13 YouTube Mistakes You MUST Avoid!

Listen, you have got to stop making these 13 YouTube mistakes if you want to grow your channel and have your YouTube channel grow your business. Hi, my name is Trena, and on this channel, I help creative entrepreneurs just like you get on YouTube to grow your business. Like I said earlier, in this video, I'm going to be talking about the biggest mistakes you're making that's hidden hindering your channel from being successful. Let's just kick this off with mistake number one, and that is getting caught up in perfection. You want the perfect equipment, you want the perfect background, you want the perfect video. But here's the thing. There's no such thing as perfection. What's happening is you're probably comparing your step one to my step five or Marie Forleo step 12, right? You're comparing people at different steps in the process. If you want to see my step one, go back to my oldest videos and see how terrible and awkward they are. Hello and welcome to Just the Tips with Trina, that's me, where I will provide you my top tips for a business topic of the day. Right, so your first videos are not going to be perfect. And you have got to accept that because you will never get better on video if you don't stop start doing it. Your YouTube channel is never going to grow without Kant. The next mistake you are doing is not looking at the viewfinder. And so some people will look at the screen that they can see themselves and speak to themselves the entire time. But how awkward is this? You're listening to me, but I'm not really looking at you. So it's really important to make sure you're looking right into that little circle of the camera so the person on the other end actually feels like you're speaking to them. Moving right along. The next mistake is not spending time on your thumbnails. So I've actually heard creators who are growing their channel significantly and fast are spending just as much time on their thumbnails as they are creating the videos that go with that thumbnail. So you have got to take the time to think through that thumbnail. Don't just throw something up there or screenshot you talking in the middle of the video. And you don't look like you're showing some type of emotion. And one big tip is don't use a white background. I did that for so long and it definitely was a huge mistake on my part because using white background just blends in with the YouTube white background. So find a way to stand out with a bright color. Don't Put too much text on that thumbnail. Don't repeat the title of your video on that thumbnail. Spend some time on that thumbnail. You will see a change in your growth if you fix your thumbnails. Moving on to the next mistake, and that's audio and lighting. So those are the two biggest things that people will notice when they click on a video and a reason why they'll leave a video. Now, you don't have to get too techy with this or fancy. All you really need is a set of earbuds if you have an iPhone or some type of headphones with a microphone that will work great. You can also buy a cheap alternative microphone as well from Amazon. I'll link one that I recommend down in the description box. And then lighting doesn't have to be difficult either. You can sit in front of a window because that is the best lighting that you can get and it's free. You don't ever want to have a window behind you because that's going to make you look really dark. And another cheap alternative for you for lighting is daylight balance light bulbs. This brand in particular is Cowboy Studio Light bulb that I got from Amazon. It's what photographers use in their light kits. And you can stick this little puppy into a lamp and put it as close to you as possible to give you this white light that I have right now. Because basically all that's shining on me right now is daylight balanced light bulbs. Yes, I might have them in a soft box, but they're just daylight balanced light bulbs. The next mistake is one of my biggest pet peeves, and it is people who don't plan their videos. You know that I talk about batching videos here, and the only way I can do 12 to 15 videos in one day is I plan my video. Not only does it allow me to stay consistent and get new content out, but it allows me to stay on track. When I'm filming my videos. I don't go off on a tangent. I know exactly what I want to deliver. That also helps me edit videos faster. Well, my video editor edits them faster because. Because he doesn't have to cut out the tangents that I go on. This is also going to help you figure out where you're going to rank your videos, what suggested videos you want to hit, and how you're going to get that new audience over to your channel to start subscribing and watching. The next mistake is asking for comments. A lot of people want more comments on their videos, but are you even asking people to comment. Are you giving them a question? I always like to just comment my own question down below so that it will spark some type of engagement. Some people don't want to be the first person to comment on a video. So you be the first person to comment on your video and ask those people a question and get that engagement going. The next mistake again, these are all mistakes I've learned from, but this is not spending time on your title. So I would just put up a title like how to get more views. You've got to put something in there more emotional driven. Everybody has a video in my niche on how to get more views, but how can you make your title stand out? How to get more views on your business channel, or how to get more views faster in 2018 or how to get more views easier, or any type of adjective or emotion you can put in that title for any niche is going to get you more clicks, more views. And subscribers don't just put a bland title up there. You've really got to put some time to the think about what title of your video is really going to attract people to click on your video. The next mistake I see so many people doing and it's adding other people's channels as the video tags. So say you're creating a video about YouTube and you add my name as a tag on your video. That is not something that you want to do. That is kind of bad YouTube etiquette. And the only reason why you would add somebody else's channel as a tag is if you're talking about them in that video or you're collaborating with them. So stop adding other people as tags into your video tags because it's not going to really help you get in front of their audience faster. The next mistake is inconsistency. People want to know why they're not getting views and subscribers. Well, are you posting new videos every week? I'm not asking for you to post multiple videos. I'm just saying post one video a week, same day, same time. As you start to train your audience to come back, they'll know when to watch your video. And the more views you can get on that video from your loyal fan base in the first couple hours, the more YouTube is going to suggest your video out. That's why it's so important to get consistent and start getting your audience trained when to watch your videos. Plus, YouTube would rather promote a channel that's creating consistently new content than than somebody who maybe posts one video this month, four videos that month, zero videos that month they want consistency and those are the channels that they're going to suggest. The next mistake I have is not having a hook in your video. So whether you just start with a branded intro where it's music and your pretty logo flying around, or you just start with hi, my name is, or you just start right into the content, you have really got to establish establish a hook in that first five to 15 seconds of your video. If you're seeing huge audience retention drop offs in your videos, it's because you're not hooking your audience at that first five to 15 seconds. You're also not connecting that hook to your title and your thumbnail of your video. You're pitching a value in that title and your thumbnail. And you've really got to promise that that's what you're going to talk about in that hook. Another bonus is if you say the word you in your first five to ten seconds of your, you can expect more people to watch longer. We are just chugging right along. And the next mistake I see people have is their background. Now, I'm not telling you you need to go out and get a professionally done background or buy all of this equipment or even hire or rent out a studio. I'm just saying right up behind you. I mean, yes, I have a mess on my floor right now and on my desk, but you can only see what's on the camera. So all you have to do is just make sure what's behind you looks clean. You can film from your couch, you can film from your kitchen table. Just turn the camera on and see what does it look like behind you. What can you read up real quick to make it look better. But you do not have to have some professional office or a specific spot in your room or house just for filming. Another mistake I see happening is not thinking about the playlists you can create. When I'm creating content, I'm constantly thinking about what playlist is this video going to go in, or am I creating a new playlist for this video? Playlists are the secret to getting more views and more subscribers. Because if you can get people to binge watch your content through playlists, you're going to get more views, more watch time, and YouTube is going to start suggesting your videos more often, which gets you more people to your channel. So if you haven't created any playlists or you haven't thought about creating content in the playlist mindset, start now. This mistake I've talked about quite a few times is not checking your analytics. If I would have checked my analytics way sooner than what I did. I probably would have been able to fix the mistakes I was making. I would have been able to craft my video in a way that my audience was enjoying it and not struggled so much in the past. You've got to check your analytics. I did an entire video on the statistics you should look at in your analytics. I'll link that video right above so you know what you're looking at. The key analytics to look at is your audience retention, traffic source, suggested videos and YouTube search phrases. Now, if you want to continue to grow your YouTube channel and make it better, make sure you click the video that is on your screen right now. And if you want to set up your channel with success, grab my YouTube channel roadmap that is also on your screen. Don't forget to subscribe for more tips and strategies on how to grow a YouTube channel for your business. Thank you so much for watching and I'll see you in the next video. Bye.