As part of writing articles, I typically create a YouTube video that covers the same content. I have found that some people like to read articles while others like to watch videos. Creating content in both of these formats can help reach a wider audience. In this article and video, learn all of the tips and tricks that I have learned along the way for how to create a YouTube video. And how to increase your views.
What Will I Learn?
On the one hand, anyone can quickly record a video on their phone and upload it to YouTube. However, I found that there are a lot of things you can that will increase the number of views you receive.
First, when you create a YouTube video, you want to make sure the sound, video, presentation, and overall quality of the video are decent. Of course, you may not have lots of money to buy high-end equipment. But by using the tools available have well, and knowing about many of the free tools, there is a lot you can do.
Second, after you create the YouTube video there are several things you should do while posting the video that will help ensure it ranks higher in search results. All too often I see some amazing videos that would receive even more attention if a few more steps were followed.
Of course, many more people are way more popular than me. Nevertheless, every tip helps. The tips I am sharing are those that I wish I had known earlier. And tips I learned from others along the way. So never stop learning. And let me know what your tips and tricks are!
As always, focus on your content and your audience. Some topics have a wider audience, such as politics. Whereas other topics, such as Microsoft Dynamics 365, may have a smaller audience. But by improving your videos and the marketing of them, you can help more people in your target audience.
Recommended Equipment
While it makes sense to start with a list of what equipment you need to create a YouTube video, know that this list is largely optional. I imagine many people buy expensive equipment only to never do anything with it. You can start with your laptop by itself. Know that it is ok to start small, and expand from there.
Microphone
When I started researching how to create a YouTube video, the recommendation that I read over and over again was that how you sound is more important than the camera quality. Therefore, if you are looking to improve your equipment, I recommend you start with your microphone.
As with everything on this list, there are lots of great options available. I use the Maono USB condenser microphone.
Notice, this Microsoft has a mount that attaches to your desk. It can be pushed aside to stay out of the way when you do not need it. It has a foam windscreen to help reduce sharper ‘s’ and ‘t’ sounds. And by not being on a stand, it helps prevent noises caused by typing or bumping your desk. Best of all, it is not that expensive compared to many mics out there.
If you are looking for a good portal microphone with a stand, I like this Moano USB Condenser Mic.
Notice, it has a port on the bottom to plug headphones into. Additionally, you can easily mute the mic with a push of the button. Also, using the included software, you can control whether the mic picks up sounds just in front of it, on two sides such as when recording a podcast, or all around. Lastly, it has some LED lights for those looking to make their workstation look cool.
Web Camera
Many people, like me, might ask: Why should I include my face in the video? By including your face, you are making the video more personable. People can see your expressions and body language. Additionally, as a content creator, you are marketing yourself as your brand. When people see your face they will get to know you and hopefully be more likely to click on other videos that see you create in the future.
When you create a YouTube video using your laptop web camera is a fine place to start. However, one challenge I have with the laptop camera is that it is often not at a good height. Unless you put the laptop on a stand, the camera may be pointing up at you, which is not typically a great angle. Therefore, having a separate web camera is helpful for positioning and increasing video quality.
First, I like the Logitech C920x HD Pro WebCam.
The camera can record at FULL HD 1080p, which results in HD videos on YouTube. It has a mount for attaching to the top of your computer monitor. By adjusting your monitor stand, you can position the camera at eye-level height. Additionally, the camera has autofocus and helps with light correction.
For a really great but more expensive web camera, it is hard to beat the Facecam from Elgato, Facecam MK.2, or the Facecam Pro. These cameras have phenomenal clarity and light balance. Additionally, the included software gives you the option to change what is in the frame without needing to move your camera.
In addition to the camera, Elgato newly sells a Teleprompter that reflects a 9-inch monitor onto glass, so that you can maintain eye contact with your camera while also looking at a screen. While you certainly do not need this, I thought it was cool that they created it.
Lighting
For those who use a WebCam to create a YouTube video, it is important that the lighting is not too dark or too bright. Either situation does not make it enjoyable to watch.
First, if you have a window you are looking at, natural lighting often is the best.
Second, natural lighting is not an option, or you need to record a video at night, adding lights facing you is very helpful.
Elgato also sells what they call Key lights, that mount to your desk. However, I find these more expensive than other good alternatives. However, they do sell a lot of great desk mounts.
For a cheaper option, try this desk-mounted ring light. It has 10 brightness options and 3 color temperatures.
Or, for a better option, I recommend using this Roleno LED Soft Light Panel. It will give you full control of brightness and color temperature.
But it does not come with a mount. So you will need to purchase a free-standing mount or a desk mount like this one.
Although I currently only use one light, others will recommend you have two lights. That way, you can have one shining on each side of your fact to prevent shadows.
Screen Recorders
When you create a YouTube video, you can create many different types of videos. First, there are videos where the camera is pointing at other people or things in the world. Alternatively, I record a lot of tutorial videos where I need to record my computer screen.
To that end, I want to share with you a few video recorders that I find helpful. Note, there are many many more. So find which one you like the best.
First, StreamLabs OBS is a free and open-source screen recorder that I use to create my videos. It can be used to stream live recordings, including video games, to populate platforms such as YouTube, Facebook, Twitch, TikTok, and others. However, I use it to record a local video file. After editing it, I upload it to YouTube.
Streamlabs OBS allows you to add your WebCam video on top of your computer screen recording. Additionally, you can add overlays, switch scenes, and utilize many other features.
In my case, I primarily use one scene. In that scene, I capture my computer screen and my WebCam video. Then, you can add overlays to make the WebCam video look nicer. Finally, I include my website so people can find my articles to copy and paste code samples.
For a step-by-step guide on how to set up Streamlabs OBS for screen recording, check out this great tutorial.
Second, ClipChamp is a great screen recorder as well. It is free to record, edit, and export videos at 1080p. One thing that I especially like about it is that you can record your webcam video and computer screen video simultaneously but as separate files. Then later, while editing you can decide whether to show the computer screen footage, the webcam footage, or both.
In StreamLabs OBS, you can choose a different scene to control whether your WebCam is full screen, in the corner, or hidden entirely. However, you need to select that as your record, because only one combined video file is created. This is great for streamers, but not as helpful if you want more control. In contrast, ClipChamp creates a video file for each source. This gives you more control.
Thirdly, Camtasia is a very easy-to-use screen recorder and editor. However, it does cost money and isn’t cheap. There used to be an option to buy a single-user license. But now I only see yearly plans. I use Camtasia as my video editor. I’ll explain why later on.
Editing Tips and Tricks
First of all, there are countless free and paid video editors available. I recommend you find one you like and find tutorials from there.
Video Editors
Lightworks is a video editor that I like. It is free to export up to 720p. However, it costs money for higher resolutions.
Camtasia is great and very easy to use. However, it is more costly. I use Camtasia. But, I was able to purchase a single-user license in the past.
Regardless of which video editor you choose, there are still some important tips for how to create a YouTube video, that everyone should know.
Intro Video
Intro videos are the clips creators put at the start, or near the start of every video. To explain, having an intro video helps people recognize that the video is coming from me, and establishes my brand.
While again not required, it can be nice to include an intro video. Some creators introduce the topic and then show a short intro. Others, like me, start with an intro video. Alternatively, some do not have an intro at all.
Remember, keep your intro very short. I think mine is 7 or 8 seconds. Longer intros will be skipped over.
In my case, I used Adobe After Effects to create my animated intro. Canva is a great tool and has tutorials for creating an Intro video. However, don’t feel pressure to spend time creating an intro right away. Focus on your content. You can add it into later videos once you feel more established.
Oftentimes, what makes a good intro is familiar music. Check out this link to Royalty Free Music you can use for your intro.
Remember, you can choose music from the middle of a song. Audacity is an awesome free audio editing tool for pulling out just the part you want.
Using your chosen video editor, put your intro clip first, followed by the rest of your content.
Outro Video
An Outro video is a video at the end of your YouTube video. Oftentimes it has boxes showing you where to add your ‘End Screens‘. End Screens are a feature in YouTube that dynamically suggests another video of yours to watch. For example, you can set up YouTube to link to a previous video in the same playlist, or another of your videos that YouTube recommends to the watcher based on their viewing habits.
By adding ‘End screens‘ you not only make it easier for the user to watch another video, YouTube will see you have an End Screen and likely rank your video higher in search results.
Later, I will explain how to add an ‘End Screen’ in YouTube Studio. For now, it is just important that you add roughly 20 seconds of video to the end of your main video. This provides screen time to add these links without putting them over top of your main content.
For an example of an Outro video without sound see this video:
First, you can find outro video templates without needing to create one yourself. See Pixabay for Royalty-free outro videos.
Also, check out Canva for other outro videos you can edit. Note, some are free, while others with the crown require Canva Pro which is a paid version.
Second, use a video editor (or Canva) to add a picture of yourself over top of where you see the circle.
Third, add a voice-over reminding people to like and subscribe to your content. Optionally add music. Using the same or similar music as you use in your intro can help people associate that music with you.
Fourth, the videos sometimes have two boxes. Leave these blank. Later, in YouTube studio, you will place the ‘End Screen’ tiles on top of these boxes, covering them up. While technically you do not need boxes in the video, they help you know where to put the tiles and have them aligned.
Lastly, save the Outro Video as a file so you can more easily re-use what you have built in each of your future videos.
Using your video editor, add your Outro Video to the end, after your main content.
To review, whenever you create a YouTube video, add your intro video, and main content, followed by the outro video. Finally, export your completed video to a file, or if the software supports it, upload the video directly to YouTube.
YouTube Studio
After recording, editing, and exporting your video you might think you are close to done. You are. But there are still several very important steps left to do. In this section, I will explain how to upload your video. As well as how to add important information to help increase your Search Engine Optimization (SEO) score.
Upload Your Video
First, go to YouTube.com and sign it. Create an account if you have not already.
Second, click on your account icon in the top right corner of your browser. Then, select ‘YouTube Studio‘. This is where you manage the content you upload and post on YouTube.
Third, click on the ‘Content‘ menu on the left side.
Fourth, click on the ‘Create‘ button in the top right corner. Then click ‘Upload videos‘.
Fifth, click ‘Select files’ to browse for a file on your computer. Or, drag your video to the browser screen to upload the video.
Finally, after the file has fully uploaded, go back to the ‘Content‘ page, hover over the video, and select the ‘Details‘ button.
Set Video Details
To explain, the video details are an especially important step when you create a YouTube video, as they help your audience find your video. Additionally, these details help YouTube to show your video as a suggestion to people who might be interested.
Title
First, set the Title. By default, the title is the name of the video file you uploaded. Therefore, quite often you will want to change it. Make sure it matches the title of any blog article you wrote and uses the ‘focus keyphrase‘ in the title.
Description
Second, set the Description. The description can be up to 5000 characters, so you can put a lot in there.
To make things easier, after writing a blog article, I use the same metadata description from the Yoast SEO. See my previous article on How To Write a Blog Article. This way, I am not spending a lot of time thinking up what to put here. Sometimes I add one more sentence.
Hashtags
Next, add all the hashtags that are relevant to your article. This helps convey to YouTube which topics your video is covering.
Article Or Other Relevant Links
After that, if you have written a related blog article, include that link. This helps YouTube watchers find your article. Also, add the YouTube video to your blog article. This gives your audience a choice on how they want to consume your content. Additionally, for viewers who click on both, this will help you get views on both.
YouTube Channel Link
Next, include a link to your YouTube channel. This link allows viewers to find other videos you have created. More importantly, they can subscribe to your channel on this page and be notified when you post new videos.
Social Media Links
If you are active on other social media platforms, post the links to your profiles. Audience members may want to follow you or send you a message. The more engagement the better. Notably, it provides more ways for viewers to hear about when you post more content.
Chapter Timestamps
Have you ever seen Google search results show different chapter markers for a YouTube Video and wondered how that was done? I will explain how to add these when you create a YouTube video.
First, in the Description section, type the time when the chapter starts in the format like “2:19” (Minutes:Seconds).
Second, then type a hyphen “-“.
Third, enter the title of that chapter marker.
Finally, hit ‘Enter‘ to add a new line.
Repeat for each chapter marker.
See the following example:
00:00 - Intro
00:08 - How To Use D365 Try Catch Statements
00:58 - Info, Warning, and Error Messages
04:42 - When To Use A Try Catch Statement
05:26 - Basic Try Catch
05:49 - Exception Handling Use Cases
07:46 - Basic Try Catch Example
09:06 - Try Catch While Loop Example
12:23 - Different Types of Exceptions Example
14:17 - Deadlock, Update Conflict, Retry Example
17:18 - Nested Try Catch Example
18:32 - Nested Try Catch With Transaction Block
20:29 - Microsoft Examples
21:31 - Finally Keyword
22:42 - Conclusion
23:37 - OutroYouTube Studio will recognize this format in your description and add the chapter markers to your video. Pretty cool!
This can be a time-consuming process to figure out where to add each marker and write out the text. Later in this article, see how you can use Camtasia to make this process much faster and easier.
According to TubeBuddy, adding chapter markers will increase the SEO score of your YouTube videos.
Understandably, some people wonder if by adding chapter markers viewers may skip further into your video and spend less time watching your video. While this may happen, if adding chapters increases the number of viewers shown your video, this likely makes up for it. Additionally, users who find what they are looking for may go back and watch your video from the beginning.
Add A Thumbnail
In my previous article, How To Create a Blog Article, I explained how to find a Royalty-free image, then use Canva to create a nice Thumbnail. If you already created an image, now you can reuse the same image. If you are just creating a video, follow the steps to create a nice-looking thumbnail. This is what potential viewers will see when browsing YouTube.
Set Playlists
As YouTube says, “Add your video to one or more playlists to organize your content for viewers.” To explain, if you have several videos that all relate to a greater theme, grouping them together will help viewers watch more of them, than if they were all disconnected.
Set The Audience
Unless your video is specifically made for kids in mind, set the option to “No, it’s not made for kids”. This doesn’t mean your video has anything bad in it. It just helps separate out videos that are specifically made for kids.
Set Tags
Similar to hashtags, Tags allow you to tell YouTube what topics your video covers. This helps viewers searching on YouTube find your video.
If you previously wrote a blog article, these can be the same tags you already entered into WordPress.
Set The End Screen
Earlier, while editing the video, you added a 20-second outro to the end of your video so that YouTube could overlay an ‘End Screen‘. Now is when you add that ‘End Screen‘.
First, click on the ‘End screen‘ button on the left side of the ‘Video details‘ screen.
Second, select which End Screen tile layout you want to use. I use the one that shows two rectangles side by side.
Third, hover over the start of the “Video: Best for viewer” and “Video: Most recent upload” bars in the timeline, then click and drag to adjust the start time of when the End Screen tiles appear on the video.
To explain, you do not want the End Screen tiles showing up too soon, while your main content is playing. Similarly, you do not want the End Screen titles appearing too late when the empty boxes of your outro video are already showing. Therefore, adjust the start of those videos to start at the appropriate time. This is similar to how you would edit a video using a video editor.
Finally, click ‘Save’ to enable the ‘End Screens‘ for this YouTube video.
As a reminder, End Screens help viewers see other videos you created that they may be interested in watching. Additionally, they can help improve your channel’s SEO scores.
Set Visibility
Finally, now that all the video details are set, click the ‘Visibility’ node on the left side.
From here, set the video to be made public immediately. Or, better yet, schedule the video to go public when your audience is most likely able to watch if YouTube were to send them a notification. Additionally, you can publish it alongside when you plan to post about it on social media.
YouTube Studio App
Download the YouTube Studio app to see your list of subscribers, stats on how many views and hours you have received in the last 28 days, and more.
Additionally, you can view comments, and respond to them, all from your phone.
YouTube Buddy
TubeBuddy is a chrome extension and phone app that is like Yoast SEO but for YouTube videos.
After installing the extension, TubeBuddy adds functionality inside YouTube Studio to help ensure you are filling out everything you need to give you the highest SEO score.
Additionally, anytime you watch a YouTube video, TubeBuddy will add a screen to the right of the video, showing you many of their YouTube statistics.
YouTube shows at the bottom of each video how many views, subscribers, and likes the video has received. But TubeBuddy shows you how many total views their channel has received, SEO score, Tags used, and Best Practices they followed.
This is useful to see what other successful content creators are doing with a similar audience and emulate them.
Customize YouTube Channel
Like your profile page on other social media, the YouTube Channel page is your profile for YouTube.
Navigate to YouTube.com, then sign in. Next, click your account icon in the top right of your browser, and select ‘View your channel‘.
Notice, the YouTube channel banner at the top can be customized.
Search Canva for ‘YouTube Banner’ to show you examples and to create your own using the right pixel dimensions.
Feel free to take a look at mine, and subscribe while you are at it.
After that, click on ‘Customize channel’ to add additional sections to your channel, featuring your videos or other channels you recommend.
Ask other content creators if they would be willing to add you as a ‘Featured channel‘, and tell them you will feature theirs.
Add Subscribe Button
After clicking on ‘Customize Channel‘ on your YouTube channel page, select the ‘Branding‘ tab.
First, set your Picture and Banner image if you have not already.
Second, add a ‘Subscribe’ watermark to your videos. Feel free to use the image below.
Viewers who click on the watermark will be taken to your YouTube channel page where they can easily subscribe.
After making changes to your channel, click the ‘Publish‘ button in the top right to apply the changes.
Camtasia Benefits
As I said earlier, I use Camtasia to edit my videos. I use free tools whenever possible. Camtasia is not free, but it has a couple of nice features that I wanted to mention.
First, Camtasia makes it really easy to add Chapter markers to your videos. After finishing editing your video, replay your video and stop it where you wish to add a Chapter marker. Then, click Shift-M to add a marker. Finally, type in the name of the Chapter.
Later, when exporting the video to YouTube directly, Camtasia will automatically take those Chapter markers and add text to your YouTube video description in the proper format, so that you do not need to do this by hand. You still have to determine where to add each marker. However, this saves a lot of time in writing down each time entry.
Second, Camtasia allows you to export a video directly to YouTube. Click on the ‘Export’ button in the top right corner, then select ‘YouTube’.
Notice, you will be prompted with several of the Video Detail fields that are shown in YouTube Studio.
After filling out the fields, click the Export button to render and upload the video to YouTube.
It is important to note that the ‘Tags’ section in Camtasia supports fewer characters than you can actually type in YouTube Studio. Therefore, you should always go back to YouTube Studio and finish filling out that field in a browser.
As I have shown you, there are quite a few other steps that you should perform in YouTube Studio after the video has been uploaded. That said, I find Camtasia to be helpful in streamlining the process.
In other programs, rendering and uploading are two separate steps. This means that after clicking the ‘Render’ button in other programs, I have to wait around until it finishes. Only then, can I use YouTube Studio to upload the video. With Camtasia, I can click ‘Export‘ and walk away. When I come back the video has been rendered and uploaded.
The Results
As you have seen, when you create a YouTube video there are a lot of steps in addition to creating the video itself. By doing these extra steps your videos will have a higher search engine optimization (SEO) score. Your videos will rank higher in search results, which in turn means your videos will be seen by more people than they otherwise would.
For example, when I search ‘D365 try catch‘, I see my article in the second search result, just after Microsoft’s documentation on the topic.
And my YouTube video is the first video to be shown.
Similarly, search for ‘D365 write a file‘, and you will see my article and video listed first.
Conclusion
In this article, you learned tips and tricks on how to create content efficiently and what best practices to follow to help your content rank in search results. As I said before, many content creators have way more views than I do. Following these best practices has helped contribute to the success I have had. I have learned so much from other people’s YouTube videos. I hope that these tips will help your videos be helpful to others as well. Thank you so much for all your support of me and my content.
