Skip to content
As YouTube grows as a platform for content, the number of Youtube mistakes people make also increases exponentially.
We all make mistakes sometimes, but these Youtube mistakes can be especially embarrassing when they’re made in front of millions of people.
Luckily, some of the most popular YouTubers have been there and done that – check out what mistakes they’ve made in their early days!
1. Poor Recording Quality
Many new YouTubers forget to consider the impact lighting has on video quality.
Bright lights can be counterproductive to good video quality, so make sure the lights in your room are soft and diffused.
You can also invest in a lightbox like this one, which is great for recording videos outside!
2. Poor Audio Quality
In addition to lighting, poor audio quality can also be a direct result of the equipment you are using.
For example, a cheap microphone or headphones can result in poor sound quality and cause the audio to overwhelm your video.
Your best option would be to invest in a Blue Yeti or Snowball microphone, which are really great for their price!
3. Poor Branding & Channel Art
Poor branding is a great way to make your YouTube channel seem unprofessional and can often result in lower clickthrough rates, or even worse, losing followers!
Channel art is incredibly important too – it’s what people see first when they come across your video, so you want that first impression to be as strong as possible.
Make sure that your channel art is relevant to the kind of content you are producing and also easy for people to navigate!
5. Poor Thumbnails
The thumbnail for a video can sometimes influence whether people choose to click on it or write it off entirely – that’s why it’s important to make sure your thumbnails stand out from the crowd!
A great thumbnail can make all the difference to how many people choose to watch your video, while a bad one will lead viewers away from it.
Remember that thumbnails are not always static, and can often be animated as well!
5. Poor Offline Promotion
sadly, the majority of people still watch videos online, and so you need to promote your content offline too!
This means attending meetups, fairs, or conventions (tattoo shows for tattoo artists!) with promotional material. This can be in the form of business cards, stickers, flyers, t-shirts. You name it.
7. Not Researching Keywords
When you upload a video onto YouTube, it goes into a very large database of videos.
The results page will show you the highest-ranking videos for your topic, whether that’s cats or tattooing!
Using the right keywords in your title and description can help people find your videos more easily – which is exactly what you want them to do!
8. Not Using Annotations Properly
Annotations are a great way to let viewers know about other videos you have made or where they can find you online, but unfortunately, most people don’t use them properly.
Remember that annotations only last for 8 seconds, so if your message is too long then it won’t be displayed.
Make sure that you are going into detail about what the annotation is, rather than just using it as a link to your website!
9. Not Adding a Call to Action
After creating videos for months without having any success with them, many YouTubers give up and move on.
The simple fact is that any kind of marketing takes time – if your videos don’t get views in the first few weeks then they probably aren’t going to get many over the next six months.
Adding a call to action, such as “Like the video” or “Share this video” can help you track how successful your content really is!
10. Not Promoting Other People’s Videos
A great way to get your own videos noticed is by promoting other people’s content – they’ll thank you for it, and maybe even promote yours in return!
Remember not to spam other videos with your links, however – it’s best to find organic ways to add them into the conversation.
11. Not Having a Long Term Plan
Youtube is all about consistency – if you upload videos sporadically then people won’t know when to expect new content from you!
If you want your channel to grow, then you need to be consistent – this means uploading at least once a week.
If that seems like too much work for you, remember that it’s better to have one video of amazing quality than five videos of mediocre quality.
12. Not Adding End Screens
End Screens are a great way of getting more exposure for your videos, and they’re easy to do!
Just add captions to the end of your videos (make sure that you have permission from anyone who appears in them first!), and link them to whatever is relevant at the time: your website, other channels you’ve created, or even a new video!
13. No Social Media Presence Outside of Youtube
YouTube is not the only place where people who enjoy your content can find you – this means no having Twitter handles that are just your name.
You need to have profiles across multiple platforms (Instagram and Facebook are great for video promotion if you’re brave enough to try Snapchat!) in order to interact with people and keep them up to date!
14. Being Boring
If all of your videos are the exact same thing over and over again, then don’t be surprised when nobody wants to watch them anymore.
Remember that there is a whole world out there of YouTube videos just waiting to be discovered: you need to find the right balance between your content and others’.
15. Not Being Yourself
When you’re uploading videos, try not to pretend that you are someone else!
This means avoiding using ‘memes’ unless they are relevant to your video – people want to get inside your head and see what you really think!
If you don’t like a certain type of humor, or you think that it’s not going to be interesting for your audience, then it makes sense to avoid using it.
At the end of the day, YouTube is all about personality – so make sure that yours shines through!
Be yourself, and don’t be afraid to make mistakes – YouTube is all about learning from them!
16. Not Having a Logo or Custom Thumbnails
You need a strong brand in order to get noticed on YouTube, which means that your logo should be recognizable and consistent across all of your videos!
A great way to do this is by creating a solid thumbnail for your videos, which appears the same on every channel.
17. Having No ‘About’ Section
When you’re trying to decide whether or not to watch a video on YouTube, most people will check out the description first – this means that it’s important that you have one!
This should include information such as where you’re from, your age and what it is that you really love doing!
18. Not Being Consistent with HashTags
Hashtags are an essential part of YouTube because they help to make sure that videos appear in search results.
This means more views for you!
The best way to use them is to put the most relevant ones at the beginning of your description and use the less important tags in a separate paragraph at the end.
However, don’t go overboard – if you have too many hashtags, it looks like spammers are trying to get their videos are seen, which is definitely not the type of content that you want to be associated with!
19. Having a Terrible Thumbnail
I know that it might be hard if you don’t have any graphic design skills, but your thumbnail MUST stand out.
A great way to do this is by having an interesting still from the video, and then adding bright text to it that will draw in the eye.
Another way is to use a reaction image – these are easily found just by searching Google, and they can really help to bring more attention to your videos!
20. Not Being Consistent with Videos
When you’re uploading, try to remember that consistency is key!
What this means is that you should be releasing videos on a regular basis about the same topic in order to keep your viewers interested – think about what it is that they want from you!
If you stick to this strategy, then you can’t go wrong!
Conclusion:
In order to be successful on YouTube, you need to make sure that you are having fun – if you’re not enjoying it, then your viewers won’t either!
Make sure that you’re doing what makes YOU happy, and that is the key to being successful as a YouTuber.
I hope this article helped understand the YouTube mistakes that people often make on YouTube.
If you have any comments, suggestions, or questions, feel free to comment below.
Thanks
