your camera at risk, and that’s the last thing you want. Smaller cameras such as GoPros are more flexible in this regard and can be placed on a wider range of tripods.

Even if you are using a phone or a webcam to record YouTube videos, you should consider mounting the device on a stable stand. It is possible to find mini tripods ideal for smartphones for as little as $10. These tripods are small enough to carry in your pocket, so you will be prepared to start making a video no matter where your adventures take you. If you are using a web camera, you should attach it to the stand so that it won’t move accidentally after you touch the surface it is placed on.

Smartphone Camera Gear

The short version: There’s a lot of gear out there designed with smartphone photos and videos in mind, including clip-on lenses, tripod mounts, phone-mounted LED lights, and inexpensive microphones that plug into the audio jack.

The long version: Recording your videos with a mobile phone can be a good decision. It all depends on the phone you have and the range of add-ons and apps that you complement it with. Almost every high-end model released in the past five years can shoot videos in 1080p or higher. Some can even produce 4K footage. If you perfect your smartphone filming technique, your YouTube videos could look as if they were made with pro equipment.

On the flip side, smartphone cameras typically perform poorly in low light. It is possible to download an app that lets you play around with settings to overcome this, but a phone-mounted LED light is probably a better solution. An external microphone might also be a necessity, but there are some good (inexpensive) options that can simply be plugged in through the headphone jack.

Another common downside of smartphone cameras is that most of them use digital zoom, which is vastly inferior to optical zoom. If you intend to shoot anything that’s further away than a few feet, you need a clip-on lens that goes on top of the built-in camera. This inexpensive device will give you a lot of freedom to work in space, and allow you to make spectacular shots even without high-end YouTube equipment.

Equipment with Easy-to-Use Video Editor

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

Check out our most updated guide on this topic: YouTube Equipment Starter Guide For Beginners .

The first thing to make sure of before starting a YouTube channel is having all that you need to record and upload high-quality videos regularly. That doesn’t mean you have to take out a loan and spend thousands to purchase a brand new camera and all other gadgets that professional filmmakers use.

The smartest way to get started is to go through a list of necessary equipment for YouTube and check whether or not you already own some of it. Once your channel starts growing, you can then start thinking about whether you want to invest in upgraded equipment. Here is a quick overview of all items that you need to start entertaining your online audience and gaining subscribers to your YouTube channel:

• Your YouTube Camera
• Microphones and Audio
• Lighting Gear for YouTube
• Tripods and Camera Stands
• Smartphone Camera Gear

YouTube Cameras

The short version: Use whatever you already have, even if it’s your phone or webcam. It’s nice to have sharp, fine-tuned, 4K footage, but viewers will forgive lower visual quality if your content is good.

The long version: You will need a camera, but there are a lot of different devices you can use including DSLRs, point and shoots, webcams, and your smartphone.

Your choice of camera will have a tremendous impact on the visual quality of your content and might drive your decisions regarding other pieces of equipment. However, you shouldn’t feel obliged to work with a top-notch camera from day one, especially since cheaper options can produce great results if used the right way.

On one end of the spectrum, you have basic smartphone cameras and web cameras, which are easy to come by and simple to operate. These days, high-end phones come equipped with quite powerful cameras that are more than sufficient for the needs of the average YouTuber. Better webcams can also do the job, although high-performance webcam models can get pretty expensive too. It is probably wise to resist the urge to start broadcasting with the built-in camera in your laptop and at least get a webcam or use your phone, but your computer’s camera is still always an option. Not having a better camera should never stop you from making YouTube videos.

If you already have a DSLR camera then it’s a good idea to familiarize yourself with it. You have far more freedom to adjust the settings and achieve a professional look for your videos with a DSLR, but that does mean it’ll take some time to become an expert at using it. Ultra-high resolution is not required for YouTube, but it certainly won’t hurt to have additional sharpness and more detail in the scene. If you’re shopping for a DSLR, look for one with a flip screen that allows you to quickly check what your viewers see.

YouTube Microphone and Audio

The short version: Audio quality is extremely important. If you can buy either a new camera or an external microphone, but not both, it might be better to go for the microphone. Click here for advice on upping your audio quality without an external microphone.

The long version: Sound capturing is every bit as important for your success as your video feed. In fact, poor audio can be even more damaging to your subscriber count than grainy video, since people won’t spend their time listening to something they have to put effort into understanding.

Again, most YouTube video makers have a limited budget at their disposal, so professional microphones are mostly off the table. However, investing in a directional microphone (‘shotgun mic’) that can pick up your voice clearly and without background noise is certainly a smart move. Such microphones can be pointed towards you while you speak, and since most YouTubers sit still while doing their shows there won’t be too much need for in-session adjustments.

If you’re not ready to invest in a shotgun mic, you can also find very inexpensive (often under $20) LAV mics. These small microphones can be pinned to your shirt, which allows them to record very clear dialogue because they’re so close to your mouth.

Lights for YouTube

The short version: You need as much light as you can get. Lighting kits can be affordable on Amazon, but you can also achieve a great look using daylight/windows and ‘daylight’ lightbulbs.

The long version: If you’ve ever tried to make a video indoors, you already know that it’s necessary to have additional light. Often just filming with the normal lights in a room will cause your footage to look dark and grainy, and possibly be tinted orange. To overcome these problems you need to increase the amount of light you have available.

Sometimes, it is enough to film near windows and/or bring more household lamps into your filming area. For any household lamps or lighting fixtures you use, make sure to put in white or ‘daylight’ lightbulbs instead of using the orange/tungsten bulbs that you might have for everyday use (this is how you avoid tinting things orange).

If you have the budget available to get some lighting equipment, you can find softbox lights or LED panel lights available fairly inexpensively online. Softbox lights are great because they provide even, diffused, light.

Another useful piece of lighting equipment to have is a reflector. A reflector is usually a piece of white, silver, or gold fabric stretched over a frame. You can use it to bounce light from one light source back towards yourself (this is a great way to fill shadows cast by your main light). Reflectors tend to be inexpensive, but you can also use white cardboard or tinfoil in place of purchasing a reflector.

Tripods and Camera Stands

The short version: You need something to hold your camera. If you mostly film in your own home that can be a desk or a stack of books, but if you make a lot of videos while you’re on the go you probably need a tripod or gimbal. Heavier cameras need heavier tripods.

The long version: While handheld cameras can deliver solid results for vloggers and casual streamers, viewers do expect reasonably stable footage. For many types of videos, the camera needs to be completely still and flatly positioned on a horizontal plane. Tripods and camera stands can cost very little, so it’s a good idea to look into getting some kind of stabilizer.

When you are choosing a tripod, pay attention to how much it weighs. If the camera that needs to be mounted on it is very heavy (like some DSLR models), you want to ensure that the structure itself weighs enough not to be easily tipped over. Too thin tripods can put your camera at risk, and that’s the last thing you want. Smaller cameras such as GoPros are more flexible in this regard and can be placed on a wider range of tripods.

Even if you are using a phone or a webcam to record YouTube videos, you should consider mounting the device on a stable stand. It is possible to find mini tripods ideal for smartphones for as little as $10. These tripods are small enough to carry in your pocket, so you will be prepared to start making a video no matter where your adventures take you. If you are using a web camera, you should attach it to the stand so that it won’t move accidentally after you touch the surface it is placed on.

Smartphone Camera Gear

The short version: There’s a lot of gear out there designed with smartphone photos and videos in mind, including clip-on lenses, tripod mounts, phone-mounted LED lights, and inexpensive microphones that plug into the audio jack.

The long version: Recording your videos with a mobile phone can be a good decision. It all depends on the phone you have and the range of add-ons and apps that you complement it with. Almost every high-end model released in the past five years can shoot videos in 1080p or higher. Some can even produce 4K footage. If you perfect your smartphone filming technique, your YouTube videos could look as if they were made with pro equipment.

On the flip side, smartphone cameras typically perform poorly in low light. It is possible to download an app that lets you play around with settings to overcome this, but a phone-mounted LED light is probably a better solution. An external microphone might also be a necessity, but there are some good (inexpensive) options that can simply be plugged in through the headphone jack.

Another common downside of smartphone cameras is that most of them use digital zoom, which is vastly inferior to optical zoom. If you intend to shoot anything that’s further away than a few feet, you need a clip-on lens that goes on top of the built-in camera. This inexpensive device will give you a lot of freedom to work in space, and allow you to make spectacular shots even without high-end YouTube equipment.

Equipment with Easy-to-Use Video Editor

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

Check out our most updated guide on this topic: YouTube Equipment Starter Guide For Beginners .

The first thing to make sure of before starting a YouTube channel is having all that you need to record and upload high-quality videos regularly. That doesn’t mean you have to take out a loan and spend thousands to purchase a brand new camera and all other gadgets that professional filmmakers use.

The smartest way to get started is to go through a list of necessary equipment for YouTube and check whether or not you already own some of it. Once your channel starts growing, you can then start thinking about whether you want to invest in upgraded equipment. Here is a quick overview of all items that you need to start entertaining your online audience and gaining subscribers to your YouTube channel:

• Your YouTube Camera
• Microphones and Audio
• Lighting Gear for YouTube
• Tripods and Camera Stands
• Smartphone Camera Gear

YouTube Cameras

The short version: Use whatever you already have, even if it’s your phone or webcam. It’s nice to have sharp, fine-tuned, 4K footage, but viewers will forgive lower visual quality if your content is good.

The long version: You will need a camera, but there are a lot of different devices you can use including DSLRs, point and shoots, webcams, and your smartphone.

Your choice of camera will have a tremendous impact on the visual quality of your content and might drive your decisions regarding other pieces of equipment. However, you shouldn’t feel obliged to work with a top-notch camera from day one, especially since cheaper options can produce great results if used the right way.

On one end of the spectrum, you have basic smartphone cameras and web cameras, which are easy to come by and simple to operate. These days, high-end phones come equipped with quite powerful cameras that are more than sufficient for the needs of the average YouTuber. Better webcams can also do the job, although high-performance webcam models can get pretty expensive too. It is probably wise to resist the urge to start broadcasting with the built-in camera in your laptop and at least get a webcam or use your phone, but your computer’s camera is still always an option. Not having a better camera should never stop you from making YouTube videos.

If you already have a DSLR camera then it’s a good idea to familiarize yourself with it. You have far more freedom to adjust the settings and achieve a professional look for your videos with a DSLR, but that does mean it’ll take some time to become an expert at using it. Ultra-high resolution is not required for YouTube, but it certainly won’t hurt to have additional sharpness and more detail in the scene. If you’re shopping for a DSLR, look for one with a flip screen that allows you to quickly check what your viewers see.

YouTube Microphone and Audio

The short version: Audio quality is extremely important. If you can buy either a new camera or an external microphone, but not both, it might be better to go for the microphone. Click here for advice on upping your audio quality without an external microphone.

The long version: Sound capturing is every bit as important for your success as your video feed. In fact, poor audio can be even more damaging to your subscriber count than grainy video, since people won’t spend their time listening to something they have to put effort into understanding.

Again, most YouTube video makers have a limited budget at their disposal, so professional microphones are mostly off the table. However, investing in a directional microphone (‘shotgun mic’) that can pick up your voice clearly and without background noise is certainly a smart move. Such microphones can be pointed towards you while you speak, and since most YouTubers sit still while doing their shows there won’t be too much need for in-session adjustments.

If you’re not ready to invest in a shotgun mic, you can also find very inexpensive (often under $20) LAV mics. These small microphones can be pinned to your shirt, which allows them to record very clear dialogue because they’re so close to your mouth.

Lights for YouTube

The short version: You need as much light as you can get. Lighting kits can be affordable on Amazon, but you can also achieve a great look using daylight/windows and ‘daylight’ lightbulbs.

The long version: If you’ve ever tried to make a video indoors, you already know that it’s necessary to have additional light. Often just filming with the normal lights in a room will cause your footage to look dark and grainy, and possibly be tinted orange. To overcome these problems you need to increase the amount of light you have available.

Sometimes, it is enough to film near windows and/or bring more household lamps into your filming area. For any household lamps or lighting fixtures you use, make sure to put in white or ‘daylight’ lightbulbs instead of using the orange/tungsten bulbs that you might have for everyday use (this is how you avoid tinting things orange).

If you have the budget available to get some lighting equipment, you can find softbox lights or LED panel lights available fairly inexpensively online. Softbox lights are great because they provide even, diffused, light.

Another useful piece of lighting equipment to have is a reflector. A reflector is usually a piece of white, silver, or gold fabric stretched over a frame. You can use it to bounce light from one light source back towards yourself (this is a great way to fill shadows cast by your main light). Reflectors tend to be inexpensive, but you can also use white cardboard or tinfoil in place of purchasing a reflector.

Tripods and Camera Stands

The short version: You need something to hold your camera. If you mostly film in your own home that can be a desk or a stack of books, but if you make a lot of videos while you’re on the go you probably need a tripod or gimbal. Heavier cameras need heavier tripods.

The long version: While handheld cameras can deliver solid results for vloggers and casual streamers, viewers do expect reasonably stable footage. For many types of videos, the camera needs to be completely still and flatly positioned on a horizontal plane. Tripods and camera stands can cost very little, so it’s a good idea to look into getting some kind of stabilizer.

When you are choosing a tripod, pay attention to how much it weighs. If the camera that needs to be mounted on it is very heavy (like some DSLR models), you want to ensure that the structure itself weighs enough not to be easily tipped over. Too thin tripods can put your camera at risk, and that’s the last thing you want. Smaller cameras such as GoPros are more flexible in this regard and can be placed on a wider range of tripods.

Even if you are using a phone or a webcam to record YouTube videos, you should consider mounting the device on a stable stand. It is possible to find mini tripods ideal for smartphones for as little as $10. These tripods are small enough to carry in your pocket, so you will be prepared to start making a video no matter where your adventures take you. If you are using a web camera, you should attach it to the stand so that it won’t move accidentally after you touch the surface it is placed on.

Smartphone Camera Gear

The short version: There’s a lot of gear out there designed with smartphone photos and videos in mind, including clip-on lenses, tripod mounts, phone-mounted LED lights, and inexpensive microphones that plug into the audio jack.

The long version: Recording your videos with a mobile phone can be a good decision. It all depends on the phone you have and the range of add-ons and apps that you complement it with. Almost every high-end model released in the past five years can shoot videos in 1080p or higher. Some can even produce 4K footage. If you perfect your smartphone filming technique, your YouTube videos could look as if they were made with pro equipment.

On the flip side, smartphone cameras typically perform poorly in low light. It is possible to download an app that lets you play around with settings to overcome this, but a phone-mounted LED light is probably a better solution. An external microphone might also be a necessity, but there are some good (inexpensive) options that can simply be plugged in through the headphone jack.

Another common downside of smartphone cameras is that most of them use digital zoom, which is vastly inferior to optical zoom. If you intend to shoot anything that’s further away than a few feet, you need a clip-on lens that goes on top of the built-in camera. This inexpensive device will give you a lot of freedom to work in space, and allow you to make spectacular shots even without high-end YouTube equipment.

Equipment with Easy-to-Use Video Editor

Richard Bennett

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

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