Alan Lastufka
Never before in the history of the world has it been this easy for noncorporations (you) to reach people globally through video communication. It's pretty darn exciting. You have a worldwide broadcast tower right there in your bedroom, so let's get you started broadcasting to the world.
We've taught you how to write and direct your video. We've gone over how to edit and render your video. Then, in Chapter 4, you created your very own channel. Now it's time to have some fun, upload your video, and Broadcast Yourself…to the world.
Once you've made your rendered video file (Chapter 3), you can upload it from any page on YouTube as long as you're logged in. At the top of each page is an Upload link (Figure 5-1). Clicking this link takes you to the Video Upload page. On this page, you will set all the information about your video, including the title, the description, and some keywords (Figure 5-2).
First is the title. Arguably, the title is the most important factor for viewers when choosing whether to watch your video. Don't just name your video "Yesterday" or "Alan's Birthday Party." Try to give your video a dynamic and interesting title. If you attended Alan's birthday party yesterday and your video captured the fireworks you set off at Alan's party, try naming the video "Explosions at Alan's Party!" or "I set things on FIRE!" Titles like those will pique viewers' curiosity or intrigue their sense of danger.
Figure 5-2. The Video Upload page offers numerous options for providing information about your video.
Don't mislead viewers with your video title, though; rather, rope them in with it. Tell the truth, but tell it in a way that makes people want to look. Deceptive titles are like deceptive keywords or thumbnail frames (covered in a minute)—people may click your video once, but after they realize they have been duped, they won't return. You will lose subscribers with deception, not gain them. And remember, a main point in having videos go viral is to gain more subscribers, especially to gain more subscribers who actually look at your videos.
Following your awesome title is your video's description. Search functions can't figure out what your video is about by watching it, because search software can't watch videos. You have to tell YouTube's software what your video shows. Choose your words carefully; a large portion of the search results on YouTube are determined by the video's description. If you simply write "Check this out!" for your video's description, the search software won't direct viewers who search for fireworks, party, or birthday to your video, and you'll lose out on a lot of potential views. Be honest, but be colorful.
You also need to use your video description to tell your viewers what the video is showing. Your video may be abstract, arty, or a response to a video the viewer hasn't seen. Don't leave that viewer scratching their head; provide links to any inspiration (video or text) for your video. Explain your video if it's abstract or silent or just plain experimental. (It's especially important to explain if it's silent, so people don't think "something is wrong" when they don't hear anything.)
The video description is also where you should provide web links (URLs) to any related sites. If your video is a collaborative project, include links to the other YouTubers who appear in the video or who helped you write it. (This is important. When people work for free, all they get is the credit and the link. Don't forget to name them and link to them.) If your video is about a charity, a corporation, or a news story, link to all the relevant contact information or research you did. If you're simply posting a vlog, link to your own personal website.
Don't go nuts; a small number of relevant links is better than 20 barely relevant links. Twenty barely relevant links will probably ensure that no one clicks any of them.
Finally, use the video description to reinforce your video. If you're singing an original song, you can include the lyrics and chord names in the description. (This is especially helpful if you release your songs as Creative Commons and encourage other people to record their own versions of them, which is a good way to get more publicity. You'll learn more about Creative Commons in Chapter 6.) If you have a CD available for sale, mention that in the description, along with directions on how and where to order. Provide as much information as possible so viewers don't have to ask you for it. Those viewers are unlikely to return to the video, even if you answer their question promptly. Don't make them ask; include all relevant information up front.
Next you must choose a video category. YouTube provides numerous categories, and your video should fit into at least one of them. Popular categories like Comedy, Entertainment, and People & Blogs are used often, so your video could be lost in the crowd. If you give it some thought and are more selective when choosing a category your video fits into, your video will have a better chance of being noticed. If, for instance, you vlog about spending the weekend tuning up your car, you could place that video in the People & Blogs category, or you could choose the Autos & Vehicles category, where your video would have much less competition. Competition for what, you might ask? Each category has its own Top 100 list. This list ranks the top 100 videos of the day, of the week, of the month, and of all time for that particular category. For popular categories, it is much more difficult to be placed on these lists than it is for the more niche categories. (You will learn more about category lists in Chapter 7.)
Finally, you're asked to enter a few tags, or keywords, about your video. Separate your tags with spaces. An example of a few tags for our video from Alan's birthday party would be fireworks birthday party explosion wild fun time alan turned 25 years old. When any of those words is searched, your birthday video is in the search results.
Beneath these fields are additional options for making your video public or private and for setting who can comment on your video and who cannot. You will most likely want to leave these options all set to their default status. If you do want to change any of these options or learn what their functions are, you can turn to Chapter 7, where they're discussed in more detail.