How to Start a DIY Channel on YouTube

Starting a DIY YouTube Channel can be one of the Most Rewarding…and Profitable Businesses You can Start.

If you’re like me, growing up on episodes of Tim Allen’s Home Improvement and Bob Vila’s This Old House, you’ve probably dreamed at least once about becoming a celebrity home improvement expert.

If you’re exactly like me…you probably gave up on the idea after a few smashed fingers.

But if you’ve got just a little more savvy with tools than I do, that dream could be a close reality by starting a DIY channel on YouTube.

I researched DIY YouTube channels and talked to a full-time DIY YouTuber to reveal all the nuts and bolts to starting your own DIY and craft video channel!

Create your account on TubeBuddy for free to see the features that will help grow your channel!

Why are DIY Channels so Popular on YouTube?

While DIY channels on YouTube aren’t quite as popular as music channels or those for kids, they’re still some of the most popular on the platform.

DIY channels rack up millions of views every day…and millions of views per video. In fact, a friend of mine that has offered to share her top three DIY channel tips later in the article has over 33 million views and 350,000 subscribers.

That popularity comes from a combination of things that make DIY and craft channels irresistible.

We are visual animals and it’s one of the strongest senses we have. Many people have trouble learning if there’s not a visual component. That means videos are a must if you’re trying to learn something you might not have much experience in like home improvement.

Even if you never plan on installing your own flooring or creating a three-story birdhouse, millions tune into the videos for a sense of vicarious accomplishment. Watching someone create something amazing out of ordinary materials, it makes us feel like we can do anything and gives us that sense of accomplishment.

Add all this with imagery that is just so powerful and you’ve got a path to huge success on YouTube…an amazing business and a whole ‘lotta money!

How to Know That Creating a DIY YouTube Channel Best Suits You

There are a lot of people with so much time in their hands who have created a DIY YouTube channel, not knowing that it’s what they wanted to do.

You might consider the same thing when you read this article, but don’t rush into it until you’re sure your idea is going to work out well for you and you’re actually going to enjoy doing it. Here are some tips on how to know if creating a DIY YouTube channel best suits you:

It is best suited to those who want a career in something creative or artistic. There is nothing wrong in wanting a chance at becoming popular by showing off your skills. But make sure that what you want doing is something creative because only then will the satisfaction come from the work itself and not from the fame.

You should also consider making a DIY YouTube channel if you want to help others. Everyone needs advice once in a while, and it’s always nice to get some from people we can relate to or who we know we can trust. Nowadays, every piece of advice that is offered comes with an attached agenda: commercial, political or just selfish. Thus having no agenda for your DIY YouTube channel is what makes things better and means that any advice you give will be purer.

Create your account on TubeBuddy for free to see the features that will help grow your channel!

Not everyone wants to make a DIY YouTube channel. Say for example those with low self-esteem might not feel confident enough about their work to share it with the masses. But as long as you know what the platform has done for other people, you will feel better about yourself.

It is best suited for those who are good at organizing. You’re going to need an organized mind when coming up with ideas for your DIY YouTube channel, especially if it’s something that has never been done before. Also, if you want to turn your DIY YouTube channel into a business , good organization is what will help you achieve it. And let’s not get started on video editing. Organize your thoughts and come up with some scripts before even thinking of recording anything.

It is best suited if you can find no other way of expressing yourself than making videos . As strange as this might sound, it is the truth for some people. If you can’t think of anything else to do and feel like you need to be on camera all the time, then a DIY YouTube channel is perfect for you. Just make sure that your content is good so that people don’t unsubscribe as soon as they find out that you’re not a professional YouTuber.

Last but not least, it is best suited for those who are passionate about their interests. This should be a no-brainer, but sometimes we get carried away with other things in life and forget what truly matters to us. If making videos about your interests be it makeup, cooking or just daily life makes you happy, then go ahead and start your very own DIY YouTube channel.

How Much Money Can You Make with a DIY Channel?

Speaking of the money, DIY channels are some of the best to monetize on YouTube. While lifestyle and kids channels might get all of $0.003 per view for ad rates, craft and DIY channels can make twice that amount on pre-video ads.

Not only will you make money on the advertising before your videos but the perks and sponsorships to a DIY channel come along faster than you see in other topics.

Compensation for most channels starts with free tools and resources. Black & Decker spends millions a year in advertising. Think of how much more cost-effective it is to just give out a few free cordless drills to influencers and let them show how easy it is to use the tools.

It’s not going to pay the bills immediately but get a few free tools each month and you’re easily looking at $500+ a year even for a new DIY channel.

Grow your YouTube community though and the paid sponsorships will follow fast. Not only has my DIY friend done several big sponsorships with national home improvement retailers, she and her three sons are now the official reps for the Home Depot Kid’s Workshops.

With sponsorship rates ranging from $0.035 to $0.15 per average viewership, this can easily reach into the thousands of dollars per video.

Click to reserve your spot at the FREE YouTube Quick-start Webinar! I’m sharing three strategies that helped me grow my YouTube channel and double my business income. I guarantee they WILL work for you. Seats are limited for the webinar, so make sure you reserve yours.

Actually starting a DIY channel on YouTube is the easy part. I’ll outline the steps below along with some tips and link to a quick-start guide.

Set up your channel and About page. Setting up your YouTube channel isn’t going to make the videos go viral but it’s one of those critical steps that make you legit. You’ll start building a community by sharing what you’re about and will give people a reason to stick around.

Start with your About page and take advantage of the space. Think about the shared beliefs in people you want to attract and how you want to build that community.

Spend some time learning to use video editing software like Camtasia or Final Cut Pro. Just because your video isn’t going to the execs on HGTV doesn’t mean it can’t look like it.
Make sure you have somewhere you can record without background noise. This is probably the hardest part for DIY channels since a lot of the work happens outdoors. It helps to have a good directional microphone. You might consider just filming the video and then dubbing your voiceover in parts where the background noise gets in the way.
Learn the basics for uploading your video including creating a title and thumbnail that get clicks. This is probably the biggest gap I see between successful DIY channels and all the rest.
Learn how to promote your videos on and off-YouTube!

How to Make Money with a Craft or DIY Channel

If you’ve been following the blog, you know I always recommend a broad approach to making money online. Any one of my online income sources can grow to tens of thousands a month but depending on just one leaves me at a huge risk if something happens to that income stream.

Search engines change their ranking. YouTube changes its ad policy and sponsors pull back on spending. DO NOT rely on just one income source for your online business!

Let’s look at some specific ways to make money with a DIY channel below. Check out this post on more general ideas to make money on YouTube.

Reach out to all the major tool makers, no matter how big or small. Most will have a marketing department or public relations. Show them your channel stats like average views per video, number of subscribers and demographics. Then describe an upcoming project you’re filming and tell them how much you’d love to demonstrate their XYZ tool. You won’t get a free tool every time but you’ll start a relationship that can bring future deals.

If you have a local following, reach out to local hardware or home improvement retailers for a collaboration. Offer to film a workshop on-location and post it to your channel. These are great for beginners because it’s easier to rank for local terms and build that community.
Sell printables and templates of your projects through a blog or bundle it all together and self-publish a book on Amazon.
Auction off your projects on eBay! These one-of-a-kind projects can score top-dollar from fans of the channel.
Of course, eventually you can start reaching out to your contacts for video sponsorships and longer-term relationships. Influencer marketing is HUGE right now and you don’t need a million followers on Instagram to make money. Build an engaged community of a few thousand YouTube subscribers and you’ll start getting sponsorship deals.

3 Keys to Success for Your YouTube DIY Channel

Ask any YouTuber and they’ll give you their three secret tips to growing a channel…but then you look at their channel and wonder why they still only have a few hundred subscribers.

Not so with Serena of ThriftDiving! We met a couple years ago at a bloggers’ conference and she KNOWS Her Stuff! She’s built a community of more than 346,000 subscribers on her DIY channel and they’re some of the most engaged fans I’ve seen.

Serena has eight videos with more than a million views and a total of 33 million views on her channel. She gets higher views on each video because she’s fostered that sense of community around her channel.

Serena has signed Home Depot as a major sponsor and her two boys are now the official Home Depot Kid’s Workshops reps! Follow Serena and her DIY success on Instagram.

I reached out to get her three favorite success tips to growing a DIY channel.

Show your mistakes. As a DIY’er, when I post tutorials, I never try to be the expert. I am a teacher, but sometimes my teaching comes from a place of mistakes I have made in a project, and I’m not afraid to show that. People appreciate it and make me appear human. Relatability is important for success!

I love this! It can be so easy for DIY’ers to get discouraged when their projects don’t come out perfect like the host’s. It helps to show them you’re human just like they are!

Don’t follow the herd. Just because everyone else is using click bait…thumbnails with crazy expressions and tons of emojis….etc., don’t feel you have to follow the crowd. Do what feels authentic to you. People who find you and like you will see your authenticity and that you’re not just following the crowd.

Your personality IS your channel. Trying to be something you’re not is just going to come across as fake. Be you and the fans will follow!

Pique their interest. While you shouldn’t follow the crowds and use clickbait just to follow what everyone else is doing, you do have to keep a bit of intrigue when doing videos. As a DIYer, I find that videos are more successful when I am doing a “BEFORE” and “AFTER” project and I save the “AFTER” for the end of the video.
People don’t want everything placed before them at the start of the video, or even in the thumbnail. So I used “BEFORE” pictures in my thumbnails and people are more likely to click and watch because they want to see what it looks like when I’m done with the project and to hear about everything that went into it. Pique their interest, but don’t clickbait them.

Starting a DIY YouTube channel can be one of the most rewarding and profitable ways to make money online. Not only do you get the satisfaction of creating some great projects but can turn it all into big business. Start with your passion, remember your community and you’ll have a successful DIY channel in no time!

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