So how do you start and grow a tech channel on YouTube?
In this video I'm gonna be sharing
my top seven tips comin' up.
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Hey what's up guys, Sean here with Think Media TV.
Help you go further, faster in media.
And on this channel we do tech gear reviews,
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Let's get into the Topic.
Gabriel asked "I am starting a tech channel on YouTube
but I don't how to stand out and be original, any tips?"
Thanks so much for the question, Gabriel.
So my first initial thoughts when it comes
to starting a tech channel on YouTube
are that, it is a pretty competitive space.
And if you look around it can seem like
there's tech channels everywhere
and new ones starting every day.
But, in my opinion, I still feel like
there is a ton of room for starting a tech channel.
And these tips are really gonna help.
Probably the biggest eye opener for me
is that every year I go to CES,
the Consumer Electronic Show in Vegas, and NAB,
the National Association of Broadcasters in Las Vegas.
So much different tech, with new companies,
new brands, popping up every single day.
And in my experience, there is like not enough
tech YouTubers to go around, to cover everything
that's happening in the space.
And so if you have a passion to do it all,
yes it is competitive, but if you do some best practices
I really believe you can crush it.
So tip number one, start.
I know it seems basic, but to start a tech channel
you have to start a tech cl.
Was that tweetable?
But within that, be you, what you don't need to do
is copy somebody else in the space.
The space does not need another
unboxed therapy, another NKBHD, it needs you.
So be authentic, be original, and create
the kind of channel and videos
that you yourself would wanna see.
'Cause that's your unique perspective.
That's your unique two cents, and people are gonna
connect with you the most when you are yourself.
And then also, play to your strengths.
And so don't try to be something
outside of what your strengths are.
But play to what your strengths are.
I don't do a lot of mobile phone reviews,
or really any on this channel.
I don't really talk about droids or anything like that.
I play to the strengths of being a video creator,
a video influencer, having a long history
of video production, and helping you find
the best tools for people making videos.
And so what are your strengths?
Build your tech channel around that.
Tip number two, niche down or niche for the global audience.
In online marketing that says the riches are in the niches.
And really what that means, is that if you try
to reach everybody, you'll really end up reaching nobody.
So I would suggest that you don't
make a general tech channel, but you pick
something specific, all android, tablets, drones,
point and shoot, maybe consumer
type cameras and mobile accessories.
Laptops or all PC and graphics car--I mean
there's so many different aspects of the tech space.
Find one where, that's maybe underserved a little bit
and then find one that aligns with your expertise.
As I said, my passion on this particular channel
is to really connect the audio, cameras, lighting,
accessories for the hustling video creators like yourself.
So at NAB, I don't really go towards
the broadcast cameras, the higher end, $25,000 cameras,
because that's not practical for every day
video creators and video influencers like yourselves.
And so, what is your niche?
Focus on that and build your channel in a specific area.
Tip number three is where to get
products to make your videos about.
And what I would recommend is that
if you do this around your strengths and your passion,
I would review the stuff you already have.
And one of the things that I did was,
when I started even ThinkMediaTV,
I was doing wedding videos, I was doing videos about DSLRs,
and that was stuff that I got because I had
a video production business, and so I started kind of
with what I was already doing.
And, don't be afraid to invest early on.
Again, all of that early stuff I bought
because of my video production business,
and because I was making income other places.
I know some people, they even, they'll work at best buy
or something, and then they'll be able to really
fuel and fund their tech habit on their own
as they're building their channel.
Tip number four, is be consistent
and build a library of videos.
Eventually you're gonna be able to start getting free stuff,
working with brands and connecting with people.
But they need to see that you've been consistent.
And so post consistently, post regularly.
I recommend that once a week is a minimum.
And build up a library.
If you have a ten video playlist
of products that you've reviewed,
you could share that with brands or companies
and they can see you're good for it.
They can see that you're doing the work,
they can see your past work, they can see that,
they don't know that it was products
you already have that you reviewed.
They're like, Oh wow, other people
are working with this channel,
and then you can start to scale into working with brands.
But you have to lay that foundation of being consistent.
Tip number five, is work on your branding.
I think that if you want to, not only impact
and build an audience but also start having
opportunities open, brand opportunities open
and sponsorships and different things like that,
you wanna have a solid brand.
And so your avatar, your picture on YouTube,
your cover image, all your thumbnails.
The overall aesthetic of your channel
should communicate the messaging that you wanna send,
a professional message as well as your specific category.
The way you're standing out, being unique,
being different in the tech space.
And you gotta start with whatever you have.
So don't let any of these things hold you back.
Just start, get better over time,
but think about ways like how is your branding right now?
Is it on point or could you update it a little bit.
Make your branding as professional as possible.
Always work on it to take it to another level.
And it will not only impact your audience more
but it'll also lead to opportunities.
Tip number six, make it easy for brands to contact you.
And don't hesitate to reach out to brands.
So, number one, make sure that your about page on YouTube
is filled out with a clear description
about what your channel is about, how you're different.
How your posting schedule, different things like that.
And make sure that your business email is entered there.
That's actually a place that brands
will begin to contact you, and they will begin to ask
of a good review products, they'll wanna
send you free stuff and so fill that out 100%.
Also don't hesitate to reach out to brands.
And so I recommend, just like you have branding
a point on your channel, then it also
should be that way on social media.
And so then that way you can potentially tweet a brand
or you can email them and say
"Hey, do you guys ever work with YouTubers?
If so, I am always looking for new content to make.
I love your products and if you ever send out reviews copies
or sample copies, let me know."
And then they can get back to you.
And recently, I just did that.
It was amazon prime day, I saw something
really cool that I'd never heard of.
So I tweeted the company, they immediately tweeted back
and said email this email address.
And then boom, they sent me some stuff to review
because I just initiated the conversation.
But I would suggest that my twitter is on point
showing that I'm kind of focused
and I've got this focus on online video.
And then they could also look at the channel
and see that you've got a history
and you've got branding happening there.
And so, make it easy for brands to contact you.
And then don't hesitate, once you have that foundation of
consistency to reach out to brands you'd wanna work with.
Tip number seven, and probably
the most important in my opinion is hustle your face off.
Yes, YouTube is a ton of work and starting
a tech channel is definitely challenging.
There's lots of rewards and there's lots
of cool things about being on YouTube
and getting free products and eventually making it your
part-time or even full-time kind of like, career.
But it, by no means is it easy.
And so go into this knowing that
you gotta pound the pavement.
You gotta hustle.
Everybody that started out doing this
was doing it as a side hustle.
Maybe you have a full-time job,
maybe you have other stuff going on.
You gotta do it in the margin times.
You gotta do it on the weekends.
You gotta take any second that you have
to work on your branding, work on your channel,
create new videos, connect with people on social media,
reply to comments, do all the stuff that it takes to do,
to build a YouTube channel over the long haul.
Set your mind on, this isn't just a month-long sprint
that you're gonna set out to do this
for the next 12 to 24 months without looking up,
grinding every single day, I believe that's what it takes.
But I believe that if you really wanna do it,
and if you're passionate about it, that you can do it.
So start your tech channel, or start any channel
that you're passionate about, and put in the hustle.
The dream is free, the hustle is sold separately.
Question of the day, Gabriel's question was
how do I stand out and be original as a tech YouTuber?
So I'm curious, what do you think makes
a tech YouTuber original, unique, and stand out.
Post it on the comment section below
and definitely connect with other people
from the ThinkMediaTV tribe in the comments section.
So thanks so much for checkin' out this video.
Definitely subscribe for more videos just like this.
And if you haven't downloaded the Think Media TV
video gear buyer's guide, it's just
my recommendations for cameras, lighting, microphones,
everything like that for any budget,
and you can grab it for free.
I'll link it up on the YouTube card
as well as in the description below.
Do you have a question that you want to be featured on a
future episode, post that in the comments section below
and until next time, Think Media TV
is helping you go further faster in media.
Keep crushing it and we will talk soon.
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All right.
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Bing.
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Boom.
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(sighs) Oh I'm out of breath.
Share that a--
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