Building a YouTube Channel

Decide What Type of Channel You Want To Be

Be niche. Focus on a specific set of content you want to deliver.

Types of Gaming Channels

Tutorials And Walkthroughs

• Make tutorials, guides, and walkthroughs on a specific game with a lot of depth. Show off builds and strategies.

Let's Play Comedian

• Be an entertainer. Make gameplay content focused on making a viewer laugh.

News Commentator

• Regurgitate news, commentate, and provide additional speculation.

Games Reviewer

• Make reviews on video games or video game hardware.

Devlogs

• Development Vlogs. Document your journey and provide advice about programming, art, design, tools, etc.

Speedrunner

• Stream or record attempts at finishing a game as fast as possible.

Bugs and Glitchs

• Show off bugs and glitches found in various games.

Video Essays

• Analyze Game Design and report your findings.

Growing Your Channel

Getting the first 1,000 to 10,000 subscribers is the hardest part. The only way you are going to get subscribers is by putting in the work.

Make Content and make it consistently.

• Publish a video on a weekly or biweekly basis at the very least. This helps build familiarity with your viewers.

Remix: Copy and Innovate a Little.

• Research similar channels and learn what works for them. Apply similar techniques in your content, but with your own unique twist.

Be Genuine

• Build trust with your community by being honest and consistent. Interact with your audience to build a stronger connection.

Collaborate with Others

• Collaborate with other YouTube channels and/or give shoutouts. This will expand your network be a way to give back to the community.

Once you feel like your channel has reached a sufficient subscriber base, feel free to branch out into other interests. Broaden your content and explore other avenues to continue growing the channel.

Engage Your Community

• Ask your community questions or ask for their thoughts or suggestions at the end of a video. Reply and favorite comments.
• Learn to take constructive criticism from people’s comments and use them to improve your content.
• Do your best to ignore purely negative comments that don't offer any meaningful feedback.

Monetizing Your Channel

Monetization Options:

YouTube Ads

When your channel reaches a minimum threshold of viewers and watch time, your channel will be open to monetization with YouTube Ads. These ads will be placed either before and/or during the video. Keep in mind, that your content needs to follow YouTube's guidelines for being advertiser friendly, or you risk your videos and channel from being demonetized. YouTube Ad revenue has been reduced in recent years, so content creators have been prioritizing other methods of monetization.

Sponsorships and Brand Deals

Sponsorships are the most common way to monetize your channel. You don't need a million viewers / subscribers to make a decent income. Channels with 10,000 views on their videos is where businesses start to offer channels brand deals.

Brand deals can range in a few hundred to tens of thousands of dollars. How much a business offers you for a brand deal varies based on your negotiation skills and the size of your user base. Land a handful of brand deals every month, and you can easily make a full-time income.

Negotiate for better offers. Example: If a business offers you $500 for a shoutout, counter-offer with $750 because you know you are worth more. Accept their counter-offer of $600. As your negotiation skills improve and your channel grows, you will be able to negotiate for higher offers.

In the gaming space, the most common brand deals are for Mobile games. Mobile game advertising is heavily scripted, and are intended to get people to download the game and buy microtransactions.

You can choose whether or not to accept any brand deal that is presented to you. But do consider the impact a deal may have on your content, your community, and your morality.

Selling Merchandise or Digital Products

Selling physical and digital merchandise will allow fans to directly support you while getting something. The most common goods are clothes and household items.

Crowdfunding

Also, you can have your fanbase crowdfund you through a service like Patreon. You can offer exclusive perks to your subscription base, such as early access to content, or exclusive access to other digital goods.

Sources:

Chris - Creator of Upper Echelon Gamers
Kong Pham - CEO of Jumpcut