Starting a Gaming Channel: Essential Tips for Success

Starting a gaming channel today offers a unique opportunity for passionate creators to thrive.

### Starting a Gaming Channel: Key Steps for Success
* 🎮 "It's not too late to start a gaming channel; in fact, **now is a better time than ever**."
* 🚀 The first step is simply to **begin**, as many aspiring creators hesitate and never take action despite the intimidating presence of **established YouTubers**.
* 💻 You don’t need expensive equipment to start; consoles like the PS5 and Xbox have **built-in recording features**, and you can use free software like **OBS Studio** and video editors such as **DaVinci Resolve**.
* 🔍 Research is crucial to determine your channel's focus; rather than sticking to one game, consider broader categories like **shooting or role-playing games** to attract a **wider audience**.
* 📝 Drafting content ideas is essential; aim to write out **20 video concepts** and utilize tools like vidIQ to optimize your video topics based on **trending searches**.
* 📈 Posting consistently is key, with a goal of **one to two videos per week**, as this helps you **improve over time** and reach monetization requirements of **500 subscribers and 3,000 watch hours**.
* 📊 Analyzing your YouTube analytics after uploading several videos will help you understand **what content resonates with viewers**, guiding your future creations.
* 🌟 Lastly, developing your brand and personality is vital; successful channels often thrive due to their **unique presentation style**, whether through **humor, expertise, or engaging editing**.

is it too late to start a gaming channel? The short answer is no. This same question was asked in 2017, 2018, 2019, and people are still going to ask this for years to come. If anything, now's a better time more than ever. So, in this video, I'm going to show you all the things that I would do if I was starting a brand new gaming channel today. The first thing that I would do is just start. And I know that sounds super simple, but so many people think about getting started, and they never do. And I know it can seem very intimidating when you see all these bigger creators with millions of subscribers, getting millions of views, and you're like, I want to be there now. But that's not reality. Those people have taken years and hundreds of videos to get to that point. They started from zero, just like you are right now. If this is something that you're just trying to get a quick buck out of, or trying to get famous and popular, YouTube is not going to be the thing for you.

because you got to put in the work if you want to reap the rewards. If you feel that you have that passion and fire to want to create content, then you're gonna need some equipment to help create it. Now, that doesn't mean going out and spending two thousand dollars on a crazy insane camera, computer, capture card setup. A lot of people get started just using the equipment that they have on hand. So, let's say that you're a console gamer and you want to start recording and streaming gameplay. Well, the PS5, Xbox, and even the Nintendo Switch, to some degree, have built-in recording and streaming functions. The PS5 even has a built-in video editor called Share Factory Studio, where you can load up any of your gameplay clips that you recorded on your console and edit them together. If you're a PC gamer, you might already have a gaming PC that you're using, but you can download something called OBS Studio to allow yourself to be able to screen record your gameplay and then to edit those clips together. You can use

free video editors such as Clipchamp, CapCut, and DaVinci Resolve. The more you work with your recording equipment and video editors, the better you will get at using them. Those are just skills that you have to develop. Another skill that you're going to need is being a good researcher. This is the part of the process where you need to determine what type of gaming content you want to make. Now, that doesn't mean niching all the way down to one game and only playing that game for the entirety of your YouTube career. That would probably get a little boring. Instead, I would look at developing your channel focus around certain gaming categories. So, like shooting games, role-playing games, maybe Nintendo games, PlayStation games, Xbox games. Figure out the type of gaming content that you enjoy making, but that you can also build an audience around. I've seen it way too many times where people are doing too many different types of things on their channel, whether that's reaction to vlogs, to some gaming stuff. It's just a mess, and there isn't a

true Focus or a true person that their channel is intended for. You have to figure that part out in order to grow. Now, that doesn't mean you can't grow a variety Channel. More on that in just a minute, but most often than not, focus and grow now, and you can pivot later. Continuing in the area of research. Now that you've figured out what your channel is going to be all about, it's time to start drafting content to fit what you're trying to build. You can start off by writing out 20 video ideas, and there's a good chance that two or three of them are gonna do really well for your channel. If you're having trouble thinking of ideas, you can go in on YouTube and use the search navigation bar to your advantage. So look up some of the topics that you're interested in doing, and you can have YouTube complete the search result for you, showing you the top things that people are searching within that particular gaming topic. I highly recommend picking a vid IQ. I do have an affiliate Link in the

description below, but they are an excellent source to help you craft your video ideas and even do search engine optimization so that you can either look up or even plug in your own ideas within this tool to see which video topics would be the best within your gaming niche. This is not even a sponsored video for vid IQ; I just really appreciate their tool and what they have to offer, really just being the best tool for helping creators find out what people want to watch on YouTube. Depending on the type of videos that you do, it's important to stay up to date with what's happening in your game. So, that means following Twitter accounts or joining a Discord server; that way, you get the information as soon as it's released so that you can make content around it. Your content will always come out better and more engaging if you write out what you're going to be talking about in your video. Now, don't use all of your energy just focusing on planning the whole time; make sure that you get to filming all of

the videos and film as many as you can. See if you can set a goal for posting one to two times a week, and then after a year or two, see if you can get up to 50 to 100 videos. The more you post early on, the better. With that level of consistency, you can just focus on the content creation process. You don't have to get too hung up in the numbers game of trying to reach the monetization status, which just recently was lowered so that you only have to achieve 500 subscribers and 3,000 watch hours to unlock things like super chats, memberships, and merch for your channel. But my number one recommendation for those creators trying to achieve those goals faster is that you want to utilize all of the upload forms available to you on YouTube. So, that means posting long-form content, shorts, live streams, especially if you're trying to get to those watch hour goals. If you're trying to do walkthrough or let's play videos that are like 20 to 30 minutes long without any edits, this is considered low

effort content, and this will not get you to stand out. I would try to put more effort into your edits, overlays, texts, graphics, audio, sound effects, anything to make your video more interesting. Additionally, don't be afraid to experiment with different types of content forms, such as gaming, reviews, news, tutorials, challenges, funny moments, montages. I think you get the picture. A lot of people sometimes get caught up in doing quality over quantity. That's not something that truly works for someone who is just getting started. You want to post as much content as you can so that you can get through the bad videos, because trust me, you will have bad videos starting out, and that will allow you to get to the good videos that you'll have in the future that your audience will love even more and will help you grow even faster. Once you've gotten several video uploads up, this is a good time to start looking at your data. I know, not fun, but it's important to do. You need to see what videos are doing well and which ones could be better. So once you have about

10. The 20 videos uploaded go to your YouTube analytics. Select the drop-down on the far right-hand side of the page and choose a time period. I'm gonna go with 90 days. From here, you can then scroll down to the bottom and select where it says see more. This will pop up a page of data where you can review the average watch time of your top-performing videos. Check out the content where you see a higher average view than what your channel typically gets. That's the blueprint to see what type of content you should continue doing. If you're someone looking at your data and you're telling yourself, man, all of these numbers look absolutely awful, then I highly recommend searching up the type of content that you create. Then you'll be able to see the overall packaging of the gaming videos that are within the space that you're trying to compete in. Look at their thumbnails, look at their titles, how long are their videos. This in a lot of ways ties back to the earlier topic of research. You have to understand what your audience wants to watch and

how they want to watch it without knowing that your videos are going to be dead in the water before you even upload them. You might tell yourself today that I can't edit a video that good or I can't make a thumbnail that looks that nice. Well, eventually, you will be able to do that. It just takes incremental improvements, video by video. Look up how to use your photo and video editing software better. Try to discover new techniques. It's just not gonna come to you out of thin air. You're going to have to search around and look for it. This is the, I guess, not fun part of YouTube, but this is what it takes to separate yourself from the pack. As your channel and content develop, then you can take the plunge into spending a little bit more on your setup, getting that custom capture card or that better computer to make better content. But it won't matter but so much if you don't develop your gimmick or, let's go with your brand. One of the best ways to do this is through

your personality, and this is especially true if you're a variety or a let's play channel. Is it the entertainment factor? Are you sharing any information or knowledge? Is it the editing style of the videos? Are you just super cracked and skilled at a game? Let's take Markiplier and PewDiePie, for example. Markiplier, people don't watch him necessarily for the games he's playing unless it's Five Nights at Freddy or something, but most of the time, people aren't watching for the game; they're watching for him because of his over-the-top reactions. They're just insane and so funny to watch. PewDiePie, on the other hand, people aren't watching him for his games either, but they're watching him because of his controversial or edgy types of reactions when he talks in his videos. I've seen some people's gaming videos where they don't show much emotion, if at all, and that, along with low-effort editing, just makes for a boring viewer experience. With the right content strategy and brand, you can set yourself up for

immediate get success on YouTube. A good example is from the channel Thinking at Max Volume. He posted a Zelda video, and it blew up, and he was able to get thousands of subscribers just off of that first video alone. A brand new channel sharing some valuable information was able to set himself up right off the bat. So, to recap, if I were starting a brand new gaming channel today, I would first just start by getting the right hardware and software to aid in my content creation process. I would then put in the work researching ideas, drafting those up so that I know the best content that I should make focused towards a particular audience. I would then plan the videos out before filming them, and I would film a lot of them, especially up front, make as much content as you can so that way you can incrementally improve your content over time. That means with video thumbnail and title edits. And lastly, as I continue to create more content on YouTube, I want to work to develop the brand that I'll present through my videos, whether that's through my

personality or by my edits. Now, if you guys want to learn 30 tips to help grow your YouTube channel, click on the video here. I appreciate you guys staying until the end of the video. Thank you so much for watching. I'll see y'all on the next one. Peace.

If I Started a YouTube Gaming Channel in 2024, I’d Do This!

MidnightMan

Starting a Gaming Channel: It's Not Too Late

It's never too late to start a gaming channel, and now is a better time than ever.

Many successful creators began from zero and took years to grow their audience.

To get started, use the equipment you have on hand, like built-in recording functions on consoles or free software like OBS Studio for PC gaming.

Focusing on a specific niche is crucial for channel growth, but a variety channel can also work.

Researching video ideas and using tools like vid IQ can help identify popular topics.

Consistently posting content, utilizing different upload formats, and staying updated with game news are key strategies for achieving faster growth and reaching monetization goals.

Tips for Creating Engaging YouTube Content

Putting more effort into edits, overlays, and audio can make your videos more interesting.

Posting a high quantity of content initially helps you get through bad videos and find your groove.

Analyzing your YouTube analytics after several uploads can guide you in identifying successful content and improving your strategy.

Improving your video editing and thumbnail skills takes time and effort, but incremental progress is key.

Developing your unique brand and personality is crucial, especially for variety or let's play channels.

Engaging content and a strong personal presence, like that of Markiplier and PewDiePie, can make a significant difference in attracting viewers.

A new gaming channel can achieve quick success by following a strategic approach, as demonstrated by Thinking at Max Volume's Zelda video.

Key steps include investing in the right hardware and software, researching and planning content, filming multiple videos upfront, and making incremental improvements.

Developing a strong brand through personality and edits is also crucial for long-term growth on the platform.