If you love the idea of using YouTube and capturing your share of their millions of users, then you’re in the right place! However, just turning on your phone and recording your first thoughts thinking they’ll get you noticed right away isn’t going to cut it. When it comes to YouTube, it’s smart to incorporate some strategy into your plans; otherwise, you’ll be sorely disappointed with your results.

This planner walks you step by step through the video planning process. When using YouTube for business and marketing purposes, “winging it” doesn’t make much of an impact. Planning your channel’s theme and what you’ll talk about in each video helps keep you on point and helps increase your professional credibility. When in doubt about what to speak about, refer back to your theme and what your followers want to hear about.

As big as YouTube is with its millions of viewers, you’ll need to actively market your channel and I’ve given you some great ideas in this planner. It’s simply not enough to post videos then hope and pray people find you. Yes, keyword phrases do help you get discovered, but are your ideal clients finding you this way? Or are they being referred by others who are already loyal followers?

One bit of advice: If you’re apprehensive about appearing on camera, do some practice runs before you publish anything. We are our own worst critics and I guarantee you’ll ALWAYS find something that you’d like to change or do differently. No joke…I took 20 takes for a 3-minute video once because I kept getting tongue-tied! But I was also winging it without an outline or plan of what to say, so I learned the hard way that I’m not cut out for that method. With this planner you’ll know exactly how your videos should look, you’ll discover your first 12 topics, and you’ll decide if you need outsourcing help or if you’re ready to tackle video by yourself.

We’ll go through all these options in this planner. Ready to get started?

Step One: Nail Down the Theme of Your YouTube Channel

So…you know that video can be a powerful medium for connecting with your audience and you’ve decided that you want to create a YouTube channel. While making that decision is commendable, the very next step is deciding what your theme for the channel will be. The most successful channels tend to have a theme where all the videos they create are related to that overall theme.

What do you want your business to be famous for? What specialty do you want people to associate with your name or brand? This is vitally important because if you don’t set a theme, you run the risk of recording videos that span multiple topics, which will only serve to confuse your viewers. You don’t want to be a ‘jack of all trades’ trying to help everyone because then you’ll have a hard time crafting your marketing message and locating your ideal clients. These ideal clients are the ones who will keep you in business and will appreciate the work you do for them.

For example, Carolin Soldo helps business owners launch and scale their dream businesses, so her videos all relate to doing that one thing.

Another example is Amanda Frances who is all about money mindset. So, the videos on her channel all relate to money and mindset:

The bottom line is: What type of videos you record comes down to staying on brand. You don’t want to do a bunch of random videos where you’re all over the place and people don’t really know what you do or how you can help them. Your videos should serve as a way to showcase your expertise. You want to show people that you know what you’re doing, and that you’re good at it.

Step Two: How to Come Up With Your First 12 Video Ideas

Now that you’ve chosen your YouTube channel theme, it’s time to start brainstorming video ideas. Consider this a fluid list that is expected to change over time. And if you’re saying right now, “Ha, I don’t need a list; I’m better when I wing it,” let me advise you to still create a list, just on the off chance that one of these weeks your creative juices run dry or you’re in a bad mood or get sick. It’s always easier to work ahead of schedule and know exactly what you’re going to talk about in each video because you never know when unexpected circumstances will appear.

Also, without a list of video ideas, you are going to waste time in front of the camera, or you just won’t record anything because you don’t know what to record a video about. But when you have ideas at the ready, you can just sit down and batch record a few at a time.

First, you need to figure out how many new videos you’re going to release each month. For instance, maybe you want to post a new video once a week. So that means, you need 4 videos per month. Using this exercise, your 12 video ideas now becomes 3 months’ worth of video content!

While you’re jotting down those ideas, also look to your own business first to see what content you’ve already created that can be repurposed into videos. It could be blog posts, emails you’ve sent your list, even just an email subject line that had a high open rate could be used as a title for a video. Take a look at your FAQs and create videos about each of those questions. Pay attention to comments on your social media posts. Video ideas abound if you open your eyes. Just be sure that these ideas stick with the theme of your channel.

You can also look at your products, courses, and programs for ideas. For example, you could create a short video based on a module in your course, and then at the end of that video you tell people that if they want to learn more or go in-depth with you on that topic, to go and check out your course. If you have a paid membership, create a video tour inside to showcase what your members receive with their paid subscription. Include a call to action to become a member so your viewers can reap all the rewards.

You can also go directly to YouTube and start typing keywords into the search bar to get ideas about what other people are searching for that you could create videos about. For instance, when you type in “how to” you get a bunch of ideas based on the current most popular searches.

See the screenshot on the next page for an example:

Or, when you type in “coaching” one of the ideas that comes up is a “coaching session example”. If you were teaching others about starting and running a successful coaching business, you could create a video about how to structure your coaching sessions, or what makes a session successful, and use the keyword “coaching session example” in the title and description of your video to help your video get found.

Think of your 12 videos as a playlist that you'd want to create. They should be related to your overall theme but should tackle one question or topic at a time, so your viewers don’t get confused.

For example, if you think of your video ideas as a playlist about how to overcome obstacles with a potential coaching client, first identify the obstacles they usually face. Do record a video about each obstacle and create the playlist.

Step Three: Plan Your 90-Day Video Content Release Schedule

Now that you have your 12 video ideas listed, it’s time to take those ideas and flesh them out more. That’s right…I STILL don’t want you to ‘wing it’ in front of the camera because then you’ll end up with a disjointed video and you might forget to mention something important. Going freestyle can also lead to rants instead of educational videos, so for each of these 12 ideas, you should answer the following questions/prompts:

What is the purpose/end goal of your video? What do you want people to walk away with after viewing?

Create an enticing/intriguing video title using the keywords from Step 2.

Write a brief outline or bullet points for what you’ll talk about in each video.

What is your call to action for each video? Freebie, resource, check your offer, etc.

Write your video description – including keywords – that you’ll use when you upload your videos.

Next up is determining when you’ll publish each video. Consistency is key, so choose a day and time each week to publish. Your current subscribers will receive notifications about new videos, and you can let your email list and social followers know each time a new video is published. The actual days and times you publish are somewhat arbitrary as your subscribers will be notified but choosing a day/time will help keep you on schedule and will give you a built-in reason to jump on social to talk about your newest video. Always remind your viewers to subscribe to your channel but don’t be afraid to add another call to action, such as purchasing your newest course or registering for next week’s webinar.

Publishing your videos is where batch recording comes in handy. You can record a batch of videos on the same day, edit them altogether as a batch, then use the YouTube scheduling tool to publish them on your chosen day and time.

When planning your publishing schedule, keep in mind if your videos need to coincide with a product launch date or a season/holiday. Also make note when videos are part of a series as those should be published consecutively in most cases.

The exercises below give you space to work on these answers and to figure out your release sequence. Print off more copies to use them throughout the year.

Step Four: Create Your Monthly Video Creation Schedule

Moving right along…now it’s time to schedule in your recording time. I know your schedule is filled to the brim with coaching clients, marketing plans, and networking events. Let me tell you from experience that if you don’t schedule in your video recording time, you’ll go weeks and months into the future without having a single video recorded or published.

Consider your calendar sacred when it comes to your video creation. Don’t let time get away from you; otherwise, you’ll keep moving video recording to the next day and the next and the next. You get the idea. Honor your time and all the planning you’ve done thus far and get some videos recorded! Even if you plan on going Live on Facebook or Instagram, get that scheduled on your calendar.

How you approach recording your videos is entirely up to you; but as you read through these options, consider your energy level, your comfort level in speaking, and your other personal or family obligations.

Batch recording: Record 4 videos in one day and release them the following month or record all 12 over the course of 1-3 days and schedule them to publish over the next 3 months.
Wing it: Record a video to be released later in the same week.
Slow and Steady: Record 1-2 videos each week and automate their release using the schedule feature.

Some things to think about are:

Make sure that you have uninterrupted time to record. Is the family out for the day? Or do they know what day/time you’ll be recording so they can be quiet and not disturb you?
Allow enough time to record before taking coaching calls or going to a networking event. Rushing through a video is a disservice to your viewers.
What will you wear? Do you have a few different shirts and jewelry pieces that you can change out for each video so you’re not wearing the same thing in every video?
Do you want to change up your hairstyle a couple of times so that it’s not the same for each video?
Do you wear glasses? If so, will there be glare on your lens, or can you wear contacts?
What is the space like where will you be recording your videos? Is there a lot of natural light or will you need to add lighting? Is there an echo? What about outdoor noises, fans, or air conditioning?
What about props and backgrounds? Things like artwork on the wall behind you, plants (fake or real), fresh flowers, candles, books, etc. that you can have in the scene with you for your video. Will you be sitting at desk or on a nice chair, or a nice spot in your living room, outside somewhere, etc.?
Do you have the space to move around to different places so that your videos have some variation in backgrounds? Keep in mind that you don’t want to have a ton of stuff in the background because that can be distracting for viewers, but a bare wall can also be boring. You want to keep their attention focused on you and what you’re saying, so find a nice balance between bare and busy.
Will you do “b-roll shots” where you do additional clips of yourself doing something that can be edited into the final video? Also consider if you want shots of inanimate objects, a location, re-enactment type shots, and even stock footage.
For example, maybe you’re doing a video about what your workday looks like and you want to get some film of you working in your favorite café, and then later you record a voiceover clip that you can use for that shot, which you edit into your final video.
Do you have the right equipment to create your videos? Everyone – no matter what your budget – can film videos for YouTube; it’s just a matter of deciding how fancy you want (or need) to get. You can start off with your smartphone on a tripod with natural light. A webcam or an actual video camera can work as well if you have that equipment already. Test it out to see which camera gives the best resolution.
Smartphone mics are great to start with but if you plan on filming outside, consider a lavalier mic that clips to your lapel or collar. Find a mic with noise cancelling features, so you don’t record the wind or other ambient noises.
Natural light is the best option but when in doubt, ring lights are all the rage. Or you can go fancy and purchase free-standing studio light packages but those are best if you have a dedicated studio to record so you don’t have to take down the lights after every session.

Step Five: Mapping Out Your Video Editing Process to DIY or Outsource

Creating a video editing process and documenting it makes it easy to whip through future videos as well as outsource the editing process. No more wasted time trying to remember what you did next or training someone from start to finish. A documented process gives you and a VA a checklist to follow which saves time.

Video editing shouldn’t be complicated. Here are some basic things to think about:

Edit the intro to remove you pressing record on your camera and getting seated, and adjusting your hair or mic, etc.
Edit out any time that you had to stop while recording, re-adjust, gather your thoughts, and start again.
Edit out burps, weird background noise, etc.

These are all quite simple fixes with any video editing software. You’ll find video editing software across all price ranges so do your due diligence with research, price comparisons, whether they have Mac and PC versions, and test out each one of the free trials. Some of the most popular editors include Camtasia, Vidello, and Adobe Premier Rush.

Also think about what you want your videos to look like. There’s something to be said about being consistent with opening screenshots, music, and a voice over; these things can help solidify your branding. Consider an outro bumper along with your call to action and contact info. What type of royalty-free music will convey your business image the best? Do you want to add text or other images? What about other video clips?

As you can see, pre-recorded videos can entail many other features than a Live video in which you turn on the camera and start speaking. Remember, too, that you can reuse your Live videos on your YouTube channel. Simply download the Live, edit the intro/outro, etc. so it compliments the other videos in your playlist, then publish to YouTube. Your YouTube subscribers may not follow you on other platforms, so sharing your Live videos is wise.

You may want to DIY your editing process for the first few so you fully understand what the process entails, but after these first 12 videos (or at some other time in the future), you may want to look into hiring a video editor. You can find editors on Fiverr or your VA might have video editing knowledge. You’ll need to set a budget for yourself because video editing can get expensive.

If your videos are 20 minutes each, maybe you want pay a set fee for each video instead of paying by the hour. But you’ll want to keep in mind that some videos will require more editing than others, which is why a lot of editors charge by the hour.

Step Six: Setting Up Your Content-Ready, Subscriber-Ready YouTube Channel

Setting up your YouTube channel is really a one-time process (until you decide to change your cover art). This is also a task that a VA can assist with, especially if they have some basic knowledge of YouTube and can maneuver around easily.

Branding your channel is important because it’s a continuation of your website. Think of your website as your main hub with YouTube an extension of that hub. Carrying over your colors and logo are important so your viewers and subscribers realize they’re in the right place to see your videos.

Let’s go from top to bottom of your YouTube channel page. First up is your cover art. While it doesn’t have to be the exact same artwork as your website, it should be complimentary. An updated photo of you is also helpful and welcoming.

Take a look at Amanda Frances, self-proclaimed money queen. Here’s what’s on her main website:

And here’s her YouTube cover art:

Notice that she is featured in both images and the YouTube image portrays her money-making image in a playful way.

Notice in the right corner of Amanda’s cover art are her social profile links plus a link to her money resources. Each of those icons link away from YouTube and that’s perfectly fine! Use every opportunity to draw people to your opt-in and social profiles so they can follow you on multiple platforms.

If graphic creation is your rabbit hole or you simply don’t like it, outsource it! Contact a graphic designer you’ve worked with in the past or head over to Fiverr to find someone new. Canva also has ready-made templates your VA can use. Don’t let graphics halt your progress in getting your channel set up!

If you need inspiration, look up other popular channels in your niche to see what other people are doing and get some ideas.

To create a custom URL for your channel, you need to have 100+ subscribers, your channel must be at least 30 days old, plus you need a profile picture and banner image. Custom URLs are much easier to promote and for your audience to remember. For directions to submit a custom URL, check Google’s instructions here.

Lastly, divide your videos into playlists to make searching easier for your subscribers and visitors. Playlists are simply categories with broad titles but that have multiple videos in each. If you cover just one topic in each video, label that video with the narrowed topic but place it inside the broader playlist. Amanda Frances does this well with her playlists.

Once your channel is created, start uploading videos and promoting it! Encourage your followers to subscribe and to share with their circles. Keep in mind that creating your channel can occur at the same time that you’re recording videos, especially if you’re outsourcing any part of the creation.

Step Seven: Go Viral! Share & Promote Your Videos Everywhere

The more views you get on your YouTube videos the better, so you want to be sharing them everywhere and directing people back to YouTube to watch so they can subscribe, and YouTube sees those views on your videos.

Other platforms don’t look kindly to you “stealing” viewers away and sending them to YouTube. In fact, Facebook especially will simply hide your post that has a link to YouTube because they want users to STAY on Facebook.

One option to avoid your posts getting hidden is to edit a short clip from the longer video to act as a teaser. Or, if you’ve fallen in love with video, record a short teaser ad on the same day you record your longer video and drop that on your other platforms with a strong call to action to subscribe on YouTube.

Better yet, go Live where possible and then use that recording to cross promote. Your videos can also include you giving the call to action to subscribe to your channel. This is where a custom URL on YouTube is handy because it’s much easier to remember when giving this call to action.

Another option is to upload the full-length video directly to Facebook, Pinterest, Instagram, and LinkedIn. This indicates that you’re sharing content rather than driving traffic AWAY from each platform. Embed the video on your blog as a new post and include a call to action right on your post or post it to your Facebook group. Remember to email your list to let them know as well. Make your YouTube call to action prominent but let them know you’ve posted on other platforms, too, as not everyone uses YouTube regularly.

One other thought: As you proceed through this video marketing process and you accumulate videos, think about repurposing your YouTube videos in other ways, such as adding them as bonuses or additional resources to your paid programs. Or, if you do FB livestreams, you can download those and post them to your YouTube channel. Video is a rather flexible medium and shouldn’t be considered a ‘one and done’ option, especially if you’re cross promoting across multiple platforms.

You can even promote older videos that some of your newer followers might not have seen. The more videos you produce, the more content you have to promote across all your platforms to attract new followers and to keep your loyal followers always wanting more.