sxsphinxstack

Skills / Start a YouTube channel

Start a YouTube channel

Start a channel around something the person knows. Channel created, first video planned to the shot level, effort stated honestly. Use when they say "I want to start a YouTube channel", "should I make videos", or want to turn a hobby into content.

Use this skill. Nothing to install.

Open in ChatGPT Open in Claude prefilled and ready; just hit send
for Gemini, Copilot, or Cursor: paste it, then say "use the start a youtube channel skill"

Don't have an agent?  ·  Raw file: skills/start-a-youtube-channel.md

Watch the first two minutes

This is how a session goes, including the discouraging part it opens with on purpose. Click through it.

​(pastes the skill) i want to start a youtube channel but everyone says it's a waste of time
Straight answer first: video is the highest-effort format you could pick, most channels die before video five, and views come slowly for a year. Still want it?
yeah. i fix up old bikes with my dad and people always ask how we do stuff
Then you just passed the channel's first survival test, and bikes you actually repair beat any trendy niche you don't live in. Could you talk about bike repair for ten minutes right now, no script?
easily. i could do a whole video just on truing a wheel
Prove the depth: list five videos, right now.
truing a wheel, fixing a slipped chain, what to check before buying a used bike, wrapping bar tape, converting an old frame to single speed
That is a channel. Effort question before we set anything up: one video costs several hours to record and edit. How many hours a month do you honestly have? Monthly is a fine answer. Then the channel goes live with a plain, searchable name, and video one gets planned shot by shot so recording is the only step left. The recording date goes in your calendar this week.

Scripted example of a real session.

Worried it becomes another dead channel?

The skill says the odds out loud before anything gets made: most channels die before video five, and views come slowly for a year. Wanting it anyway is the first test. The second is aiming at what you genuinely know, a subject you could talk about for ten minutes today with no script, because a commentary channel about games you do not play dies by video three. The five-video test and an honest hours-per-month answer set the cadence, and monthly counts. Formats that fit a first channel:

Your best trick, filmed properly A before-and-after short Cover your team's game

What you end up with

A live channel and a video plan detailed enough that recording is the only step left. End state of the session above:

Example
Channel: Otto Fixes Bikes · live
  description set · avatar: phone photo of the workbench

Video 1: "Truing a wobbly wheel with two tools"
  Hook (first 10 s): the wobble filmed close, then
    "twenty minutes, two tools, no bike shop"
  Beats: spot the wobble → spoke key basics → quarter-turns
    only → test spin → when to stop and see a shop
  Ending: the straightened wheel spinning, video 2 teased

Recording: Saturday · phone on a stack of books · garage light
Repo committed: shot list, five-video bank, cadence promise
  (monthly, from an honest 6 hours/month)

Questions people actually ask

Do I need a camera and a mic?

No. A phone and free editing software, CapCut or DaVinci Resolve, are enough. The skill checks what you already own and refuses to let gear shopping become the project.

What if nobody watches for months?

Expect exactly that. The skill states up front that views come slowly for a year, and the plan is built to survive it: a subject you would talk about anyway and a cadence you can keep without an audience.

How do I pick a niche?

You do not pick one because it is popular. The subject is something you could talk about for ten minutes today with no script, tested by naming five videos on the spot.

How often do I have to upload?

The cadence comes from your honest hours per month, since one video takes several hours to record and edit. Monthly is a fine answer, and the skill says so.

Why does a YouTube channel get a repo?

The repo holds the shot lists, the video idea bank, and the cadence promise. It versions your scripts from day one and gives the channel a paper trail a resume can point at.

Where to go from here

Video one planned? The production chain:

Script the video Record clean audio Edit the footage

Ready to publish?

Make a thumbnail Captions and subtitles Publish to YouTube
Curious? Read the full skill — the exact instructions your agent gets 
---
name: start-a-youtube-channel
category: start
description: Start a channel around something the person knows. Channel created, first video planned to the shot level, effort stated honestly. Use when they say "I want to start a YouTube channel", "should I make videos", or want to turn a hobby into content.
---

# start-a-youtube-channel

Start a YouTube channel with someone. Explain the actual production time and
the uncertainty of audience growth without inventing failure rates. Your job is to aim the channel
at what they genuinely know and leave the session with the channel
live and video one planned shot by shot.

## Aim at what they know

The channel subject is something they could talk about for ten
minutes with no script today. Ask what that is: the game they are
actually good at, the sport they play, the thing they repair or
build or cook, the local knowledge nobody else films. Do not let
them pick a niche because it is popular — a commentary channel about
games they do not play is unlikely to remain useful or sustainable.

Test the pick the same way as any recurring format: can they list
five videos right now? Then ask the effort question directly — one
video is realistically several hours of recording and editing. How
many hours a month do they have? Set the cadence from that answer,
and monthly is a fine answer.

## Set up the channel

With them making each call:

- Read YouTube's current account, age, privacy, and publication requirements.
  A minor involves a parent or guardian and does not reveal school, home,
  routine, or precise location in the channel identity or footage.

- Channel name: plain and searchable beats clever. Their own name
  works if the channel is about their skill.
- One-sentence channel description saying who it is for.
- Banner and avatar: simple and legible. A phone photo of their
  actual setup or work beats generated art.
- Recording reality check: what do they own? A phone and free
  editing software (CapCut, DaVinci Resolve) are enough. Do not let
  gear shopping become the project.

## Plan video one, for real

Video one gets planned to the point where recording is the only
step left:

1. They pick the topic from their five-video list — the one they
   know best, not the one they think will get views.
2. Together, write the shot list: hook in the first ten seconds,
   the 3–5 beats of the middle, the ending. Their words throughout;
   you structure, they supply everything said on camera.
3. Set a recording date within the next seven days and put it in
   their calendar.
4. Commit the plan: a repo with the shot list, future video ideas,
   and the cadence promise. It versions their scripts from day one
   and gives the channel a paper trail a resume can point at.

If they want a channel site or a place to embed videos later,
https://sphinxstack.com/skills/build-website/ picks up from here.
More ideas worth filming live at https://sphinxstack.com/ideas/.

## Done

- Channel identity and privacy settings reviewed against current platform rules
- Five grounded video ideas and one shot-level plan saved
- Recording date, realistic time budget, and guardian involvement where needed
  are documented; nothing private is exposed