The free content ideas on this list are designed to help you come up with a flood of ideas for what to record and how to refine your channel. With better content, you’ll get more views and Youtube’s algorithm will reward you handsomely.
There are several brilliant content ideas you can embark on with your youtube channel that will make it a successful marketing platform. There is no need to suffer from a lack of subscribers or views when it can be easily fixed by creating interesting videos often.
Comedy Sketches
When you’re amid a two-hour YouTube binge-fest, you can probably blame the endless amount of funny videos that flood the platform. Some of the most successful YouTubers create comedy sketches, like Jenna Marbles, a blogger turned YouTube sensation who has over 19 million subscribers, and Jimmy Tatro, a college kid who made hilarious videos for fun, but ended up turning it into a career, amassing over 3 million subscribers to this day.
Jenna and Jimmy both built their YouTube followings with low-production videos, but they completely nailed the humor and storytelling in most of their videos, too. With this in mind, if you can write a funny script, building a successful comedy channel with a low budget is possible.
Web Series
The human brain is wired to respond to well-crafted narratives. Neuroscience proves that storytelling is the best way to capture people’s attention, bake information into their memories, and forge close, personal bonds. We’re programmed to crave and seek out great stories — that’ll never change.
If you can structure your YouTube channel like a season of television and weave your videos into a narrative-driven series, then you can get viewers hooked on your content — just like your favorite Netflix show.
Music
Covers of songs are some of the most entertaining videos on YouTube. People love listening to aspiring artists’ personal twists on their favorite songs. So if you can sing or play instruments, consider covering your favorite, trending, or hit songs and upload them to YouTube. Who knows, maybe you could even get discovered and become the next Justin Bieber or Tori Kelly.
Album Reviews
This highly popular channel idea is full of endless possibilities as new music is made every day. Famous YouTuber Anthony Fantano has been consistently reviewing both prominent and underground albums over a wide range of music genres for the past decade and earned a cult following for sharing his opinions. While his videos have reached millions, they are relatively easy to record yourself. If you have an ear for music, you’d be surprised to find just how many people would like to hear what you have to say.
Tutorials
Whether they’re guitar lessons, beauty lessons, or how-to videos about making popsicle stick houses for your hamster, people love learning how to enjoy their lives more. If you can cover topics that people are passionate about and teach them how to get better at these things, they’ll be able to live better lives. This’ll grow your channel’s brand loyalty and sentiment, retaining your viewers’ attention and attracting their friends’ attention by way of word-of-mouth marketing.
Software Tutorials
You don’t have to be a software engineer to make software tutorials, but having a good grasp on how to use them can make for some good YouTube tutorials. The software can encompass subjects like application and system software, YouTube viewers could benefit from learning how to accurately put theirs to use, or how to install newer versions of it.
Photography
Photography is considered an art form that takes many different forms. Photos can capture a landscape, family portraits, or more creative editorial content. YouTube is a great website to share tutorials on how to take the best photos for different purposes and equipment. Likewise, you don’t even need expensive cameras or software to create great photos as some photography videos teach people how to take great iPhone photos.
Video Editing
There are dozens of editing software available to users, but many may be overlooked as videographers may not know how to use them to their full capability. If you know how to use Premiere Pro or other quality software, posting a tutorial could engage your viewers to experiment with their content in ways they haven’t thought of before.
Self Help
Another way you can grow your channel’s brand loyalty and sentiment is by helping people solve their problems. Whether it’s about their career or personal life, you can give people advice about common issues that you’ve experienced or that they ask about. But make sure you have extensive knowledge, education, or personal experience surrounding these topics. Otherwise, people will think you’re a quack and lose trust in you.
Cleaning and Organization
Usually marketed toward large family households, even single living people can enjoy the benefits of house cleaning tips and reorganization to make a home more attractive. Making videos tackling tough to clean messes or untidy clothing bins can motivate viewers to do the same.
Minimalism
The world dealt while immense change last year, among those changes, was increased periods spent at home. The rise of decluttering and minimalism skyrocketed as people strived to make their houses more enjoyable, and filming your minimalist tips could help people in their journeys. Corey Jones shares minimalism tips from home decorating, wardrobe, and even down to the equipment he uses to film his content.
Style
Everyone wants to look good. And by evaluating new clothing, keeping people updated on new trends and styles, and teaching them how to always look their best, you can build a dedicated YouTube following. If your YouTube channel is popular, you can also attract sponsors who will pay you to review their clothing and offer deals to your audience.
Cooking
Humans’ love for cooking is primal. I mean, we need food to survive, so it makes complete sense that people are always trying to master certain dishes and learn about new ones. To help them do this, guide them through your recipes, delve into the techniques you use, and show them what their food should look like at each stage of your recipe. This will help them make the best dish possible. When sharing your techniques, don’t be afraid to add a little humor to your cooking like Joshua Weissman.
Baking
Another part of YouTube that has significantly gained popularity is baking videos. As people scrambled to look for ways to use their free time in 2020, many found ways to make baked goods a fun and enjoyable pastime. You don’t have to be a professional chef to share a recipe you’ve adapted, and chances are if it’s simple or quick, people will be more inclined to tune in because they can see themselves trying it out.
Business
Okay, this one is not so much trending as it is essential for most businesses that have any presence online. While you might not be advertising on YouTube, it doesn’t mean having an account isn’t useful. You can have tutorial videos for your product or testimonials or videos from events, and more! If you have video content (which you should) YouTube is a great place to have them stored.
Fashion
Fashion is always trending, and there is always an audience for people with good fashion advice. If you consider yourself one – starting a fashion channel is a very popular YouTube channel idea that many opt for, so try to be unique.
Gaming
This can be an incredibly fun AND lucrative area if you are into gaming. E-sports is a growing industry so if you have unparalleled aim and skill in Call of Duty: Modern Warfare or Fortnite, this could be your calling. If so, make sure your channel looks the part with some YouTube gaming channel art.
Movies & TV
If you are a film buff, and just love talking intricacies about films & TV series, why not share your thoughts with a larger audience? People just like you love listening to others’ opinions online about the latest blockbuster, or even more niche film categories.
Sports and Fitness
This has always been a solid favorite of anyone interested in sports and fitness, and since COVID changed our world and shut our gyms, sports and fitness channels have been on the rise.
Music
This type of channel idea could be anything from singing songs, to teaching songs, or giving tutorials. Whatever your music interest, Youtube can be a way to disseminate your knowledge on topics or your skills on the guitar.
Gaming YouTube Video Ideas
Gaming is one of the most popular (and lucrative) industries on YouTube. According to Forbes, some of the highest-paid YouTube creators are gamers. Here’s a list of video ideas in the gaming niche to get your creative juices flowing.
Record Raw Gameplay
If you’ve ever watched gaming videos on YouTube, you know that screen-recorded gameplay videos are a hit with viewers. The trick to getting these videos right is to show the audience the real deal — don’t edit out your mistakes from the video. People love to see authenticity, not perfection. This will also keep things entertaining and add opportunities for humor. You can also live-stream your gameplay and let viewers join you in chat or the actual game.
Create a Walkthrough
If there’s a new game out in the market, hop on the trend and create a walkthrough video for other gamers looking to play it. Or, if there’s a difficult game or level that you’ve aced, you can help others by creating a walkthrough video. The same concept can be applied to gaming devices or software — there’s almost always someone looking for a video guide.
Make a Gaming Review
If you have tried playing a newly released game, share your thoughts about the game with your audience in a video. Break down the game’s storyline, and talk about the characters, graphics, and loopholes. Making these videos can help your audience decide whether they should purchase the game or not.
Share Gaming News & Updates
There’s a lot that goes on in the gaming industry on a daily basis. Keep your audience updated with the latest happenings by making videos on hot news, trends, and releases. Making videos on news and updates will also help your content show higher up in search results as the algorithm favors trending topics.
Make Gameplay Reaction Videos
People on the internet love watching reaction videos, and the gaming industry is no exception. One great idea is to create a roundup video of shocking or funny gameplay videos of the week while recording yourself reacting to each one — your audience will love it.
Discuss a Game Developer
You may have a favorite game developer, or you might want to request better games or new features from one. Create a video to not only get their attention but also gather support from your viewers and lovers of the game. In your video, you can point out the game developer’s best games, mistakes rise, falls, and more.
Share Your Unique Game Settings
Your gaming settings may be different from other gamers around the world. If your settings are working well for you, share them with your audience by making a video about them. Other than just showing the settings in a screengrab, you can also explain how those specific settings affect your gameplay.
Conclusion
Whether you choose to make videos with a team or go solo, there are plenty of free content ideas for youtube that can help you get started. Of course, free content ideas for youtube aren’t just about what you show in your videos. It’s also about how you present them. Make sure to spend a bit of time on the audio and visuals, too. After all, that first impression is everything!