Skip to content

How To Launch Your YouTube Channel To Boost Your Business

By Ian Anderson Gray

Confident Live Marketing Podcast

Episode 114

Episode Theme: Content & Marketing

June 25, 2021

CLMP #114 BLOG

Are you thinking about starting a YouTube channel?

Not sure how to get eyeballs on your channel once you’ve started it?

In this article, I’m talking about how to launch your YouTube channel to boost your business.

I’m also joined by Matt Hughes, the King of Video, who has created video globally for one-man bands, through to $2 billion companies.

This episode is sponsored by Restream

What You’ll Learn

[6:50] How Did Matt Get Started With Video?
[9:46] Is It Essential To Have £20,000 Worth Of Equipment For Video?
[15:31] Does Matt Ever Get Nervous On Camera?
[24:39] Live vs Pre-Recorded: Which Is Best?
[29:08] Multi-streaming vs Streaming: Which One Is Best?
[31:58] What Are The Common Misconceptions About YouTube?
[40:49] How To Maintain Consistency With Your YouTube Channel
[43:06] What’s the best way to start with YouTube?
[46:00] How To Grow Your YouTube Channel...
[51:34] How To Deal With YouTube Trolls

How did Matt get Started with Video?
Listen at [06:50]

When Matt first started Googling himself, all he could find was the UFC fighter Matthew Hughes and an author. So he knew he needed to find a personal brand that he would really love and that would help him stand out.

As a little bit of a joke, he searched kingofvideo.co.uk and it was available, so that’s where it initially came from:

"I’m not sure how people usually start a business, but I always look for the domain names first. If the domain name is not valuable then I don’t think there is any point in having it."

But that wasn’t really the start of it. Matt has always been really into tech, and after years of building computers, he went into tech professionally, before becoming a contractor around 8 years ago.

After that, he decided to start a video company, with no experience, but he knew it sounded like something he could do.

He spent over £20,000 on camera equipment and then decided to start charging people for it.

Over the last seven or eight years, Matt has made around 1500 commercial videos, so he is definitely an experienced professional in video and production.

Do you Need £20,000 Worth of Equipment?
Listen at [09:46]

I always like to emphasise that you don’t need a lot of expensive equipment to get started with video. Unless you’ve got the money, it’s totally possible to bootstrap it until you can afford it.

"You talk about confidence on camera and I love that because in the first instance people should start with anything video-wise. I’ve done a Facebook live with £10,000 worth of equipment and had it go wrong because I overthought it."

Becoming good at video or live video takes time, and like everyone else, Matt just had to repeatedly go live over months in order to improve.

The expensive equipment won’t shield you from the reality and fears of going live.

Does Matt Ever get Nervous on Camera?
Listen at [15:31]

It’s really common to get nervous on camera, whether that be for a live, or a recorded video. So how does Matt deal with that?

"When I'm doing a live stream or my own show, then I have no issues. However, when I’m coming on a show like yours then yes, I get nervous."

The great thing about doing your own show is that you are the producer and you get to decide what direction you want to take the show in. You get to curate your own audience and bring the right guests into your show.

Live video is all about letting go of control and the need to be perfect and just let things happen. @RealKingOfVideoClick To Tweet

However, when you go onto someone else’s show and go into their world, anything can happen, and you might not have the same rapport that you have with your own audience.

I’ve said before that doing live video is all about letting go of control, and the need to be perfect and just let things happen.

Live vs. Pre-Recorded
Listen at [24:39]

There is a lot of debate among marketers over whether you should create live or pre-recorded video, and they both have their advantages.

"The great thing about pre-recorded video is that you can write a strategic plan, and you can plan out content in advance for six months or a fixed amount of time. You can be sure that the level of quality that you're going to produce is great. You can bring in different things that would add value to the overall video."

You can do these things with live video too, but it’s just a little more complex.

"I would focus on my pre-recorded content first, then use live content for a specific purpose, i.e. a regular Q&A slot. But I think you need an audience in place to do live video."

Make sure that you promote your live videos, don’t just go live without telling them. With YouTube live you really need to bring the audience there, unlike the other social platforms it’s not set up to reach a live audience as easily.

Whatever you do, whether it’s live or pre-recorded, you need to have a plan and a strategy for your YouTube channel.

Multi-Streaming vs. Streaming
Listen at [29:08]

Should you stream in one location, or have your audiences in multiple locations?

"Again, it’s about being strategic. It is better to have it all in one location, but that doesn’t mean you can’t maximise the opportunity to get the audience to that location. I turn on Restream and broadcast to all platforms to let them know I’ll be going live on YouTube for a Q&A."

This is a really great way to use multi-streaming to capture your audience and bring them over to YouTube, and it’s a really clever way to use Restream.

Related content: How to use Ecamm Live & Restream Together

Common Misconceptions About YouTube
Listen at [31:58]

There are a lot of common misconceptions when it comes to YouTube and your business.

  1. YouTube isn’t for serious businesses
  2. YouTube doesn’t get results
  3. Views are vanity metrics

Many people think that YouTube is for gamers, cat videos and lifestyle and not for serious business. And it is true that it’s harder for serious businesses to grow a channel, however, it can and should be the first place that you put your best content.

It’s a tool that can bring tangible results to your business from day one, and you don't need to have thousands of subscribers.

The other thing that puts people off YouTube, which is not necessarily a misconception, is that it’s a long game. And when instant gratification is available across other platforms this can be a little off-putting, YouTube can seem harder to get into.

"I try to flip this on its head and get people to put their signature video on YouTube and then repurpose this across different platforms and social media. This helps maximise my time, and stops me having to come up with new content all the time."

YouTube is a long game, but it gets you results, and you can get them quickly.

Lastly, YouTube uses vanity metrics such as the number of followers you have and this can make you feel bad about yourself and your channel if you are not doing as well as other people.

"I call myself the King of Video, but I only have 825 subscribers. But I’m not wedded to those numbers, I’m wedded to my business and I am bringing in income from my channel, which is the most important thing."

I call myself the King of Video, but I only have 825 subscribers. But I’m not wedded to those numbers, I’m wedded to my business and I am bringing in income from my channel, which is the most important thing. @RealKingOfVideoClick To Tweet

It might sound a little crass, but I think that as long as you are making money, then that’s the thing to focus on. But followers do matter and you aren’t going to get to 1 million if you don’t start now, and you need a strategic plan to get there.

How to Maintain Consistency on YouTube
Listen at [40:49]

Consistency is one of the most important things, but it can be difficult to keep that consistency going over a long period of time. Lots of things can come up in life that will stop you from producing content.

"I very much encourage people to bank content ahead of time. We usually ask our clients to batch their content with four or five videos a month. That way no matter what happens in the month we’re covered"

If you leave the content until the last minute, then it’s very hard to maintain as things get in the way. And then suddenly you are a week behind and the consistency falls off.

"If you do fall off the consistency wagon just get right back on, there’s no consistency police."

You decide what consistent means, that could be once a month, week or day. It’s up to you to decide what will work for you and your business and stick to it.

Also, make sure that you have a strategic plan, as this will allow you to have something to stick to.

The Best way to Start with YouTube
Listen at [43:06]

So, if you haven’t yet started with your YouTube channel, what’s the best way to get started?

Matt runs a five-day YouTube challenge, which is the best place to get started with YouTube as it will help you get structured and motivated.

In the challenge, Matt will help people get their first 100 subscribers, but even if you already have those first subscribers the principles and the strategies to increase your subscribers are the same.

You’ll also be a part of a community of people with the same goals, so you’ll get a little bit of accountability throughout the challenge week, which is really important to help you stay consistent.

How to Grow your YouTube Channel...
Listen at [46:00]

So, once you have your channel, how do you grow it?

If you are producing relatively consistent content, the next step is to grow your channel.

"I have a video on my YouTube channel that is about getting your first 1000 subscribers."

It’s really helpful getting to 100 subscribers as it means that you can get your custom URL. Just ask everyone and anyone you know to follow you, which is a very un-British thing to do, but you just need to ask people.

"Once you’ve created your content you need to rehydrate it. Think of your content as a little plant, and once you’ve put it out there in the world you’ve got to hydrate it to help it grow. This isn’t about creating new content, but about constantly bringing a new audience to your old content."

I love this, as I’m very big on repurposing content and making sure you make the most of each piece of content that you create.

Dealing with YouTube Trolls
Listen at [51:34]

A lot of people get nervous about posting content on video, and it can be a really nerve-wracking thing as they are giving part of themselves away.

What if they get a horrible comment or a troll?

YouTube commenters are known to be particularly mean, and this can really knock your confidence. This happens especially as you get more successful, so if you get one you might feel like you’ve made it.

"Mindset is so important, you need to be confident in what you're putting out there, there's always going to be somebody that doesn't like it. But all you can do is to be the best at what you do."

And if someone is mean, then respond, but make sure that you are positive to combat the negativity.

Resources

This Episode's Sponsor

This episode is sponsored by Restream

Watch Episode 114

Restream

Restream is the complete multi-streaming suite for entrepreneurs.

With Restream you can stream to multiple platforms all at the same time. They have a plethora of destinations including:

  • LinkedIn Live
  • Facebook Live
  • YouTube Live
  • Twitch
  • Periscope and so much more

You can stream from another tool to Restream and Restream will take care of the multi-streaming for you really easily. Or you can broadcast directly from Restream to your platform of choice.

Restream also has chat, analytics and a scheduler. With the chat service you can view and engage with your audience from all the destinations you stream to.

I've been really blown away by the Analytics section - this shows your stream metrics - now many viewers, watched minutes, new followers and more.
And finally, the scheduler allows you to broadcast pre-recorded video live.

To sign up and have a play, visit iag.me/restream

Content10X


Do you want to find ways to create more content?

You won’t after you meet the team at Content 10x!

My friends at Content 10x are a specialist content repurposing agency, they can take one live-stream, or a blog post, podcast, or video, and explode it into a plethora of new platform-specific, on-brand content..

If they don’t do all of this for you via their service, they teach you how with their podcast, blog, book and toolkit!

They’re smart, responsive, creative, and effective. If you want to take the stress out of content marketing, Content 10x are the people you want to go to.

Visit www.content10x.com to find out more.

Matthew Headshot

Who is Matthew Hughes?

Matthew helps small business owners and entrepreneurs confidently and consistently create video content he does this with his Facebook Live 5 day challenge, the YouTube Bootcamp and in the King of Video Academy - his online membership site.

Comments

1 Comment
Newest
Oldest Most Voted
Inline Feedbacks
View all comments

Connect with me

About Ian

Ian Anderson GrayIan is the founder of the Confident Live® Marketing Academy and helps entrepreneurs to level up their impact, authority and profits by using live video confidently. Seriously Social is a blog focussed on live video and social media tools. He’s an international speaker, trainer, teacher and consultant.

Seriously Social Limited | Registered in England: 12992220
Fourwinds House Welsh Road, Balderton, Chester, Cheshire, England, CH4 9LF

© 2011 - 2024 Ian Anderson Gray. All Rights Reserved.