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  • How to Start a Successful YouTube Channel for Your Business

    Do you want to start a successful YouTube channel for your business?

    YouTube is one of the biggest video-sharing and social media platforms in the world. It can help you bring more customers and sales to your business.

    In this article, we’ll show you how to easily start a successful YouTube channel for your business with practical tips to promote and grow it.

    Step by step guide to start a successful YouTube channel

    Why Start a YouTube Channel for Your Business

    YouTube is one of the biggest video-sharing and social media platforms in the world. With more than 2 Billion active users, it is also the second most popular search engine on the market after Google.

    With such a huge user base, YouTube is the perfect place to promote your business and acquire new customers and followers.

    Following are some of the top benefits of creating a YouTube channel.

    • Increased brand recognition – A YouTube channel helps you promote your brand and strengthen brand recognition among your audiences.
    • Increased sales – Videos are the most engaging content for any marketing strategy and engaged audiences are more likely to make a buying decision. This means more sales for your business.
    • Increased website traffic – YouTube videos can help promote your website on one of the biggest social platforms and search engines. You can add links to your products, services, landing pages, or blog posts in your video descriptions with a direct call to action.
    • Promote products/services – YouTube videos provide more opportunities to educate customers about your products or services. These videos can be embedded on your support docs which can reduce support requests while making sure that your customers make the most out of your products.
    • Build a loyal following – A YouTube channel helps you build a more engaging community around your brand and products.
    • Adds an extra source of revenue – YouTube Monetization options can add an extra source of revenue for your business. Your video content can also unlock many potential partnership opportunities with other businesses.

    Starting a YouTube channel requires commitment. You’ll need to create a consistent content strategy and stick to it in order to make a successful YouTube channel.

    That being said, let’s take a look at how to easily start a YouTube channel step by step.

    Here is an overview of all the steps we’ll walk you through to create a YouTube channel.

    1. Creating a YouTube Channel for Your Business

    YouTube makes it super easy to create a channel. You can make a channel by simply visiting the YouTube website and signing in with a Google Account.

    Once signed in, you can click on your profile icon in the top-right corner of the screen and then select the “Create a Channel” option.

    Creating a YouTube channel

    This will bring up a popup to fill out basic information for your channel.

    You’ll need to choose a channel name and handle, and upload a profile photo.

    YouTube channel name and handle

    Now, we want you to take a few minutes before choosing a channel name and handle.

    Tips on Choosing The Perfect YouTube Channel Name

    Your channel name and handle may help it appear in YouTube and Google Search results.

    That’s why you need to use keywords in your channel name and handle. Keywords are the search terms that users would enter when looking for videos.

    You may also want to consider what kind of videos you’ll be uploading when choosing a channel name.

    For instance, will you be uploading tips & advice, general entertainment, infotainment, interviews, podcasts, documentary-style videos, and more?

    Let’s say you want to create a YouTube channel for your gardening business. In that case, using gardening in the channel name and handle will increase the chances of YouTube algorithm displaying your channel in search results.

    You can also use the existing brand name that you use on your business website. This helps strengthen your brand identity and keeps things consistent across different platforms (your website and social profiles).

    For instance, we use our brand name for our YouTube channel with keywords that explain what our channel is all about (i.e. ‘WPBeginner – WordPress Tutorials‘).

    Tips on Making YouTube Profile Photo

    Your YouTube profile photo appears across the YouTube platform next to your channel name. This includes your channel homepage, below each video, and in the search results.

    Channel photo

    Many small businesses use their logo as their YouTube channel profile photo.

    If you don’t already have a business logo that you can use, then you can create a YouTube channel photo using Canva.

    This free online image editor comes with ready-to-use templates for different social networks including YouTube.

    Creating a YouTube Channel logo using Canva

    If you want to use any other image editing software or your own logo, then make sure that your channel photo is a square image with at least 800×800 pixels in size.

    Once you have entered the channel name, handle, and photo, simply click on the Create Channel button to continue.

    Youtube will now create the channel and redirect you to your new YouTube channel’s page.

    YouTube channel created

    2. Securing Your Brand Name

    Before you upload your first video and start promoting your YouTube channel, it is important to secure your brand name.

    This includes purchasing a domain name that matches your YouTube Channel name, making a WordPress website, and creating social media accounts for your channel.

    Doing this protects your business from copyright infringement and blocks scammers from impersonating your brand on social media platforms.

    Let’s start with a domain name and a website.

    1. Making a Website for YouTube Channel

    To make a website for your YouTube channel, you’ll need the following items.

    • A domain name. This is what users will type in their browsers to visit your website (e.g. wpbeginner.com)
    • Web hosting account. This is where all your website files will be stored.

    Normally, a domain costs $14.99 per year and web hosting plans start at $7.99 per month (usually paid for a full year).

    This is a significant amount and if you are just starting out then this may look a bit excessive.

    Luckily, the folks over at Bluehost have agreed to offer WPBeginner users a free domain name with a generous discount on hosting.

    Basically, you can get started for $2.75 per month.

    Simply visit the Bluehost website and click on the Get Started Now button.

    Bluehost website

    On the next screen, you’ll be asked to choose a plan.

    The Basic and Plus plans are more popular among WPBeginner users.

    Bluehost plans

    Simply click to select a plan and continue.

    Next, you’ll be asked to choose your domain name.

    Choose domain name

    You can look up a domain name matching your YouTube channel name or handle.

    If the exact name is not available, then Bluehost will recommend similar domain names to choose from.

    Need more help choosing a domain name? See our expert tips on choosing the best domain name for your website.

    Once you have chosen the domain name, click on the Next button to continue and finalize your purchase.

    From here, you’ll first provide your personal information. After that, you can choose a plan duration (the 12-month plan gives you the best value).

    uncheck package extras

    Below that, don’t forget to uncheck all the options under Package Extras to further reduce the costs. Don’t worry you can always add them later when needed.

    Finally, fill in your payment information to complete the purchase.

    Bluehost will now register your domain name and set up your web hosting account. It will also automatically install WordPress, which is the best website builder on the market.

    You’ll receive an email with instructions on how to log in to your hosting account.

    For more details, see our step-by-step tutorial on how to make a website for beginners.

    Remember, the goal here is to just get started with a basic website at first. You can work on your website later on as needed.

    2. Securing Your Social Media Profiles

    If your business doesn’t already have social media profiles, then it is time to create those and protect your brand.

    Depending on your target audience you can choose which platforms would work best for your social media marketing strategy.

    For instance, you would definitely want to create a profile on Facebook and Twitter. Optionally, you can choose to sign up for other platforms that may be useful for your businesses.

    For instance, a business organization may want to sign up for LinkedIn, a lifestyle business may find Pinterest and Instagram more useful, and an educational website may want to build a community on Redditt as well.

    It is important to choose the same brand name that you use for your business and your YouTube channel.

    3. Making Artwork for YouTube Channel

    Now let’s get back to your newly created YouTube channel which would be empty at the moment.

    You can start working on your YouTube channel by creating channel art like a banner or cover image. This image appears at the top of your YouTube channel.

    Once again, you can use Canva to create a very professional-looking cover art for your YouTube channel.

    YouTube channel cover template

    Canva comes with hundreds of built-in templates for YouTube channel covers to choose from.

    Once you have found a template that matches your channel thumbnail and logo colors you can edit it using Canva’s built-in editor.

    More advanced users can create their own cover images using image editing software like Photoshop, Illustrator, or Affinity.

    Make sure that your YouTube banner image is 2048 x 1152 pixels in dimensions and no more than 6MB in file size.

    Once your image is ready you can go to your YouTube channel page and click on the Customize Channel button.

    Customize YouTube channel

    This will bring you to the Channel Customization page. From here, you need to switch to the Branding tab.

    You’ll notice that the channel profile photo you created earlier is already there. Next, click on the Upload button next to the banner image option.

    Upload YouTube banner image

    Optionally, you can also add a watermark to your YouTube videos. It appears on your videos in the right-hand corner of the video player.

    You can upload the watermark image from the Branding tab. Most channels typically use their channel profile photo or their business logo. Some also use watermarks as a reminder for viewers to subscribe.

    You’ll need a square image with dimensions of at least 150×150 pixels. We recommend using a transparent image so that it doesn’t take up much on-screen space.

    Upload video watermark

    A YouTube channel trailer is an impactful way to introduce new users to your channel. A good channel trailer provides users with a glimpse into what kind of content your channel offers.

    When enabled, this trailer appears at the top of your channel page and automatically plays for new users.

    YouTube channel trailer

    Similarly, you can also create a separate featured video for users who have already subscribed to your channel.

    The downside is that they will not see this video at the top of your channel if they have already watched it.

    These videos can be uploaded by visiting the YouTube Studio page.

    YouTube studio

    From here, you can switch to the Customization tab and then upload your trailer or a featured video.

    Not ready to make a video yet? Don’t worry we’ll talk more about making videos later in this article.

    5. What Do You Need to Make Great YouTube Videos

    You may have noticed the very high quality of videos uploaded by the most popular YouTube channels such as Mr. Beast, Lemmino, Veritasium, and more.

    These videos are made using top-of-the-line cameras, professional lighting, custom-made graphics, and really good editing.

    Professional grade video editing

    However, the vast majority of videos uploaded on YouTube are not as high-quality as you may think.

    You can basically just shoot a YouTube video using your phone camera. Most modern phones are equipped with very capable cameras.

    With a little effort and some inexpensive equipment, you can easily make very polished YouTube videos all by yourself.

    Here is a list of equipment that you can use to get started.

    1. A Good Camera

    Digital camera

    Digital cameras are becoming quite inexpensive and can shoot high-resolution 4k videos. If you are looking to spend some money then we recommend these starter digital cameras:

    However, if you cannot afford a separate camera, then most modern phones come with very capable built-in cameras.

    With an inexpensive tripod, some basic lighting, and an inexpensive microphone, you can easily use your own phone to shoot high-quality YouTube videos.

    This brings us to other equipment that you may want to look into.

    2. An Affordable Tripod or Camera Stand

    A tripod or camera stand allows you to firmly place your camera or phone in one place to shoot videos.

    There are hundreds of tripods, gimbal stabilizers, and selfie sticks available on Amazon.

    Camera stand

    Ideally, you would want to buy one that works with your camera or mobile phone and offers different heights and adjustments to shoot a variety of video styles.

    For mobile users, Rode Vlogging Kit can be a good starting point. It comes with a 3.5mm audio jack to capture better sound quality and has a separate version for iOS devices.

    3. A basic lighting setup

    If you are planning to shoot most of your videos indoors, then adding some extra lighting can make a huge difference in video quality.

    However, professional-grade lighting equipment can be very expensive. Luckily, there are a ton of inexpensive options that can do the trick.

    Ring light

    For beginners, we recommend starting out with ring lights. These portable LED lights come in different shapes and sizes and include adjustments like tripods and extendable heights.

    4. A Video Editing Software

    Once you have shot your video, you’ll need to edit it to add graphics, background music, credits, and more. You may also want to cut out some parts or merge multiple video files.

    Now you may have heard popular YouTubers talking about Final Cut Pro or Adobe Premiere Pro. These are very powerful video editing software but they are also quite expensive and come with a learning curve.

    Luckily, your computer may already have basic and easy-to-use video editing software installed on it.

    Mac computers come with the iMovie app which is a very capable video editing software. It also has a trimmed-down version available for iOS devices.

    iMovie for Mac and iOS devices

    iMovie includes some basic transition effects, the ability to add sounds and music overlays, trim clips, adjust the screen size, and more.

    Similarly, Windows users can use Clipchamp which is a great free video editor and comes with dozens of ready-to-use templates for different video platforms including YouTube.

    Clipchamp

    Alternately, the popular design tool Canva also comes with a built-in video editor. It includes a huge library of images, videos, transitions, and other elements that you can use in your videos.

    Plus, it works on Windows, Mac, iOS, and Android devices as well. It is extremely easy to use and a good option for absolute beginners.

    Canva video editing

    All these video editing software options are beginner friendly and will allow you to create professional-looking videos for your YouTube channel.

    6. How to Edit YouTube Videos

    As we mentioned earlier that the vast majority of YouTube videos don’t have the production levels of the most popular YouTubers.

    As a YouTube beginner, you just need to learn some video editing basics to polish your YouTube videos before uploading.

    Let’s start with the shooting first.

    Shooting Videos with Editing in Mind

    • When you are shooting your videos always record them in the highest quality settings available on your camera.
    • Use a tripod or gimbal to avoid shaky footage.
    • Use manual focus whenever possible to make sure that the subject of your video is always in focus.
    • Record in a quiet space or use a microphone to avoid background noise.

    Editing Videos for Your YouTube Channel

    Now that you have your video ready let’s bring it into your video editing software.

    • First, you would want to cut and trim the portions that you don’t want to include in the video.
    • Add background music when you need it.
    • Use transition effects to merge two video footage
    • Add text, images, and graphics to provide more context if needed.

    Your video editing software will show you a live preview of your changes as you make them. Once you are satisfied with the changes you have made it is time to export your video.

    Finding Media to Use in Your YouTube Videos

    YouTube takes copyright violations seriously and can take down your videos or entire channel for any violations.

    Make sure that all the media (images, video clips, sounds, and music) that you use in your video are royalty free or that you have written permission to use them in your video.

    Luckily there are many open-source and royalty-free sources that you can use in your videos. Most video editing software choices we mentioned above include royalty-free media that you can add to your videos.

    YouTube also has its own audio library with thousands of music and audio files that you can use in your videos.

    YouTube Audio Library

    You can find the audio library under YouTube Studio. From here, you can search or browse the audio files and download them to your computer.

    After that, you can add them to your video using your video editing software.

    Saving Video to Upload on YouTube

    By default, YouTube allows you to upload videos of 15 minutes duration. Verified users can upload longer videos.

    The video file size limit for YouTube is 256 GB or 12 hours duration, whichever is less.

    Make sure that you export your video from your video editor software using the highest quality settings. Using H.264 (mp4 file format) for compression produces higher-quality results with a smaller file size.

    Depending on your video duration and file size, it may take a while for your video editing software to process the video.

    7. Video Editing Best Practices to Follow

    As you edit more videos for your YouTube channel, you’ll be able to pick up new tips and tricks on the way to produce better results.

    Following are just some of the very basic tips that you should keep in mind.

    • Always save your videos in the highest quality. This allows YouTube to display your video in the best possible quality to your users.
    • Longer videos take more time to process on your computer. Make sure that your computer is connected to a power source to avoid any interruption.
    • Similarly, video files are massive and may take some time to upload. Make sure you have a faster and more stable internet connection before you begin uploading the video to YouTube.

    8. Making Thumbnails for YouTube Videos

    A YouTube video thumbnail is the image used as a placeholder for your video across the YouTube platform.

    WPBeginner thumbnail examples

    They play the most significant role in boosting a video’s click-through rate.

    Most experienced users spend a lot of their time creating and experimenting with different YouTube video thumbnail styles.

    YouTube allows you to pick a thumbnail from your video after you upload the video. However, it is not recommended to use a video still as your thumbnail.

    You’ll need to use an image editing tool like Photoshop or Canva to create your YouTube thumbnail. It needs to be at least 1280×720 in dimensions.

    Here are some of the tips you can use when making a thumbnail for YouTube videos.

    1. Use Hi-res Images – It is important to use high-quality images in your video thumbnail so that they look good in all sizes on all devices.

    2. Grab user attention – You’ll need to make your images eye catchy by using bold colors, strong contrast, or emotional reactions. That’s why so many popular YouTubers have an image showing their surprised, amazed, disappointed, and other reactions.

    YouTube Thumbnail example

    3. Showcase Key Event – Show the main subject or event of your video in the thumbnail to build anticipation and provide users with a preview of the video.

    4. Use Text Cleverly – Use text whenever needed to provide more context or insert an engagement hook for your audiences.

    More thumbnail examples

    5. Keep it Simple – Avoid adding too many elements to your thumbnail to keep it clean and easy on the eyes. Cluttered elements in thumbnails can make it look unpolished to your users.

    Once you have created a thumbnail for your video, you can add it after your video upload is complete.

    You can also change the thumbnail for a video by editing it in YouTube Studio.

    Changing thumbnail for a YouTube video

    9. Uploading Your First YouTube Video

    You can upload your video by visiting the YouTube Studio page.

    Then, you just need to click on the Upload Videos button.

    Upload YouTube videos

    This will bring up a popup where you need to select the video file(s) you have saved on your computer.

    Simply click on the Select Files button to continue. You can upload more than one video at a time if you want.

    Select video files you want to upload

    However, it is better to upload one video at a time to avoid any interruptions during the upload.

    YouTube will now start uploading your video in the background. Meanwhile, you can fill in the video details such as the video title, description, thumbnail, and tags.

    Fill in video details

    Once you are satisfied with the settings click on the Next button to continue.

    Now, you’ll be asked to provide additional information about your video. For instance, you can add subtitles, choose an end screen, and add video cards to promote other content during your video playback.

    Video elements

    All these video elements help you promote your videos and grow your channel.

    After that, you need to click on the Next button to continue. YouTube will now check your video for common issues such as copyright infringements or inappropriate content.

    Video checks

    If everything looks good, click on the next button to continue.

    Now, you can choose how you want to publish your YouTube video. You can make a video private, unlisted, or public so that everyone on the internet can view it.

    Publish or schedule your video

    You can also schedule the video to become public at a specific time. This helps you schedule videos for the future and get ahead on your video calendar.

    Finally, click on the Publish button to save your video. You can now preview your video on YouTube.

    10. Mastering YouTube SEO

    As we mentioned earlier, YouTube is not only a video-sharing platform but also the second most popular search engine.

    It receives more searches than any other search engine on the market except for Google itself.

    This is why you need to pay attention to YouTube SEO from day one.

    YouTube search results

    This helps your videos and channel appear in YouTube searches more often.

    YouTube SEO best practices will also help your channel appear in Google video results and you may even appear in featured snippets.

    video search snippet

    Following are some of the basic YouTube SEO tips that will help you optimize your videos for higher search rankings.

    • Use keywords in Title & Description – Keywords are search terms that users type to search for something. Using them in your video’s title and description increases its potential to appear for those search terms. You can also use your keywords in channel description, about page, and other areas to improve your YouTube SEO.
    • Add a custom YouTube Video Thumbnail – A good custom video thumbnail can provide search engines with more context about your video. It boosts your click-through rate which helps you rank even higher.
    • Add closed captions and subtitles – Subtitles and closed captions help you provide a video transcript for your video. This provides YouTube with plenty of context to match with the search terms.
    • Add Tags to Your Videos – Tags help you organize your videos into topics using them strategically has the potential to appear higher for relevant search terms.
    • Use Given Character Limit – YouTube has character limits for titles, descriptions, tags, and other fields. Make sure that you utilize these fields to provide more detailed information about your video. Here is a quick breakdown of character limits:
      • Video Title – 100, make sure that you use all of them and try to replicate the style of other popular YouTubers in your industry.
      • Description – 5000, use the description field to write a catchy but more detailed description of your video. You can also include links here to your website, relevant blog posts, products, affiliate links, and more.
      • Tags – 500, tags can help users find your content by categorizing it and letting YouTube know who to promote it to.
    Title, tags, and descriptions used in a YouTube video

    YouTube SEO is a highly sought-after skill and as you work on growing your YouTube channel you’ll pick up more tips and tricks along the way.

    11. Growing Your YouTube Channel

    Growing a successful YouTube channel takes time, some effort, and patience. In most cases success will not come overnight, rather your channel will grow bit by bit slowly and steadily.

    Following are a few tips that will help you keep up the momentum and grow your YouTube channel.

    1. Create High-Quality Videos

    This goes without saying that users will abandon your YouTube videos if they don’t find your content useful or entertaining.

    Producing higher quality content that answers users’ questions, provides them value (information, education, or entertainment), and keeps them hooked is the key to keep gaining subscribers for your YouTube channel.

    2. Upload Regularly

    Publishing regularly is one of the most common traits of almost all successful YouTube channels.

    For beginners, this may seem hard at first. We recommend committing to at least one video per week. As you work regularly on your videos you will be able to pick up more tricks to produce higher-quality videos more quickly.

    Whatever frequency you choose, you need to stick to it. This helps you keep your existing subscribers engaged which leads to acquiring new subscribers and more views.

    3. Engage with Your Audience

    YouTube is a social media platform as well. In the US alone, 62% of internet users access YouTube daily and the majority of them access it several times a day.

    The easiest way to keep your audience engaged is through YouTube comments. Asking users questions in your videos or replying to them via comments helps you bring back those users. They are also more likely to view more of your content in the future.

    4. Curate Your Content in Playlists

    As your videos increase it will become harder for users to find all your videos on a similar topic.

    Create playlists

    For instance, let’s say you run a gardening channel with several videos about budget landscaping. You can help your users find them all by creating a playlist.

    Creating playlists also helps with YouTube SEO as these playlists often appear in search engines.

    5. Dig Down the Analytics

    YouTube offers built-in analytics tools to track the performance of your videos. This helps you gain insights into your audience.

    YouTube Analytics

    From here, you can analyze important data such as views, watch time, and demographics to improve your content and reach more viewers.

    6. Promote Your Videos

    To grow your YouTube channel you cannot just upload videos and wait for viewers to come.

    You need to proactively promote your videos across all your digital marketing channels, email marketing, and through your website.

    This brings us to our next section.

    12. Using Your Website to Promote YouTube Videos

    All popular YouTube channels have a website.

    This helps them to continuously bring traffic to their business website from their Youtube channel which leads to more sales and growth for their business.

    It also helps them send more users to their YouTube channel by promoting videos and helping new users discover their YouTube channel.

    Here is a step-by-step playbook that you can apply to your website to grow your YouTube channel.

    1. Start a Blog To Promote Your YouTube Channel

    For many businesses, starting a blog allows them to consistently cover topics that their potential customers will be looking for in search.

    This helps them gain free organic search traffic to their website which they can then convert into customers and subscribers.

    Adding a blog to your website helps you repurpose content you have used in your videos and make them into articles. This increases your potential to rank for those particular keywords and get traffic to both your video and blog content.

    Need more convincing? See our article on why you should start a blog right away.

    2. Learn WordPress SEO to Promote Your Video Content

    To promote your video content on your website you will need to follow some basic WordPress SEO best practices.

    This is where All in One SEO comes in. It is the best WordPress SEO plugin on the market that enables you to optimize your website like a total SEO pro.

    All in One SEO plugin

    Note: All in One SEO is a paid plugin and you’ll need at least their Pro plan to access the video sitemaps feature.

    Simply install and activate the All in One SEO for WordPress plugin. For more details, see our step-by-step guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.

    Upon activation, the plugin will launch a setup wizard which will walk you through the basic setup.

    Click let's get started AIOSEO setup wizard

    Need more help? We have a step-by-step WordPress SEO guide for beginners, which will help you properly optimize your website for SEO.

    3. Embed Your Videos in Blog Posts to Get More Subscribers

    Embed videos in blog posts

    An easy way to get more views and subscribers for your YouTube channel is by embedding videos in your blog posts.

    WordPress makes it super easy. Simply copy the URL of your video and edit the post or page where you want to embed the video.

    On the post editor screen, paste the URL on the line where you want to display the video.

    WordPress will automatically fetch the required embed code and display your video.

    4. Submit Video Sitemaps for Better Rankings

    Video Sitemaps are like regular XML sitemaps but only for your video posts. The include links to your WordPress posts or pages containing YouTube video embeds.

    You can then submit this sitemap using Google Search Console. Google could then display your article with an enhanced snippet with a video preview.

    Article with video embed apeparing in search results

    To generate this sitemap, you’ll need the Pro plan of All in One SEO for WordPress.

    It comes with a video sitemap feature that automatically detects your posts and pages with video embeds and includes them in the video sitemap.

    Once you have installed and activated the All in One SEO for WordPress, go to All in One SEO » Sitemaps page and switch to the Video Sitemap tab.

    Enable video sitemaps

    From here simply switch the Enable Sitemap toggle on and then click on the Open Video Sitemap button to see it in action.

    It will show you the list of articles with video embeds with video thumbnails.

    Video sitemap preview

    For more details, see our article on XML Sitemaps and how to submit them to search engines.

    5. Create Video Galleries on Your Website

    Now adding YouTube videos to your blog posts and pages is quite simple. However, it is quite boring and doesn’t add any social sharing features to your video embeds.

    This is where Smash Balloon comes in. It is the best social media plugin suite for WordPress and allows you to easily embed social media feeds into your WordPress website.

    The Smash Balloon YouTube gallery plugin

    SmashBalloon offers separate plugins for different social media platforms like Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube. You can also buy the all-access plan to get all plugins.

    For the sake of this article, we’ll be using SmashBalloon’s YouTube Feed Pro plugin.

    First, you need to install and activate the SmashBalloon YouTube Feed Pro plugin. Upon activation, head over to YouTube Feed » Settings page and provide your plugin license key. You can find this information under your account on the Smash Balloon website.

    Smash Balloon YouTube settings

    After that, you need to click on the ‘Add Source’ button to connect your WordPress website to your YouTube account.

    Smash Balloon will ask for your permission to access your channel information under your Google Account.

    Simply follow the on-screen instructions to complete the setup and get your channel name added as the source.

    For more details, see our tutorial on how to show the latest videos from your YouTube channel in WordPress.

    Next, you need to visit YouTube Feed » All Feeds page and click on the ‘Add New’ button to add a YouTube feed that you want to display.

    Add your YouTube feed

    Follow the on-screen instructions to select a source, template, and style for your feed.

    Once finished, Smash Balloon will show you a live preview of your YouTube feed.

    Finish feed setup

    If everything looks good, then you can click on the Embed button to continue.

    The plugin will now show you a shortcode that you can add to any post or page to display your YouTube feed. Optionally, you can also add it directly to a widget or a page.

    Embed options

    Here is how it looked on our test website.

    We changed the video template color scheme from light to dark and used the carousel-style gallery.

    See your YouTube gallery in action

    Smash Balloon allows you to fetch video feeds for your own channel, any other public channel, search term, or favorite videos.

    It also works great on mobile devices and will automatically adjust your Gallery width for your smaller screens.

    For more details, you may also want to see our guide on how to create a video gallery in WordPress to promote your YouTube channel.

    13. Making a Consistent Video Calendar

    You’ll need to consistently upload new videos in order to make a successful YouTube channel.

    You can choose your own frequency which gives you plenty of time to make a video. Many beginners start with one or two videos each month and increase it gradually to one video per week.

    You can choose a day and time to publish your videos. This way your users would know when to expect a new video from your channel.

    Now the real challenge for most beginners is to come up with ideas for new videos.

    Following are a few easy tips to generate video ideas for your YouTube channel.

    1. View YouTube Analytics – You can see what kind of content your users like by viewing your YouTube Channel Analytics. Then branch out your most viewed videos into deeper and related topics.

    2. Get Hints by YouTube Search – As you type a keyword in YouTube search it would start suggesting popular search terms. These are the search terms that users are already looking for and they can be immensely helpful in generating new video ideas.

    Find keyword ideas via YouTube search

    3. YouTube Comments – Your users would often post questions in the comments section below your YouTube videos. You can convert the most common questions into separate videos.

    4. Your WordPress Blog – You can repurpose your most popular blog content into YouTube videos.

    5. Ask Your Users – You can ask your users on social media profiles about what topics they would like you to cover next. Similarly, you can run surveys and polls on your website to gather user feedback.

    6. Online Communities – Forums such as Reddit, Facebook Groups, LinkedIn, and Twitter are the discussion hubs of the internet. You can join the communities covering similar topics as your YouTube channel and see which topics come up more frequently under discussion.

    Advanced users can use third-party tools to perform deeper keyword research. Following are some of the most popular keyword research tools for YouTubers.

    1. Semrush – It offers a keyword magic tool where you can sort ideas by SERP features and select Video to explore video ideas.

    2. vidIQ – A keyword research and video ideas generator platform made specifically for video content creators.

    3. TubeBuddy – Offers YouTube SEO, video optimization, and keyword research tools as a browser extension.

    14. Experiment with Different Video Styles and Formats

    A YouTube channel doesn’t become successful overnight. It will take some time and effort until you find out what kind of content strategy works for your audience.

    Meanwhile, we recommend trying different video formats to see which one of them brings you more user engagement, views, or likes.

    You can try YouTube shorts to experiment with shorter video formats.

    You can also try how-tos, interviews, video podcasts, essays, commentaries, and more.

    Switching styles will help you figure out what your audience finds more engaging and then you can create more such videos.

    Similarly, you can experiment by changing thumbnails for your older videos that are not getting any views.

    You can also try different video titles and descriptions to see if they help you grab user attention.

    15. Frequently Asked Questions About Creating a YouTube Channel

    Now that your YouTube channel is up and running following are some of the most commonly asked questions asked by beginner YouTube creators.

    1. How many views do I need to get paid on YouTube?

    You’ll need at least 4000 public watch hours or 1000 subscribers in 12 months period to be eligible for the YouTube partner program, which gives you access to YouTube monetization tools including ad revenue sharing. For Shorts, you’ll need at least 10 million views in the last 90 days.

    2. Can I start a YouTube Channel with my phone?

    Yes, you can start a YouTube channel using your mobile phone. YouTube app for smartphones makes it super easy to create a channel, record live videos, or upload videos from your phone.

    3. How to make money online using YouTube?

    The easiest way to make money online using YouTube is by joining the YouTube partner program. Once you are approved, you become eligible to get paid for revenue sharing on ads displayed during your videos.

    4. Can I start a YouTube channel without showing my face?

    Yes, you can start a YouTube channel and upload videos without showing your face.

    5. Do I need an LLC to start a YouTube channel for my business?

    No, you don’t need an LLC to start a YouTube channel for your business. You’ll automatically be considered a sole proprietor for the YouTube channel and all your earnings from YouTube will be subjected to local taxes like income tax. However, some YouTube channels may register as a limited liability company (LLC) to protect their business from potential liabilities, insurance reasons, and other legal and financial reasons.

    We hope this article helped you learn how to easily start a successful YouTube channel for your business. You may also want to see our list of other popular online business ideas or learn how to create and sell online courses to generate passive income.

    If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.

    The post How to Start a Successful YouTube Channel for Your Business first appeared on WPBeginner.

  • Should You Start a Blog or a YouTube Channel? (Beginner’s Guide)

    Are you wondering whether you should start a blog or YouTube channel?

    Blogging and vlogging are good ways to engage with your audience and grow your brand’s credibility. We are often asked by readers which they should start first blog vs YouTube?

    In this article, we’ll explain our pick on blog vs YouTube and which you should start first with detailed explanation of our take.

    Should You Start a Blog or a YouTube Channel?

    TLDR: we recommend you start with a blog and add a YouTube channel later if needed

    This is a comprehensive guide, so we’ve included a table of contents for easier navigation:

    What Is a Blog?

    A blog is a type of website where articles, called ‘blog posts’, are presented in reverse chronological order with newer content appearing first. Blog posts are a great way to share your expert knowledge with your audience, build credibility, and attract visitors to your site.

    If you want to start an online business, or communicate better with your existing customers or audience, then you should think about starting a blog.

    Blogs typically present information in a conversational style and are run by individuals or a small group of people. However, there are now tons of corporate blogs that produce a great deal of useful informational and thought-leadership content.

    Typical blog posts also have a comments section where users can respond to the article by making comments or asking questions.

    Blogging has been around since 1993 and has become an essential marketing tool for many businesses. But is it still relevant in the age of YouTube and social media?

    Why Starting a Blog Is so Important Today

    There are currently 1.9 billion websites in the world, and over 600 million are blogs. That means that blogs make up a third of the web.

    Blogging has become an important marketing strategy for businesses due to its benefits. You or your business can use a blog to promote ideas, brands, stories, products, and more.

    Here are some of the more important benefits of blogging and why you should consider starting a blog.

    1. A Blog Will Bring More Traffic to Your Website

    A typical business website consists of a few important pages. For example, you may have a homepage, landing pages for your products and services, and a contact page.

    Unfortunately, search engines may often decide that your website is less important than thousands of other websites in the same industry, especially if they have been around longer.

    Adding a blog allows you to publish additional content which over time will help you bring more traffic to your website.

    That’s a major reason to start with a blog rather than a YouTube channel because YouTube videos will attract traffic to the YouTube platform instead of your own website. You own and control your blog, while the YouTube platform is owned by Google and will benefit them.

    2. A Blog Will Help Strengthen Brand Recognition and Build Authority

    A blog helps you strengthen your brand identity. It gives you more opportunities to use your custom logo across your website, your social profiles, search results, and more.

    This brand recognition when combined with customer trust and authority adds enormous value to your digital assets.

    Adding a blog allows you to establish authority by regularly publishing content on topics related to your industry.

    If you are consistently publishing new content, you’ll become the go-to place for your users and other businesses interested in those topics.

    3. A Blog Will Help You Generate More Leads and Conversions

    More than 70% of people visiting your website today, will never find it again. That’s because there is so much content and information on the internet.

    Starting a blog will help you convert website traffic into potential leads, subscribers, and social media followers.

    For example, you can use tools like OptinMonster to build an email list and grow a social media following. And with push notifications, you can send targeted messages to your blog visitors and bring them back to your website.

    4. A Blog Will Help You Build an Engaging Audience

    A static website doesn’t leave much room for a conversation. Why not add a blog to your site where users can engage by leaving a comment and sharing your posts on social media?

    This helps you build a community around your business which is extremely useful.

    It will help your visitors develop an affinity with your brand which pays off when they are looking to make a purchase or recommend your products and services to friends and family.

    5. A Blog Will Let You Educate Customers and Share News

    Blog posts allow you to educate customers about different ways they can use your products. This will allow you to compare your product with competitors, showcase product features, inform users about benefits, and more.

    They’re also the best place to share your business news, announcements, and sales events.

    For instance, if you are launching a Black Friday sale, you can promote it with a blog post. And then promote that blog post across your website with a floating header or footer banner.

    6. A Blog Will Let You Build Additional Revenue Streams for Your Business

    Blogs provide many opportunities to generate additional revenue and make money online. For instance, you can display ads in your blog posts using Google AdSense.

    You can also promote affiliate products and make money with affiliate marketing or use your blog to sell premium content using MemberPress or Easy Digital Downloads.

    7. A Blog Helps You Repurpose Content for Other Marketing Channels

    Adding a blog to your website allows you to actively use blog content across your other marketing channels, such as making YouTube videos based on blog post content.

    For example, we use our written WPBeginner tutorials as a helpful starting point for creating YouTube videos. This makes our video producers’ jobs easier and saves time. Then we embed the YouTube videos into the tutorial so our visitors can choose to read or watch the content.

    Still not convinced? You can learn even more reasons to start a blog by taking a look at our article on the benefits of blogging.

    Starting a Blog vs Starting a YouTube Channel

    Now that you know about some of the benefits of blogging, you can see why we recommend that you start a blog first, and then add a YouTube channel in the future if you need.

    Let’s summarize the most important points. When you build a blog, you are creating a platform that you own and control. The content you create will attract visitors to your website where they can learn more about your products and services.

    On the other hand, the YouTube platform will always be owned by Google. The search traffic generated by your content will take people to the YouTube website, not your own.

    Creating blog posts first also makes it easier to create other types of content, such as YouTube videos. Usually, the first step in creating a video is to write a script. Because you have already created written content on your blog, a lot of the work is already done.

    Besides that, creating YouTube videos requires expensive equipment such as a camera and lighting, and you’ll also need to purchase video editing software and learn how to use it.

    Finally, your blog is the perfect place for your visitors to watch your YouTube videos. You can easily embed YouTube videos in a blog post, giving your visitors the choice of watching or reading your content. That’s a great user experience.

    What You Need to Start a Blog

    We know that starting a blog can be a terrifying thought specially when you are not geeky. Guess what – you are not alone.

    If you want to start a blog, then WordPress is the most popular blogging platform recommended by experts.

    Although WordPress is free, there are some costs involved in creating a self-hosted blog. You will need to choose and register a domain name and decide on a web hosting provider.

    You may also want to pay someone to design your website and purchase premium plugins to add features. The total cost will depend on your needs and goals.

    The good news is that you can build a fully functional WordPress website for yourself and keep your costs under $100. Bluehost, an official WordPress-recommended hosting provider, has agreed to offer our users a free domain name and over 60% off on web hosting.

    You can learn the details and options in our guide on how much it really costs to build a WordPress website.

    Even better, when you signup with Bluehost using our link, they will automatically install WordPress for you, so you can start building your blog right away.

    All you need to do is log in to your Bluehost account, and then click the ’Log in to WordPress’ button to get started.

    Bluehost Dashboard - log in to WordPress

    After that, you will need to set up your WordPress install, choose a theme and some plugins, then get started on your first blog post.

    We take you through the entire process step by step in our beginner’s guide on how to start a WordPress blog. We’ll summarize the main steps below.

    The end result will be an attractive and functional blog that you own.

    Selecting a Theme to Customize Your Blog’s Appearance

    Customizing the look and feel of your blog is by far one of the most exciting and rewarding parts of the journey of creating your WordPress blog.

    WordPress comes with a powerful templating engine that allows you to change the appearance of your website by installing themes.

    There are thousands of free and paid WordPress themes available. You can choose one that looks closer to what you have in mind for your website.

    WordPress Theme Stats

    You can look for themes under the Appearance » Themes page. It will show you a bunch of default themes that come with your WordPress install.

    For more themes, click on the ‘Add New’ button at the top to find more free themes.

    Add new theme

    For premium or paid WordPress themes, you can try trusted WordPress theme shops like SeedProdThrive ThemesAstraElegant Themes, and more.

    However, there is such an abundance of WordPress themes that it may become difficult for beginners to decide which theme they want to use.

    We recommend choosing a minimalist design with plenty of white space. This provides you plenty of room to customize the theme and make it your own.

    For more details, see our guide on how to choose the perfect theme for your website as well as our list of the best free WordPress blog themes.

    Creating Your First Blog Post

    Once you have selected your WordPress theme, you are now ready to create your first blog post. You just need to click on the Posts » Add New menu in your WordPress dashboard.

    You will see an editor area where you can write your first blog post.

    Writing Your First Blog Post

    WordPress uses a block-based editor that allows you to create beautiful content layouts for your blog posts.

    To familiarize yourself with the editor, see our WordPress block editor tutorial.

    Once you’re done writing, go ahead and click on the Publish button on the top-right corner of the screen to make your blog post publicly available.

    Publishing Your First Blog Post

    On the posts screen, you will notice several other sections such as Categories and Tags. You can use these to organize your blog posts into sections. We have a great write-up on the difference between categories vs tags, which we highly recommend that you read.

    To utilize all the features on the posts screen, you should read our article on how to add a new post in WordPress (video included).

    We also offer some helpful resources to help you brainstorm new post ideas to write about:

    A lot of pro bloggers choose their specific topics strategically by doing keyword research. This helps their content rank higher in Google searches and get more traffic.

    We have a step-by-step guide on how to do keyword research for beginners using the exact same method that we use on WPBeginner.

    Extending and Growing Your Blog With Plugins

    Once you publish your first blog post, you’ll probably want to get started with adding other usual elements on your website such as a contact page, galleries, sliders, and an email list. To add all these additional features, you need to use plugins.

    Plugins are like apps for your WordPress website. They allow you to add new features and extend the functionality of WordPress without writing any code.

    There are more than 60,000 free plugins available in the WordPress.org plugin directory alone. Plus, there are premium WordPress plugins sold by third-party developers with priority support and guaranteed updates.

    WordPress plugins

    However, you also need to consider which plugins you need to use to keep your WordPress website secure, private, and anonymous.

    Here are our top picks of the best plugins to grow your blog.

    • All in One SEO is the best WordPress SEO plugin on the market and helps your anonymous website get more traffic from search engines.
    • SeedProd is a powerful WordPress page builder that allows you to use a drag-and-drop interface to create any type of page for your website.
    • MonsterInsights is the best WordPress Google Analytics plugin which helps you see where your visitors and coming from and what they see on your website.
    • OptinMonster is a conversion optimization software, which helps you convert website visitors into email subscribers and customers.
    • WPForms is the best WordPress contact form plugin and allows you to easily create forms for your website.

    That’s just a start. You can learn how to add plenty of other features to your blog by checking out our list of useful tools to manage and grow your WordPress blog.

    Monetizing Your WordPress Blog

    WordPress is the largest publishing platform on the planet, and it powers over 43% of all websites. Many bloggers have successfully monetized their blogs, and you can too.

    That’s why we put together a detailed list of proven ways you can make money online blogging with WordPress.

    Unlike other articles on how to make money online, this is a comprehensive guide on how to make money at home legitimately, using blogging and WordPress.

    Many of these methods require some investment of time and money to get started. As long as you’re willing to put in the effort, you’ll reap the reward.

    Here are some of the main strategies we cover:

    We hope this tutorial helped you learn why you should start with a blog instead of a YouTube channel. You may also want to learn how to create an email newsletter the right way, or check out our list of the best YouTube video gallery plugins for WordPress.

    If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.

    The post Should You Start a Blog or a YouTube Channel? (Beginner’s Guide) first appeared on WPBeginner.

  • Research: The Truth Behind Make Money Online Videos on YouTube and TikTok (We Analyzed 344 Videos)

    Have you ever wondered whether those YouTube and TikTok influencers teaching how to make money online are telling the truth?

    We analyzed 354 videos from YouTube and TikTok to see whether the business model or earning potential they share is realistic for an average person.

    Here’s what we found out.

    While a lot of these make money online influencer videos paint a rosier picture than the truth of online entrepreneurship, there are still a lot of options to earn consistent income through the internet.

    Below are our findings on online business statistics along with the original research data that we collected from YouTube and TikTok.

    How online entrepreneurs make money according to YouTube and TikTok

    The Trend of Online Work: An Overview

    The COVID-19 pandemic showed millions of people that they could work from anywhere and at any time. As offices closed and all but the most essential services shut down, many jobs moved onto the internet.

    This trend towards flexibility has persisted: even as most of the world has returned to normal, people still like working remotely. In fact, 45% of employees said they were likely to look for a new job if their employer required them to report to work in person.

    Online work can also open up new opportunities for people who lost their jobs during the financial crises spurred on by the pandemic, said Haiyi Zhu, a professor at Carnegie Mellon University’s Human-Computer Interaction Institute who studies gig work. These workers might “turn to online, virtual work as either a transitional job or to find additional income sources” as they look for new full-time employment, she explained.

    At the same time, social media platforms like YouTube and TikTok have made it easier than ever for people to learn about online work opportunities. Searches for online gig work or investment opportunities can lead a user to hours upon hours of content, explaining potential business ideas and suggesting how much an aspiring worker could earn.

    At WPBeginner, we’ve summarized the money-making advice from hundreds of top videos, exploring the trends in business options and earning potential.

    Of course, some videos might paint a rosier picture than the truth of online entrepreneurship. But, there are still a lot of options for earning consistent income through the internet.

    For this report, our team used 177 videos from YouTube and 177 videos from TikTok, available in this repository.

    On YouTube, we selected videos that came up at the top of a search for “how to make money online.” While on TikTok, we used hashtags like #makemoneyonline and #entrepreneurship to select videos with this theme. We analyzed the videos based on the business options, potential earnings, and required skillsets they advertised.

    The potential earnings we discuss in this article were taken directly from the YouTube and TikTok creators whose videos we analyzed.

    These numbers do not necessarily reflect accurate trends. Rather, we are presenting them as a reflection of how online creators advertise work opportunities.

    Wide Range of Earning Potential

    After analyzing all of the videos from YouTube and TikTok, we found that the median pay these influencers advertised was about $50 per hour.

    Distribution of Hourly Earnings by Platform - YouTube and TikTok Case Study

    At the lowest end of the range, creators advertised microwork tasks, or series of small tasks (such as answering survey questions) that can be completed asynchronously over the internet. Microwork can lead to earnings as low as $1 per hour, according to the videos.

    At the highest end of the range, video creators suggested that entrepreneurs can earn over $1,000 per hour for more skilled work like running a popular blog. In our expert opinion, this number is exaggerated and very rarely do individual bloggers get to such income level.

    Overall, though, the earning potential mentioned in the videos skewed lower: 90% of the videos on both platforms advertised that workers would get under $300 per hour.

    This statistic again should be taken with a grain of salt because it doesn’t factor in true-working hours because it’s unlikely to have a 40 hour work-week at that hourly rate.

    Income instability is one of the most common challenges that online gig workers face, Zhu said. Her team has a paper currently undergoing peer review that names key issues across online gig workers and those that use online platforms to coordinate physical work, like driving for Uber or DoorDash. Other major challenges include a lack of employment benefits, health and safety (both physical and online), and a lack of power in the workplace, she said.

    Some YouTube and TikTok creators advertise more lucrative career paths by talking about their own experiences getting rich, though their videos may be misleading.

    For example, Adam Enfroy, a popular creator on both platforms, claims to make $300,000 a month through blogs and affiliate marketing, but this income is unrealistic for new marketers just starting out. According to statistics, the average earnings for professional, freelance marketers is $50 per hour or $100,000 per year only if you’re absolutely at the top of your game.

    Making Money with Online Publishing

    Business Types Mentioned by Platform on YouTube and TikTok

    Online publishing Statistics, according to YouTube

    Online publishing was the most popular type of online business advertised on YouTube, clocking in at 45% of the videos we analyzed.

    Business Types Mentioned on YouTube Videos

    This is a broad category of online work which might include setting up a blog that earns revenue through affiliate links, writing a newsletter, making videos on YouTube, or creating content as an influencer.

    YouTube creators pushing online publishing advertised that workers could earn a median of:

    • $925 per hour writing a blog
    • $312 per hour writing a newsletter or similar periodic articles
    • $230 per hour for YouTube sponsorships
    • $106 per hour with affiliate marketing

    Note: these rates shared in videos may not reflect actual earnings.

    Affiliate marketing is one of the simpler options for a new writer with less experience. In this model, companies pay you to send customers to their products. Google a simple question like “best laptop for college,” and you’ll find hundreds of lists on sites ranging from independent blogs to the New York Times, taking advantage of the search engine to drive affiliate revenue.

    Online publishing Statistics, according to TikTok

    Creators on TikTok similarly advertised blogs and marketing as a high-earning strategy. The videos we analyzed claimed that writing a blog could net a median of $1,500 per year. Digging into this further, we analyzed the skills that TikTok creators claimed would be most lucrative for different online businesses.

    Business Types Mentioned on TikTok Videos

    According to the TikTok creators, marketing could lead to the highest (advertised) earnings at a median of $62.50 per hour, followed by investing at $56 per hour and video editing at $50 per hour.

    As on YouTube, TikTok creators tend to provide fairly limited evidence for their earning estimates. Video creators also tend to advertise business ideas that are easier to sell to a broad audience as “easy money-making strategies”. In reality, getting extremely rich off of a blog is harder than video creators make it sound.

    Instead, experts suggested that selling writing or another type of service as a freelancer might be more successful for online workers with prior talents under their belts.

    Making Money with a Service Business

    Service businesses can include a range of skillsets.

    On TikTok, we found that services businesses were the most popular type of online work advertised by creators.

    Hourly Earnings by Online Business Type

    These businesses include a range of skills and activities such as: starting your own agency to provide a service like tech support to other companies, selling goods through an online store, making content for clients on platforms like Upwork and Fiverr, and performing microwork tasks like filling out surveys or tagging content.

    Microwork can be particularly appealing for people who are not currently employed full-time and looking to make extra cash, said Melissa Keith, a psychology professor at Bowling Green State University whose research focuses on the platform Mechanical Turk. Mechanical Turk, run by Amazon, allows remote workers to make money by doing small tasks that can’t be completed by computers.

    Microwork rates are low, but improving.

    “It’s pretty unrealistic to think you’re going to make a full-time salary on most of these platforms,” Keith said. But the all-remote, fully flexible nature of the platform allows workers to earn money on their own terms — potentially even while working at another job. While TikTok videos advertise that workers might be able to earn over $50 per hour while on platforms like Mechanical Turk, Keith found this number is unrealistic compared to her research. “A good rate is closer to $10 an hour,” she said.

    In recent years, workers on microwork platforms have pushed the companies posting jobs to improve their hourly rates, Keith noted. Tasks that might once have paid under $1 an hour will now earn a worker the U.S. minimum wage, if not more. These rates can be particularly attractive to workers in other countries where the cost of living is lower.

    Related: 11 Best WordPress Developer Jobs Sites (+ Example Job Templates)

    Balancing Expectations and Reality

    Online videos paint a rosy picture of entrepreneurship opportunities. This is especially true for financial and investment advice, as creators advertise buying into cryptocurrency and other risky assets. As CNET contributor Ana Staples points out, anyone can claim to be an expert on TikTok. Short, punchy videos can make getting rich online look much easier than it really is.

    It’s also important to consider the gap between who makes videos about earning money online and who actually comprises the online gig workforce.

    Our analysis found that the creators of YouTube and TikTok videos skew towards men in their 20s; the user bases of platforms like Mechanical Turk tend to be pretty evenly split on gender, Keith said.

    YouTube TikTok Case Study Presenter Demographic

    Younger men might be “more willing to share their success stories,” said Zhu, the Carnegie Mellon researcher. Meanwhile, low-income immigrants who are doing more low-paid gig work might “not necessarily want to brag about their work, and also don’t have the time to create videos,” she added.

    As online work remains popular in the wake of the pandemic, Zhu and Keith both anticipate that workers will continue to push for higher wages, flexibility on the job, and benefits that better align with those of typical full-time employment. “If people move towards these more flexible work arrangements, we’re going to have to have systems in place to protect workers,” Keith said.

    List of Sources

    Federal Reserve Board, Haiyi Zhu, Upwork, CNET, Melissa Keith, YouTube and TikTok

    That’s a wrap! We hope this original research gave you an idea of what to expect if you’re looking to start an online business or become a freelancer.

    If you’re looking to start earning online, you may found the following resources helpful:

    If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.

    The post Research: The Truth Behind Make Money Online Videos on YouTube and TikTok (We Analyzed 344 Videos) first appeared on WPBeginner.

  • TubeBuddy Review – Grow YouTube Channel Like Mr. Beast

    If you’re an existing YouTube vlogger or thinking of starting a YouTube channel, you’re going to want to pay attention to this post. I’m going to talk about a powerhouse tool that will help you manage, optimize, and grow your YouTube channel. It’s called TubeBuddy, and it’s packed with countless powerful features that will enable you …

    TubeBuddy Review – Grow YouTube Channel Like Mr. Beast Read More »

    TubeBuddy Review – Grow YouTube Channel Like Mr. Beast is a post from ShoutMeLoud – Shouters Who Inspires

  • How to Add Featured Video Thumbnails in WordPress

    Do you want to use video for featured thumbnails in WordPress?

    By replacing a post or product’s featured image with a featured video, you can make your website much more vibrant and dynamic. Visitors can view these videos from nearly anywhere including your blog archives, homepage, and WooCommerce product pages.

    In this article, we will show you how you can add featured video thumbnails in WordPress.

    How to add featured video thumbnails in WordPress

    Why Add Featured Video Thumbnails in WordPress?

    All popular WordPress themes allow you to add featured images to your posts and products.

    These are the primary images, and they often appear at the top of the page and other areas of your site such as your website’s archive pages. Search engines and social media sites may also display a page’s featured image.

    A good featured image can get you a lot of user engagement. However, you may be able to get more clicks, pageviews, and even sales by using a featured video thumbnail instead.

    If you’ve created an online store, then showing a video at the top of the product page is a great way to make shoppers want to scroll and learn more about that product.

    An example of a featured video thumbnail

    With that being said, let’s see how you can add featured video thumbnails in WordPress.

    How to Add Featured Video Thumbnails in WordPress

    The easiest way to use videos as featured thumbnails is by using Really Simple Featured Video. This plugin lets you embed videos from popular video hosting websites such as YouTube or Vimeo and use them as featured video thumbnails.

    It also works perfectly with WooCommerce and will show the featured video at the top of the product page.

    However, just be aware that WooCommerce will show the featured video on the product page only. The featured image thumbnail will still be used in other places, including your WooCommerce store page.

    First, you’ll need to install and activate the plugin. If you need help, then please see our guide on how to install a WordPress plugin.

    After activation, there are a few settings to configure. To get started, go to Settings » Really Simple Featured Video.

    The Simple Featured Video settings

    On this screen, you can select whether you want to add featured video thumbnails to pages, posts, or WooCommerce products.

    To do this, simply click on the ‘Posts,‘ ‘Pages’ or ‘Products’ switches to turn them from grey (disabled) to purple (active). In the following image, we’ve enabled the featured video feature for products, plus posts and pages.

    Enabling featured video thumbnails for posts, pages, and products

    After that, click on the ‘Save changes’ button.

    Next, click on the ‘Controls’ tab. Here, you’ll find a ‘Self-hosted videos’ section where you can configure the settings for the videos in your WordPress media library.

    Changing the featured video thumbnail settings

    While the plugin does support self-hosted videos, this can take up a lot of storage space and bandwidth so we don’t recommend it. To learn more, check out why you should never upload a video to WordPress.

    Instead, scroll to the ‘Embed Videos’ section. This is where you will find settings for any videos you embed from third-party video platforms such as YouTube.

    When you embed videos from YouTube or Vimeo, Really Simple Featured Video will show the playback controls for that platform.

    For example, if you’re embedding a YouTube video then visitors will have access to YouTube’s specific playback features.

    However, the ‘Embed videos’ section does have an ‘Autoplay’ switch that you can click to enable, too.

    Enabling autoplay for WordPress featured thumbnail images

    By default, the plugin will play videos with sound turned on. To mute your videos by default, click on the ‘Mute sound’ toggle.

    You can also set the featured video thumbnails to play on loop.

    Looping videos can be annoying to many visitors, particularly if the video is short and has sound. It’s a good idea to only activate the ‘Loop’ switch if replaying the video over and over improves the visitor experience in some way. For example, you might create a video showing a 360 degree view of a product and then set that clip to loop.

    Embedding a video

    After working your way through the different settings, make sure you click on the ‘Save Changes’ button.

    Adding Featured Video Thumbnails to Posts, Pages, and WooCommerce Products

    Once you’ve configured how the plugin will show embedded videos, you’re ready to add featured video thumbnails to your WordPress website.

    To do this, simply open the post, page, or WooCommerce product where you want to add a featured video thumbnail.

    If you’re adding a featured video to a page or post, then you’ll find the ‘Featured Video’ section in the right-hand menu underneath the ‘Discussion’ section.

    Adding a featured video to a WordPress post

    Want to add a featured video to a WooCommerce product instead?

    Then you’ll find the ‘Featured Video’ section underneath the ‘Product gallery‘ section.

    The Featured Video settings on the product screen

    To use a video from a video hosting site, simply click on ‘Embed.’

    In the new field, you’ll need to paste the URL of the video that you want to embed.

    Adding a featured video thumbnail in the WordPress post editor

    Just make sure that you add the video’s URL in the right format. In the right-hand menu, you’ll see some examples for YouTube, Vimeo, and Dailymotion.

    For YouTube, the plugin gives us the following example URL: https://www.youtube.com/embed/vbLgiRQ0Moo

    This means you’ll need to use https://www.youtube.com/embed/ as the first part of your URL and then add the ID of the video that you want to embed.

    To find the video ID, simply open a new tab in your browser, then go to the YouTube video that you want to embed. Now, take a look at the browser’s address bar.

    The video ID is the value that comes after v=. In the following image, we can see that the video ID is DvbFBxKcORA.

    The WPBeginner YouTube channel

    After adding the video ID to the first part of the URL, we get the following: https://www.youtube.com/embed/DvbFBxKcORA

    You can now go back to the tab with the WordPress block editor and just paste the URL into the ‘Embed’ field. That will add a featured video thumbnail to the post, and then you’re ready to click on either the ‘Update’ or ‘Publish’ button.

    You can now add featured video thumbnails to more posts, pages, and WooCommerce products by following the same process described above.

    On your blog archive or similar page you’ll see that WordPress is now using the videos as the featured thumbnail for your posts and pages.

    If you open any page, post, or WooCommerce product, then you’ll see that the featured video also appears at the top of the page, just like a featured image would.

    An example of a WooCommerce featured video

    We hope this article helped you learn how to add featured video thumbnails in WordPress. You can also go through our guide on the best YouTube video gallery plugins for WordPress and how to embed a Facebook video.

    If you liked this article, then please subscribe to our YouTube Channel for WordPress video tutorials. You can also find us on Twitter and Facebook.

    The post How to Add Featured Video Thumbnails in WordPress first appeared on WPBeginner.

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