How to Plan Your YouTube Content

Start with a brainstorm—come up with as many ideas as you can and jot them down on a piece of paper, Google Doc or Trello board. Make note of any special events or holidays that you might like to acknowledge and add these to your list as well. 

Once you have a list of content ideas, move them into a logical order and establish a content schedule (for example, you might want to release a new long-form video every week, with two YouTube shorts and one story in the lead up). Be flexible when planning your content as new ideas or topics may arise as you work through the plan.

Grab inspiration from your favorite channels or other YouTubers in a similar niche, or try collaborating with an influencer in your space. Try polling your audience or reading the comments section on related videos to see if viewers are asking for coverage of a specific topic. 

The type of content that works for your channel may not work for others, so it’s important to try out as many as you can to see what’s most successful. Some of the most popular content types on YouTube include explainer videos, tutorials, best ofs, vlogs, hauls, and reviews.

Good YouTube content starts with research. Explore what’s already been created on the topic and use search tools to discover what users are searching for on YouTube. When it comes time to record, invest in high-quality filming equipment to ensure your videos are top quality. Many YouTubers use pre-designed templates and assets to achieve professional-quality content, without having to create these from scratch.

YouTube videos should always be recorded and uploaded in 1080p. This means your videos will be high definition across all devices, which will encourage viewers to watch until the end.

To use copyrighted music on YouTube, you need to have permission from the original creator or company who owns the music track. When you upload a video to YouTube, the audio will be run through a system called Content ID. If it detects copyrighted music, a copyright notice will appear on your video. If you have permission to use the song, you can upload the license and the notice will be removed. If not, your video may have ads shown over it, or be muted, blocked, or removed.

To avoid copyright infringement issues, access to a library of royalty-free music tracks is essential. Envato Elements has over 104,000 creator-safe music tracks available for download. Every Envato Elements audio download comes with a license file, which can be quickly and easily uploaded to resolve a copyright notice.