Ask HN: Advice on starting a YouTube channel?

#1

Post by mr_o47 » Fri, Jun 09, 2023, 5:19 AM UTC

Hello HN,

Would love to hear from devs who started their YouTube channel and what was the journey like

Re: Ask HN: Advice on starting a YouTube channel?

#2

Post by superkuh » Sat, Jun 10, 2023, 5:14 PM UTC

I created a youtube account in 2006. Sometimes I take or edit videos and re-host/syndicate them on youtube. The end.

Re: Ask HN: Advice on starting a YouTube channel?

#3

Post by nubinetwork » Sat, Jun 10, 2023, 5:23 PM UTC

I upload things occasionally to my personal YT channel... if there's one thing I could pass on, is to stay the hell away from copyrighted stuff. (Music, visuals, etc)

I don't care if you paid someone for a license (and neither do the YouTube robots), 10 years down the line it could turn out they weren't actually the license holders, or they sold the rights to someone else who didn't know about your earlier agreements... when it comes to YouTube, they shoot first and ask questions "maybe" (assuming you get big and can "harass" them on twitter).

Re: Ask HN: Advice on starting a YouTube channel?

#4

Post by devoutsalsa » Sat, Jun 10, 2023, 5:29 PM UTC

Make a bunch of shitty videos. Learn to get feedback. Look for truth in any criticism. Don’t take harsh feedback too personally. Learn what you can from people who have done it. For example:

https://youtu.be/3A8kawxMOcQ

Re: Ask HN: Advice on starting a YouTube channel?

#5

Post by simple10 » Sat, Jun 10, 2023, 5:38 PM UTC

It's worth playing around with ChatGPT for YouTube video ideas. You can give ChatGPT titles of popular video in your niche and then ask it to output similar title ideas that are likely to do well on your channel. Then ask it to generate script outlines for those videos.

Here's a useful video from Matt Wolfe: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ka1Pqk2o3tM&t=612s

Re: Ask HN: Advice on starting a YouTube channel?

#6

Post by endisneigh » Sat, Jun 10, 2023, 5:40 PM UTC

Why?

Entertainment? Trying to make money? Hobby?

Re: Ask HN: Advice on starting a YouTube channel?

#7

Post by ilrwbwrkhv » Sat, Jun 10, 2023, 5:44 PM UTC

Say something original and different.

I will put down some YouTube channels I like. See how different they are:

https://www.youtube.com/@BlowFan https://www.youtube.com/@CBaggers https://www.youtube.com/@Frankslaboratory https://www.youtube.com/@QuantPy https://www.youtube.com/@SuperDeclarative https://www.youtube.com/@MollyRocket https://www.youtube.com/@Hyperplexed

What you want to avoid at all costs is a channel which does everything (unless you are a news channel and want to put your own spin on that).

Re: Ask HN: Advice on starting a YouTube channel?

#8

Post by bsnnkv » Sat, Jun 10, 2023, 5:51 PM UTC

I started mine[1] in earnest in the last few months; it's a mixture of programming and let's plays. I'd say don't overthink it; just start recording and uploading. You'll always find things to improve in subsequent videos and it's a really important part of finding your own voice on video platforms.

Try to make a recording and uploading schedule, don't make too many videos public at once and use the schedule function to spread out when your new videos appear in subscribers' feeds, because people are quick to unsubscribe if they think they see "too much of you" in their subscriptions feed.

[1]: https://youtube.com/@LGUG2Z

Re: Ask HN: Advice on starting a YouTube channel?

#9

Post by acegopher » Sat, Jun 10, 2023, 5:54 PM UTC

ilrwbwrkhv wrote: post #7

Say something original and different. I will put down some YouTube channels I like. See how different they are: https://www.youtube.com/@BlowFan https://www.youtube.com/@CBaggers https://www.youtube.com/@Frankslaboratory https://www.youtube.com/@QuantPy https://www.youtube.com/@SuperDeclarative https://www.youtube.com/@MollyRocket https://www.youtube.com/@Hyperplexed What you want to avoid at all costs is a channel w…

I think you pasted @MollyRocket in the middle of @SuperDeclarative to accidentally make @MollyRocketative and @SuperDeclar

Re: Ask HN: Advice on starting a YouTube channel?

#10

Post by TheAceOfHearts » Sat, Jun 10, 2023, 5:55 PM UTC

I don't have a YouTube channel, but if I were to create one I'd probably listen to every single podcast appearance from MrBeast since he's basically become the King of YouTube, and he regularly gives very actionable and clear advice.