Have you been looking at all the successful YouTubers and wondering how they got started? Do you have a great idea for a YouTube channel and have been holding back out of fear? Maybe you’ve already started your own channel, but you just aren’t enjoying the success you had hoped it would bring about.

With so much interest in YouTube as of late, there is even more competition out there, which means if you’re hoping to succeed, you’re going to need as much help as possible. Here’s a look at a variety of tips and information that can help take your YouTube channel from a fun little hobby, to something much more serious.

Draw Viewers in with the Thumbnail

While it’s great to think it’s the content that draws people to your videos, in reality it’s usually the thumbnail. The thumbnail is what viewers see as they scroll through search results, and more times than not they’re going to click on the video with the most intriguing and interesting thumbnail.

If you have struggled to make professional, interesting, and trendy thumbnails in the past, then you’re going to want to check out the YouTube thumbnail maker from Adobe Spark. This tool is filled with ideas in the inspiration gallery that are sure to match up to your video. Some people even work in reverse and use the inspiration gallery to generate ideas on what kind of videos to film.

By choosing an intriguing, interesting, and professional looking thumbnail, you will be setting a great first impression, which is sure to pay off.

Create a Schedule and Stick to It

It’s also very important to stick to a schedule for posting videos and stick to it no matter what. Your viewers will expect videos to appear at those set dates and at a set time each week. If you start ignoring your schedule, you can bet your viewership will suffer.

It’s a good idea to aim for one video a week when you are just starting out. As you build more of an audience, and the need for more content starts to develop, then you can start posting more videos. Just be careful not to over-extend yourself, as that’s how you end up missing postings.

Another tip where scheduling is concerned is to film in advance any time you will be unable to post on the set dates. If, for example, you plan on going away on vacation for a week, then you will want to pre-film those videos and schedule them to publish on their regular days.

Make Sure the Video Quality is High

There is nothing worse than watching a YouTube video that is blurry, off-center, or has poor audio. Anything you post needs to be top quality.

Don’t Worry About Long Videos

The last tip is to focus on short videos rather than longer ones. Most people just don’t have 30 minutes spare to sit down and listen to a makeup tutorial. However, if you condense that same material into a 10 minute video, suddenly people have the time to watch.

Expect Things to Start Slow

It’s important to go into your channel with realistic expectations. Just because you aren’t an instant overnight success doesn’t mean you are failing, it means you are going about things in a slow and steady manner, building a loyal following instead.