by Google
If you're planning to build a successful YouTube channel, avoid common mistakes that can slow your growth, reduce your views, or even endanger your channel. In this article, we'll show you the biggest YouTube mistakes to avoid to achieve success, increase engagement, and protect your privacy. Become a professional YouTube content creator with these proven tips! 
1. NOT Notifying subscribers of new videos
When uploading videos, always make sure and check that the “notify your subscribers” box is checked. If you turn this notification off, your content may not reach the audience that expects it and it can reduce your viewership and engagement. This feature is designed to get your content directly to those who follow you and wait for your videos.
Schedule your video uploads carefully. YouTube limits these notifications to three in 24 hours. Therefore, if you plan to upload multiple videos, choose the ones you want to promote. It is important to publish videos at times when your audience is most active. You can find this data in the YouTube Studio analytics, and if you want to read more about the timing of video publication, read this article 👇🏼.
2. Excessive use of profanity
Using vulgarity in your YouTube videos can significantly affect the performance of your content. Yes, the platform allows a certain amount of swearing, but excessive use can cause you various problems. YouTube may mark your video as not suitable for viewers under 18, which means the video will not be visible to younger audiences and will not appear in recommendations for a wider range of viewers.
Ads will not appear on videos that contain a lot of profanity or inappropriate content, which may result in you losing ad revenue. And lastly, too many vulgarisms can have a negative impact on the reach and recommendations of your videos.
,,Well, here it is important to avoid swearing at the beginning of the video, and especially do not put swearing in the title or preview. Censorship will not help you either, because YouTube can recognize it if you write, for example, pi*a ko*ot.”
How to use language effectively?
The most important factor is who your content is intended for and who your audience is. If you are creating content for a general audience, including younger viewers, try to avoid vulgarity altogether. You can use it when creating content for an mature audience, but we recommend using it carefully and in context. However, it is best to be creative and replace vulgarity with some funny phrases or expressions. And if you don't know what you can and can't do, study the YouTube monetization and community guidelines to avoid unnecessary problems.
3. How-tos for bypassing the rules
YouTube places a lot of emphasis on respecting the community guidelines. Creating content that shows how to circumvent certain features, rules, or restrictions of YouTube or other websites poses a risk to your channel.
Examples of such content include instructions for downloading videos or audio from YouTube without using official tools. They also include demonstrations of how to circumvent restrictions when purchasing content on different platforms, tips for manipulating the YouTube algorithm (falsely increasing views or subscribers), or instructions for circumventing copyright protection. 
What are the risks of circumventing features?
If you show videos that you shouldn't, YouTube may remove your content and your channel may receive a warning or even a strike. By receiving three strikes for violating the rules, your channel will be permanently removed. This can cost you years of work, memories, and community. It can also damage your reputation and credibility.
How to behave responsibly?
YouTube is a platform designed to encourage creators who follow the rules and protect viewers from inappropriate content. So try to focus on ethical content that brings value to your community. If you're not sure if your content is okay, check out the YouTube Community Guidelines.
4. Improperly organized contests and giveaways
A popular way among creators to attract an audience and increase engagement on their channel are contests and giveaways. However, organizing them incorrectly can lead to problems, including violations of YouTube's policies, fines, or damage to your reputation.
How to organize a contest?
Any contest you decide to organize must have official, clear, and publicly available rules. This includes the conditions of participation (age, country of origin), method of selection of the winner(s), start date and end date of the competition, and details about the prize and its delivery. According to YouTube's rules, you must state that the platform is not a sponsor or organizer of your competition. If you collect data about the competition participants in any way during the competition, you must clearly state why you are collecting it, how you will use it, and ensure that its processing is in accordance with the GDPR. By taking these steps, you will avoid loss of credibility and, in worse cases, legal problems.
5. Overuse of hashtags
Hashtags are an effective tool for organizing content, labeling topics, and categories, and they can help viewers discover your content more easily. Overuse or misuse of hashtags can lead to YouTube ignoring or even penalizing your hashtags.
How does it work and what problems can it cause for you?
Viewers use hashtags to search for content that is related to specific topics. If you choose relevant hashtags well, they can help you improve your search rankings. However, if your video contains more than 60 hashtags, YouTube will start ignoring them all, making them meaningless and irrelevant to your content.
If you use irrelevant or misleading hashtags, they may be considered spam, which in turn will lead to your video being removed from search. And as with all mistakes, incorrectly used hashtags can also cause you to lose credibility. Therefore, only use hashtags that are directly related to the content of your video. For example, if your video is about "DIY Christmas decorations," use hashtags like #DIY, #ChristmasDecorations, #Creation. The ideal number is 3 to 5 hashtags per video.
6. Misleading Celebrity Thumbnails
The thumbnail is one of the most important elements that affects the success of your video. Using images of famous people in your thumbnails can attract attention, but you should only use them if they are relevant to the content of your video. If you use them just to attract attention and the images are not related to the content of your video, you can lose the audience's trust. Misleading thumbnails are also against the platform rules and therefore, their repeated use may lead to sanctions from YouTube.
How to use celebrities in thumbnails correctly?
Only use images of famous people and celebrities if the video contains information about that person. Use legal images and publicly available images. If you want to use a celebrity thumbnail to attract attention, make sure that viewers get what they expect from the video.
7. Using materials without the necessary rights
Using graphics, music, videos, images, or other content that you don't have the necessary rights to can cause problems for your YouTube channel. YouTube strictly monitors the use of protected content, and you can face several types of sanctions for violations. If a rights owner reports your video, YouTube can limit its visibility or even remove it. Another, not very pleasant, way is to issue a penalty point, or strike. Three such penalty points can mean permanent removal of your channel. An unpleasant, but less serious risk is limiting monetization of the video by disabling ads. In some cases, rights holders may seek financial compensation or take legal action.
Make sure you don't infringe copyright
Use content from websites that offer the material under a license. You can find music, for example, on Epidemic Sound, Artlist or AudioJungle, graphics and videos on Shutterstock, Adobe Stock, Pexels or Unsplash. Other tips are Free Music Archive or Pixabay. If you are not 100% sure, read the licensing terms before using any material. The best way to have complete control over the content is to create your own graphics. However, there are exceptions to this. 
Fair Use concept
Fair Use is a legal concept that allows limited use of legally protected content. These are situations where the use of such content is considered fair. Content must serve a specific purpose and is often the subject of legal debate. You can apply Fair Use if it is for educational purposes, for example, a film preview in a lecture on cinematography. Other cases are parodies, satire, commentary or criticism of a work. News is a sphere where content can be used “most freely” since it is about informing about current events.
8. Ensuring privacy and security
As a YouTube creator, you are publicly available, which means that your privacy and security can easily be compromised. Therefore, it is important to take measures that can largely prevent scammers and hackers from misusing your personal information or, in the worst case, gaining access to your account.
How to protect your personal information?
Create a special email for contacting brands, partners, or fans. Try to avoid using an email that is directly linked to your YouTube account. This is important! Do not click on random links from accounts that you do not recognize or that look suspicious. If someone sends you an unknown link, search for the page manually and verify what it is about. And under no circumstances download files that you don't know. Also, don't forget to activate two-factor authentication and of course use secure and strong passwords. To be on the safe side, write them down somewhere, especially if you have a memory like Dory. Regularly check which devices have access to your account and delete those that you don't use. And lastly, if you're connecting to public Wi-Fi networks, use a VPN.
9. Protecting personal data in videos
In addition to securing your email addresses and passwords, you should also be careful about what you mention and show in your videos. You will prevent possible harassment, stalking or theft.
What not to show?
Your car's license plate can reveal your address, although it is true that with the arrival of new license plates in Slovakia, they no longer need to match your residential address. Speaking of that address, you should not publish that one either. You never know who will see your content and you don't want to attract any unwanted attention or a stalker. If you also go to work in addition to YouTube, don't publish your work address either. If you're filming at a desk, be careful not to accidentally show any data on your monitor, such as emails, invoices, or account numbers.
Building a successful YouTube channel isn't just about creative content, it's also about being responsible about the rules and protecting your data. By following these recommendations, you'll avoid unnecessary complications and be able to focus your energy on what matters most - reaching your audience and creating quality content. Start your channel on the right track and avoid mistakes that can hinder your growth.
