How To "Skyrocket" Your YouTube Channel And Build A Lead Generating Machine!

Okay, so YouTube is something that is going to benefit your online business big time. Yes, it takes work, though having a YouTube Channel will bring a consistent flood of traffic to your site, though only if it's set up correctly.

Not only will you get practice talking to a camera and editing video (that will come in handy when creating your online course!) but you'll also be able to harness YouTube to grow your audience. Remember this: You are going to suck… though with repetition you will improve. I still cringe whenever I see one of my older videos. Get over it! Practice as if you are talking to a friend. Repetition wins out in the end.

 It’s estimated that mobile video will account for 75% of total mobile data traffic in less than 3 years. Neglecting video means you’re missing out on three-quarters of all internet usage. Because of this shift, more and more marketers are making room for video in their marketing efforts, and nearly every social media platform has integrated some sort of video capability.

 It’s never been easier for you to take advantage of the power of online video. While you can consume video pretty much everywhere these days, YouTube is still the best place to get maximum exposure for your videos.

 YouTube is the second largest search engine in the world after Google. What does that mean for businesses and entrepreneurs? As a business owner, using YouTube to get in front of your ideal customer is an absolute no-brainer.

Even with a good plan, getting started with video content can be a daunting task. Often, people sit down, film some awesome videos, and upload them to YouTube only to see that no one is watching them. This usually leaves them feeling defeated. 

There's nothing worse than spending a lot of time creating awesome video content and then not having anyone to watch it. These five tips are ones that will help you get more viewers watching your videos, allowing you to reach your target customer.

1. Write Optimised Description Boxes

Search engine optimisation is so important in every aspect of your business. You want Google to be able to find your content... so your audience can find your content. An optimised description box is your first step to getting in front of the people who are searching for exactly what you have to offer.

It's important to understand that YouTube can’t watch your video to determine what it’s about. Instead, it relies solely on your title and description box to understand what you’re sharing.

This is where SEO comes into play. Just like on your website, YouTube uses SEO to determine where videos will show up in the ranking. A combination of your title, video description, engagement on your video, overall channel success, and other factors will help your video rank better. 

With that said, if you’re just starting out and haven’t had any channel success yet, that makes your title and description that much more important.

By taking the time to craft an optimised description box with relevant keywords that tell YouTube (and Google) what your video is about and what it offers, you're boosting the chances that your video will show up in searches and helping it get recommended next to related videos. 

Remember when I mentioned that YouTube is one of the largest search engines? Well, your audience is searching for the exact content you’re creating and by optimising your description you’re drastically increasing the chances that your video will show in searches.

2. Describe What Your Video Is About In Detail

YouTube can't watch your video and decide where it shows up, it can only read your keywords so make sure you're adding them to the description. Add links to other relevant content. To get the most out of your description boxes, make sure you're giving your audience something else of yours to check out. 

Add links to your social channels. Once people are a fan of yours, they're likely going to want to follow you elsewhere and that can only serve to benefit you. Make it easy on your audience and show them exactly where you can be found.

 

3. Create Awesome Thumbnail Images 

The biggest mistake I see nearly all new video creators make is neglecting thumbnail images. They pour hours and hours into creating a great video and then think about the thumbnail as an afterthought. Thumbnails are the very first thing that your audience will see when deciding whether or not to click on your video. 

 In a way, they act like the cover of a book, but instead they're the "cover" of your video. If your video is the most incredible, high-quality, and informative piece of content on its topic, if your thumbnail doesn't stand out, no one will click on it. 

Remember, people scroll through their phones and desktops at an alarmingly quick rate. You need a thumbnail that captures people’s attention and entices them to click. Every time I come up with a new idea for a video, the very next thing I do, before I even start planning the video, is decide on a good thumbnail.

 

Tips For Great Video Thumbnails:

Add colour. Bright and bold colours tend to help grab people’s eyes and attention. Add emotion. If you’re including your face, add some emotion to the way you look. People subconsciously connect and react to emotions on other’s faces. Whether you look excited, surprised, shocked, or happy.

Don’t overdo the text. Remember your title will offer the description of the thumbnail so don’t feel the need to plaster the thumbnail with a lot of text, most people won’t read it. Keep the text concise (or have none) and make sure it’s a bold, easy-to-read font.

 

4. Be Consistent

Consistency is key for improving your views and keeping your audience engaged. This is especially true when you’re still trying to establish and get in front your target audience. You want to be consistent in the type of content you're creating, and the cadence of uploading that content. Being consistent in the type of content you’re creating helps YouTube understand what your channel is about and suggest it next to similar videos and channels. 

This consistency also helps you stand out among the audience you’re targeting. Say, for example, you’re a fitness entrepreneur. By creating consistent content around fitness, you start to position yourself as an expert on this topic. Your audience will begin to know what to expect from you and they’ll see you as an authority in your niche.

Keeping with the fitness entrepreneur example: If you’ve been making workout and healthy eating videos every Tuesday and Thursday for the past few months and all of the sudden you start throwing up conspiracy theory videos you’re going to confuse your audience.

 Also, be consistent in uploading. Your content is great but if you’re only uploading sporadically you’ll have trouble getting much traction. Whether you’re able to upload three times a week or just every Friday, set a schedule and stick with it. 

The same way people on Twitter are counting down the moments until the next episode if the Bachelorette goes live, eventually your audience will be looking forward to your content all day once you’ve established and stuck to a schedule. 

Lack of consistency means eventually people will stop checking back for new content. If you’ve published top-notch quality three Wednesdays in a row but then don’t post again for 5 weeks, you’ll lose any momentum that you gained.

 

5. Make Your Videos Engaging

I’m not going to sugar coat it: if your video isn't engaging, animated, or energetic, you'll lose viewers in the first critical moments of your video. Engaging content will look different for everyone, and it really depends on you, your personality, and the niche you're creating content in.

Be passionate about the topic you're creating videos on and be conscious of how you can make your content more engaging for your audience. This is going to mean different things for every niche and every person. A few key tips though are:

• Have an expressive face. A lot of times nervous newcomers to video will memorise what they're going to say to the point where they're reciting their lines in a clinical fashion. Make sure your face matches what you're saying. You can't tell your audience that you've never been so excited to share something and have a deadpan look on your face.

 

• Make eye contact with the camera. This is going to make your audience feel like you're making eye contact with them and will make it look like you're more interested in what you're saying.

 

• Smile. Even if it's just when you're introducing yourself and the day’s topic, it's going to make your audience believe you're happy to be making this video for them.

 

• When creating your videos, look for places that it might be losing momentum or becoming less engaging. Then, think about how you can draw people back in and keep them on the video, enjoying it, and wanting to watch more.

 

• This can be as easy as adding graphics into your videos using a program like final cut or ScreenFlow, or, if it fits your personality and channel, adding jokes or puns into your content at low points.

 

• You should also be sure to treat the first 10-15 seconds of your video like gold. This is the time where the majority of your viewers will decide if they are going to finish watching your video or not.

 

• Try asking a question, giving a preview of the rest of the video, or offer something of value to keep them watching.

 

 For example, when I am planning to film my videos a big portion of my time is set thinking about the first 10–20 seconds of my video. While not every single video has a blockbuster beginning, I always try to think through how I can make the beginning interesting, funny, or engaging. For some videos I like to start with a little intro that might make people laugh.

Other times I pose a question that I will answer for them later in the video to keep them watching. And other times I might add in a blooper or some type of authentic candid piece. You can always tell which of your intros are doing the best on your videos by looking at your audience retention in your YouTube analytics.

 This tells you at which point of the video people leave. If you are losing half your viewers in the first 15 seconds, it’s time to rethink your intros.

 

 

Be Yourself!

Be yourself in your video. It can be tempting to try to recreate what someone else is doing who you think is "successful." But, at the end of the day what people watch your videos and convert into customers because of YOU and your unique offer and experiences. 

There are YouTubers making living in niches from Pilates to Horse Training and while there are more people than you can count making videos on these topics, it's the people who are letting their personalities shine through who are on top.

Showing yourself and your personality allows people to get to know you and relate to you. When your viewers begin to get to know you, that’s when trust is formed. When someone knows you, they like you, they trust you. When I started creating videos I almost immediately saw in increase in engagement and interactions across all my social media

 

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People liked that they could see the more "real" me and they connected with things about me. It easily allowed people to see the more human side of me and in turn helped them to become more engaged and dedicated fans and customers.

Not everyone loves getting in front of the camera, though, and if that's the case for you: practice makes perfect. We've all heard the phrase "fake it 'til you make it." and that's exactly what you should do when you're getting on camera. 

Practicing might feel silly, but even if you're just sitting in front of the camera and confidentially talking about what you had for breakfast before you start filming your real content, you're going to start getting more comfortable.

 You can also script your video out and run through what you're going to say a few times before you hit record. Once you say anything a few times it's going to be easier to repeat it and you'll be less likely to stumble over your words.

 

How To Make Your YouTube Videos Convert

Once you start getting traction on YouTube, converting can be as easy as adding a call to action in your videos or video descriptions. Calls to action are simply direct requests for your audience to do whatever it is you want them to do. If you're trying to convert your YouTube subscribers to Instagram followers, at the end of your video you might say, "Thanks so much for watching, if you haven't already please follow me on Instagram.” 

Outright asking your audience to take action is a lot more effective than passively adding a link in your description and hoping for the best. You don’t need to be creating video after video dedicated to promoting your product, but just mentioning it in an organic way can go a long way in convincing your audience to click over.

 

Bonus Hack: Use TubeBuddy

TubeBuddy is powerful browser plugin that will save you time & money, boost video performance and help you engage with your audience. I’ve seen a lot of tools for YouTube creators, but TubeBuddy is the best I’ve ever used.

And remember: at the end of the day, if you're not using video marketing... your competitors are.