Building Blocks for Successful Channel Branding and Growth

How to Brand Your YouTube Channel to Get More Subscribers

Shanoon Cox

Nov 01, 2022• Proven solutions

0

Epic Meal Time. Michelle Phan. Peter McKinnon. When you think of each of these YouTube creators, what comes to mind? The feelings and thoughts you have are vastly different because each one of these channels has its own unique branding.

Epic Meal Time’s YouTube brand is in-your-face and intense. It pumps you full of adrenaline and increases your heart rate.

Michelle Phan’s YouTube brand is calm, whimsical, and aspirational.

The color palette she chose is pleasing to the eyes and doesn’t evoke any of the stress we get from Epic Meal Time.

They have different branding because they want to reflect different feelings for different audiences.

Bad Branding Causes Mistrust

When a branding element does not align with the message or the tone does not match with the material, then the audience is not going to trust what you offer. Without trust, you won’t be able to get the advocacy that is essential for a YouTube channel to grow.

Imagine Michelle Phan using the aggressive colors of Epic Meal Time or vice versa. Pretty weird, huh?

What is YouTube Branding?

You might think that branding simply comes together while making videos, but that’s not true. Branding takes a bit of preparation and foresight.

YouTube branding is the idea your viewers have in mind and the emotion they get when they think about your channel.

Here are notable elements of your channel’s branding:

- Channel name

- Channel art

- Video thumbnail

- Video title

- Icon

- Watermark

- Catchphrase

- Style of video

How to Start Branding Your YouTube Channel?

Before you start designing thumbnails and coming up with a catchphrase, the first step in branding is understanding the purpose of your channel. Once you have a purpose, you will know how you want your viewers to feel.

Here is a quick exercise to find your channel’s purpose:

Draw a 3 circle Venn diagram.

In circle 1, write down everything you consider yourself an expert in.

- What do your friends know you for?

- What can you give advice on?

- What did you go to school to learn?

In circle 2, write down all the topics you are passionate about.

- What can you talk effortlessly about for hours?

- At a party, where do you lead conversations towards?

In circle 3, write down everything that people will pay for that you can supply. Here is where you find the demand of the audience.

- Can you give me travel advice?

- Can you make people forget about their stressful day?

- Do you have experience in a specialized field?

Understanding what people will pay money for will help guide you in creating content that has true value.

In the center, come up with all the ideas that can be associated with all three circles. This will be the ideal purpose for your YouTube channel as it harnesses your expertise, your passion, and the demand of a viewership.

Examples:

Epic Meal Time

Expertise = Eating

Passion = Fast Food Culture

Demand = Unique Meals

PURPOSE: Showcase a unique combination of fast food people won’t make at home.

Michelle Phan

Expertise = Beauty Products

Passion = Makeup and Fashion

Demand = Beauty School

PURPOSE: Give people more confidence in beauty products.

How Is Your Channel Different From the Others?

Now that you have your purpose, it’s time to separate you from others with similar purposes. YouTube is a crowded space for content creators. If your channel is mimicking another more successful channel, you will be in the shadows.

Good branding allows you to differentiate from others .

Pick a Unique and Memorable Name

If your name is Michelle Phan, and you are not the Michelle Phan, I’m sorry, but you will need to pick another name for your YouTube channel:

If you do have to pick another name or if your channel is an ensemble with multiple members, make sure the name you choose is original, memorable, and short (4 words max).

Picking an Icon

Not every YouTuber needs to design an original logo for their brand. In fact, if the channel is about you — the YouTuber — you are the brand, so using a high-quality picture of yourself as the icon is okay.

However, if your channel has a specific theme or topic and you want your branding to convey it so it sticks in the viewers’ heads, especially if it’s their first time viewing your channel. A clear logo will help in amplifying your message:

Create Video Thumbnails That Stand Out

The power of good branding is that your viewers will be able to spot your brand in a crowded space. On YouTube, the crowded space is the suggested video section.

Epic Meal Time thumbnails standing out amongst other loud thumbnails.

Once you have the feeling you want to evoke, test out different thumbnails. Go incognito, search up your videos, and see how the visuals appear beside your competitions. Do they all have the same style or is your far more impressive?

Good branding doesn’t happen in the first try so keep experimenting.

Designing Your Icon, Thumbnail, and Channel Art

There is a lot to consider when designing all the visual elements for your channel. I won’t get into all of it, but here are some tips that you should always keep in mind.

- Less is more: Don’t clutter your icons, thumbnails, or banner.

- Have a single focus: A channel and a video can have a lot of different topics, but the image can’t show everything a video can. Pick one important area and highlight that in the image.

- Quality matters: Your audience is savvier than ever. If they see a pixelated image, they will judge your channel poorly. That’s bad branding. Always use high-quality pictures.

- Make sure the color pops and the text is visible: Use eye-catching colors and visible text. This is a billboard, you have milliseconds to get people’s attention as they scroll past.

Want more resources for creating your channel’s visual elements? Yes? Well, we made this for you:

- How to Make YouTube Video Thumbnail

- How to Make YouTube Icons

- Free Youtube Banners

How to Make Your Visuals Consistent?

When a viewer finds your video and considers it pretty interesting, they will then go into your channel page to learn more. Here is where they make their decision: subscribe or not subscribe?

Consistent branding affirms the viewer that they are in the right place. Peter McKinnon’s brand is built upon his amazing photography, it only makes sense that his visual elements are awesome.

Peter McKinnon is best known for his photography and cinematography, and his branding amplifies that.

But Branding Is Not Designing, It’s A Feeling

Don’t get too caught up with a design.

Look at PewDiePie’s branding. You can argue that it is inconsistent and the design is not professional, but actually, his branding is spot on, because he is making you feel a certain way.

PewDiePie’s brand highlights its upbeat and unpredictable personality.

PewDiePie wants you to laugh. He is not branding his expertise like Peter McKinnon is, he’s branding his personality.

Consistent branding is about making the elements of your channel: channel art, logo, thumbnails, titles, etc. all harmonize together to evoke a sensation.

The humor in PewDiePie’s brand is consistent, even though his thumbnails don’t look like Philip DeFranco’s. It is up to you how you define consistency, and that will happen over time.

Philip DeFranco supplies commentary on current events with a satirical flair. Like a news broadcast, his branding and video format are consistent, while the daily news is different.

Inserting A Watermark

The main point of a watermark is to let the viewers know when they are watching your video that it is in fact your video.

Let’s be honest, YouTube content can all look the same, especially if you are making content that is quite general (like beauty or tech), so a watermark helps differentiate, so when viewers are ready to subscribe, they have an extra branding element connecting them to your channel.

Improvement Pill is a YouTube channel focused on inspiring and motivating its viewer to live a better life.

Above we see an example of a watermark from the YouTube channel Improvement Pill. You can see the watermark in the lower right-hand corner.

Improvement Pill is not the only channel that uses whiteboard animation to illustrate their story, and because of that, they need to set themselves apart. A watermark helps do that.

When a viewer lands on their video, the watermark gives the viewer another way to get more familiar with the channel, and if they are to scroll over the watermark a subscription button pops up.

Want to set up your subscription watermark? Here is a quick tutorial:

Coming Up With A Catchphrase

A catchphrase can be your greeting or sign off, but it doesn’t have to be an original line, it can simply be the way you say “hello.”

Check out some of the popular YouTuber’s catchphrases:

When coming up with a catchphrase that is connected to your channel’s branding remember how you want the viewer to feel. Do you want to leave them with a smile? Or do you want them to take action?

Final Thoughts On YouTube Branding

As you build and grow your YouTube channel, you can expand your purpose while still sticking within the overall theme. You might have started a channel that focused on the topic of nutrition, but as you grow, you will discover that your audience may also be interested in fitness tips or workout accessories as well. Take it slowly and grow with purpose.

Your branding doesn’t dictate the content you create, but it does affect how you go about making it.

Got more questions about branding your YouTube channel? Let us know in the comments below.

Shanoon Cox

Shanoon Cox is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Shanoon Cox

Shanoon Cox

Nov 01, 2022• Proven solutions

0

Epic Meal Time. Michelle Phan. Peter McKinnon. When you think of each of these YouTube creators, what comes to mind? The feelings and thoughts you have are vastly different because each one of these channels has its own unique branding.

Epic Meal Time’s YouTube brand is in-your-face and intense. It pumps you full of adrenaline and increases your heart rate.

Michelle Phan’s YouTube brand is calm, whimsical, and aspirational.

The color palette she chose is pleasing to the eyes and doesn’t evoke any of the stress we get from Epic Meal Time.

They have different branding because they want to reflect different feelings for different audiences.

Bad Branding Causes Mistrust

When a branding element does not align with the message or the tone does not match with the material, then the audience is not going to trust what you offer. Without trust, you won’t be able to get the advocacy that is essential for a YouTube channel to grow.

Imagine Michelle Phan using the aggressive colors of Epic Meal Time or vice versa. Pretty weird, huh?

What is YouTube Branding?

You might think that branding simply comes together while making videos, but that’s not true. Branding takes a bit of preparation and foresight.

YouTube branding is the idea your viewers have in mind and the emotion they get when they think about your channel.

Here are notable elements of your channel’s branding:

- Channel name

- Channel art

- Video thumbnail

- Video title

- Icon

- Watermark

- Catchphrase

- Style of video

How to Start Branding Your YouTube Channel?

Before you start designing thumbnails and coming up with a catchphrase, the first step in branding is understanding the purpose of your channel. Once you have a purpose, you will know how you want your viewers to feel.

Here is a quick exercise to find your channel’s purpose:

Draw a 3 circle Venn diagram.

In circle 1, write down everything you consider yourself an expert in.

- What do your friends know you for?

- What can you give advice on?

- What did you go to school to learn?

In circle 2, write down all the topics you are passionate about.

- What can you talk effortlessly about for hours?

- At a party, where do you lead conversations towards?

In circle 3, write down everything that people will pay for that you can supply. Here is where you find the demand of the audience.

- Can you give me travel advice?

- Can you make people forget about their stressful day?

- Do you have experience in a specialized field?

Understanding what people will pay money for will help guide you in creating content that has true value.

In the center, come up with all the ideas that can be associated with all three circles. This will be the ideal purpose for your YouTube channel as it harnesses your expertise, your passion, and the demand of a viewership.

Examples:

Epic Meal Time

Expertise = Eating

Passion = Fast Food Culture

Demand = Unique Meals

PURPOSE: Showcase a unique combination of fast food people won’t make at home.

Michelle Phan

Expertise = Beauty Products

Passion = Makeup and Fashion

Demand = Beauty School

PURPOSE: Give people more confidence in beauty products.

How Is Your Channel Different From the Others?

Now that you have your purpose, it’s time to separate you from others with similar purposes. YouTube is a crowded space for content creators. If your channel is mimicking another more successful channel, you will be in the shadows.

Good branding allows you to differentiate from others .

Pick a Unique and Memorable Name

If your name is Michelle Phan, and you are not the Michelle Phan, I’m sorry, but you will need to pick another name for your YouTube channel:

If you do have to pick another name or if your channel is an ensemble with multiple members, make sure the name you choose is original, memorable, and short (4 words max).

Picking an Icon

Not every YouTuber needs to design an original logo for their brand. In fact, if the channel is about you — the YouTuber — you are the brand, so using a high-quality picture of yourself as the icon is okay.

However, if your channel has a specific theme or topic and you want your branding to convey it so it sticks in the viewers’ heads, especially if it’s their first time viewing your channel. A clear logo will help in amplifying your message:

Create Video Thumbnails That Stand Out

The power of good branding is that your viewers will be able to spot your brand in a crowded space. On YouTube, the crowded space is the suggested video section.

Epic Meal Time thumbnails standing out amongst other loud thumbnails.

Once you have the feeling you want to evoke, test out different thumbnails. Go incognito, search up your videos, and see how the visuals appear beside your competitions. Do they all have the same style or is your far more impressive?

Good branding doesn’t happen in the first try so keep experimenting.

Designing Your Icon, Thumbnail, and Channel Art

There is a lot to consider when designing all the visual elements for your channel. I won’t get into all of it, but here are some tips that you should always keep in mind.

- Less is more: Don’t clutter your icons, thumbnails, or banner.

- Have a single focus: A channel and a video can have a lot of different topics, but the image can’t show everything a video can. Pick one important area and highlight that in the image.

- Quality matters: Your audience is savvier than ever. If they see a pixelated image, they will judge your channel poorly. That’s bad branding. Always use high-quality pictures.

- Make sure the color pops and the text is visible: Use eye-catching colors and visible text. This is a billboard, you have milliseconds to get people’s attention as they scroll past.

Want more resources for creating your channel’s visual elements? Yes? Well, we made this for you:

- How to Make YouTube Video Thumbnail

- How to Make YouTube Icons

- Free Youtube Banners

How to Make Your Visuals Consistent?

When a viewer finds your video and considers it pretty interesting, they will then go into your channel page to learn more. Here is where they make their decision: subscribe or not subscribe?

Consistent branding affirms the viewer that they are in the right place. Peter McKinnon’s brand is built upon his amazing photography, it only makes sense that his visual elements are awesome.

Peter McKinnon is best known for his photography and cinematography, and his branding amplifies that.

But Branding Is Not Designing, It’s A Feeling

Don’t get too caught up with a design.

Look at PewDiePie’s branding. You can argue that it is inconsistent and the design is not professional, but actually, his branding is spot on, because he is making you feel a certain way.

PewDiePie’s brand highlights its upbeat and unpredictable personality.

PewDiePie wants you to laugh. He is not branding his expertise like Peter McKinnon is, he’s branding his personality.

Consistent branding is about making the elements of your channel: channel art, logo, thumbnails, titles, etc. all harmonize together to evoke a sensation.

The humor in PewDiePie’s brand is consistent, even though his thumbnails don’t look like Philip DeFranco’s. It is up to you how you define consistency, and that will happen over time.

Philip DeFranco supplies commentary on current events with a satirical flair. Like a news broadcast, his branding and video format are consistent, while the daily news is different.

Inserting A Watermark

The main point of a watermark is to let the viewers know when they are watching your video that it is in fact your video.

Let’s be honest, YouTube content can all look the same, especially if you are making content that is quite general (like beauty or tech), so a watermark helps differentiate, so when viewers are ready to subscribe, they have an extra branding element connecting them to your channel.

Improvement Pill is a YouTube channel focused on inspiring and motivating its viewer to live a better life.

Above we see an example of a watermark from the YouTube channel Improvement Pill. You can see the watermark in the lower right-hand corner.

Improvement Pill is not the only channel that uses whiteboard animation to illustrate their story, and because of that, they need to set themselves apart. A watermark helps do that.

When a viewer lands on their video, the watermark gives the viewer another way to get more familiar with the channel, and if they are to scroll over the watermark a subscription button pops up.

Want to set up your subscription watermark? Here is a quick tutorial:

Coming Up With A Catchphrase

A catchphrase can be your greeting or sign off, but it doesn’t have to be an original line, it can simply be the way you say “hello.”

Check out some of the popular YouTuber’s catchphrases:

When coming up with a catchphrase that is connected to your channel’s branding remember how you want the viewer to feel. Do you want to leave them with a smile? Or do you want them to take action?

Final Thoughts On YouTube Branding

As you build and grow your YouTube channel, you can expand your purpose while still sticking within the overall theme. You might have started a channel that focused on the topic of nutrition, but as you grow, you will discover that your audience may also be interested in fitness tips or workout accessories as well. Take it slowly and grow with purpose.

Your branding doesn’t dictate the content you create, but it does affect how you go about making it.

Got more questions about branding your YouTube channel? Let us know in the comments below.

Shanoon Cox

Shanoon Cox is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Shanoon Cox

Shanoon Cox

Nov 01, 2022• Proven solutions

0

Epic Meal Time. Michelle Phan. Peter McKinnon. When you think of each of these YouTube creators, what comes to mind? The feelings and thoughts you have are vastly different because each one of these channels has its own unique branding.

Epic Meal Time’s YouTube brand is in-your-face and intense. It pumps you full of adrenaline and increases your heart rate.

Michelle Phan’s YouTube brand is calm, whimsical, and aspirational.

The color palette she chose is pleasing to the eyes and doesn’t evoke any of the stress we get from Epic Meal Time.

They have different branding because they want to reflect different feelings for different audiences.

Bad Branding Causes Mistrust

When a branding element does not align with the message or the tone does not match with the material, then the audience is not going to trust what you offer. Without trust, you won’t be able to get the advocacy that is essential for a YouTube channel to grow.

Imagine Michelle Phan using the aggressive colors of Epic Meal Time or vice versa. Pretty weird, huh?

What is YouTube Branding?

You might think that branding simply comes together while making videos, but that’s not true. Branding takes a bit of preparation and foresight.

YouTube branding is the idea your viewers have in mind and the emotion they get when they think about your channel.

Here are notable elements of your channel’s branding:

- Channel name

- Channel art

- Video thumbnail

- Video title

- Icon

- Watermark

- Catchphrase

- Style of video

How to Start Branding Your YouTube Channel?

Before you start designing thumbnails and coming up with a catchphrase, the first step in branding is understanding the purpose of your channel. Once you have a purpose, you will know how you want your viewers to feel.

Here is a quick exercise to find your channel’s purpose:

Draw a 3 circle Venn diagram.

In circle 1, write down everything you consider yourself an expert in.

- What do your friends know you for?

- What can you give advice on?

- What did you go to school to learn?

In circle 2, write down all the topics you are passionate about.

- What can you talk effortlessly about for hours?

- At a party, where do you lead conversations towards?

In circle 3, write down everything that people will pay for that you can supply. Here is where you find the demand of the audience.

- Can you give me travel advice?

- Can you make people forget about their stressful day?

- Do you have experience in a specialized field?

Understanding what people will pay money for will help guide you in creating content that has true value.

In the center, come up with all the ideas that can be associated with all three circles. This will be the ideal purpose for your YouTube channel as it harnesses your expertise, your passion, and the demand of a viewership.

Examples:

Epic Meal Time

Expertise = Eating

Passion = Fast Food Culture

Demand = Unique Meals

PURPOSE: Showcase a unique combination of fast food people won’t make at home.

Michelle Phan

Expertise = Beauty Products

Passion = Makeup and Fashion

Demand = Beauty School

PURPOSE: Give people more confidence in beauty products.

How Is Your Channel Different From the Others?

Now that you have your purpose, it’s time to separate you from others with similar purposes. YouTube is a crowded space for content creators. If your channel is mimicking another more successful channel, you will be in the shadows.

Good branding allows you to differentiate from others .

Pick a Unique and Memorable Name

If your name is Michelle Phan, and you are not the Michelle Phan, I’m sorry, but you will need to pick another name for your YouTube channel:

If you do have to pick another name or if your channel is an ensemble with multiple members, make sure the name you choose is original, memorable, and short (4 words max).

Picking an Icon

Not every YouTuber needs to design an original logo for their brand. In fact, if the channel is about you — the YouTuber — you are the brand, so using a high-quality picture of yourself as the icon is okay.

However, if your channel has a specific theme or topic and you want your branding to convey it so it sticks in the viewers’ heads, especially if it’s their first time viewing your channel. A clear logo will help in amplifying your message:

Create Video Thumbnails That Stand Out

The power of good branding is that your viewers will be able to spot your brand in a crowded space. On YouTube, the crowded space is the suggested video section.

Epic Meal Time thumbnails standing out amongst other loud thumbnails.

Once you have the feeling you want to evoke, test out different thumbnails. Go incognito, search up your videos, and see how the visuals appear beside your competitions. Do they all have the same style or is your far more impressive?

Good branding doesn’t happen in the first try so keep experimenting.

Designing Your Icon, Thumbnail, and Channel Art

There is a lot to consider when designing all the visual elements for your channel. I won’t get into all of it, but here are some tips that you should always keep in mind.

- Less is more: Don’t clutter your icons, thumbnails, or banner.

- Have a single focus: A channel and a video can have a lot of different topics, but the image can’t show everything a video can. Pick one important area and highlight that in the image.

- Quality matters: Your audience is savvier than ever. If they see a pixelated image, they will judge your channel poorly. That’s bad branding. Always use high-quality pictures.

- Make sure the color pops and the text is visible: Use eye-catching colors and visible text. This is a billboard, you have milliseconds to get people’s attention as they scroll past.

Want more resources for creating your channel’s visual elements? Yes? Well, we made this for you:

- How to Make YouTube Video Thumbnail

- How to Make YouTube Icons

- Free Youtube Banners

How to Make Your Visuals Consistent?

When a viewer finds your video and considers it pretty interesting, they will then go into your channel page to learn more. Here is where they make their decision: subscribe or not subscribe?

Consistent branding affirms the viewer that they are in the right place. Peter McKinnon’s brand is built upon his amazing photography, it only makes sense that his visual elements are awesome.

Peter McKinnon is best known for his photography and cinematography, and his branding amplifies that.

But Branding Is Not Designing, It’s A Feeling

Don’t get too caught up with a design.

Look at PewDiePie’s branding. You can argue that it is inconsistent and the design is not professional, but actually, his branding is spot on, because he is making you feel a certain way.

PewDiePie’s brand highlights its upbeat and unpredictable personality.

PewDiePie wants you to laugh. He is not branding his expertise like Peter McKinnon is, he’s branding his personality.

Consistent branding is about making the elements of your channel: channel art, logo, thumbnails, titles, etc. all harmonize together to evoke a sensation.

The humor in PewDiePie’s brand is consistent, even though his thumbnails don’t look like Philip DeFranco’s. It is up to you how you define consistency, and that will happen over time.

Philip DeFranco supplies commentary on current events with a satirical flair. Like a news broadcast, his branding and video format are consistent, while the daily news is different.

Inserting A Watermark

The main point of a watermark is to let the viewers know when they are watching your video that it is in fact your video.

Let’s be honest, YouTube content can all look the same, especially if you are making content that is quite general (like beauty or tech), so a watermark helps differentiate, so when viewers are ready to subscribe, they have an extra branding element connecting them to your channel.

Improvement Pill is a YouTube channel focused on inspiring and motivating its viewer to live a better life.

Above we see an example of a watermark from the YouTube channel Improvement Pill. You can see the watermark in the lower right-hand corner.

Improvement Pill is not the only channel that uses whiteboard animation to illustrate their story, and because of that, they need to set themselves apart. A watermark helps do that.

When a viewer lands on their video, the watermark gives the viewer another way to get more familiar with the channel, and if they are to scroll over the watermark a subscription button pops up.

Want to set up your subscription watermark? Here is a quick tutorial:

Coming Up With A Catchphrase

A catchphrase can be your greeting or sign off, but it doesn’t have to be an original line, it can simply be the way you say “hello.”

Check out some of the popular YouTuber’s catchphrases:

When coming up with a catchphrase that is connected to your channel’s branding remember how you want the viewer to feel. Do you want to leave them with a smile? Or do you want them to take action?

Final Thoughts On YouTube Branding

As you build and grow your YouTube channel, you can expand your purpose while still sticking within the overall theme. You might have started a channel that focused on the topic of nutrition, but as you grow, you will discover that your audience may also be interested in fitness tips or workout accessories as well. Take it slowly and grow with purpose.

Your branding doesn’t dictate the content you create, but it does affect how you go about making it.

Got more questions about branding your YouTube channel? Let us know in the comments below.

Shanoon Cox

Shanoon Cox is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Shanoon Cox

Shanoon Cox

Nov 01, 2022• Proven solutions

0

Epic Meal Time. Michelle Phan. Peter McKinnon. When you think of each of these YouTube creators, what comes to mind? The feelings and thoughts you have are vastly different because each one of these channels has its own unique branding.

Epic Meal Time’s YouTube brand is in-your-face and intense. It pumps you full of adrenaline and increases your heart rate.

Michelle Phan’s YouTube brand is calm, whimsical, and aspirational.

The color palette she chose is pleasing to the eyes and doesn’t evoke any of the stress we get from Epic Meal Time.

They have different branding because they want to reflect different feelings for different audiences.

Bad Branding Causes Mistrust

When a branding element does not align with the message or the tone does not match with the material, then the audience is not going to trust what you offer. Without trust, you won’t be able to get the advocacy that is essential for a YouTube channel to grow.

Imagine Michelle Phan using the aggressive colors of Epic Meal Time or vice versa. Pretty weird, huh?

What is YouTube Branding?

You might think that branding simply comes together while making videos, but that’s not true. Branding takes a bit of preparation and foresight.

YouTube branding is the idea your viewers have in mind and the emotion they get when they think about your channel.

Here are notable elements of your channel’s branding:

- Channel name

- Channel art

- Video thumbnail

- Video title

- Icon

- Watermark

- Catchphrase

- Style of video

How to Start Branding Your YouTube Channel?

Before you start designing thumbnails and coming up with a catchphrase, the first step in branding is understanding the purpose of your channel. Once you have a purpose, you will know how you want your viewers to feel.

Here is a quick exercise to find your channel’s purpose:

Draw a 3 circle Venn diagram.

In circle 1, write down everything you consider yourself an expert in.

- What do your friends know you for?

- What can you give advice on?

- What did you go to school to learn?

In circle 2, write down all the topics you are passionate about.

- What can you talk effortlessly about for hours?

- At a party, where do you lead conversations towards?

In circle 3, write down everything that people will pay for that you can supply. Here is where you find the demand of the audience.

- Can you give me travel advice?

- Can you make people forget about their stressful day?

- Do you have experience in a specialized field?

Understanding what people will pay money for will help guide you in creating content that has true value.

In the center, come up with all the ideas that can be associated with all three circles. This will be the ideal purpose for your YouTube channel as it harnesses your expertise, your passion, and the demand of a viewership.

Examples:

Epic Meal Time

Expertise = Eating

Passion = Fast Food Culture

Demand = Unique Meals

PURPOSE: Showcase a unique combination of fast food people won’t make at home.

Michelle Phan

Expertise = Beauty Products

Passion = Makeup and Fashion

Demand = Beauty School

PURPOSE: Give people more confidence in beauty products.

How Is Your Channel Different From the Others?

Now that you have your purpose, it’s time to separate you from others with similar purposes. YouTube is a crowded space for content creators. If your channel is mimicking another more successful channel, you will be in the shadows.

Good branding allows you to differentiate from others .

Pick a Unique and Memorable Name

If your name is Michelle Phan, and you are not the Michelle Phan, I’m sorry, but you will need to pick another name for your YouTube channel:

If you do have to pick another name or if your channel is an ensemble with multiple members, make sure the name you choose is original, memorable, and short (4 words max).

Picking an Icon

Not every YouTuber needs to design an original logo for their brand. In fact, if the channel is about you — the YouTuber — you are the brand, so using a high-quality picture of yourself as the icon is okay.

However, if your channel has a specific theme or topic and you want your branding to convey it so it sticks in the viewers’ heads, especially if it’s their first time viewing your channel. A clear logo will help in amplifying your message:

Create Video Thumbnails That Stand Out

The power of good branding is that your viewers will be able to spot your brand in a crowded space. On YouTube, the crowded space is the suggested video section.

Epic Meal Time thumbnails standing out amongst other loud thumbnails.

Once you have the feeling you want to evoke, test out different thumbnails. Go incognito, search up your videos, and see how the visuals appear beside your competitions. Do they all have the same style or is your far more impressive?

Good branding doesn’t happen in the first try so keep experimenting.

Designing Your Icon, Thumbnail, and Channel Art

There is a lot to consider when designing all the visual elements for your channel. I won’t get into all of it, but here are some tips that you should always keep in mind.

- Less is more: Don’t clutter your icons, thumbnails, or banner.

- Have a single focus: A channel and a video can have a lot of different topics, but the image can’t show everything a video can. Pick one important area and highlight that in the image.

- Quality matters: Your audience is savvier than ever. If they see a pixelated image, they will judge your channel poorly. That’s bad branding. Always use high-quality pictures.

- Make sure the color pops and the text is visible: Use eye-catching colors and visible text. This is a billboard, you have milliseconds to get people’s attention as they scroll past.

Want more resources for creating your channel’s visual elements? Yes? Well, we made this for you:

- How to Make YouTube Video Thumbnail

- How to Make YouTube Icons

- Free Youtube Banners

How to Make Your Visuals Consistent?

When a viewer finds your video and considers it pretty interesting, they will then go into your channel page to learn more. Here is where they make their decision: subscribe or not subscribe?

Consistent branding affirms the viewer that they are in the right place. Peter McKinnon’s brand is built upon his amazing photography, it only makes sense that his visual elements are awesome.

Peter McKinnon is best known for his photography and cinematography, and his branding amplifies that.

But Branding Is Not Designing, It’s A Feeling

Don’t get too caught up with a design.

Look at PewDiePie’s branding. You can argue that it is inconsistent and the design is not professional, but actually, his branding is spot on, because he is making you feel a certain way.

PewDiePie’s brand highlights its upbeat and unpredictable personality.

PewDiePie wants you to laugh. He is not branding his expertise like Peter McKinnon is, he’s branding his personality.

Consistent branding is about making the elements of your channel: channel art, logo, thumbnails, titles, etc. all harmonize together to evoke a sensation.

The humor in PewDiePie’s brand is consistent, even though his thumbnails don’t look like Philip DeFranco’s. It is up to you how you define consistency, and that will happen over time.

Philip DeFranco supplies commentary on current events with a satirical flair. Like a news broadcast, his branding and video format are consistent, while the daily news is different.

Inserting A Watermark

The main point of a watermark is to let the viewers know when they are watching your video that it is in fact your video.

Let’s be honest, YouTube content can all look the same, especially if you are making content that is quite general (like beauty or tech), so a watermark helps differentiate, so when viewers are ready to subscribe, they have an extra branding element connecting them to your channel.

Improvement Pill is a YouTube channel focused on inspiring and motivating its viewer to live a better life.

Above we see an example of a watermark from the YouTube channel Improvement Pill. You can see the watermark in the lower right-hand corner.

Improvement Pill is not the only channel that uses whiteboard animation to illustrate their story, and because of that, they need to set themselves apart. A watermark helps do that.

When a viewer lands on their video, the watermark gives the viewer another way to get more familiar with the channel, and if they are to scroll over the watermark a subscription button pops up.

Want to set up your subscription watermark? Here is a quick tutorial:

Coming Up With A Catchphrase

A catchphrase can be your greeting or sign off, but it doesn’t have to be an original line, it can simply be the way you say “hello.”

Check out some of the popular YouTuber’s catchphrases:

When coming up with a catchphrase that is connected to your channel’s branding remember how you want the viewer to feel. Do you want to leave them with a smile? Or do you want them to take action?

Final Thoughts On YouTube Branding

As you build and grow your YouTube channel, you can expand your purpose while still sticking within the overall theme. You might have started a channel that focused on the topic of nutrition, but as you grow, you will discover that your audience may also be interested in fitness tips or workout accessories as well. Take it slowly and grow with purpose.

Your branding doesn’t dictate the content you create, but it does affect how you go about making it.

Got more questions about branding your YouTube channel? Let us know in the comments below.

Shanoon Cox

Shanoon Cox is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Shanoon Cox

Mirrorless Challenge to DSLR: Who Wins in Video?

Mirrorless vs. DSLR Cameras: Which is Better for Videos?

Richard Bennett

Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions

0

If you’re looking to shoot your videos with interchangeable lenses, your camera set up will either have to have a mirrorless camera body or a DSLR camera body. In this post, I’ll be comparing the two camera body types for recording video.

• Part 1: What is a DSLR Camera?
• Part 2: What is a Mirrorless Camera?
• Part 3: Mirrorless vs. DSLR - a Complete Comparison
• Part 4: Mirrorless vs. DSLR - Which One is Better for Video?

What is a DSLR Camera?

DSLR cameras are digital single-lens reflex cameras. Like 35mm film cameras of the past, DSLR cameras are built with an angled mirror inside its camera body. This mirror allows you to look into your camera’s optical viewfinder and see exactly what your camera sees.

The mirror inside a DSLR camera flips up out of the way when you open the shutter to allow light to reach the camera’s image sensor.

Check out our list of the 7 Best DSLR Cameras For Vlogging .

What is a Mirrorless Camera?

Mirrorless cameras are interchangeable lens cameras without a mirror inside the camera body. With nothing to reflect your image, you won’t find any optical viewfinder to look through to see exactly what your camera sees.

Light passes through the lens of a mirrorless camera and lands directly onto the camera’s sensor.

Check out our list of the 8 Best Mirrorless Cameras For Vlogging .

Mirrorless vs. DSLR - a Complete Comparison

Size and Weight

DSLR cameras are larger and heavier than mirrorless cameras because there are more parts that go into their camera bodies. DSLR cameras require enough space inside for an angled mirror to flip up out of the way.

If your video shooting style is more on-the-go, like that of a daily vlogger or travel vlogger, the smaller size and lighter weight of a mirrorless camera may be more suitable for you.

Previewing Images

When you’re using a DSLR camera, your optical viewfinder will show you exactly what your camera sees as opposed to a digital preview of what your image sensor picks up. No matter how bright or dark your scene actually is, through the optical viewfinder, you’ll be able to clearly see what your camera sees with the power of your eye.

Mirrorless cameras, on the other hand, display on your camera’s screen or electronic viewfinder a digital preview of what your camera is looking at. You will notice a lag, especially in low light, between actions that are taking place in front of the camera and the same actions being displayed in your live preview.

Lenses and Accessories

Having been around much longer, there are plenty more options for lenses and accessories when it comes to shooting with DSLR cameras. You can choose from all kinds of different quality levels and price ranges.

Video Resolution

4K video recording is more readily available in mirrorless cameras than DSLR cameras. At a much more affordable budget, you can get your hands on a 4K mirrorless camera. If you want to shoot 4K video on a DSLR camera, though, you will have to pay for some of the most expensive DSLR cameras on the market.

Image Stabilization

Up until quite recently, you needed to get the right lens with built-in optical image stabilization if you wanted to shoot stabilized photos and videos with an interchangeable lens camera. Image stabilization had not been readily available in the bodies of these cameras.

In recent years, however, mirrorless cameras have been much more active in their development of camera bodies equipped with shifting image sensors. Your shots can be even more stabilized when the optical image stabilization of your lens is combined with your camera’s in-body sensor-shift image stabilization.

Battery Life

When it comes to shooting video, DSLR cameras and mirrorless cameras consume about the same amount of power. It’s still safe to say, though, that DSLR cameras, for the most part, have better battery life than mirrorless cameras because their bigger batteries are packed with more power.

Mirrorless vs. DSLR - Which One is Better for Video?

In my opinion, when it comes to filming a video, mirrorless cameras are the way to go. In such a short time, mirrorless cameras have made huge leaps in their capabilities. It won’t be long before the ultimate vlogging camera comes out on the mirrorless market.

In the end, if you need to edit videos futhermore, try Filmora video editor . It’s a video editor which has significantly improved overall performance, making the product faster, and more powerful, and taking the user editing experience to a new level.

It is perfect for helping beginners, and intermediate users create stylish videos by providing an intuitive user interface and built-in effects.

Free Download

Free Download

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions

0

If you’re looking to shoot your videos with interchangeable lenses, your camera set up will either have to have a mirrorless camera body or a DSLR camera body. In this post, I’ll be comparing the two camera body types for recording video.

• Part 1: What is a DSLR Camera?
• Part 2: What is a Mirrorless Camera?
• Part 3: Mirrorless vs. DSLR - a Complete Comparison
• Part 4: Mirrorless vs. DSLR - Which One is Better for Video?

What is a DSLR Camera?

DSLR cameras are digital single-lens reflex cameras. Like 35mm film cameras of the past, DSLR cameras are built with an angled mirror inside its camera body. This mirror allows you to look into your camera’s optical viewfinder and see exactly what your camera sees.

The mirror inside a DSLR camera flips up out of the way when you open the shutter to allow light to reach the camera’s image sensor.

Check out our list of the 7 Best DSLR Cameras For Vlogging .

What is a Mirrorless Camera?

Mirrorless cameras are interchangeable lens cameras without a mirror inside the camera body. With nothing to reflect your image, you won’t find any optical viewfinder to look through to see exactly what your camera sees.

Light passes through the lens of a mirrorless camera and lands directly onto the camera’s sensor.

Check out our list of the 8 Best Mirrorless Cameras For Vlogging .

Mirrorless vs. DSLR - a Complete Comparison

Size and Weight

DSLR cameras are larger and heavier than mirrorless cameras because there are more parts that go into their camera bodies. DSLR cameras require enough space inside for an angled mirror to flip up out of the way.

If your video shooting style is more on-the-go, like that of a daily vlogger or travel vlogger, the smaller size and lighter weight of a mirrorless camera may be more suitable for you.

Previewing Images

When you’re using a DSLR camera, your optical viewfinder will show you exactly what your camera sees as opposed to a digital preview of what your image sensor picks up. No matter how bright or dark your scene actually is, through the optical viewfinder, you’ll be able to clearly see what your camera sees with the power of your eye.

Mirrorless cameras, on the other hand, display on your camera’s screen or electronic viewfinder a digital preview of what your camera is looking at. You will notice a lag, especially in low light, between actions that are taking place in front of the camera and the same actions being displayed in your live preview.

Lenses and Accessories

Having been around much longer, there are plenty more options for lenses and accessories when it comes to shooting with DSLR cameras. You can choose from all kinds of different quality levels and price ranges.

Video Resolution

4K video recording is more readily available in mirrorless cameras than DSLR cameras. At a much more affordable budget, you can get your hands on a 4K mirrorless camera. If you want to shoot 4K video on a DSLR camera, though, you will have to pay for some of the most expensive DSLR cameras on the market.

Image Stabilization

Up until quite recently, you needed to get the right lens with built-in optical image stabilization if you wanted to shoot stabilized photos and videos with an interchangeable lens camera. Image stabilization had not been readily available in the bodies of these cameras.

In recent years, however, mirrorless cameras have been much more active in their development of camera bodies equipped with shifting image sensors. Your shots can be even more stabilized when the optical image stabilization of your lens is combined with your camera’s in-body sensor-shift image stabilization.

Battery Life

When it comes to shooting video, DSLR cameras and mirrorless cameras consume about the same amount of power. It’s still safe to say, though, that DSLR cameras, for the most part, have better battery life than mirrorless cameras because their bigger batteries are packed with more power.

Mirrorless vs. DSLR - Which One is Better for Video?

In my opinion, when it comes to filming a video, mirrorless cameras are the way to go. In such a short time, mirrorless cameras have made huge leaps in their capabilities. It won’t be long before the ultimate vlogging camera comes out on the mirrorless market.

In the end, if you need to edit videos futhermore, try Filmora video editor . It’s a video editor which has significantly improved overall performance, making the product faster, and more powerful, and taking the user editing experience to a new level.

It is perfect for helping beginners, and intermediate users create stylish videos by providing an intuitive user interface and built-in effects.

Free Download

Free Download

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions

0

If you’re looking to shoot your videos with interchangeable lenses, your camera set up will either have to have a mirrorless camera body or a DSLR camera body. In this post, I’ll be comparing the two camera body types for recording video.

• Part 1: What is a DSLR Camera?
• Part 2: What is a Mirrorless Camera?
• Part 3: Mirrorless vs. DSLR - a Complete Comparison
• Part 4: Mirrorless vs. DSLR - Which One is Better for Video?

What is a DSLR Camera?

DSLR cameras are digital single-lens reflex cameras. Like 35mm film cameras of the past, DSLR cameras are built with an angled mirror inside its camera body. This mirror allows you to look into your camera’s optical viewfinder and see exactly what your camera sees.

The mirror inside a DSLR camera flips up out of the way when you open the shutter to allow light to reach the camera’s image sensor.

Check out our list of the 7 Best DSLR Cameras For Vlogging .

What is a Mirrorless Camera?

Mirrorless cameras are interchangeable lens cameras without a mirror inside the camera body. With nothing to reflect your image, you won’t find any optical viewfinder to look through to see exactly what your camera sees.

Light passes through the lens of a mirrorless camera and lands directly onto the camera’s sensor.

Check out our list of the 8 Best Mirrorless Cameras For Vlogging .

Mirrorless vs. DSLR - a Complete Comparison

Size and Weight

DSLR cameras are larger and heavier than mirrorless cameras because there are more parts that go into their camera bodies. DSLR cameras require enough space inside for an angled mirror to flip up out of the way.

If your video shooting style is more on-the-go, like that of a daily vlogger or travel vlogger, the smaller size and lighter weight of a mirrorless camera may be more suitable for you.

Previewing Images

When you’re using a DSLR camera, your optical viewfinder will show you exactly what your camera sees as opposed to a digital preview of what your image sensor picks up. No matter how bright or dark your scene actually is, through the optical viewfinder, you’ll be able to clearly see what your camera sees with the power of your eye.

Mirrorless cameras, on the other hand, display on your camera’s screen or electronic viewfinder a digital preview of what your camera is looking at. You will notice a lag, especially in low light, between actions that are taking place in front of the camera and the same actions being displayed in your live preview.

Lenses and Accessories

Having been around much longer, there are plenty more options for lenses and accessories when it comes to shooting with DSLR cameras. You can choose from all kinds of different quality levels and price ranges.

Video Resolution

4K video recording is more readily available in mirrorless cameras than DSLR cameras. At a much more affordable budget, you can get your hands on a 4K mirrorless camera. If you want to shoot 4K video on a DSLR camera, though, you will have to pay for some of the most expensive DSLR cameras on the market.

Image Stabilization

Up until quite recently, you needed to get the right lens with built-in optical image stabilization if you wanted to shoot stabilized photos and videos with an interchangeable lens camera. Image stabilization had not been readily available in the bodies of these cameras.

In recent years, however, mirrorless cameras have been much more active in their development of camera bodies equipped with shifting image sensors. Your shots can be even more stabilized when the optical image stabilization of your lens is combined with your camera’s in-body sensor-shift image stabilization.

Battery Life

When it comes to shooting video, DSLR cameras and mirrorless cameras consume about the same amount of power. It’s still safe to say, though, that DSLR cameras, for the most part, have better battery life than mirrorless cameras because their bigger batteries are packed with more power.

Mirrorless vs. DSLR - Which One is Better for Video?

In my opinion, when it comes to filming a video, mirrorless cameras are the way to go. In such a short time, mirrorless cameras have made huge leaps in their capabilities. It won’t be long before the ultimate vlogging camera comes out on the mirrorless market.

In the end, if you need to edit videos futhermore, try Filmora video editor . It’s a video editor which has significantly improved overall performance, making the product faster, and more powerful, and taking the user editing experience to a new level.

It is perfect for helping beginners, and intermediate users create stylish videos by providing an intuitive user interface and built-in effects.

Free Download

Free Download

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett

Oct 26, 2023• Proven solutions

0

If you’re looking to shoot your videos with interchangeable lenses, your camera set up will either have to have a mirrorless camera body or a DSLR camera body. In this post, I’ll be comparing the two camera body types for recording video.

• Part 1: What is a DSLR Camera?
• Part 2: What is a Mirrorless Camera?
• Part 3: Mirrorless vs. DSLR - a Complete Comparison
• Part 4: Mirrorless vs. DSLR - Which One is Better for Video?

What is a DSLR Camera?

DSLR cameras are digital single-lens reflex cameras. Like 35mm film cameras of the past, DSLR cameras are built with an angled mirror inside its camera body. This mirror allows you to look into your camera’s optical viewfinder and see exactly what your camera sees.

The mirror inside a DSLR camera flips up out of the way when you open the shutter to allow light to reach the camera’s image sensor.

Check out our list of the 7 Best DSLR Cameras For Vlogging .

What is a Mirrorless Camera?

Mirrorless cameras are interchangeable lens cameras without a mirror inside the camera body. With nothing to reflect your image, you won’t find any optical viewfinder to look through to see exactly what your camera sees.

Light passes through the lens of a mirrorless camera and lands directly onto the camera’s sensor.

Check out our list of the 8 Best Mirrorless Cameras For Vlogging .

Mirrorless vs. DSLR - a Complete Comparison

Size and Weight

DSLR cameras are larger and heavier than mirrorless cameras because there are more parts that go into their camera bodies. DSLR cameras require enough space inside for an angled mirror to flip up out of the way.

If your video shooting style is more on-the-go, like that of a daily vlogger or travel vlogger, the smaller size and lighter weight of a mirrorless camera may be more suitable for you.

Previewing Images

When you’re using a DSLR camera, your optical viewfinder will show you exactly what your camera sees as opposed to a digital preview of what your image sensor picks up. No matter how bright or dark your scene actually is, through the optical viewfinder, you’ll be able to clearly see what your camera sees with the power of your eye.

Mirrorless cameras, on the other hand, display on your camera’s screen or electronic viewfinder a digital preview of what your camera is looking at. You will notice a lag, especially in low light, between actions that are taking place in front of the camera and the same actions being displayed in your live preview.

Lenses and Accessories

Having been around much longer, there are plenty more options for lenses and accessories when it comes to shooting with DSLR cameras. You can choose from all kinds of different quality levels and price ranges.

Video Resolution

4K video recording is more readily available in mirrorless cameras than DSLR cameras. At a much more affordable budget, you can get your hands on a 4K mirrorless camera. If you want to shoot 4K video on a DSLR camera, though, you will have to pay for some of the most expensive DSLR cameras on the market.

Image Stabilization

Up until quite recently, you needed to get the right lens with built-in optical image stabilization if you wanted to shoot stabilized photos and videos with an interchangeable lens camera. Image stabilization had not been readily available in the bodies of these cameras.

In recent years, however, mirrorless cameras have been much more active in their development of camera bodies equipped with shifting image sensors. Your shots can be even more stabilized when the optical image stabilization of your lens is combined with your camera’s in-body sensor-shift image stabilization.

Battery Life

When it comes to shooting video, DSLR cameras and mirrorless cameras consume about the same amount of power. It’s still safe to say, though, that DSLR cameras, for the most part, have better battery life than mirrorless cameras because their bigger batteries are packed with more power.

Mirrorless vs. DSLR - Which One is Better for Video?

In my opinion, when it comes to filming a video, mirrorless cameras are the way to go. In such a short time, mirrorless cameras have made huge leaps in their capabilities. It won’t be long before the ultimate vlogging camera comes out on the mirrorless market.

In the end, if you need to edit videos futhermore, try Filmora video editor . It’s a video editor which has significantly improved overall performance, making the product faster, and more powerful, and taking the user editing experience to a new level.

It is perfect for helping beginners, and intermediate users create stylish videos by providing an intuitive user interface and built-in effects.

Free Download

Free Download

Richard Bennett

Richard Bennett is a writer and a lover of all things video.

Follow @Richard Bennett

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