# YouTube VLOGGING: How to Start A YouTube Channel Today - review & insight | Gareth B. Davies Source: https://garethbdavies.com/course-insights/youtube-vlogging-how-to-start-a-youtube-channel-today/ [← All courses](https://garethbdavies.com/course-insights/) Video & Animation · Quick win · Rated 5 /10 # YouTube VLOGGING: How to Start A YouTube Channel Today By Gareth B. Davies · Updated August 2026 Peter BVCCO · Video Content Strategist Beginner · 43 min Forty-three minutes of blunt, occasionally rambling YouTube advice that trades polish for a genuinely honest starter's map. [Get a Free Month on Skillshare](https://skillshare.eqcm.net/c/3155494/298081/4650?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.skillshare.com%2Fclasses%2Fyoutube-vlogging-how-to-start-a-youtube-channel-today%2F824263758) New to Skillshare? Your first month is free, enough to take this course at no cost. # YouTube VLOGGING: How to Start A YouTube Channel Today Peter BVCCO's course promises a condensed version of three years spent making YouTube videos, and largely delivers on that narrow promise. Across eighteen short lessons and well under an hour, it moves from mindset to equipment to content strategy to monetization to handling criticism. Nothing here is deep, but almost everything is grounded in specific, lived experience rather than recycled platform tips. ## What the course actually covers The opening lessons spend real time on psychology before touching a camera: defining a "why" strong enough to survive zero views, understanding that a custom URL only unlocks after 100 subscribers, and accepting that a channel name matters far less than consistent output. This is unusual for a beginner course, which typically rushes to gear and editing software. Here, gear gets one blunt lesson: a phone shooting 1080p at 24fps and free software like Windows Movie Maker is enough to start, with Premiere or Final Cut Pro X recommended once the creator is ready to upgrade. The strategic core sits in the middle third. The course draws a distinction between evergreen content, tutorials people search for indefinitely like "how to tie a tie", and trending content tied to pop culture spikes that fade quickly. It argues for niching down hard, using the example of narrowing from a general vlogger to a country-specific vlogger to a budget-camera-specific tech channel. The upload-schedule advice is oddly granular for a video this short, naming Monday, Wednesday, and Friday as generally strong days and Friday and Saturday as weak ones, with the caveat to test what works for a given audience. ## SEO and monetization get real specifics The SEO lesson is the strongest stretch of the course. It explains watch time as a stronger ranking signal than raw view count, recommends front-loading title, description, and tags with the exact same keyword phrase, and pushes multi-word phrases like "how to draw a circle" over single words like "drawing." It also names two browser tools, vidIQ and TubeBuddy, for reverse-engineering competitors' tags, and Social Blade for tracking channel growth patterns. The monetization lesson lays out three tiers clearly: AdSense revenue splits, affiliate links in descriptions, and using YouTube as a lead generator toward an external product or site, correctly framing the third as the one that actually sustains a full-time creator. ## Where it falls short The delivery is unpolished and repetitive, with ideas often restated three or four times before moving on, which stretches thin content further. Most of the advice is calibrated to 2018 YouTube: the emphasis on subscription-box visibility, the specific view-velocity mechanics, and the named tools have all aged to varying degrees, since the platform's discovery algorithm has changed substantially since then. There's no walkthrough of an actual edit, no example thumbnail built on screen, and no discussion of shorts, live streaming, or community posts. As a pep talk and mental checklist for a total beginner, it earns its short runtime. As a technical or strategic guide for anyone past their first ten uploads, it has little left to offer. The standout The explanation of front-loading a video's first 24 hours with traffic from existing online communities to trigger algorithmic push is the single most actionable, non-obvious tip in the course. ## What you will learn - · How to frame a personal why before choosing a channel name or niche - · The difference between chasing views versus building repeat traffic and audience loyalty - · A basic video structure of hook, body, and call-to-action outro - · Why the first 24 hours of view velocity affects YouTube's recommendation algorithm - · How to write SEO-friendly titles, descriptions, and tags using keyword phrases - · The three real revenue paths: AdSense, affiliate links, and driving traffic to your own site or product Best for: A true beginner with zero equipment or channel who wants a plain-spoken gut check before pressing record for the first time. Skip it if: Anyone who already has a channel running or wants current, technical detail on cameras, editing software, or platform features. Clarity of Instruction Engaging Teacher Organization of Lessons Helpful Examples [Get a Free Month on Skillshare](https://skillshare.eqcm.net/c/3155494/298081/4650?u=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.skillshare.com%2Fclasses%2Fyoutube-vlogging-how-to-start-a-youtube-channel-today%2F824263758)