Congratulations, you are now starting your journey towards becoming an online entrepreneur. Please understand that it will take time to build up authority and momentum for your channel. So patience is key.

I've created this checklist because I like repeatable steps to follow. This allows me to just "do" instead of really having to think. So follow the steps in order so that you can develop a routine of how you optimize your YouTube videos.

The only way you will succeed is by failing. So don't be afraid to hit the publish button. If you make a mistake, you can always edit your listing. Take imperfect action and move your business forward!

Always use your main keyword in your title. You must do everything you can to let YouTube know what your video is about. So if your main keyword is "automatic script review" then make sure that's in your title.

A modifier is some text that can add more specificity to your title and make it more appealing. Examples include adding in the year (2020), or who the video is targeted towards (For Beginners). It could even be a question like the one used in the video. Be creative, but truthful...

Emoji's can help add some pop to your video title. It can help to attract eyeballs to your video and break up monotonous text. But don't overdo it!

It is incredibly important to make sure you add your main keyword in the first sentence of your description. Do so within the first 100 characters. This tells YouTube what your video is about.

The reason you want to include your landing page link early on is that you want it to show up "above the fold." You want to provide the least path of resistance for the viewer to click on your link. Having them click on the "SEE MORE" link is an extra step and you may not get the click because of it.

You have 5,000 characters to play with in the description area. Use it to advantage by adding more context about your video, without giving away what it's about.

You can add up to 3 hashtags. This will help with the discoverability of your video. Do not place your hashtags at the top of your description as this will take up valuable real estate. In fact you can place the hashtags anywhere within the description and YouTube will naturally embed them at the top.

Tags are the equivalent of keywords. They are search terms people use to find content on YouTube. Again, consistency is key to triggering the algorithm. The first tag should be your main keyword.

There are tools out there to help you gain insight into which tags are being used by other videos. I'll show you an example of one called TubeBuddy. It's a free browser plugin that is similar to another tool called VidIQ. Both will help you find other relevant tags for your video.

The end screen allows you to promote your other video content, relevant playlists, and get people to subscribe to your channel. But what happens when you're starting off? Don't worry, because you can still add in videos from related channels. And although you might think this is a bad thing to do, it's actually good because YouTube wants visitors to stay on their platform for as long as possible. This helps with ad revenue and allows them to gather other bits of information about that visitor to enhance their overall experience.

Info cards are the little pop ups that show up during specific moments of a video. They are meant to provide the viewer with the opportunity to watch a video/playlist or visit a website about a related topic that was being discussed in the video. You can have up to 5 info cards added to your video. So this is when talking about your other related content can pay big dividends.

Just do it! :-)

Many people forget to do this, but adding a comment to build engagement or to give the viewer one last CTA, can help. It's simple to do. But don't forget to give your comment a Like, Heart, and Pin it to the top of your comments. Additional Tip: Don't forget to Like your own video too!

Too many words and you clutter up the thumbnail. Keep it simple and "sell" the viewer on what they are about to watch.

By using less words, the viewer can also see the thumbnail clearly when viewing their YouTube search results on a mobile device.

The reason why you should keep the words on the left side of the thumbnail is that YouTube places a timestamp on the bottom right corner of your thumbnail. This timestamp gets bigger on a mobile device so that the viewer can clearly see how long the video is.

Now...if you place you words on the right side of the thumbnail, that timestamp could potentially cover up a word that is critical in getting them to click on your video.

This is optional, but it will help you to build your brand and authority if people can see your face. So I choose to add mine on my thumbnails and there experts out there who will say that it helps to build trust.

Building a brand is easy when you have consistency in everything you do. Same goes with your thumbnails.

Experiment at first to find a style that works for you. Then create a template that allows you to swap out the main image and change the text.

This eliminates the overthinking that paralyzes many beginners and stops them from progressing.

Watch the Overview video to see what I mean.

Your thumbnail is the first thing people see as they scroll through the YouTube search results. Therefore it must be eye-catching, simple to read, but also interesting too (think "clickbait"). I follow some very specific rules designed so that the process of creating a thumbnail is fast and efficient. Watch this video get an overview of how I do this.