Logging On to Your YouTube Account
If you have completed all the steps to set up your YouTube account, you should be logged on to the YouTube site automatically. (You may need to click the Sign In button to be automatically logged in). If that doesn’t happen, the first thing to do is follow these steps to log in with the account you created:
- Click the Sign In button at the top of the YouTube main
You’re taken once again to the Google Sign In screen (refer to Figure 2-8) and
prompted to enter your account details.
- Sign in with the email address and password you used when creating your
At this point, you’re logged in to YouTube but don’t yet have your channel set up. We cover that topic in the next section.
Creating a YouTube Channel
Building a channel is what you came here to do, and now it’s time to get to it. You can do the work to establish your channel after you’ve logged on to YouTube with a Google account. After that’s done, follow these steps to get your channel off the ground:
- Log on to YouTube, and click the Channel icon in the top right to bring up the YouTube Studio and YouTube Settings pull-down menu, as shown in Figure 2-16.
FIGURE 2-16:
The YouTube Studio and YouTube Settings pull-down menu.
- Choose the Create a Channel option from the pull-down
A dialog box appears, with “Your creator journey begins” across the top, as shown in Figure 2-17.
- Click the Get Started
FIGURE 2-17:
Starting to create
a YouTube channel.
- In the new dialog box that appears, choose the name you want to use for your
You’re given two options, as shown in Figure 2-18: to use your name or to create a custom name. Sometimes it’s okay to use your real name for your channel. If your content is personality-based (a vlog based around you, for example), this can work just fi If that’s the way you want to go, just click Select under that option and be done with it. However, if you want to go by a diff name or are creating a channel for your business, we recommend creating a custom name.
- To create a custom name, click Select under that option, enter a custom name in the new dialog box that appears (see Figure 2-19), and then click
This name can be anything you want and isn’t set in stone. You can change your channel name at any time, though it isn’t to be confused with your custom URL, which we get to later.
- In the new dialog box that appears (see Figure 2-20), start setting up your new
At this point, whether you’ve decided to stick with your own name or come up with an original one, you have the option to set up some crucial details about your channel. Don’t skip this task — it makes your channel more visible and accessible to others:
- Upload a profi picture, as shown in Figure 2-21: This is the avatar for your
channel. Whether someone is on your page or reading a comment you’ve
made, this is who they’ll see. As long as it adheres to the correct dimen- sions and community guidelines, it can be anything you want.
FIGURE 2-18:
Choosing how you create your
channel.
FIGURE 2-19:
Creating your channel name.
FIGURE 2-20:
Setting up your new channel.
FIGURE 2-21:
Uploading a
profile picture.
- Add a channel description, as shown in Figure 2-22: This is the elevator pitch
people see when searching your channel. It’s a good way of introducing
who you are and what kind of content you make. It’s also a way of making your channel more visible when searched online (also known as search engine optimization, or SEO). Don’t skimp on this; the more descriptive words and phrases you use, the better off you are.
- Link your websites, as shown in Figure 2-23: Whether it’s a website or a social media page, link them This enables you to easily drive traffi to
whatever page you’re trying to promote.
- When you fi setting up your channel, click the Save and Continue
button. (Refer to Figure 2-23.)
FIGURE 2-22:
Adding a channel
description.
You are now the proud owner of a channel with no content and a boring default layout. (Check out Figure 2-24 to see what we mean.) If you gave your channel a new name, by clicking your avatar in the top right, you’ll notice that your name has changed from your Google account name to your brand-spanking-new chan- nel name. But all that is covered in Chapter 3. You have even more account setup tasks to complete.
FIGURE 2-23:
Adding links to your websites.
FIGURE 2-24:
The default channel layout, which is boring.
CHOOSING A CHANNEL NAME
Take a refl pause before you choose a username or channel name or another identifying criterion you want as your public face for the whole YouTube world. An over- hasty decision here could end up being one you regret later. Many a creator has made the mistake of beginning to upload videos to what they thought would remain a low- key, personal channel, only to have that channel take off in popularity, at which point they begin to feel trapped in a channel named after their cat. (Okay, just to be clear, this wouldn’t be a problem if the channel is actually about your cat). The channel URL, how- ever, is a diff story, and you can learn about that topic later in this chapter, in the section “Setting Up a Custom Channel URL.”
Keep the following advice in mind when making your refl
- Avoid rushing into You should think hard about this decision. Though it seems like a light one, it can truly impact the success of your channel in the long
run if you choose a bad name.
- Relate the name to your content, if Are you creating a channel about
video games? Try to work a gaming term into your title. If you plan to create fi
related content, try to integrate workout or sports terms.
- Steer clear of profanity, vulgarity, and inside Though you may fi it
hilarious to name your channel Dadfarts, a name like this one necessarily limits your market. It’s hard to predict what path your videos might take on their way out into the world, and a sophomoric name (or a downright obscene one) might deter your viewers from sharing your video. Note: You want people to share your videos!
- Come up with a catchy Your channel name needs to be memorable.
People love puns, rhyming, and alliteration, but don’t try to integrate all three. That’s a little much.
- Make the name easy to People need to be able to fi your channel, and choosing a word that’s diffi to spell can prevent people from fi you. Do not
see this as a felicitous opportunity to create a recondite channel name thronged with abstruse vocabulary that will confuse and confound your potential viewers.
- Provide a name that’s easy for people to talk When you think you’ve hit
on the perfect name, try reading it aloud a few times, and make sure you can pro- nounce it. You want to have a channel name that people can talk about and make themselves understood. The best test for this is to call a friend on the phone and direct them to your channel. If you can tell your friend the channel name and they can get there without your having to spell it, you have a usable name on your hands.
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