The Minimalist Guide to Starting a YouTube Channel in 2025

Think starting a YouTube channel in 2025 needs to be complicated, expensive and time consuming? What if I told you it doesn't? In fact, the simplest approach to YouTube for business owners is often the most successful one for us. And I've got proof. Receipts, timeline? Anybody? Salt Lake City so I want to break down for you the exact minimalist strategy you need to get started, grow quicker, and drive daily sales to your business without all the overwhelm you're thinking it's going to be. Step one is getting clear on your offer. Meaning before you even start filming anything on your YouTube channel or even coming up with video ideas, you need to answer the question, what do I want YouTube to do for my business? Do you want YouTube to send you clients to your coaching program? Do you want YouTube to send you clients to your VA services? Do you want YouTube to send you core sales? Or maybe right now you're just focused on using YouTube to grow your email list. But you need to know what you want YouTube to do for you so you can create the content for your ready to buy viewer for this offer. And again, if it's just a lead magnet in growing your email list, you still need to think about those people are your ready to buy viewer because they are the people ready to download or opt into your lead magnet to your email list. Because deciding what you want YouTube to do for your business is going to affect the entire entire strategy on your channel. Once you know what offer you're going to focus on with your YouTube channel, the next step is determining the topics for the person that offer is for. Listen, we aren't trying to go viral on YouTube. We aren't YouTubers. We are trying to make daily sales from our YouTube videos. So knowing what sales we want to get, then we know what people we need to attract to get them to buy that offer. Now we need to know what is the content they're searching for. Because as business owners, the most important thing to realize on YouTube is we are not creating beginner level content. First of all, beginner level content on YouTube is oversaturated. You're not going to break out plain and simple. Instead you want to be focusing on those more advanced topics that you're ready to buy Viewer is searching for. What are those advanced questions they're asking right before they decide buying your course or working with you is the solution that they need. So for example, instead of a video like how to start a business, your topic would be more how to start a business with Facebook ads that's more advanced. These are the topics that are going to resonate more with the people who are ready to buy. And there is less competition out for those more advanced topics because anybody can do beginner content. You and your expertise are some of the only people that can talk about expert level content. Now you can start coming up with these topic ideas by going to the search bar on YouTube. YouTube by using a tool I use probably every day in my business, Vid iq. But this is how you're going to start thinking about those advanced level topics. The third step is to set up your channel quickly. Look, we don't need to mull over the perfect banner or the branding or what we should say in our about section. This is something you should be able to get done in less than 30 minutes. Okay, this is not going to make or break your channel, but you will need to get a channel banner up and on that channel banner have your value proposition you because as people come to your channel they need to quickly understand and be able to read what your channel is all about. So you've got to keep it simple, easy to read. I tell my clients all the time, third to fourth grade reading level when it comes to this value proposition. And again, really easy to read and understand who you're about. You're also going to need to get your about section written. You need to understand that first line in your about section is going to show up in different places on YouTube. So really optimize that about section and explain what your channel is all about. And also get your channel icon up. This needs to be a close up picture of you. You need to be thinking I'm going to be responding to people in comments. They need to see a face with this response. So it's not your logo, it's not a name, anything like that. It needs to be a close up photo of you. That's it. Those are the three quickest things to do to get your YouTube channel set up. Once your channel set up, then we are moving on to planning your YouTube playlist funnel. Your videos here on YouTube should do a couple of things. First of all, they need to show your authority and your expertise by providing value. The other thing that they need to do is create binge watch times here on YouTube so that YouTube pushes your content to more people for free. And YouTube is going to push your content to more people if they binge watch. So the idea of this playlist funnel is you get somebody to go through your entire video playlist. So usually three to five videos and you're thinking about the Viewer journey because the more people watch of your content, the warmer lead they become, the higher the chances they will convert to working with you, buying your course. And you're also getting YouTube exactly what it wants. Bingeable videos. So this playlist is designed as guiding the viewer through a journey, basically from discovering your content to wanting to work with you. Just like a funnel. This strategy to YouTube really works like a magnet pulling people people in and building that trust you want to think about. Most people are seeing your best content in your email funnels, right? What if your best content was out in the public for anybody to see? That's why we create these playlist funnels. I can't go into the complete deep dive of how these work and what these videos look like, but I do in this video right here. So watch it. Next if you want to see a more detailed explanation of this playlist funnel. Once you have your videos, like I said, three to five video ideas for your playlist funnel, then you need to come up with titles and thumbnail ideas for your videos before you do any type of scripting. Your YouTube videos will live or die by the title in the thumbnail because the click through rate is one of the most important metrics for anyone on YouTube. So if you cannot come up with a title and a thumbnail combination that is going to cause people to stop and want to click on your video, it doesn't matter how good your video actually is, no one's going to see it. So you've really got to spend some time thinking about how to market this video, how to title it and assist it with a thumbnail to get people to want to actually see it. Because then once you have a title and thumbnail, you can move into the next step which is scripting and filming your videos. So I don't want you to move on to any scripting until you're clear with the title and thumbnail is because that script then needs to deliver on the promise you pitched in the title and the thumbnail. And one of the most important parts of the video is your hook. And that hook needs to continue the story that you started telling with the title and the thumbnail. If you want people to watch your videos now, scripting your videos does not have to take you hours. In fact, I have an entire process in my video game plan. It's what I use every time I sit down to plan my videos. You can check out that mini course@trina little.com forward/video plan. It's under a hundred dollars and it Will show you how I script my videos in under a half an hour and stay consistent on YouTube. And then when it comes to filming, you do not need to overth think about filming. In last week's video, which I will link to here, I talked about minimalistic videos and how even minimalistic videos can make you daily sales. So I talk more about what is the simplest way to set up your videos and still get those daily sales. Once you've scripted and you filmed again, keep your editing real easy as well. We do not need flashy, fancy, overcomplicated editing. As business owners, we see that from YouTubers because YouTubers need people to watch longer. YouTubers need more views to make money because they're making money from YouTube AdSense. They are playing the quantity game. You need to be playing the quality game. It's not about the quantity of viewers that you need, it's about the quality of viewers because you are going to make more money from your business, selling your courses in your coaching program than you will make on YouTube AdSense. So don't overthink the editing. Make it super simple and just focus on the content in the video. The next step is posting and staying consistent. Consistency is key here on YouTube because each video you create compounds on top of it. So when you post a new video, YouTube will push new content more than older content. So if you can get people watching your new video, you're going to be more likely to get more views on past videos. Because when somebody watches a video from you and they watch it the whole way through, maybe they even engage. YouTube algorithm says, huh, this person liked that person's video. She's got a few more. Let's recommend her video to that person. And it starts to stir up some older videos. Maybe it's only a week old, but they could be months old. You can see here on my homepage because I watch a lot of Michelle B. I'm being recommended a video that she published seven days ago and the same thing with Amy Landino, that video was published 11 days. That's why this consistency matters. And doing these consistent videos should allow you to stay consistent in other content, like email content. I dove more into how I repurpose my videos into emails and last week's video right here, you can catch it. But by staying consistent and focusing on YouTube first, not only do you save time creating content, but you maximize the impact you have with every piece of content you put out. Now, if you're feeling inspired to start that YouTube channel or dust it off or finally take your YouTube channel. Seriously. But you're still wondering, how do I make this work for my business, though? Trina, I've designed something especially for you. It's called the YouTube Coaching Experience. It's a group coaching program with one on one access with me for business owners, specifically selling courses, digital products workshops, one on one coaching, group coaching who are ready to simplify their content Strategy and turn YouTube into their daily sales machine. Don't just take my word. Listen to a few of the things my clients have had to say about the YouTube coaching experience.

You can compound this growth, right? You publish something and it just stays there and it'll just keep getting views and new people will keep finding you. And so I was just tired of being on social media all the time and tired of feeling like I had to be on all of the time. I was like, okay, I'm gonna commit a year to posting on YouTube and see where it gets me. I don't know how to explain it other than it just feels better to be on YouTube. And even if I miss a couple of weeks like I just did because I was traveling, I still got views, I still got subscribers, I still made sales. And then I posted a video again and people are still watching. Like, I didn't, you know, lose momentum or anything like that with YouTube. I, I came in knowing like, okay, this is going to take some time to get going. But honestly, because of your help, I, you know, changed some titles around, changed some thumbnails. Very similar to Natalie. I had a video that went, it wasn't even up for two hours and someone bought a low ticket digital offer that I have and then joined my membership. And she was just like, she's a dream client. She was like, you're exactly who I've been looking for. And yeah, the video had maybe 20 views. Maybe it's only up to like 200 now. It's been up for a couple of months and I've never seen that quick of a turnaround. Like with Instagram, people have to be following you for weeks, months, see your content all the time to build that trust. But with YouTube, they only need one video. All of my marketing up until now has been primarily through social media and word of mouth. What I've noticed on YouTube is that it is attracting a totally new group of people to me that I never would have connected with on Instagram. Like, I don't know where I'm. Oh, I know they come from YouTube, but I don't think they're on any other platforms. And I've Been poking around and asking like, you know, where do you hang out? Where do you get your content? And they're like, I'm just here on YouTube and not a lot of people are doing feels like it, but there really aren't a lot of people on YouTube versus on Instagram. And it's just so much easier to connect with people that way. And it. Yeah, I just love it because I never would have found these people, really, on any other platform.

I am actually off of Instagram. I stopped posting entirely on my feed. I created something called a nine grid that basically is like a welcome mat. So if people do stumble upon my Instagram, they know where to download my lead magnet. They know I'm not dead. They can see I'm still in business, but I only post on stories. And for me, this is like the disembark journey and getting off Instagram entirely because the numbers just don't lie. YouTube is just so much better for nurturing, you know, prospective clients, and it builds a deeper connection. And I felt like I was genuinely spinning my wheels when it came to Instagram. I felt like it was a losing game that I was trying to play. So I'm all in on YouTube as my main social media platform, and I'm off of Instagram. And for my own mental health and sanity, it's better for me to be taking a step back from Instagram. This is why I was drawn to your strategy, Trina, is that it emphasizes to not focus on vanity metrics like subscribers, even though all of that stuff has naturally, you know, gone an upward trend since working with you, which is great. But the real key is, like, what is that click through rate? How many people are you driving to your website, and how many of those people convert into customers and clients? So the fact that you wanted us to focus on what really mattered helped me to stop looking at other channels, because in my space, there's very known people with very large channels, but it's not the size of the channel that matters if those people aren't buying. And that was like the big shift I had to make. So something really exciting that happened shortly after enrolling in your program, Trina, was that I got a brand deal. It was $9,000 for four videos, which is like the biggest, you know, brand deal I've gotten. And that wouldn't have been possible unless you had pointed out to me how to look at the metrics. That was the biggest sticking point for me, was like, I was on YouTube, I was creating, but I couldn't pinpoint What I was doing that was working and what wasn't working. And so when you walked us through the metrics, then I actually understood how I could bring those metrics to a business owner and say, if you want more reach for your product, this is why you should give me a chance. Because my audience is engaged. So showing the business owner, the company, my, the size of my email list, my click through rates on my YouTube videos, the amount of subscribers, those stats are how you get lucrative brand deals because you're proving that your audience is engaged with your video. So I don't plan to make my full time income with brand deals, but it's really nice to know that.

Wow.

I'm getting my newsletter sponsored by this company. Wow. The cost of my video editor is being completely offset because this brand is paying me and it's in line with what my audience wants to learn about and hear. So it's just providing value to the audience. But also getting paid to do it by a company has been really, really cool. Your email list is such a valuable asset and people will sign up for your email list with the right call to action in a YouTube video way more readily than they will from a platform like Instagram. Instagram is designed to keep you on that platform and not navigate out of that. That's why like the swipe up was only available to like huge creators in the very beginning and then they began to loosen it. But just think of how you consume social media. Do you often subscribe to people's email lists based on reels? Not so much for a YouTube video. I've invested 30 minutes of my time with you. Now you're telling me to download this free thing that goes right along with what I wanted to learn in the first place. And I'm in. Right. I'm. Now you have access to their inbox. So just want to emphasize that did.

Have some fun creating reels, but, but it did become a lot of pressure and it took so long. Honestly, whenever I was making a reel it probably took me longer than it takes me now making a YouTube video and just kind of the pressure of coming up with new ideas because you post it and then maybe you get traction for a few days, but then it's gone. So you have to kind of continuously come up with new things. It's done amazing for my email list. So it's, it's been so great just to have that constant. I mean I, I am tracking it now thanks to, thanks to Trina. Whereas before I didn't really have a clue what was going on. But I know that I've got about 100 people every month joining my email list, going then through some sequences and then eventually coming, coming into the membership. So I know that the work that I'm putting into will actually do something for, for my business. Whereas before it was kind of like throwing spaghetti against the wall and not quite sure if it's actually going to do anything. So just having that strategy and, and strategically choosing what type of video I'm creating, thinking about what I want to sell then afterwards has been really, really a game changer. And, and really I've seen so many people kind of joining for the right things and for the right reasons. I've got people like orthopedic surgeons that actually speak to me because of my YouTube channel. They wouldn't do that otherwise. They can see that, you know, they can see first of all what I'm talking about and it's like a portfolio really of things that I've got, but they can see obviously I've, I've got followers and people that are watching it. So yeah, it's, it's really helped me really establish myself in this kind of, yeah, a little bit more medical niche as well. Apart from just doing yoga, I don't.

Take massive amounts of people into this program. I work directly with business owners like you to develop a customized YouTube strategy that specifically align with your business goals which we can talk about and figure out what is the business goal of your YouTube channel and make sure we're targeting your ready to buy viewer. With that in mind. They also help you to simplify your content creation process so that you can really start focusing in on these high impact weekly videos even if you have a super busy schedule. I help you master titles thumbnail all the optimization pieces of YouTube and this is something we can go back and forth in slack in dms. Yes, I am open to DMS and going back and forth giving you feedback and insights and thoughts on your titles and thumbnails in real time and provide you ongoing support and accountability to keep you on track and overcoming any mindset hurdles or blocks that you have. In fact, I have a mindset specialist in the program who not only allows you to book mindset calls with her, but she's also your accountability buddy checking in with you While I'm your YouTube and business strategist answering all those questions and giving you the feedback to continue getting the results you want from YouTube. I mean just think about it next year at this time how it would really feel to have a channel that you've built that works for you 24 hours a day, seven days a week bringing you in daily sales and leads while you're taking a freaking vacation. How it would feel to actually simplify your content strategy down to just one weekly video that again drives you daily sales. And best of all, what would it actually feel like to spend less time creating content and more time growing your business focusing on the things you love doing in your business? Okay, this is it. Don't let hesitation hold you back. I do have limited spots in this program because I give in very personalized one on one attention to each client inside. So you can go to trina little.com forward/y t C E or click the link on your screen right now to join the YouTube coaching experience. Today let's work together to turn your YouTube channel into a powerful content machine that drives you sales every single day on autopilot. Let's do it together.