The Ultimate YouTube Tips, Tools and Tutorials Roundup

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According to the latest statistics from YouTube, “300 hours of video are uploaded to YouTube every minute”. This is just one of the many staggering facts and figures surrounding the success of the internet's most prominent video marketing platforms.

Here's another fascinating factoid: “According to Nielsen, YouTube reaches more US adults ages 18-34 than any cable network.” It's funny how things change, when I was in that age group cable TV was the next big thing, and today it seems everyone wants to cut the cord. With that said, these days when you think about the ever changing landscape of social media and content marketing, I'm sure there's no doubt in your mind that YouTube is here to stay.

Measuring Your Success on YouTube

If you've been creating videos for awhile, you might be asking yourself, “How can I measure my own success on YouTube?”

I know it takes a lot of guts to get in front of the camera to record YouTube videos (believe me, I've had my share of bad hair days) or even to get behind the mic to record video screencasts. On top of that — there's all the time you spend researching topics and keywords for titles — and last – but certainly not least, your hard work putting together a video marketing and promotion strategy.

YouTube Tips Tools and Tutorials Roundup

That's why I put together this roundup of valuable YouTube tips, tools and tutorials, so you can have a collection of video tracking tools and marketing resources all in one place.

I've shared a few of these here on the blog before and there are also some that I'm mentioning here for the first time. Take a look at them, and pick the ones you feel will provide the most insight for you based on the goals you have for your channel. Without further ado, let's start with something new.

ReEmbed

I'm starting this roundup off with ReEmbed because this tool is useful for anyone with a blog.

That's right – you can use ReEmbed if you don't have your own YouTube channel but you're savvy enough to embed relevant YouTube videos in your blog posts. It's also a subtle way for me to nudge you [once again] to start a YouTube Channel, because I think you'll be surprised when you see how well your audience responds to video.

Here's a little bit about how it works. Install the ReEmbed plugin (or a place snippet of code) on your site, and you'll get a chance to see which videos are actually being watched by people visiting your blog. You can even get access to realtime stats in your ReEmbed dashboard similar to the realtime traffic reports found in Google Analytics. Pretty sweet right?

You can create a customized video player that will coordinate with the colors of your blog theme and a bunch of other goodies. I go into more detail about this in the video below titled: ReEmbed Tutorial: How to Track YouTube Videos Embedded on Your Blog.

Online Video Grader

The folks at Pixability created this handy gem. Enter your YouTube Channel and domain and the Online Video Grader and it“measures how you use video on your website, how you rank on Google and other video search engines, and how effective your YouTube channel is.” Give it a couple of minutes and the tool will diagnose the performance of your videos and how well they work in conjunction with your website. You'll get a report like this. Hopefully your's will have results like these:

Pixability Online Video Marketing Grader Report

And if you're thinking I like this tool a lot because I got such a fantastic score — you're absolutely right.

A key stat the Online Video Grader displays is one that you'll have a hard time finding on other tools. It's this one:

4,995 Tweets for your YouTube videos

I'm not aware of any other service that adds up all of your YouTube video tweets and gives you a total. This is also a good time for me to say Thank you! To all of you who shares my videos on Twitter. I really appreciate all of you for doing that. Click on the image to learn more about my YouTube channel but you can run this report for any channel on YouTube.

Tracking, Advertising and YouTube Sponsorship Deals

Check out the in-depth reviews I've done and you'll also find some interesting opportunities you might want to explore listed below:

Udemy and Skillfeed Courses

Udemy and Skillfeed are two online learning platforms that are quickly gaining popularity due to their ease of use and popular course listings. Of the two, Udemy has the most courses and they also have a smart phone and Chromecast app. Sign in with Facebook and you'll find several classes offering tutorials for YouTube. The course fees range anywhere from $9 up to $499. But on occasion, you can find a really good one that's offered for absolutely free.

The first Udemy course I signed up for and highly recommend is: YouTube: Grow Subscribers Successfully and Make $4,000 per Month from Manfred Warner. This course is updated on a regular basis and well worth the current cost of $199.

Take my course on Udemy!

Sign up for my course titled Building an Engaged Audience on YouTube. Take the course and you'll have access to the YouTube Channel Audit Checklist that I created as a handy tool to help my students understand the strengths and weaknesses of their overall video marketing strategy on YouTube. When you join the class be sure to download the checklist at the bottom of the page. Portions of this course is also available on Skillfeed along with these YouTube tutorials from other Skillfeed instructors.

More tips tools and tutorials

Before you go, I want to leave you with a few more of my favorite resources for growing and promoting your YouTube channel. And for those of you who want to explore what's available beyond YouTube I added some additional site for you to check out as well. I'm sure you have a few that you would like to share as well. Please leave a comment below or on Google+ so we can have a look!
30 Days to a Better YouTube Channel by Tim Schmoyer

 

 

53 thoughts on “The Ultimate YouTube Tips, Tools and Tutorials Roundup”

  2. Ryan Biddulph

    Excellent resources Ileane! I’ve been so much more focused on getting serious in the Youtube side of things. These tools and apps can put me in the right direction. Youtube is the great trust builder. Folks tend to know, like and trust people who show themselves on video. So get to publishing them and also, tweaking them to improve your delivery.

    Wow have I had abour 43421 bad hair days on video over the years lol! I published some 3,000 videos on YT and on other video networks but many were pulled after I was flagged a few years ago. Remember that era Ileane? When a handful of folks were flagging videos left and right, and accounts were being suspended? I was a casualty but it didn’t bother me too much at the time because I had to move in a direction much different than my current trajectory. It was a wonderful stroke of luck for me, so I am grateful for it.

    As for my video game today I am letting my personality out more. So much more fun wearing rice paddy hats in Bali, and acting a fool in Fiji, versus doing the serious video bit. Getting over ourselves is by no means easy or comfortable, but if you’re willing to be yourself, to be light, casual and calm, and if you’re willing to go out on a limb, you’ll reap the rewards of an absolutely kick butt video marketing campaign. I am starting too now, and even though my video views are low I am seeing improvement and am also making some nice traction online in this area.

    I am grateful for that, because again, video is the great trust builder. I go from that Blogging from Paradise guy who writes all these eBooks and blog posts, to the guy who’s a living, breathing human, delivering a message from his favored area of the tropics 😉

    Ileane, thanks for the list of apps!

    Ryan

    1. Ileane

      Ryan,
      I do remember those videos you did back in the day! Wow I didn’t know that your channel was banned during the fallout though. You have the right attitude about it. Turn the lemons into lemonade!

      For years I’ve uploaded my videos to Daily Motion and recently started sending them to Tumblr and Facebook using One Load. Actually years ago my videos were on iTunes as a podcast until Blip.tv shut down my account – so you’re not the only one!! I know the feeling.

      You’re doing such fantastic work and I know that you are truly connecting with your audience and your peers. Thanks so much for your support Ryan! You’re pretty awesome 🙂

  3. Corina Ramos

    Hello Ms. Ileane,

    Thank you for putting this post together and sharing all these valuable resources. I have made up my mind and will be starting a YouTube channel in the new year. It was your nudge that helped me decided :).

    I hope you’re having a great day! Thank you again for these resources!

    1. Ileane

      Yay!! So happy to hear that Corina. I think you’ll be a natural on camera. Best wishes to your success with video!

  4. Mitch Mitchell

    Great stuff Ileane. The main one that I’m really interested in, which is still running as I type this, is the online video grader, and I’m not expecting anywhere close to 100%. Actually, if I get 25% I’ll probably call that a success; isn’t that a shame? lol

    1. Ileane

      Ha! No your score won’t be that low. Not if you did some of the stuff we talked about a few months back. 🙂 You have more than one channel so it would be interesting to compare the two to see if they have the same strengths or weaknesses. Let me know how you make out.

      1. Mitch Mitchell

        Well, I didn’t score as bad as I thought I might but I did get this one as my lowest score for both channels and of course I’m not sure what it means:

        YouTube videos that do not have a valid link as the first element of their description text.

        So I’ll ask for help on this one. lol

        1. Ileane

          That’s good to know. I hope some of the things we discussed help with your ranking 🙂

          The valid link prompt just means in your descriptions – add a link at the beginning. Look at the description for this video to see what I mean https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=jOZIvCn7AF8

          Lot’s of people will click on that link and I’ve found it to be more effective than the YouTube video annotation links simply because YouTube annotations don’t work on mobile.

          1. Mitch Mitchell

            That’s interesting. I have links to all my sites on there but I’ve never inserted it up front. I loaded videos today and have a link in the main paragraph of each; we’ll see how that goes.

          2. Ileane

            Mitch, there are two schools of thought on this one so I’ll give you a little of both sides of the argument. When people view your videos on mobile (check your analytics to see if this is a large portion of your audience) they see less characters in the description then what people see on desktop. Therefore the optimal position for the link is at the very beginning so you are guaranteed that they will see it.
            On the other hand, some people think it looks spammy to put the link up front.
            My thought is — test it both ways and see what happens. 🙂
            I tested with the link at the beginning and got a lot of clicks. When I move the link down, WAAAYYY less clicks. My next test will be with different kind of links – like bitly shortened links or links to a landing page (only on specific videos that get a lot of traffic). I’ll let you know what I find out.

    1. Ileane

      Hey there Ana! I saw that article on ReelSEO but turns out that YouTube still hasn’t updated the stats on their site – wonder why!? Thanks for stopping by.

        1. Ileane

          Yes, I trust ReelSEO too. I linked to their podcast at the end of the post – Dane Golden is the host and the co-hosts are Tim Schmoyer and Matt Balick – love those guys! Can you imagine how excited I get when a new episode of their show comes out every week. It’s one of my favs!

  6. Martin Lindeskog

    Ileane: I have to start to create more videos next year. I am planning to do short tea tastings / cupping clips together with questions and answers regarding tea drinking. ReEmbed seems to be a neat tool.

    Do you have tips on how to record with an iPhone 5 S with iOS 8 at the same time as your pour tea? 😉

    1. Ileane

      Hey Martin!

      Did you ever try using a Monopod? This one might work for you because it comes with a remote. That way you can pour with one hand and record with the other. 🙂 Hope it helps. Check out this Selfie-Kit http://bit.ly/Selfie-Kit

      Thanks for all your support and looking forward to chatting it up on your podcast in 2015

  7. Jen

    I guess I’m the noob here. We are finally getting back into blogging on our site so I’ve been reading a lot on the topic which led me to this article. I’ve read that rich media will really help us get the most out of our blog posts. Someone mentioned animoto for making videos because I don’t have the voice for radio or video, lol. Should I start with something like animoto or hold out for the quality?

      1. Jen

        Thanks for the info. I haven’t started my first video yet but I did play around with the free version of animoto and it is really easy to use. I’ll come back and share my first video once I get it up online. Thanks Ileane

  8. Dawatech

    Hi ileane
    Thks for this great tips, as a blogger, rembed has been a great youtube tools for me.Thkss once again.

    1. Ileane

      You’re welcome Dawatech. Are you embedding a lot of videos on your blog now or do you plan to use Reembed more in the future.

      Keep me posted ok?

  9. Neil

    Hi Ileane
    Your post came at the right time for me. I was thinking about creating some videos for my next post but was not quite sure about it. But after reading your post, I am surely going to try it out. Thanks.

    Regards
    Neil

  10. Gaurav Heera

    I’m not so much involve in video Marketing but YouTube marketing works great. well explained article as always. i saw first time how to track performance of a video . Re-embed system looking really good and I’ll implement this thing on my blog and see how it works.
    well,thanks for sharing.

    Gaurav Heera

  11. Elo Boost

    youtube is geting bigger and bigger each year. its smart to invest now 🙂

  12. Monique Johnson

    Great article Ileane! YouTube is very powerful! Social Media sites in general are going to be big in the next few years for driving traffic.

  13. Thomas

    Hi Ileane
    Thanks for all the tips. I really should get starting making more videos for my YouTube channel. My latest video is 8 months old. Shame on me 🙂

    1. Ileane

      Thomas, I know it’s been awhile since your last video, but I didn’t realize it was that long ago. You’re really good at it so I’m looking forward to seeing more of them from you. Thanks for stopping by.

  14. Rachana

    Hi Ileane, I have just entered into youtube world to gain popularity for my blog and this has been a great tips to help me understand. You tube is definitely one of the big platform and now everyone wants to a video for a how to blog guide.

  15. Babanature

    Hello Ileane,

    Still, after reading so many Youtube tips, i still feel lazy to focus all my attention to the awesome platform. Though i am still learning, and i have pick up some awesome ideas on your tutorial and the tips i grab are helping me alot.

    I hardly use plugins but the reembed sounds tempting. so i must try it out…

    Thank you for such a lovely post. Do have a merry Christmas and a blessed Newyear.

    Babanature

    1. Ileane

      Babanature, I think if you give video a try you will be hooked. Just start off with a simple introduction video. Then you can add it to the about page on your blog. Just let me know if you need a hand.

      Happy new year to you my friend!

  16. Rabin

    Nice Info Ileane,
    This is an all in one YouTube guide on various topics. Thanks a lot for sharing such a quality and informative article 🙂

  17. Gurvi

    Hi Ileane,
    The post is informative indeed. You Tube is one of the famous tool that is used by bloggers. You have provided various new things from which I was unaware of.
    Thanks for updating me.

  18. Christy

    Hey Ileane,
    Thanks for this amazing tutorial you created. I love this blog because i learn lots for my future YouTube and blogging plans and you’ve helped me prepare with both mediums! How long do you believe it takes to get your first 1000 subscribers? Also, are these the only sites we should use for You Tube tips? I noticed some sites i have visited such as YTtalk and Vlognation are not listed in your helpful resources. Are they not any good? Lastly, thanks aagain for yours and Chip’s great tips and i cant wait to see more basic blogging tips! Team MomBloggers!

    1. Ileane

      Hi Christy,

      I signed up for YTtalk but I didn’t spend much time over there. From what I did see the community seems pretty helpful. I haven’t checked up Vlognation so thanks for the suggestions!

  19. Devinder Maheshwari

    Amazing post. I have been thinking of doing YouTube videos to further promote my blog but couldn’t get the hold of it. Also, I am nervous to get in front of camera. Can you do a post on, how to get started with YouTube video making?

    Regards
    Devinder

  21. Andrew

    Thanks a lot for sharing so many useful YouTube Tips. I am going to start with YouTube channel to promote my new hosting website. I have learnt that youtube marketing is new future of content marketing and I am going to leverage it to next level.

  22. madhusudhan

    wow…thank you for this awesome post. It really shows your immense knowledge and research on this topic. Please keep sharing.

  25. Jackie

    I am always thinking on how people are earning money by uploading videos and i don’t know up to now by reading your article i come to know that this is called YouTube marketing, this article is very nice and thanks for sharing.

  26. Nikki Ward

    Hi Ileane
    I am so jealous of people who are in nice industries as they can make interesting videos that YouTube will just gobble up all day every day.
    We simply cannot make YT work for us.
    We are in a horrible industry which is full of spammers that give legitimate companies a bad name but even so, I honestly think YT only works for certain industries.
    I love YT and can spend literally hours at a time on there but it’s one thing me watching 80s pop videos and another thing trying to make it work for my business!

  30. Martin

    Youtube has great potential for bloggers. Also, with youtube one should also focus on other video streaming websites like Dailymotion too.

  31. Gabe Johansson

    Wow, this is an epic resource guide! I use VidIQ on the daily to see what is going on with other videos and search results. It doesn’t give the best data to work with, but glad to know there are other tools for that.

    Thanks for this, Ileane!

  32. paris anderson

    Thanks for the great info! Again, another bookmarker. I use Youtube all the time now. And not just for my website. I plan on using some of your Youtube tips/tools ASAP! Thanks!

  33. Nikita

    Hi Ileane,

    Great post. I’ve learned so much from your blog. I’ll definitely try to embed youtube video on my website. Thanks for sharing this lovely article.

    regards
    Nikita

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