Even though YouTube has been around for a number of years, it shows no signs of slowing down. In fact, there’s no time quite like the present. If you’re jumping into the world of YouTube and would like to turn it into a business, there are a few tips you’ll want to employ before you get started. Consider the following tips.

1. Know the Type of Content Creator You’ll Be

If you’d like to build a lifestyle brand as a young mother of school-aged children, develop content that caters to that. Pay attention to what other mommy bloggers are producing and sharing. If you know that you’re a tech aficionado and would like to share tips and tricks for people who don’t know much about technology, develop a list of content creation ideas that are easy to execute. When you know the angle you want to take, it’s easier to streamline your process.

If you’re posting about food for one week and on another day, you’re posting about current events, YouTube algorithms don’t know where to place you. Your followers won’t know what to expect from you. People like consistency. Get clear about your brand, and produce content that’s aligned with it. It’s okay to explore other avenues as time goes on. However, when you’re just getting started, you’ll want to make a clear statement about who you are and what people can expect from your channel.

2. Find Multiple Ways to Monetize Your Brand

In the beginning, it’s easy to focus solely on increasing your views so that you can monetize your channel. While YouTube AdSense is a great stream of income, it’s important to find other ways to monetize your brand. Develop sponsored posts by partnering with different companies. Sell your own digital or physical products that you can promote on your channel. Also, it’s extremely important to find ways to monetize your content with affiliate marketing.

Most companies that have an online store will also have affiliate programs. When you use a specific item and showcase it in your content, include a link in the description box that directs people to that item. Whether they choose to buy that item or another one within the time frame that they’re shopping, you’ll still earn an affiliate commission.

3. Publish Your Content on Time

You don’t need to tell your viewers what time you’re going to post every single week. However, you do need to know the time and days you will post. If you’re going to post Tuesday mornings at 11 a.m. EST, stick with that. When you maintain that level of consistency, it’ll become ingrained in the minds of your followers. They’ll become used to seeing your content at that time.

4. Your Visuals Matter

As it relates to YouTube, the visuals really do matter. Everything from the thumbnail of your video to the quality of your video will be considered. If you want to create a strong following, you need to make sure that your visuals are appealing enough to invite them in. This starts with the thumbnail. Make sure it’s well-designed and create it. Take a look at what other content creators are doing in terms of thumbnail trends.

That will help you to stay competitive. When you’re actually creating your videos, edit them well. Learn how to edit videos by watching other tutorials. You can also use different tools such as looping a YouTube video to infuse creativity and interest to your content. After all, it is supposed to be informative and entertaining in some way.

5. Use the Right Keywords

Think about all of the times you’ve visited Google in order to look for a specific website with information. You’ll typically type in a keyword or phrase in order to gather the results you’re looking for. When people are looking for the content you would produce, consider the types of keywords and phrases they would type in. Between short-tail and long-tail keywords, find the right combinations that you can put in your title bar, description box, and the back-end of each video.

At the beginning of your journey, you might feel tempted to overanalyze every component of the process. Instead, be consistent and determined to gain the results you desire. Improve as you go. Pay attention to trends to know what’s popular at the moment. However, don’t rely on trends because they’ll always die. Get a true sense of who you are, what you want to produce, and remain true to that. It will serve you in the long run.