How To Start an Educational YouTube Channel?

Oct 11, 2021

When it comes to starting an educational YouTube channel, you have two options. You can do this as a hobby or as a serious business venture. The good news is that both types channels can find a wide audience. Here are key things you should do to attract audience to your new channel:

Focus on a single topic at first

The first step in starting a YouTube teacher channel is to determine what you want to teach. This should be easy for most educators since they are already teaching as part of their job, but it can also vary widely depending on the type of class you offer. In general, a more focused channel will help you attract a stronger audience at the start.

You may decide that your goal is to make videos about different topics in the course of teaching different subjects. In this case, make a list of all the topics that interested students would be able to learn from your videos. Then select one or two key segments to focus on. You can expand that later, of course. But from the start, having a strong focus tells your audience how the channel differs from the sea of other videos out there.

It’s important that you pick a focus and stick with it. Your audience will know exactly what they should expect when watching any given video, or when they visit your YouTube teacher channel.

There is no limit here, but your content should be related to the subject matter you teach in some way, and it should also be about something which people will actually care enough to watch.

Of course, picking an widely interesting topic will make it easier to attract more viewers. Niche topics can also work well, since such channels can attract a loyal following, but if there’s not a lot of interest in a topic, building the audience will be very hard. If there is already an audience out there for the topic, it will be easier to launch the channel.

Create an introductory video

If you already have a YouTube account for personal use, then all you really need to do is upload your first video. If this is the case, it’s usually best if teachers just link their existing account to their educational channel, so that they don’t confuse students too much about which content goes where and who owns what videos.

Make sure that you give yourself an appropriate screen name, because this will be how other users recognize and find your profile on YouTube going forward.

Along with the first educational video, make sure to immediately upload an introductory video for your channel. In the introductory video, explain the purpose of your educational channel, and explain why you are making these types of videos in general terms. This ensures there aren’t any misunderstandings about what you’re doing and it also ensures that people who might want to follow your channel know right away why they should bother.

Creating an intro video not necessary, but it is highly advisable if you are looking for success with a YouTube teacher channel, as many viewers will appreciate knowing upfront whether or not the content focuses on teaching them something specific or just providing information in general.

Make five-minute lessons

In order to become a successful YouTube teacher, you should always try and keep your videos short so that they are easier for people to watch in small chunks throughout the day while still being informative enough by themselves to be enjoyable even when watched all at once after school or work later on.

In general, when you launch a channel focus on videos roughly five minutes long (unless they are tutorials that require more time to explain).

For very long tutorials, simply break the content up into multiple parts, so that each individual instalment is easy to consume. Short videos let people watch only a part to decide if the whole piece is worth looking at, and they are less intimidating.

Post videos regularly, once or twice a week

While you can certainly post videos whenever it’s convenient for your schedule, the best way to get people used to check back at a regular interval is by posting on a set day and time each week.

If you are targeting school-age audience, Friday or Saturday evening in the target time zone are good times for posting. This gives students something fresh to watch during the weekend, or at the start of a new school week. If your audience is adults, then posting during the middle of the working week might be better.

Although regular posting is strongly advised, avoid creating low-quality work to fill in the gaps. For people doing YouTube education as a hobby or when you’re just starting out, sometimes other obligations get in the way. It’s better to skip week instead of uploading sub-par work in an effort to make up numbers. People will understand if you’re busy once in a while, since even dedicated teachers need some downtime away from their work too!

Add captions or subtitles to videos

If you have a large international audience, providing content in multiple languages is a good way for people to stay involved regardless of where they live or what language their first happens to be.

Captions and subtitles are also important for having your videos open and available to all viewers, since hearing impaired students might be better at consuming visual content than listening. Also, don’t forget that people now watch videos in noisy environments, so a closed caption track will help them consume the content easier also. Create SubRip subtitles for your video, then upload them to YouTube along with your content clicking on ‘settings’ along with the bottom menu before uploading any new video content.

Convert PowerPoint presentations to video lessons

Converting PowerPoint presentations to video lessons is a great way for new teachers to try out their ideas in the form of YouTube teacher channel content without having to worry about coming up with an original idea.

Narakeet can help you to transform your scripts or presentations into adorable and engaging videos with minimal effort and at a fraction of the cost that most other video editing services charge. It is possible to use PowerPoint slides almost as-is or converting powerpoint to video into simple animations that can be easily read aloud by text-to-speech voices! If you want more information about converting presentations into easy-to-understand videos then you should try our tool. You can create up to 10 videos without even registering.

Check out our guide on how to get the most out of videos made from powerpoint presentations, for some ideas on how to adjust your slides to get the best results.

Promote your videos on social media, websites, and blogs to get more views

When you start a new channel, it’s critical to notify the potential audience that your content is available. YouTube has a recommendation system, and it will offer popular content to other viewers, but this is not going to be enough for you to start building the audience.

If people see that someone else likes what they’re watching, then there’s a good chance they’ll want to share your work with their friends also. Once one person starts sharing your content online, then others might do the same thing, eventually resulting in an exponential growth curve where quality matters less than quantity when it comes to increasing traffic numbers.

Set up social media accounts for your channel, and start promoting it as widely as possible.

Add links to your other social media channels in the description of each video

Even if you’re not trying to sell something special with your videos, it’s still a good idea to add links that people can follow you on other parts of the Internet. Your audience will want to find more about your work. Social media is an important part of any business. Even though educational YouTube channels are primarily for teaching students rather than generating income directly, having multiple ways for viewers to stay up-to-date with new content is never a bad thing when done correctly.

Social links in video descriptions will help ensure that you can reach your audience in multiple ways. Some people prefer to subscribe directly to YouTube, and some like more to get notified by Facebook or Twitter.

Engage with your audience

Engagement with your target market is critical for the growth of any new business venture. Even though you might be busy teaching students, spending a few extra minutes each day making sure everyone feels appreciated will go a long way toward keeping them interested in what you have to share.

The easiest way to do this on the Youtube teacher channel is by clicking ‘reply’ under every comment that someone else leaves which lets both parties know right away where they can find each other online!

It takes time and effort to build a successful Youtube Teacher Channel, but the potential for success is great. If you’re interested in teaching others about your topic of expertise or just want to share your knowledge with the world, start with these tips today!

Cover image by Tumisu from Pixabay