Ross Zeiger lays out how to start a YouTube channel in 2025: publish 25 rough videos fast to learn, then shift to higher-effort content for your actual audience. Start with your phone, use Descript to edit, and think in years, not views.
This year I grew and monetized three YouTube channels. But I made some big mistakes along the way that you can avoid. So in this video I'll share what I got wrong in my strategy. A framework for what gear to use, when you're getting started, and why, and how to think long term about YouTube. Until recently, my strategy on YouTube was quantity over quality and this served a purpose. I got tons of reps to get better at making videos, but the problem was I didn't bring in the right type of audience and my results were pretty much flat. Then when I shifted from quantity to intentional quality, I.e. i was hyper targeting my my audience, my desired audience, everything changed. Now I make one video, put maybe five times more effort into it, but I see 10 times the results in terms of what actually matters, which for me is traffic to my website and ultimately sales of my products. So I want to correct the advice I've given before on this channel. I still think there is tons of value in quantity, but mostly in the beginning. Let's call it your first 25 videos. Your first 25 videos are about learning the ropes, not perfection. During that period, during those first 25 videos, lower the bar for yourself, you're just figuring out how to use the equipment, how to make a decent edit, and how to publish your videos to YouTube. You are a beginner, so it's not going to be perfect. It's better to publish, start seeing some feedback, roll in and learn as you go. And this period of time, your first 25 videos, is the perfect time to experiment because your audience is the smallest it'll ever be. So just get started. Once you've got those first 25 videos under your belt, it's time to focus on keeping things simple. A few years ago, I was living on the tropical island of Okinawa in Japan. Okinawa is known for its world class scuba diving and I was getting super into it. So what did I do? I did what every short sighted beginner does and I went out and dropped over $3,000 on a bunch of brand new gear. I ended up diving less when I had all of my own gear because now when I wanted to travel to another destination, I had to haul that gear with me. So it was easier to just stay at home. And on top of that, there's always more things to buy, more accessories, and of course storing everything and maintaining it all. I only ever ended up using that fancy gear for maybe 100 dives before eventually selling it. Have you ever done that with a hobby? I see it all the time with YouTube people want to get started on YouTube. So what do they do? They go out and buy the most expensive camera, the fanciest microphone. They remodel their entire home office into the perfect YouTube studio. And while they're worried about all that, you know what they aren't doing? They aren't making videos. Just like buying diving gear that never gets used, investing in the high end YouTube gear too early will actually hold you back. Simplicity fuels action. So start simple and start now. You can start with what you have in your pocket, use your smartphone as your camera, and then when you feel like you've mastered that or that the quality isn't high enough, then and only then worry about getting the fancier gear. And when it comes to editing software, you you don't need 15 different fancy tools and a bunch of subscriptions that you're going to forget about and never use again. I teach a software here called descript and it's perfect for beginners. It's simple, but it's got everything you need to start creating amazing videos in 2025. It's truly an all in one tool and you can start using it for free with my link in the description. But I want you to start thinking about this game in A levels. Right now you are at level one. The gear you use shouldn't exceed your capabilities. So invest in skills before gear. Start simple, master the basics, then upgrade. The next thing I want to encourage you to think about as you get started on YouTube is that this is a long term game. Real success on YouTube is measured in years, not weeks. You should be thinking legacy, not likes. So however long you think it will take to grow the audience that you want, think and plan for it to take three times as long. Yes, you can go viral in your very first video. If you're going out and pulling pranks on old ladies or doing something crazy. It's not hard to get views by shocking people or not making exaggerated claims in some way. But is that the type of audience you want to create? I know it's not. Make videos because you enjoy it and because you want to help people. That is the only way this journey can be sustainable for anyone. And along with that, don't obsess over the metrics. I fall into this trap all the time of checking my YouTube analytics way too often and it can encourage short term thinking. Because if one video isn't performing well, I start thinking maybe my audience didn't like it or maybe I need to change the thumbnail and title. But I've had several videos where a year after I post them, they start getting 500 or 700 views per day. I didn't change anything, but I just needed to give them time. So don't sit there refreshing the YouTube studio page and feeling like your video is a failure and just because it's not doing well in the first hour or even the first day. Think of each video as planting a seed. Some will sprout quickly and others will take time, but consistently planting is what will eventually grow your channel into a forest. With my personal channel. Not this, not my business one that I'm talking to you on right now, but my personal one. I think of it, and this might sound grandiose, but I think of it as my life's work. I document trips that I take, I teach things that I've just spent a bunch of time learning. And I share anything that I'm interested in or that I have a novel perspective on. And those videos, I believe, will outlive me. They will live forever on the Internet, and they might still be getting views 300 years from now, the way we still read Benjamin Franklin's autobiography. Now, I'm not comparing myself to Ben, but I just want to plant the idea in your head that this creating videos is the new writing and the newest form of communicating ideas through time and space. Your videos could be the stories that future generations look back on. Treat each one like a chapter in your autobiography. What stories do you want to leave behind? What skills do you want to share? Are you ready to create your first video? In this next video, I walk you step by step through the process of creating and editing a video.
