How to Customize Your YouTube Channel

         In his book Entrepreneur Magazine's Ultimate Guide to YouTube for Business, marketing and public relations consultant Jason Rich show you how to master the secrets of successful "YouTubers" and put your brand, product or service in front of millions of potential viewers. In this edited excerpt, the author shows you how to customize your channel to make it stand out from the crowd.
After setting up your YouTube Channel page, it will look pretty barren when you first access it. It will display your profile photo, name and a few details, like your latest activity, date joined, age and country.
Near the top-left corner of the screen is the "Channel Settings" button. Click on this to begin customizing your YouTube Channel. Here, you can fully customize the visual appearance of your channel's page. By default, the "Appearance" tab (near the top-left corner of the screen) has been selected. Click on the "Accept" button to confirm your selection after you're done making your customizations.
Under the "Background" heading, you can upload a digital photo or a graphic image you create or edit using Adobe Photoshop or another graphics program to serve as your channel page's background wallpaper by clicking on the "Choose File" button. Or simply choose a solid color background by clicking on the "Choose a Color" option, and then clicking on your desired background color.
When selecting a photo to use as a background, be sure you own the rights to the image or photo you'll be using. Otherwise, you could get into trouble for copyright violations.
As you're customizing your own YouTube Channel page, it's a good strategy to visit other popular YouTube channels to see firsthand how they're using wallpaper graphics or photos to enhance their channel's page.
Next, click on the "Info and Settings" tab that's displayed under the "Channel Settings" heading to add a text description of your YouTube Channel in the "Description" field. Your YouTube channel description should be short and to the point. Explain who you are, the channel's purpose, and provide a preview of your videos so that people will want to visit your channel and watch your videos. YouTube, Google, and other search engines will use this information when it comes to your channel's search engine optimization listings.
Below the "Description" field is the "Tags" field. Here, you should enter a series of keywords or phrases that best describe your YouTube Channel, as well as your product, service, company, or event. When someone performs a search on YouTube or Google, their search terms are automatically compared to the description and tags you've created for your YouTube Channel. If Google discovers a match or matches, your channel will be listed in the user's search results. This is a powerful tool for attracting traffic to your channel and increasing your views.
Below the "Tags" field is the "Channel URL" link. This is a unique URL for your YouTube Channel. Right now, the link is fully functional, but it's comprised of a long list of random numbers and letters. Click on the "Edit" button to create a much easier and customized URL for your channel.
Click on the "Create Channel URL" button to establish your custom YouTube Channel URL, which will take on this format: http://www.youtube.com/[your custom channel name]. After confirming your unique, custom URL, an "Overview" screen will be displayed. From here, you can edit your username and password, plus adjust a handful of other account settings, as well as turn on or off the YouTube functionality that allows you to display ads from other companies on your channel page and within your videos so that you can potentially earn revenue.
As you customize your YouTube Channel page, click on the "Tabs" option that's displayed under the "Channel Settings" heading to customize what options will be available to people who visit your channel's page. Click on the "Done Editing" button to continue. Click on the "Account Settings" page to customize the channel title, profile image, channel description, and channel tags so they're associated with your business/organization, not yourself or an individual.
For example, the channel title should include your company's name. You can modify the channel title at any time. The channel's description should include details about your business or organization, and the channel's tags should relate directly to your company or whatever the channel itself is being set up to promote.
You're now ready to start populating your YouTube channel with videos, and then promoting your channel to the public in order to solicit viewers and subscribers.

What Kind of Entrepreneur Are You?

The other day I read an interesting book called Entrepreneurial DNA, by Joe Abraham, the founder of BOSI Global, an operating partner to venture-backed and owner-operated companies. The book is based on Joe’s study of over 1,000 entrepreneurs. The research confirmed the discovery that all entrepreneurs are not all wired the same way. The book suggests entrepreneurs fall into four distinct types of entrepreneurial DNA’s that leverage unique strengths, weaknesses and tendencies typical in each specific type of entrepreneur:
1. The Builder: You have a drive to build highly scalable businesses very fast. When this DNA is high in an individual, they break past $5 million in revenue within two to four years and keep going to up to $100 million. That's because these individuals measure success through a very unique lens: infrastructure. It drives the decisions they make and the strategy they build and deploy. They aren't satisfied with a certain amount of personal income or goodwill toward man. They are Pied Piper-like individuals who are master recruiters of talent, investors and customers. Builder DNA activates certain behaviors like a controlling temperament, leading to a Dr. Jekyll and Mr. Hyde like demeanor in the office. Individuals with high Builder DNA tend to struggle most with personal relationships and typically have a revolving door of talent in their companies.
2. The Opportunist: Picture Sir Richard Branson and you have a pretty good idea of what Opportunist DNA is all about. Individuals wired with this DNA are highly optimistic master promoters. They enjoy marketing and selling. They are wired to sniff out well-timed money making opportunities, jump in at the right time, ride the wave of growth up and (hopefully) jump out at the peak. Opportunist DNA measures success based on the amount of money they make (or will make) when they aren't working. So they are drawn to business opportunities where leverage can be used to create residual and renewal income. This behavioral preset in entrepreneurs makes them impulsive decision makers, especially when it comes to money-making opportunities. This trait can serve them very well or be the source of their demise.
3. The Specialist: This DNA activates in the experts of our world. No sooner does an individual go through years of schooling, apprenticeship or on-the-job training, does this DNA activate, driving the corresponding behaviors. Specialist DNA drives one to be very analytical, relatively risk-averse and anti-selling. Specialists generate most of their new business from referrals and networking. They measure success based on their personal income. Their businesses tend to grow fairly well in the startup and early growth phase, but as soon as their personal income hits preset targets, their internal thermostat kicks in and they go into customer service mode. Research found that most Specialist-owned businesses plateau in revenues well below $5 million. The ones that get past this level take significantly longer to get there than Builder DNA companies -- often decades.
4. The Innovator: Picture Mark Zuckerberg in the movie The Social Network and you'll see Innovator DNA at work. Like most Innovators, he was doing something he loved, when a business opportunity popped up. The breakthrough discovery typically drives this entrepreneur in the "lab" of their business -- where they want to invent, design and tinker. They would much rather be in the lab of their business than at the cash register or in the business office. They find operating a business draining. They measure success based on the impact their product or service is having on mankind. "It's not about the money," you'll hear them say. "I'd do this for free for the rest of my life if I could." Individuals with high Innovator DNA control most of the great intellectual property of our time. Unfortunately, they hide in dungeons and find it hard to engage in business discussions.
For centuries the approach to entrepreneurship has been -- what worked for one entrepreneur will work for every entrepreneur. But research has proven that entrepreneurs are all different. Some of us are Innovator-Builders. Others are Specialist-Opportunists.
Knowing your DNA and the DNA of those surrounding you is critical to selecting the business, strategy and team best suited for you. Just because it worked for Richard Branson (Opportunist-Builder) or Bill Gates (Specialist-Builder), doesn't mean it will work for you.