Authors: How to Effectively Use YouTube to Market Your books AND Position Your Expertise

I’ve had a YouTube channel for years. Until recently, I didn’t have a focused theme. I was all over the place uploading videos that addressed many topics.

Whatever struck my fancy, I would turn on my camera or iPhone and presto! a video was created.

Although some of my videos received thousands of views, the majority had under 100 views each. Not a good return on investment for the time it takes to shoot a video and upload it.

The amount of work that goes into a video with 10 views compared to 10,000 views is the same.

This supports the philosophy to plan out marketing regardless of the avenues you choose.

YouTube is Powerful for MarketingYouTube is one of the most powerful resources for marketing and visibility. However, as I discovered through careful analysis, it takes more, much more, than simply uploading videos.

My goal with my YouTube Channel and videos is to teach viewers how to market their books, sell more books and make more money in their business. With this in mind, I am adjusting my efforts to achieve greater results from my efforts. You will be well-served to do the same.

Be Clear on Your Purpose and Goals
To get the most out of your efforts you need to be extremely clear on the purpose of your channel.
You also need to optimize your videos with a few simple strategies including the title of your video, playlist names, description and call to action.

My focus is all about book marketing and sales. As I create content driven videos, my focus MUST be on the theme at hand. To do so will get me greater results and make it much easier for viewers to benefit from the content.

Video TitleYour title must appeal to your ideal viewer. Create a title that is accurate and clearly describes what people will see. If your videos are part of a series, or theme, add a common phrase to the title.

For example, for my book marketing videos I start the title with either “Book marketing” or “Book marketing strategies.” This makes it much easier for those interested in book marketing to find the videos.

PlaylistsThe playlist feature keeps your videos organized in a way that they are easier to find for your viewer. A playlist is a collection of videos.

Viewers usually enjoy watching more than one video on a topic. Playlists allow them to do so with ease. Playlists allow you to organize your videos into easy-to-find sections.

DescriptionThe video description is an important part of getting lots of views. Keep descriptions concise and compelling. Add in a link to your blog or website at the beginning of the description. Be sure to add in the http:// to the URL.

At the end of your description, add in a CTA – call to action. For example, if you have a giveaway that is directly related to the topic of the video, add that in at the end of the description. Granted, not everyone will take you up on the free offer, but even if 10% of viewers do, this can equate to lots of new subscribers over time.

Even though YouTube has a 5,000-character limit for descriptions, you don’t need to use all 5,000 characters.

People want information fast and easy. Less is more in most cases.

Call to Action (CTA)As the name implies, a CTA is designed to get viewers to take a specific action. You can have a CTA in the video and in the description. Admittedly, I have not utilized the CTA in videos as effectively as possible… until now. Moving forward, I plan to add a CTA to my videos, especially those about book marketing.

Something as simple as “Remember to subscribe to this channel” can result in your viewers taking action.A CTA in your description can increase your subscriber list size by offering a high-value gift.

The bottom line is this, YouTube can be a great way to serve your market AND increase your influence. As with anything, the more strategic you are, the better.

Think through what you want to accomplish. It’s better to have fewer videos that are fully optimized rather than lots of videos that get you no results.