1. Make an account.

Simply go to youtube.com and click the "create account" tab.

Seems obvious, right? Then why haven't you done it yet? I will tell you why. Because it seems daunting and scary, and thus overwhelming.

I assume you like swimming. When you first learned, you may have been nervous, but eventually you had to stick your foot in the water and jump in. So start an account and dive in! If you have not done that yet, STOP READING THIS AND START AN ACCOUNT NOW! Then come back, please.

2. Choose a name people will remember.

When choosing a username, you want it to be easy to read and for it to relate to what you are discussing on YouTube.

Keep in mind you are going to have this name for a long time, so do not try to be too cute or too specific. Make the name catchy and easy to remember, while allowing for some flexibility. You never know what direction you will go in the future.

Remember your first email address? Superpartyguy#[email protected] or something to that effect? That was cute for a week, but it wore thin really quick. Do not make the same mistake in your real estate career.

An example of name that is too specific would be PleasantvilleCondoAgentJane. A better example would be AgentJane. If you go with the first one, you better be sure you want to sell condos in Pleasantville for a LONG TIME.

3. Introduce yourself with style!

Your first video should introduce you and talk about what your channel will be providing. Give people a taste of what you have to offer them. As a real estate agent, when things are getting started you probably do not have a lot of properties to display in a video. However, you do love your community. (If you don't, then why are you selling real estate there?) So showcase that. If you make your first video well, it can also become your channel trailer.

This is your first chance to position yourself as an expert in the community, so be a rockstar!

Keep in mind that people can be very harsh. We learn to deal with this as real estate agents all the time. However, on YouTube people's claws are a little sharper as they hide behind the shield of not being seen. Keep your head held high, and don't let anybody bring you down. For your channel to be successful, you have to be you! That is what will make it special, and at the end of the day, that is what you are selling, after all-you! But it also means that you are opening yourself up to criticism.

You'll want to decide whether you'll even leave a video open to commenting. It's not always the right thing to give people space to trivialize or downgrade your hard work. But at the same time, it is that interaction with the viewers that can get you business.

4. Come up with a variety of ideas and plan them out.

Business plans include marketing; marketing includes YouTube. Sitting down to figure out where you want to go with this YouTube channel is huge. You want to plan at least several months ahead with a bit of flexibility, as you will learn new things about yourself and your audience as you go.

Remember to choose quality over quantity. If you do not plan, you will end up throwing lots of random videos up that will end up not being cohesive to your mission.

If you can't think of ideas, watch videos from other real estate agents in other areas. You will eventually get some ideas for inspiration that will get you started.

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5. Create videos that are time relevant.

It is great to have videos that stand the test of time. But if people subscribe, that means they want updates with recent information.

Here is an idea. Have a "street of the month". Tell people what houses are going for on that street for that month, while saying what is great about that particular street. Keeping up with this routine will also ensure you stay knowledgeable about the local market.

You can also do videos discussing local events in the neighborhood or changing laws. But that is unpredictable. Having a "street of the month" is something you can do on a regular basis regardless of what else is going on, and it shows that you are up to date on your information.

Reviews are great as well. After all, you are the expert on all things relating to the home. You should know who the local gardener is, which fixtures or paint colors you like best, or which furnishings work well when showing a home. You get the idea. Reviews open up a whole world of options for videos. Keep your review as non-biased as possible. Have a descriptive opinion on it. Also, don't get too excessive with the bad opinions. They may offend some people, so keep it descriptive and stick to the facts.

Don't be afraid to compliment your competition. Not only will it show confidence to your viewers, but people tend to reciprocate good deeds. And let's face it. Real estate is a small world.

6. Focus on the cute.

Kittens, puppies, babies, etc. are the sorts of things people LOVE. Somehow, there is always room for more! Find the sorts of things your viewers like by way of cuteness, and keep delivering. This is a well-documented trick. If you can find a kitten to be in your video, then great! The comments will explode.

7. Keep it simple.

Once you have a plan that works for you, do not get sidetracked. People like a certain style and brand when they start subscribing and will expect more of the same style as you add more. Of course, this doesn't mean you can't grow and change for the better; it just means you shouldn't leap from income property one week to vacation homes in Tahiti the next. (Unless that is your channel's theme!)

Try to make your evolution logical and natural.

8. Use basic video techniques.

If you are using a video camera, natural light is the best lighting you can use for YouTube. This works perfectly, because most of your videos should be outside in front of the real estate you are selling.

If you are filming inside, backgrounds are good to have. You don't want a dark background or a background that blends in with your outfit. You can buy or make backgrounds.

Taking good video footage can be challenging. Therefore, try some really nice photos with your voice over them. You know, like grandma's slide shows. Simple and clean is better than fancy and messy. Just make sure the lighting on the photos is consistent. That is much easier to do than video and can make for a very nice presentation. It is very easy to drop pictures into any video editing program.

9. Choose good tags.

Choosing tags is an important step to the video upload process. Choosing popular tags will make it harder for people to find your video; choosing unique but accurate tags should bring you more views. This can be easily done in real estate by using tags such as your name, your brokerage's name, and/or the town you are working in.

Use concise titles, descriptions, and tags. YouTube sorts videos out based on the title of the video, the description, and then the tags, in that order.

Place tags in your description as well, as it increases the likelihood that you will get views on your YouTube video.

For example: If you were uploading a video about what you thought of New York real estate, you wouldn't just put "New York", because there would be too many results to sort through. But if you were to put New York, real estate, Upper East Side, apartments, and sold, you would probably end up with a lot more views, not because there are more tags than just New York, but because it really narrows the search results down.

10. Focus on subscribers, not page views.

Having subscribers is one of the most important things to have on YouTube. When someone subscribes to a channel, they become your fan. This means they are following you and care about what you say. A view could be somebody who is just passing by and may not care about what you are doing. Subscribers will become your client base and your referral base.

On every YouTube channel, there is a box called the description box. Many people take this space for granted, but anytime someone views your channel they will see what you write there, so you may want to give clues about future videos or tell a little about yourself. If you write good convincing material, this can be a great way to gain subscribers.

The best way to keep subscribers is to always keep your word. For example, if you say your video will be out on Friday, make sure you have a video posted by Friday (see the "planning" discussion above). Another way to keep subscribers is to have a steady pace of videos, like one per week, two per week, or whatever it may be. Keep it reliable.