Should I Start a YouTube Channel For My Blog? Do Bloggers Need a YouTube Channel?

**Do Bloggers Need a YouTube Channel?**

YouTube is an easy way to reach your target audience.

Recording videos is simple with free programs online as well as smartphones.

One thing you can do to see if others are videos in your niche is just go to YouTube and look!

If they are, then perhaps you should be too?

There are a lot of benefits to starting a YouTube Channel as a blogger:

It’s a great way to add depth to a blog post.

It’s a cool way for people to get to know you personally besides what they read on your blog.

YouTube is drive traffic back to your website and/or products without you having to write a blog post.

It’s an opportunity to use affiliate links that earn you income outside of your website.

It’s also a nice way to reach out to a new audience of people you may not have been able to reach before.

Are you Looking for a Larger Targeted Audience?

YouTube just might be the thing to help you grow bigger!

Besides your blog, YouTube offers you a way to reach people who like what you have but may not have found you in search engines because they weren’t looking there.

A lot of people go straight to YouTube to watch videos in niches they like, some have an app right on their phone and bypass search engines completely!

YouTube Comes up in Search Results, Too!

Just like a blog post, you can get found for your videos too.

You need to use terms that readers are searching for in order to get found, but they do come back up in search results on page one sometimes too!

YouTube Makes It Easy to Create Content for Free

Websites cost money right?

You have to pay for a domain, hosting, all sorts of goodies – and you totally should..but it’s nice when something is free in business, right?

YouTube is nice because it’s a free place to build up content that drives traffic to your website and other self serving links.

You can use your phone to record videos.

There’s free programs online like Screencast-O-Matic that allow you to do it from your computer.

Listen, my husband met a 70-year-old dude on the beach creating YouTube videos, what’s you’re excuse?

He’s 70 years old, creating free content to make money for himself, sure he’s weird, but that brings me to my next thing…

Don’t Try To Be Perfect!

Get in front of the camera and be you.

When you just be you, you allow others to just be them.

Stop thinking about you and start dishing out information.

You’re not serving yourself playing small.

Create YouTube Thumbnail Video Covers!

When someone subscribes to your channel they get a cool email every time you make a video. That’s free traffic to your video, thanks YouTube!

When you have a cover on that video, it makes you stand out in the email (like this).

YouTube ThumbNail Covers Help Drive Traffic!

My #1 source of YouTube traffic is suggested videos and these covers attract attention!

Dress Up the Channel A Bit

Doesn’t have to be fancy, but slap a YouTube Channel cover on it so you at least have something going on.

There are places to include links back to your blogs and other social media channels as well, it’s worth spending some time to poke around your settings.

You Can Get Fancy with Free Video Editors (not always necessary though).

There’s free programs like Windows Movie Maker that also helps you create simple video edits.

You can write things on the screen and do cool stuff, cool stuff rocks.

You don’t have to do this, but I’m just trying to give you some ideas if you wanted to step up your game.

The most important thing is to just start somewhere!

Your YouTube Channel Should Be Niche Specific

You want your channel to have a target audience so you need to stay on a certain topic.

I have 3 different YouTube channels because they each are niche specific.

That’s how targeting works!

Fill in Some Tags!

Use some relevant tags to get found.

My number one source of traffic is referrals from other videos! (another reason to use thumbnail covers)

Create a unique tag that is only yours too, this way you show up in your own side bar!

Use Keywords People Search!

Think like a searcher, don’t just call your video something generic and think people will find you.

I will use a keyword tool and also my brain (the best keyword tool ever) to do this.

I take my keywords to YouTube and make sure that I’m actually using a word that is targeted.

Sometimes what we think and what others think are two different things.

Take your keyword to YouTube, see what comes up, if its relevant stuff, then you’re cool, if it’s not, consider revising how you’re wording what it is you’re doing.

Sometimes I just create videos I know people will need (like in our group) even if I can’t find a keyword, but I make sure I word it in a way I believe the reader would search (that’s why using your brain is so important).

Don’t worry, you’ll get better as you go, just keep in mind your titles are what get you found so think like a YouTube searcher!