How long should your YouTube video be?

How long should your YouTube video be?

How long should your YouTube video be? When you’re thinking about the length of your videos, you have a lot of factors to consider. Is it a live video or edited content? Are you a beginner or a veteran video blogger? Who’s your audience? Because of all these factors, the answer will be different for each person. That’s why this post is dedicated for entrepreneurs and vloggers who are just getting started on YouTube.

How long should your YouTube video be?

What does your audience want?

The number one thing to consider is your audience. Why is your audience watching you on YouTube? This may depend on your content, but if you don’t have an audience, you have to think about who you want to watch your videos.

You don’t want to build a list of random subscribers because that would be useless to you. If you’re an entrepreneur, you’re basically on YouTube to market and make money, so you should keep who your target audience is in mind. Everyone else who subscribes is a bonus or a future client because you never know.

Let’s say your target audience is entrepreneurs who are moms. They have busy lives because they’re balancing their business, their family, and their personal lives. If they’re going on YouTube, they’re searching for the shortest video that can help them. I’m the same. If I go on YouTube to search for something, I always choose the shortest video.

If you’re a beginner creating content, basically you should be asking ‘Does my target audience have time for this?’ If you don’t know, then research other YouTube videos  (competitors in your niche, because every genre is different) and see what they’re doing. While you’re researching, check how many subscribers they have. If it’s a big number, check how many videos they’ve created and then look through their middle videos because we all know the first videos we create are not great and with their newer videos, they can get away with creating longer content if they have a huge following of loyal fans.

 

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5 tips to keep your brand consistent

5 tips to keep your brand consistent

If you’re reading this, you already have a brand or you’re ready to start thinking seriously about it. Having a brand is all about building recognition and attracting your audience. So how do you become recognizable? Simple, you just have to stay consistent. Consistency is the easiest way to get people to recognize you and keep you memorable. Here are the 5 tips to keep your brand consistent.

5 tips to keep your brand consistent

01. Writings on the wall

No matter if you’re creating YouTube videos, blogging, creating content for social media, or just a business in general, you’re going to have to use text. The first tip is to always use the same fonts. You shouldn’t have more than 3 fonts unless your business branches off and each item has its own brand.

Unless your branching out, no matter what you’re putting out into the world, use the same fonts. That means using the same fonts on your Instagram graphics, website, worksheets, workbooks, YouTube graphics, blog graphics, ads, billboards, and so on. If you keep doing this consistently, your audience should be able to recognize your business by your font.

Note: If you create content for online and print use, then you might have 4 to 6 fonts. One set for online use and another set for print. Those fonts are based on legibility.

02. Don’t be every color of the rainbow

Unless your brand colors are every color of the rainbow, use only your brand colors. Like with your fonts, use them consistently on your social media graphics, YouTube thumbnails and videos, blog graphics, website, and so on. No matter what you create, if your audience repeatedly sees your content, they should know who it is.

For example, if you create a YouTube thumbnail and you use the same colors and fonts, then your audience should automatically think, ‘Oh, so and so just released another video, I should watch it’, without even looking at the YouTube channel name.

03. Image is everything

Photo images are also a part of your brand. Make sure you create the same style of images. The best example is Instagram. You’ll notice that the best accounts create a consistent theme. Those themes can be based on mood, colors, lighting, and/or focus.

I think you can get a little more creative with Instagram, but whatever platform you’re using, if you’re using images for your brand, make sure to keep the style consistent.

Want to find out more about branding photos? Click here to read 3 types of photos you can use to brand your business. Read More “5 tips to keep your brand consistent”

5 reasons you need a rebrand

5 reasons you need a rebrand

Have you ever thought about rebranding your business? I know that I think about rebranding all the time, but I always have to hold myself back because I know I’m the type who always wants to try something new. It’s kind of like how I always have the urge to get bangs or dye my hair a different color. It seems cool at the moment, but I know it won’t fit my everyday style or mood. Instead of changing your brand on a whim, you should have a legitimate reason to rebrand. Here are the 5 reasons you need a rebrand.

5 reasons you need a rebrand

01. DIY and over it…

When you first launched your business, maybe you didn’t have the funds to invest in a graphic designer. Instead, you went the DIY route and didn’t really consider the types of people you were attracting. Any business was good business.

Now that you have a steady income and a good idea of who your target audience is. You’re not really proud of the brand you created and you’re ready to take your business to the next level. In this case, a rebrand is a great idea. With a rebrand, you’ll have a more polished brand that you and your target audience will be proud to be a part of.

02.  Not my type

Did the people you want to come to your party never show up? Basically, everyone but the people you wanted to show up are crashing the party. Well, the problem is you’re sending the wrong message with your brand. You attract what you reflect.

In this case, a rebrand will help you attract your target audience. During the rebrand, you can reassess what’s working and not working with your brand messaging.

03. Dine and dash

Are people coming to the party, but aren’t sticking around? It might be your brand. First impressions are everything and looks definitely matter. For one, you want to make sure you don’t look like spam. Another issue might be a confusing message.

Maybe you had sales in the beginning, but now their decreasing. You’ve tried changing up how you market your services and even changed your services, but nothing is working. It’s time to think about rebranding instead. Your brand may be sending the wrong message to your audience.

04. Trendsetter over here!

Is your brand outdated? When you first started, your brand was perfect for you, but now your business has evolved. Your brand doesn’t reflect what your business stands for any more or maybe you’re not feeling it anymore. Your target audience might’ve also evolved with your business.

A rebrand will help update your brand. You don’t necessarily need to change everything, but you can keep elements of your brand that are working but update everything that’s outdated. Read More “5 reasons you need a rebrand”

5 easy tips for creating captivating YouTube Thumbnails
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5 easy tips for creating captivating YouTube thumbnails

If you’re a business owner, you might think that creating captivating YouTube thumbnails is hard, but it’s actually really easy. All you have to do is think of thumbnails as book covers. The only difference is that on YouTube, you are judging a book by its cover. If you’re just starting off making YouTube videos, the thing that will get viewers to click on your videos (besides SEO), is your thumbnail. Here are 5 easy tips for creating captivating YouTube thumbnails.

5 tips for creating captivating YouTube thumbnails

If your video is showing up on searches, you want to be the video that viewers click on. If the title and content are the same, hopefully, your content matches the title, the best way to stand out is your thumbnail. As a beginner starting off on YouTube it’s important to focus on the design of your thumbnail. Let’s get started.

01 Put a face on it

It’s time to start posing because faces are the way to getting noticed. No, really. A thumbnail with your face on it is more likely to get clicked on than a thumbnail without a face. That’s probably why you see all those goofy and extreme facial expressions on YouTube thumbnails. Am I telling you to go that extreme? No, but if you’re making videos showing your face anyway, then you might as well put it on your thumbnail.

put a face on it

 

The easiest way to get your image is to make a still image from your video content. Sometimes this doesn’t always work, especially if you care about the way you look. I’m not going to lie, I definitely care about how I look, so when I’m editing videos, I try to pick a video that makes you look good. If you’re editing your own videos, there will be more times when you pause your video and you’re making an ugly face than a flattering one.

Because I know that image is important, I tell my clients to pose at the beginning of their video. Hit record and pose for 5 seconds, then do another pose, and another. It feels dumb, but you’ll have thumbnail choices that you won’t hate. If that’s too embarrassing or you want to have more control of your image, I have a client that takes selfies instead and gives those to me for her thumbnail options.

02 Text is everything

 

put text on your thumbnail

 

When you’re starting off with vlogging, having text on your thumbnails is really important. Why? Because no one will click on a video if they don’t know what it’s about. Here are some tips on creating the title for you YouTube thumbnail:

  1. Make sure the title is relevant to your YouTube video.
  2. Your thumbnail title doesn’t have to match the YouTube title.
  3. Try to make it short and catchy.  Most people are skimming thumbnails.

BRAND YOUR YOUTUBE CHANNEL

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When you make it to the big time, you won’t have to worry about it. That’s why you see big accounts sometimes don’t have text on their thumbnails because people already know who they are. Read More “5 easy tips for creating captivating YouTube thumbnails”

7 video content ideas for businesses on YouTube to help grow their following
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7 Video content ideas for businesses on YouTube to help grow their following

If you’re on YouTube, you’re trying to stand out with your content and attract your target audience and get them to subscribe to your channel. You know what’s not going to get subscribers? Boring how-to videos. I’m not saying to stop doing those videos. In fact, I think they’ll attract your audience. People go to YouTube to learn how to do things. BUT, if you want them to hit subscribe, then you have to think like a lifestyle vlogger. That’s why I created 7 video content ideas for businesses on YouTube to help grow their following.

Why think like a lifestyle vlogger? If you’ve ever been on YouTube, you’ll notice that these people are like celebrities.  Viewers watch their videos mainly because they can relate to them or want to become them. It’s rare that people will subscribe just to learn something. In fact, a lot of people love to binge watch videos when they go on YouTube. Who wants to binge-watch educational videos?

Basically, you have to build a connection with your audience. Your viewers have to form an attachment to you, and the best way is to think like a lifestyle vlogger. Below are 7 video content ideas to add personality to your channel.

7 video content ideas for businesses on YouTube

01.  Behind the Scenes or Inside look

You can do a behind the scenes look at your office or a process of your business. This is the number one reason why we stalk celebrities. We want to know their daily routine, how to be as successful as them, and just everything about their life.

Tour

 

Business video ideas:

  • Inside look at your morning routine
  • An inside look at how you stay productive
  • Behind the scenes of your work process
  • Inside look at how you plan your work day

02. Monthly favorites

If you’ve watched lifestyle videos, you’ll notice that there are quite a few ‘Monthly Favorites’ videos. These videos consist of products that vloggers loved that month. You can take this same concept and use it for your business. Also, if you’re an affiliate, this is an extra way to promote to your audience without being too salesy.

 

Monthly favorites

 

Video ideas:

  • Book reviews
  • Favorite tools that you’re using
  • Favorite product that you’re using in your business or that helps your business

Read More “7 Video content ideas for businesses on YouTube to help grow their following”

On Wednesdays We Go Rogue
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On Wednesdays We Go Rogue

If you follow me on Instagram, you know that I scrapped my old newsletter and decided to make a change. So now, On Wednesdays, we go rogue! What does that mean? Every Wednesday, I’m popping in your inbox to give you updates and tips that’ll help your business. Not only that, but the resource library is going to be a membership extension to the newsletter. It’ll be called Go Rogue Library. It’ll still house all your resources, but they will also be released in my emails so that you won’t have to keep signing up every time for an opt-in. 

 

On Wednesdays we wear black

What you can expect

On the road to domination

If you’re not learning then you’re not growing! In this section, I’ll shine a spotlight on the things that I’ve used to grow my business. This will be freebies, videos, products, courses, or tools that I’ve actually found useful for my business. Just think of this as professional development. You should be doing that at least once a week anyway.

 

Who run the world

There’s definitely rest for the wicked, the wickedly awesome that is…

The #1 thing I regret about starting my business journey, is that I was 100% about my business. So much so, that I’d get ill and had no time for the people around me. Most people start their own business because they think they’ll have time to do all the things they want, like hanging out with family and friends, having hobbies, traveling and so on. If you’re hustling 24/7, then you’re doing it wrong.  In this section, you’ll get a peek at what I’m doing on my downtime.

 

treat yourself

 

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Get weekly YouTube, branding, Wordpress, and business tips and VIP discounts and promotions delivered straight to your inbox along with access to the Go Rouge Library. 

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Video editing process
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My video editing process

My biggest goal when editing and creating designs for videos is to help you attract your dream audience and become THE authority in your field. When I first envisioned my video editing process for this service, it was geared towards YouTube, but I have since expanded to other social media. The clients that I’m currently working with wanted videos created for Instagram, Instagram stories, and Facebook, so I added those options into this package.

My other goal is to focus on adding lifestyle elements to videos for entrepreneurs. Why? Because your audience wants to connect with you and once they do, they’ll want to follow/subscribe to your account and stay updated. I don’t want you to create a one and done video (those videos people look for to learn something, and when they do, they leave your channel and forget about you). I want you to create an audience that is excited to watch your videos consistently. Now that you know my main goals, here’s what you can expect from my video editing package.

My video editing process

Doing the homework

Once you book my service, you have a little homework to do. The first thing I do when you’re booked as a client is adding you to a project in Asana. Asana is a project management system and it’s where we’ll be doing all of our communication (you’ll still get email notifications, but through Asana).

Don’t worry, it’s FREE and easy to use. I’ll assign you to your task (your homework) and you’ll also see where I am and when things are due for your project. This makes it easier to communicate and manage all our files.

After you get access to your project in Asana, you’ll see that you have a questionnaire to fill out. This questionnaire helps me figure out what style to edit your videos in, your branding, who your audience is, and so on. I need this completed before I start editing your videos.

Also, on the questionnaire, there’s a section that lets me know how you’ll deliver your videos. You’ll let me know if you use Dropbox, Google Drive, Onedrive or any other cloud storage you have. If you want me to upload your videos to YouTube, you can provide access to your login or you can add my email address to your account.

Once you finish the questionnaire, you just mark the task as completed in Asana. The next homework assignment is to give me your brand style guide or elements of your brand (if applicable).

Click here to read more about the client process.

Click here to learn more about Asana. Read More “My video editing process”

free consult call

What goes on during a free consult call

Did you know that I offer FREE consult calls? So what are they, and should you book one? The consult call is basically where we get to know each other. This is important so that we can know if we’re the best fit for each other. You don’t want to book a service if you’re not sure if it’s what you want or need. Here’s what goes on in a free consult call.

What goes on in a free consult call

Before the call happens, you have to book a call in my scheduler. You have the choice of picking between Skype or a phone call if you’re in the U.S. If you’re outside the U.S., then I can only offer Skype calls.

If you choose Skype, I tend to leave the camera off during our first call (unless this is a coffee chat, keep reading to find out more about those), but if you want the camera’s on, let me know! I would love to meet face to face. On the day of our consult call, I will call you at the scheduled time.

Who goes first?

Besides introducing ourselves, I always let you speak first. Usually, if you book a call with me, you have questions. Sometimes you already asked them when you booked the consult call. I had one client list everything she wanted to talk about on my booking form. Most of the call was spent answering all her questions. I didn’t mind, I thought it was interesting and it gave her a lot of ideas for her business.

If you don’t really have any questions, I start by asking about your business and your goals. Then I ask questions from there or you can ask questions from there. Don’t know what to ask during a consult call, click here for a few ideas.

What I discuss

After we discuss your questions and your business goals, then if it’s applicable, I might discuss my services, but that’s only if you’re interested. I’m not really a big fan of being pushy or aggressive with a sale. I just think of these calls as getting to know you and your business. BUT if you’re interested in my services, I discuss my process and what the next steps are in hiring me. Read More “What goes on during a free consult call”

Why A High Quality Logo Design Costs More
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Why A High Quality Logo Design Costs More Than $200

When most people think about a designer, they think that we create pretty graphics. That or they don’t understand what our job is. If you thought that the role of a graphic designer is to create pretty graphics, then you’re wrong. A designer actually plays different roles and that’s why a high quality logo design costs more than $100.

The real reason why a high quality logo design costs more

No matter what type of designer you are, you are wearing a lot of hats.  3 of those main hats are: problem solver, strategist, and creator.

Problem solver

You need a logo for your company, but you’re not going to take just any logo right? Well, I hope not. I would hope that your logo was created to represent your business and resonate with your target audience. That’s where a graphic designer comes in.

 

I'm a better detective.

 

The first thing I do when I book a client is to send them homework. What’s the point of the homework? This is one of the ways I conduct research. Yes, before our first meeting, I research everything I can about your industry and target audience.

Then, by the time we have our first meeting, I already have your creative brief and mood board ready for your approval. The creative brief makes sure that we’re on the same page about your brand. The mood board is the guideline for inspiration for when I start designing the logo or any design project.

Click here to read more about the homework process.

Strategist

Now it’s time to create a strategy. Once I research your business and your audience, it’s time to think about the end goal. Depending on the project, the end goal is different. For a logo, the goal is to create something that resonates with both the brand and the target audience.

So what does the audience want? Well, it’s my job to research that. Every answer would be different depending on the business. When I do find the answer, it’s time to start brainstorming.

 

Strategist

 

During the brainstorming session, I list out as many ideas as I can that represent the business. Basically, it’s like creating a mind map of all the possible directions that the brand could go in. Once I’m done with that, it’s time to create. Read More “Why A High Quality Logo Design Costs More Than $200”

5 reasons a youtuber needs a graphic and web designer

5 reasons a youtuber needs a graphic and web designer

If you want to be legit on YouTube, it’s not about filming and uploading anymore. With all the competition, users are looking for high-quality content to consume. Everyone knows that audio and video quality are important. In fact, it’s easier than ever to record high-quality content with just your phone. So what’s the next step? Design. To look professional, you need a brand and a website. Here are 5 reasons a Youtuber needs a graphic and web designer.

5 reasons a Youtuber needs a graphic and web designer

It’s time to look professional. I’m not talking about wearing a suit and tie. I’m talking about looking like a legit business, or an authority in whatever content you’re creating.  It has to look like you have a production team producing your video, even though it’s just one person. Besides saving you time and energy to focus on creating your videos, here are the ways that a designer can help elevate your YouTube channel.

01. Logo and branding

One of the first things you must have to look professional is a logo. Your logo will be everywhere and help with brand recognition. You’ll use your logo on your YouTube channel in the channel art, your YouTube video, on your website, media kit (if you plan to apply to affiliates), business card (if you plan to network), and so on.

Besides your logo, you also need a graphic designer to research and develop your brand. Why is branding important? You can think of it as creating a signature style for your channel and other assets. It keeps everything consistent. You’ll use the same fonts, colors, imagery, and so on. Sounds boring, right? Well, this helps with brand recognition. If you keep using the same style, people will start to know you for it. Not only that, but it saves you time in content creation. You’ll never have to guess which font and colors to use because it’s already decided.

02. Title graphics and channel art

A graphic designer can design your channel, title, and thumbnail graphics for your videos. If you already have an established brand, this will help with brand recognition. For your YouTube channel, the cover art is the main graphic on the page. It should showcase the important details of your channel.

Another thing you might not think about is the branding watermark on the bottom right side of the video. This graphic is usually the logo, but it could be a submark or an icon that’s relevant to your brand.

Tutor in Tinseltown YouTube Channel art

 

Thumbnails are the first thing people see when they’re browsing videos. Great thumbnails will obviously get more click-throughs. Not only that, but some people will also use title graphics in their videos to showcase what the video is about. Check out this video from Jenn Im for an example of cool title graphics. You’ll see that her thumbnail video and title graphics are completely different. Read More “5 reasons a youtuber needs a graphic and web designer”