7 Types of Software and Tools That Every YouTuber Should Use
Starting a YouTube channel is, in theory, quite easy. All you need to do is turn on your camera or smartphone, start recording, and upload your video. But in the long run, growing an audience on the platform is challenging.
Investing in the right software and tools can make it easier for you to reach the right people. You can use these solutions to research topic ideas and analyze the performance of your previous uploads. Moreover, you can make your footage and thumbnails look nicer—along with planning your week better.
To help you spend less time determining what software and tools you should use, we’ll identify seven types for you in this article.
1. Analytics Software
As you upload more videos to YouTube, you’ll get a better idea of what you like and dislike. Once you’ve decided what you want to talk about, choosing topics that will appeal to your audience—while maintaining your interests—is important for growing your channel.
You’ll find plenty of analytics tools that you can use to measure your performance. YouTube Studio is a good starting point. You’ll see statistics about your returning viewers and which videos tend to perform best within the first few days. Moreover, you’ll find a research tool to help you see which terms have higher search volumes.
TubeBuddyis another excellent research tool you can use to improve your videos. With this solution, you can A/B test your videos and generate channel health reports. Seeour overview of TubeBuddyif you want to learn more about the tool.
2. Photo Editing and Design Software
Creating insightful videos is a crucial aspect of your YouTube channel, but the work you put in means little if you may’t convince users to click on your video over someone else’s. Spending time on your thumbnails is important, and you can use photo editing software to make your content look more enticing.
Adobe Lightroomis a great all-round solution for editing your photos, and you can choose betweenLightroom Classic and Creative Cloud. Lightroom CC is the more streamlined version and is also available on mobile devices, so you might prefer to use that solution if you want to edit on the go. Lightroom Classic is more comprehensive, though, so that might be a better option for deeper edits.
you may also usePhotoshop and Photoshop Expressnot only to edit your visuals, but also to add text to your thumbnails. You can alsodesign your YouTube thumbnails with Canva.
3. Video Editing Software
After you’ve recorded your videos, you need to edit them. While you can create cinematic masterpieces, you don’t necessarily need to. At the very least, however, you should ensure that the colors look good and remove any sections that you don’t want to include in the final edit.
you may pick from a broad selection of video editing solutions.DaVinci Resolve and Final Cut Proare two of the most popular examples; many people choose the former because it offers several comprehensive editing tools for free. Adobe Premiere Pro is another option; unlike Final Cut Pro, you don’t need an Apple computer to use the program.
For simpler edits, you can always tryAdobe Premiere RushoriMovie. Keep your edits simple in the beginning, and build up the complexity over time.
4. Tools for Planning Video Content
Some YouTubers share their content without a schedule, but putting together some kind of content calendar will help you keep on track. In the early stages, you want to build momentum—and knowing exactly what you need to create and post will help with that.
You can use several solutions to help you plan video content.Notionis arguably the best free option; the app lets you use calendar templates if you don’t want to create your own.
Other tools you can use for planning your video schedule includeAsanaandmonday.com.
5. Daily Planners
Planning your video content is a useful part of the jigsaw, but it’s not the only thing you need to consider. To ensure you stick to that schedule, planning out your days in advance is also a good idea. This is especially important in the beginning, when you may have other commitments—such as your studies or a full-time job.
You can use several daily planners, includingBriteandGoogle Calendar.Apple Calendaris also a viable option if you have an iPhone, Mac, iPad, or Apple Watch.
Try to keep the same time slot open each week for recording your videos, and make some space for editing them as well. By dedicating specific time slots to these tasks, forming a habit will be much easier.
6. Software for Scheduling Social Media Content
Your primary focus when starting a YouTube channel should be to populate your page with videos worth watching. But once you’ve become more established, it’s worth thinking about how you can promote your content to a wider audience.
Social media platforms like Twitter and Instagram offer you the opportunity to get more eyes on your videos and build a close-knit community. However, producing content for each of these platforms can get quite exhausting. Scheduling what you want to post in advance can help you reduce the feeling of overwhelm.
There are plenty of great social media scheduling tools, and you don’t have to pay for many of them. For example, Instagram has a built-in scheduler for posts and Reels alike. You can also use tools likeBuffer, which has a free tier and a suite of paid subscriptions if you need more features.
7. Audio Editing Software
While you can often get away with suboptimal video quality, bad audio will result in many people clicking off your content and going somewhere else. You should purchase a microphone, but it’s also worth further editing your voice to make it sound clearer and crisper.
Video editing solutions likePremiere ProandDaVinci Resolvehave built-in audio editing tools, and they’re quite comprehensive. However, you should also think about usingAdobe Audition—which you may find more user-friendly.
Plan Your YouTube Channel Launch Accordingly
When launching a YouTube channel, putting the right systems in place will give you the best possible chance of success. There are many tools that can help you improve in numerous areas, enabling you to improve the production quality of your content—along with the value that you provide.
Having read this guide, you should have enough tools to kickstart your YouTube channel. More importantly, the solutions we’ve mentioned in this article should help you stay on track—which can set you up for long-term success.
Starting a successful YouTube channel isn’t easy, but if you keep these tips in mind, you’ll be ahead of the curve!
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