When is the time to introduce your merchandise on YouTube? There is no right or wrong time to start selling. You don’t necessarily have to wait until you have 100,000 raving subscribers, but having an engaging audience sure does help.
Generally speaking, YouTube creators tend to put a whole lot of effort and significant time into their channel to build a community. In the current world, community matters. It is an avenue to a higher yield of profits, but your head has to be in the right place.
YouTube content creators that genuinely believe in building a sustainable community will go far. Do it the other way around, and your channel will not make it past a year. Trust me when I say the money will follow.
I am going to be real honest with you, unless you have some mad filming/editing skills, it takes years to build a successful online presence. But what better way to get ahead than start today! Nothing great comes from waiting for the right moment. Let’s jump in.

What Should My Channel Be About?

Well, that’s easy! Do you have any particular skills that you are good at, and you think the world (your audience) could benefit from your knowledge? It can be anything – from cooking to photography.
Start creating. Being an online creator is much more than filming and editing. It’s about constantly engaging with your community. Your community is the secret ingredient to your success. Pay close attention to clues in the comments, and note any catchphrases and sayings that your community is excited about. Believe it or not, your viewers can/are your most significant source of inspiration. When viewers see themselves as a part of a community, they are more likely to purchase your merch. When the time comes, create a video to announce the launch of your merch to engage your audience.
Every YouTube star got a start somewhere, so here are a few basics that we believe you should start using today.

How To Incorporate Keywords In Your YouTube Marketing Strategy

YouTube is a search engine that uses a ranking algorithm to rank and suggest videos to its users. Use keywords to make it easy for your audience to search for a particular video and your channel. Include keywords in three distinctive places: title, description, and tags. For the best keyword practices, use the Google Keyword Tool to find keyword variations.
Here’s a simple example of how to tackle keyword usage on YouTube:
EXAMPLE KEYWORD: Print On Demand T-Shirt Business
TITLE: How To Start Print On Demand T-Shirt Business
DESCRIPTION: http://www.YourSite.com/blog – How To Start Print On Demand T-Shirt Business
TAGS: ecommerce, t-shirt business, fulfillment center, entrepreneur, print-on-demand, print on demand success, print on demand business, etc.
Another way is to look up the most popular videos/channels in your niche/market and see what they are doing. Take notes, and remember no one likes a copycat.
The right keywords increase the likelihood of appearing in “Suggested Videos” when a viewer watches a relevant video. For those who want to take it a step further, include long-tail, single-word, and broad-term keywords to cover all your bases. By having a metadata strategy in place, you have a higher chance of showing up in YouTube’s search results.
Here are a few examples of how to tackle long-tail, single-word, and broad-terms keywords.

Multiple-word Tags

• What Print On Demand Fulfillment Center Should I Choose
• How To Start An Ecommerce Business

Single-word Tags

• How-To
• Guide
• Ecommerce

Broad-term Tags

• Ecommerce
• Business
• Entrepreneurship
• Print On Demand

The Importance Of Custom Thumbnails

Everything in this article has its purpose, so do thumbnails. Generally speaking, visuals (thumbnails) are the first thing we see before we proceed to read the title. Keep in mind that YouTube gives you an automatic thumbnail for every uploaded video. Be careful, sometimes those can be blurry, out of focus, or not persuasive enough to make the viewer click on the video. You can customize and create an eye-catching thumbnail yourself. Upload a new image of your liking. We recommend the following rules to get the best result.

• Resolution: 1280 x 720 px
• Format .JPG, .GIF, .BMP, or .PNG
• Size: respect the 2MB limit
• Use high contrast images
• Add text
• Be consistent with branding

Cross-Promote Your Channel

As we mentioned above, consistency and quality content is key. Don’t expect your channel to grow overnight, but if you have established social media presence on other platforms, introduce the new channel to your already existing followers. If you are well-liked, trusted, and engaging, you’ll be surprised how many people will go well and beyond to support your success. Don’t forget to introduce your channel on your BLOG, whether it is a 30-sec video or the story behind your channel.

Evergreen Content Is The King

What the heck does she mean by evergreen? Evergreen content is information that doesn’t have an expiration value. Popular and trending content can give you a quick boost, but it can leave you in a bust too. Ideally, your channel should consist of a mix of the two. Think of evergreen content as something you can share again in the future, and it will be just as relevant as it is today.
Evergreen content includes:

• Instructional (How-Tos, Guides, Top Tips) Content
• Educational Content
• Testimonials
• About Us
• Behind-The-Scenes
• User-generated Content
• Product Reviews
• Q&A

ALWAYS Use Call-To-Actions

Depending on what you are looking to achieve, here are some of the most popular YouTube call-to-action ideas:

• Find me on Facebook/Instagram/Twitter
• Subscribe to my videos
• Visit my blog for more educational information
• Comment your questions
• Check out my channel
• Subscribe!
• Read the article
• Book
• Learn more

BONUS: Here are 7 Ways To Promote Your Ecommerce Business With YouTube

Q&As

Address common questions or create “get to know me” weekly YouTube series to keep your audience engaged. Q&As are an excellent way to answer general questions regarding shipping, pricing, designs, and more.
Q&As are helpful because they not only show that you care about your audience, but they timesavers in terms of answering the same questions like a hamster. With Q&As, descriptions are super important. If your audience doesn’t want to listen to all the content they can easily skip ahead.
0:05 What is the return policy?
2:03 How much does the color-changing mug cost?
You get the drill, a description is necessary.

Webinars/Education

Your skill is your asset. You may want to consider helping/teaching your craft to others. YouTube users look for entertainment or to find a solution. Ecommerce is a massive industry, and so is the number of sellers looking to improve their design, marketing, and customer acquisition skills. If you have a robust skillset, you can add value to your YouTube audience. Ultimately when people like what you have to offer, they are more likely to buy your merch.

Product Demos

Here at CustomCat, we have anti-damage packing for multiple products such as Mugs and Canvas. You can manually order (link) those products and review the packaging on your YouTube channel to give customers peace of mind that their products will arrive without a scratch.

Behind The Scenes

Maybe you are more than an ecommerce seller. Maybe you are a mom trying to juggle daily tasks, and run a business on the side. Behind the scene content continues to prevail.
It’s not about being perfect. It’s more about authentic moments of fear, failure, and your day-to-day life. In doing so, customers will be able to see a more personal side, something they haven’t seen before. And as a result of that, they are likely to develop deeper connections to you and your brand.

Product Reviews

Social media is nearly always the first channel during the journey to a purchase. More consumers are turning to YouTube for advice or reviews on what to buy or avoid. YouTube influencers continue to grow in numbers. They review anything from baby strollers to fulfillment centers. If you want to learn the ropes on how to collaborate with influencers, you can start by reading Ways to Find Micro-Influencers for Your Small Business.

Interviews With Customers

Word-of-mouth is one of the most powerful marketing tactics to this day in any business. It doesn’t matter if it’s in person or via a channel. It’s proven that people are likely to purchase a product if they see their peers bragging about a particular product. You don’t have to get together with your customer, simply set up a two-way video chat and ask away.

New Product Launch

Many companies use YouTube for live broadcasting to advertise new product launches and other promotional activities.
YouTube is the powerhouse of platforms behind many online businesses. I hope this article was helpful and that you are more than ready to venture into the world of YouTube. What are your YouTube goals?
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