FIVE Things to Know Before Starting a YouTube Channel

Imagine

You finally have it! After saving up for months, your first edition, shadow less, base set Pokémon booster pack has arrived! Knowing how special an opening this is, you decided to record the opening on your phone.  As you are flipping through the nostalgic cards from your childhood you end up getting to the last card. Your hands are shaking with sweat rolling down your head. The anticipation is killing you as you slow roll the last card.

You see a fire energy on the right corner. The letters spelling out C H A R I Z A R D! Oh my goodness! You pulled it! Charizard, the holy grail of all Pokémon cards (over $500,000 in PSA 10). To top it all off, you caught it on video! You immediately upload this to YouTube to share your excitement. The next day you wake up to your phone blowing up. Your video has over 1 million views! There are also thousands of subscribers begging for more content.

If the above scenario seems too good to be true, it's because it usually is. Not many people can become instant YouTube celebrities over night (but if you are one of them, congrats on making it!). The honest truth is that there are a lot of things to consider when starting a YouTube channel. Especially in a competitive space like Pokémon. Below are 5 things you should know before starting a Pokémon YouTube Channel. 

You Need Determination

What motivates you to post content on YouTube? Is it for the dream of one day having a millions subscribers and quitting your nine to five? Or do you do it because you like shooting, editing, and uploading content? I really hope you answered "yes" to both of these questions because success does not usually happen over night. If you are serious about creating a community and entertaining an audience you need to be able to stick in it for the long haul. There are many people who have posted videos for years before they started attracting an audience. Many people start a channel, upload a few videos, and expect themselves to be boosted to stardom over night. I can tell you that this is most likely not the case for a lot of people.

If you spend hours on shooting and editing a video and get only a handful of views will that stop you from uploading more content? You need to be determined to pump out content. It is much like investing in stocks or a retirement account. It grows slowly at first, but exponentially later. You need to have the ability to stick with it for the long haul and do it because you enjoy it. Those that continue to upload in

You Need a Niche

Many audiences subscribe because your videos interest them in a particular subject. You may want to start a channel on stocks, travel, food, trading cards, and even pet videos. Could you imagine holding an the interest of individuals with all of those categories in one? You need to define who you are and what your channel aims to bring to the viewers. With this, you can get like minded individuals engaged in your content. This ultimately will help you with them subscribing and sharing your videos to other people with the same hobby. Additionally, this helps you gain favor from the ever mysterious YouTube algorithm.  

The YouTube Algorithm Doesn't Know You

I remember uploading my first ever video. I took a lot of time editing it to make sure it was entertaining. When that was all said and done, I got only 20 or so views. All the hard work for 20 views?! It is very mysterious how the YouTube algorithm works. Some videos seem to pop while others seem to fade away. It ultimately comes down to some numbers that YouTube uses to calculate how interesting your video is to other people. The whole intent of the algorithm is to keep people on YouTube viewing more and more content. At first, the YouTube algorithm doesn't know anything about you. Are you a one time upload kind of person? Or will this be a legitimate start of a channel to recommend to people? Once the algorithm has data on you, it can then suggest videos to others with similar interests. Sometimes a video will have decent views, other times you may not get any at all. But one thing is certain, as you remain consistent with your uploads the algorithm will start to know you and you will see views start trickling in. 

You Need Quality Over Quantity

Just throwing a bunch of videos on YouTube and hoping some of them will stick may be the game plan when you start out, but eventually the dedication and quality work you put in your videos will stand out. These are the ones that typically retain an audience's attention. The way a scene cuts to the next one just right. The attention sound effects and music for the tone of the video. These are things that you will not be good at doing at the start, but come with time. I am not great at editing videos, but I do view other creators with the same kind of content and watch their transitions and camera angles in their videos to give myself pointers. As time goes on, I encourage you to upgrade your gear and editing software so you can get the best content out there. Everything does not have to be perfect right away. With time you will learn the skills and techniques of the industry.

You Just Need to Start

If you look at any successful YouTuber, you can see that their first videos were never great. They are not high quality, they lack transitions, and some of them might even make you cringe! But, the reality of it all was that they just decided to start from somewhere. You don't need the best camera, editing software, etc. to begin. These will ultimately be excuses for you to never start. I encourage you to just start uploading some content and start building an audience. The more time you spend not uploading the more your future subscribers are moving onto something else. All the fancy work of YouTube will come later as long as your are dedicated to it. I encourage you to just start somewhere and learn along the way. 

Conclusion

If you didn't know by now, I am a YouTuber. Most of these scenarios came from personal experience. I deal mostly with the Pokémon Trading Card Hobby. Why you might ask? It's because regardless of this working out or not. It is a hobby I enjoy. I am taking my passion for one thing and showing that to everyone on YouTube. I am by all means not a professional yet, but am learning a lot along the way. I hope these five things you need to know encourage you to make your own channel and follow that dream of one day being a successful YouTuber. As for me, I will continue trucking along with my channel and post videos as long as I have a passion for the Pokémon hobby. If you too enjoy Pokémon Trading Cards, please consider subscribing to my channel below. Thank you! 

YouTube - See how much we've grown!