Have you ever gone to (or hosted) a party where people brought food and snacks to share? Doesn't it suck when two people bring the exact same thing? Even if you bring something that I'm not interested in, at least be original and unique. You never know who else might like it and eat the whole thing.
When it comes to branding yourself on the world's largest video site, the first thing you need to figure out once you decide to get on YouTube, build your brand and business is simple: What do you bring to the party that we don't already have?
When I first got serious with my channel, I asked myself three questions:

What am I good at? What can I share here that I have more expertise on to make this idea sustainable six months or a year or ten years from now?
What do I like doing? YouTube is not a job; it's something I'll be doing for fun (this was at the very beginning of the Googlization of the site). What would I have fun sharing on the site?
What is no one else doing? This was my most important question. The last thing I wanted to be was a cheap imitation of someone else who was already established on YouTube. I looked around and saw that there was no one on the entire web sharing basketball workouts, drills or tips (unless it was a snippet of a $49.99 DVD program).

When you get started with your channel, you need to pay most attention to question #3. What's unique about you? What do you bring to the party that we don't already have on the food or snack table?

Let's say you're a lawyer and there are already lawyers on YouTube. That doesn't mean you're out of luck or banned from the get-together. It simply means you need to differentiate yourself from whatever else is out there. If the biggest lawyer channel out there has a serious tone, you can have a measure of levity in your content. If someone else's content is similar to what yours would be, but their production -- video or audio quality -- isn't up to par, you can beat them at their own game. If someone is sharing tips on how to argue cases, you can give examples of cases and verdicts, explain what they mean and why. And if there are no lawyers on YouTube yet, congrats! You have an open lane to pave. Need help with that? I can be of assistance.

If you already have an established brand or business and you're using YouTube as a way to increase business, then you already have proved what differentiates you from the rest. Share that in your content.  Again, I'm your guy if you are not quite sure how you can do that.

Your first step, before turning on your camera, is figuring out why people will want to watch your content. You bring something to the party that is not already there, and you'll be surprised at how many people will be eager to have second and third helpings of it.

Need help Creating, Conceptualizing and Enhancing your YouTube channel? Want to establish your existing brand or business on YouTube? Get in touch with me here.