Start a YouTube Channel

Channel Launch Checklist

Companion to the lessons "Set Up the Channel Like a Business" and "Your First 90 Days & Going Deeper"

Decisions (week one)

☐ Niche sentence written (the only task that cannot wait)
☐ Channel scan run: five channels and five outlier videos saved for later mining
☐ First ten video packages written, title and thumbnail text only, as an evergreen ladder in demand order
☐ Lane and cadence chosen; commitment device signed: thirty videos before any verdict

☐ Name you can say out loud twice without explaining it (your own name is the safest default)
☐ Same handle claimed on the platform, plus matching domain and handles elsewhere if possible
☐ Banner, about section, and channel description written in one voice, one palette, one font, one clear sentence of what the channel is for

☐ Audio first: wired lavalier (about $15 to $35) or USB mic upgrade ($50 to $100 band)
☐ Light second: window at your face, or one ring light / softbox LED (up to about $40)
☐ Camera last: the phone you own, tripod or stack of books at eye level
☐ Free editor only; no subscriptions yet; clean background corner chosen

☐ Password manager with a unique password for the channel's Google account
☐ Two-step verification on, authenticator app rather than text codes
☐ "Sponsorship opportunity" with a file or verification link treated as hostile until proven otherwise
☐ Separate checking account opened for the channel, before revenue
☐ Backup folder created: raw footage and final edits on a second drive or cloud folder
☐ Never buy views, subscribers, or engagement; the monetization review examines where watch time came from

☐ Practice video filmed and never published; pipeline run once end to end; watched back with headphones
☐ First publish ritual: upload, plain-topic description, end screen set to the ladder's next rung, pinned comment with one useful link, reply to every comment in the first hours, then close the laptop