Starting a YouTube Channel can be a daunting task, but the end results can be totally worth it. With a little bit of knowledge and preparation, creating a YouTube channel can mean the start of building a library of content that is accessible for years down the road.
If you’re ready to create a YouTube channel and start uploading content, you don’t need a fancy-schmancy laptop or high-tech desktop to complete the process. Every step involved in how to create a YouTube channel can be done 100% from your smartphone.
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In this guide, we’ll walk you through how to create a YouTube channel with your phone, step-by-step. Not only will we cover how to create your channel, but we’ll also provide you with helpful tips on how to optimize channel settings and features for higher video rankings.
How to Create A YouTube Channel With Your Phone: Step-by-Step Guide
We’ll be focusing on 14 different tasks to help you create an awesome channel using just your phone, including:
- #1 How to Create a YouTube Account on Your Phone
- #2 How to Make a Brand YouTube Channel on Your Phone
- #3 How to Create a Custom Name on YouTube
- #4 How to Upload a Profile Picture for YouTube on Your Phone
- #5 How to Add a Description for YouTube on Your Phone
- #6 How to Add Channel Art for YouTube on Your Phone
- #7 How to Customize Your YouTube Channel on Your Phone
- #8 How to Open YouTube Studio on Your Phone
- #9 How to Change YouTube Channel Settings on Your Phone
- #10 How to Add a Branding Watermark to Your YouTube Videos on Your Phone
- #11 How to Setup Upload Defaults for YouTube on Your Phone
- #12 How to Verify Your YouTube Channel on Your Phone
- #13 How to Unlock All Features for Your YouTube Channel on Your Phone
- #14 How to Upload a Video to YouTube from Your Phone
So if you’re ready to learn how to create a YouTube channel on mobile, let’s get started!
#1 How to Make a YouTube Account on Your Phone
In order to set up your channel properly with complete access to all of the topics we’re about to cover, you must use the YouTube browser, not the app. Unfortunately, the app is missing a lot of key settings for creating your channel, at least as of right now.
So to start, visit the YouTube browser on your phone. Right away, you’ll notice a Profile icon in the top corner, which will appear gray if you’re not currently signed into an account.
Sign In or Create a New Account
To sign in or create an account, here’s what to do:
- Click on the Profile icon at the top right-hand corner of your mobile browser.
- Click Sign in, and you’ll be redirected to Google’s sign-in page. Google owns YouTube, so in order to have a channel, you need to sign in to your Google account or create one from scratch
- If you already have a Google account, input your account details. If you don’t, click Create account and follow the steps provided.
Once you’ve signed in to your existing account or created a new one, click on the Profile icon again and select Create a channel.
What’s the Difference Between a Brand Channel and a Personal Channel?
When using the app, the only option provided is to create a personal YouTube channel. However, it’s as simple as switching to the desktop site to be able to create a brand YouTube channel – this can easily be done from your phone.
Before we go over the steps on how to do that, let’s talk about the differences between personal vs brand channels.
A personal YouTube channel can only be named based on the user’s first and last name and it allows for just one account manager (so one linked email).
On the flip side, a brand channel gives you the option to create a custom name, and multiple emails can be linked to manage the account. Brand channels have a lot of advantages, especially if you’re aiming high for your YouTube following and hope to see it grow.
It’s easy to switch between a brand and personal account, so don’t stress too much about this decision.
#2 How to Make a Brand YouTube Channel on Your Phone
If you’ve decided that a brand channel is the way to go, the steps to switch from a personal account are fairly easy. Here’s what to do in 5 steps:
1. Start by opening the desktop version of YouTube in your mobile browser.
2. If you’re on an Android, click on the icon containing 3 vertical dots in the top right corner and select Request Desktop Site. For iPhones, click on the icon containing the 2 letter A’s (AA) in the top left corner and select Request Desktop Website.
3. From here, you’ll be viewing YouTube as if you’re on a desktop computer. Click on the Profile icon in the top right corner and select Create a channel.
4. The next screen will look entirely different now that you’re on YouTube’s desktop version. To select your channel type, start by clicking on the Get Started button.
5. You’ll be taken to a screen that gives you the choice between a personal channel or a brand channel. For a brand channel, select the option for Use a custom name.
#3 How to Create a Custom Name on YouTube
Now that you’ve created your brand channel, it’s time to come up with a channel name.
Simply type in your channel name, then tick the box stating that you agree to the terms and click Create. If you’re struggling to pick a name, no worries – you can always change it later by checking out this tutorial.
#4 How to Upload a Profile Picture for YouTube on Your Phone
Now that your YouTube channel has officially been created and named, it’s time to customize it even more. A good place to start is by uploading a profile picture or avatar that will serve as a good representation of your channel.
To do this, select Upload Picture and choose an image from your phone’s photo library. You can use a picture of yourself – this is a good idea if this is a personal channel – or an image that’s specific to your brand (like a company logo). Just make sure it’s related to your channel.
#5 How to Add a Description for YouTube on Your Phone
The next step is to add some basic information about your channel to let viewers know what you’re all about. You can enter this info into the Tell viewers about your channel text box which will be displayed on the About page of your channel.
The last thing you can do to customize your description is to add some links leading directly to your websites and social media accounts – think Twitter, Instagram, Facebook, etc.
Once you’re happy with your channel description, select Save And Continue.
#6 How to Add Channel Art for YouTube on Your Phone
One of the best ways to brand your channel and make it stand out from the 30 million+ other channels on YouTube is to add channel art, also called a channel banner.
Channel art is an image that is displayed across the top of your channel page, and it shows up whether a viewer is watching from a smartphone, TV, desktop, or tablet.
Here are the steps for customizing your channel art:
- On your channel homepage, select Customize Channel
- Click on Add channel art
- Upload an image from your phone’s photo library, or choose a preselected banner from YouTube’s channel art gallery
- Once you’re happy with the channel art image, click Select
A quality banner adds a lot of character to a YouTube channel, so if you’re interested in creating one, check out our complete tutorial on How to Make a YouTube Banner.
#7 How to Customize Your YouTube Channel on Your Phone
If you need to do any additional customizing, click on your channel’s About tab.
This is where you can update your channel description, input those links to your social media accounts, add an email address for business inquiries, and set your channel’s location.
#8 How to Open YouTube Studio on Your Phone
Your YouTube Studio dashboard is where you’ll be able to view all the details relating to your channel, like analytics and YouTube news and updates. This is also where you’ll upload all of your videos.
To access this dashboard, just click on your profile icon in the top right corner and select YouTube Studio.
#9 How to Change YouTube Channel Settings on Your Phone
Next, it’s time to make some changes to your channel settings. Start by clicking the Settings button all the way at the bottom of the channel dashboard.
The Settings box will pop up, giving you options to adjust general settings, channel settings, upload defaults, permissions, community settings, and agreements. Under General settings, select the currency your channel utilizes.
The Channel settings is where you can edit and add more info about your channel, including:
- Country of residence
- Keywords relating to your channel (only add the relevant keywords here)
- Whether your channel’s content is suitable for kids (this is a requirement!)
- Whether or not you’d like to link a Google Ads account
- Whether or not you want the channel’s number of subscribers to be publicly visible
One of the points on this list that people struggle with is inputting keywords relating to the channel. There are a lot of keyword tools that can help you with this, but you can start by focusing on the general words and phrases that best describe your channel.
#10 How to Add a Branding Watermark to Your YouTube Videos on Your Phone
Just like adding channel art, incorporating a branded watermark is another awesome way to engage with your viewers. This small watermark appears in the bottom right corner of your videos, and when viewers click on it, they will be able to easily Subscribe to the channel.
It’s a very small graphic (150x150p) that shows up on both desktop and mobile, although it’s not clickable on mobile devices. Adding this watermark is one of the easiest things you can do to boost subscriptions!
All you have to do to add this is go to the Branding tab on the channel customization page and click the Upload button that’s located under the Video watermark feature.
Select an image to upload – a small Subscribe icon works great – and select your desired display time. Then hit Save – that’s it!
#11 How to Setup Upload Defaults for YouTube on Your Phone
After adjusting channel settings, the next step is to select your upload defaults, or the default settings for how you’d like each video to be uploaded to the platform.
To set your defaults, click on Upload defaults in the Settings dashboard and make changes based on how you want each video to be uploaded to your channel.
You’ll be able to select how each video is uploaded in terms of visibility (whether it’s public or private), tags that will be added to every video, video category, etc. The advanced upload defaults even allow you to decide how video comments are visible to viewers.
Managing comments can be difficult, so this default can save you a lot of time and frustration. For more info on this, feel free to check out our guide on How to Manage YouTube Comments Like a Pro.
#12 How to Verify Your YouTube Channel on Your Phone
Once you’ve adjusted all of the basic default settings, move on to the tab labeled Feature eligibility to enable even more channel features.
Start by checking that all of the Default Features have been enabled. In most cases, these will already be enabled and you won’t have to make any changes. You will, however, need to verify your YouTube account to enable some extra features, including:
- Uploading videos over 15 minutes
- Using custom thumbnails
- Live streaming capabilities
- Appealing for Content IDs/copyright claims
To enable these features, click on Verify Phone Number, select your country code, and decide whether you want to verify via an automated voice message or text message.
If you’d prefer to go straight to the verification process, you can check out YouTube’s page – YouTube.com/verify – on how to verify your YouTube account.
#13 How to Unlock All Features for Your YouTube Channel on Your Phone
Interested in learning how to unlock YouTube features like live streaming, monetization, and more? Then head to YouTube.com/features.
On this page, you’ll have complete visibility for all of the features your channel is eligible for and whether or not each feature has been enabled.
#14 How to Upload a Video to YouTube from Your Phone
We’re on the home stretch of this tutorial about how to start a YouTube channel on your phone, so give yourself a pat on the back! You’ve made it this far, and it’s finally time to upload your first video.
When it comes time to upload videos, you no longer have to use the desktop view in your mobile browser, so go ahead and switch back to mobile view. Better yet, use the YouTube app for uploading.
After creating and editing your video for YouTube, go to your Channel’s homepage in the app. From here, you can select Record, Go Live, or you can upload a video from your phone’s camera roll.
To manage your channel from your phone, be sure to download the YouTube Studio app. This mobile app gives users complete access to channel analytics, videos, and even YouTube comments.
Now You Know How to Create a YouTube Channel – Using Only Your Phone!
We covered A LOT in this guide on how to make a YouTube channel from your phone. Although it can seem daunting at first, you now know the exact steps to create your very own channel from start to finish.
So whether you’re starting from scratch on an Android or you need some insight on how to optimize your channel settings on an iPhone, use this guide as a resource.
For more info on how to improve your channel, check out our FREE YouTube Ranking Guide. In this guide, we cover the 3 most powerful tools and ranking strategies to increase your YouTube traffic by 10x!
FAQ
Can you start a YouTube channel with your phone?
Absolutely! You can create an entire YouTube channel without needing to leave your iPhone or Android device.
How do you create a YouTube channel on mobile?
Creating a YouTube channel on mobile is a quick and easy process. Follow the above steps to make your own YouTube channel.
Why can’t I create a YouTube channel on my phone?
If you’re having trouble creating a YouTube channel on your phone, you might need to update to the latest version of the YouTube app.
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