Become a YouTuber

A huge part of becoming a YouTuber has to do with how your channel appears to people who stumble upon it. You want it to look clean and uniform. Your channel icon, banner, and name should all have a similar theme. This advice also applies to how you release your content.

In this chapter, I explore how you can set the tone on your channel for a new viewer.

SETTING UP YOUR ACCOUNT

You may already have a YouTube account, but if you don't, creating a new account is pretty simple:

1. Head on over to YouTube.com from your preferred web browser.
2. Click on Sign In in the upper-right corner (see Figure 2-1).
3. In the next screen that appears, click on More options (see Figure 2-2).
4. Click on Create Account, as shown in Figure 2-3.

5. Create your Google Account by following the on-screen instructions, as shown in Figure 2-4.

   Great! Now you're all set!

FIGURE 2-1: Click on Sign In to create an account.

FIGURE 2-2: Click on More options to see additional choices.

FIGURE 2-3: Click on the option to create a new account.

FIGURE 2-4: Fill out the form to create your own Google Account.

Head on back to YouTube.com, and you should be logged into your account. If you aren't, click Sign In and log in with your Google account and password.

NAVIGATING YOUR CHANNEL

If you're comfortable with the user interface, you can easily navigate around YouTube. For this section, I'm going to assume you are still logged in and are somewhere - it could be anywhere - on the YouTube website.

To navigate your channel:

1. Click on your user icon in the top-right corner of your screen.

   Your default icon will look different from mine, which is pictured in Figure 2-5. The user icon is always visible no matter where you are on YouTube (see Figure 2-6).

   After you click on your user icon, a menu appears, offering several options (see Figure 2-7), including

   • My channel: See an overview of your channel.
   • Creator Studio: A major hub for all things related to managing your channel, community, analytics, and more.
   • Switch Account: If you have multiple YouTube accounts, you can easily switch between them.
   • Sign out: Self-explanatory - always remember to sign out if you aren't on your own personal computer.
   • Dark Theme: Can be On or Off, based on your visual preference. You can switch between Dark and Light Theme to change the colors on your YouTube screen.
   • Settings: How you access your account settings.
   • Help: Search for any questions you may have.
   • Send Feedback: Give suggestions to YouTube.

2. Click on My Channel.

   You see your channel. You can see an example in Figure 2-8. See whether you can identify your

   • Channel Banner
   • User Icon
   • Channel Name
   • Number of subscribers
   • Customize Channel button
   • Creator Studio button

FIGURE 2-5: Click the user icon in the top-right corner of YouTube.

FIGURE 2-6: Your user icon appears throughout YouTube.

FIGURE 2-7: Several options appear when you click on your user icon once logged into YouTube. My Channel will take you to your main channel view.

FIGURE 2-8: What a YouTube channel looks like when the owner of the channel is logged in and viewing it.

If you've just created a new account, chances are you'll have a default channel icon and banner. Also, the way videos are arranged on your channel overview may look different from those pictured in Figure 2-8 - especially if you haven't uploaded your first video yet.

CUSTOMIZING YOUR ACCOUNT SETTINGS

Under your Account Settings, you can customize a few of your channel features, such as your channel's name, connections to social media accounts, and more.

I recommend customizing your account settings after creating a new account just so that you can get some of the one-time setup tasks out of the way.

COMING UP WITH A GOOD NAME

One of the first things you want to consider is what your channel name will be. Your channel name is going to be a huge part of your identity on YouTube, so you really want to come up with something original and creative.

Consider your name creation. Have you asked yourself what's in a good name? Not only do you want a name you like, but it should be memorable. You want it to relate to your channel's theme.

Got a gaming channel? Why not something straight to the point, such as Your_Name Gaming. Without even watching a video, a viewer will instantly be able to know what your channel is about.

Try to write down a few words that describe your personality and your channel. Are there any clever words you can combine together?

When naming your channel, avoid

• Long names
• Names with lots of numbers
• Alternating caps
• Lots of special characters ($, !, %, and so on)

After you decide on a name, ask yourself:

• Does it clearly define my channel's theme?
• Is it family-friendly?
• Is it a name I can associate with on a long-term basis?

Just imagine your channel really blows up. What if you're stuck with a name that you don't like? Take some serious thought before you set your channel name.

While creating a name you like is important and I do encourage you to come up with a name related to your channel's theme, sometimes the most popular YouTube channels have the strangest names! If you already have a fun name that you think people will remember, don't be afraid to go for it. In the end, you need to be happy with it.

SETTING YOUR CHANNEL NAME

You can set your channel name in your account settings. To do so, make sure that you're still logged in to your YouTube account and follow these steps:

1. Click on your user icon in the top right corner of your screen.

2. Click on Settings, as shown in Figure 2-9.

   From Settings, you'll be able to edit your channel name directly.

3. Click on Edit on Google, as shown in Figure 2-10.

4. Type your First and Last Name, Nickname, and Display Name as shown in Figure 2-11.

   Your Display Name is what users will see as your name when they visit your channel or view your videos.

5. After you're happy with your name, click on OK to set it.

FIGURE 2-9: Click on Settings to access your entire channel's Account Settings.

FIGURE 2-10: Click on Edit on Google to change your channel name.

FIGURE 2-11: Set your name.

Be careful! After you set your name, you may not be able to change it.

Your name may take anywhere from a few minutes to a few hours to update on your channel, so if it doesn't update right away, don't worry!

CONNECTING YOUR SOCIAL MEDIA ACCOUNTS

In Account settings, you can connect your ?Twitter account to your YouTube channel, as well as alter how you'd like to share your activity:

1. In the Settings screen, click on your user icon.
2. Click on Settings.

3. Click on Connected accounts.

   The Connected accounts screen appears, as shown in Figure 2-12.

4. Link Twitter by clicking on the Connect button next to the Twitter icon (see Figure 2-13).

5. Choose your preference by clicking on the appropriate checkbox under Share your public activity to connected accounts (see Figure 2-14).

   By checking one of these boxes after connecting your Twitter account, you'll automatically send a tweet when you

   • Upload a video
   • Add video to a public playlist
   • Like a video
   • Save a playlist
6. Once you're happy with your selections, click on Save.

FIGURE 2-12: The Connected accounts screen.

FIGURE 2-13: The Connect button.

FIGURE 2-14: You can choose how you'd like to share your public activity on your social media accounts.

SETTING PRIVACY AND NOTIFICATIONS

The Account settings offer additional options for you to go through in order to further customize your channel. In the Privacy screen, shown in Figure 2-15, you can...