How to Start a Popular YouTube Channel in Kenya [Full 2024 Guide]

There is a chance that you have heard stories of people making outlandish incomes on YouTube.¹ Most of those stories are true.

With over 2 billion users and 6 billion page views daily,² YouTube offers an unbeatable opportunity for content creators to turn their passions into income earners.

This guide will show you a proven strategy for starting a profitable YouTube channel in Kenya.

To ensure you follow the process closely, we will create a YouTube channel for Omoka Kenya in this guide.

How to Start a YouTube Channel in Kenya

This is the most straightforward guide on how to open a YouTube channel in Kenya. We will outline the step-by-step process that successful YouTubers use to start channels generating insane income.

If you have no idea, the highest-paid YouTubers globally are Vlad and Niki,³ a six and four-year-old brother duo. They bag around 31 million shillings per video upload. Don’t let it get into your head though, it takes a lot of work, consistency, and patience to reach such levels.

All the same, anyone can start a channel and get impressive returns from it. The best part is you don’t need expensive equipment to create and share your videos. You will be good to go with a good smartphone or a laptop and a data plan or, better yet, Wi-Fi.

Step-by-step Guide on How to Create a YouTube Channel in Kenya

Here are the steps you should follow when starting your own money-making YouTube Channel in Kenya.

• Step 1: Pick a niche
• Step 2: Create your channel
• Step 3: Create Content
• Step 4: Grow your Audience
• Step 5: Monetize your YouTube channel

Step 1: Pick a Profitable Niche

Before going any further, you need to ask yourself: which type of content do you want to create? What are the most profitable YouTube topics in Kenya?

There is nothing you can’t talk about on YouTube unless it’s illegal. You can base the niche you choose on two critical factors:

• Consider what you are passionate about. For example, if you are a hairdresser, your channel can be about beauty.
• Look at the most lucrative niches, then settle on one. This way, it will be easier to gain followers and start earning.

For Omoka Kenya, we will be creating a Channel to teach people how to make more money in Kenya through side hustles, investing, business, passive income, and career.

So, our niche will be ‘personal finance.’

Currently, the top YouTube niches in Kenya include:

• Reality
• Comedy
• Cooking
• DIYs
• Fashion and Beauty
• Fitness
• Tech reviews

Reality

We can give several examples of people doing this, from the Wa Jesus family to the Bahati’s. The tricky part of starting such a channel, you at least need to be locally famous. If nobody knows you, no one will care about what you do.

Comedy

Kenyans love a good laugh. That explains why Churchill is on the Kenyan highest-paid list. If you have funny bones, make awesome rib-cracking content. In a realistic period, your channel will have grown substantially.

Cooking

How about showing us how to make tasty treats? Share some of your recipes and watch viewers flock to your channel to learn and steal some tips. One thing about this niche is that foodies constantly look for new ways to make their favorite dish or a new meal.

As a result, as long as you post detailed cooking procedures, they will be back for each upload.

DIYs

Show people easy hacks they can use to make things on their own. This is a broad niche that you can narrow down if you want to. Instead of showcasing general DIYs, you can decide to settle on a single topic like home décor or fashion.

Whatever you choose, they will buy it without second thoughts. People love DIYs in this century.

Fashion and Beauty

You can barely go wrong with this category. Fashion keeps evolving, and everyone, especially ladies, loves to look fabulous. Therefore, let your channel focus on things like how to do makeup, the trendiest hairstyles, and open-air overhauls, among others.

Fitness

This is another demanding niche. With so many lifestyle diseases and obesity issues, people are striving to keep fit. Come up with exciting workouts they can try. You can also advise your subscribers on diets they can adapt to drop a few kilograms.

Lifestyle 

The likes of Maxine Wabosha lie here. Show your audience that new hairstyle you know how to do. Or else your skincare routine. You can even decide to do travel vlogs or talk about that restaurant you get your favorite burger. The list is endless.

Tech Reviews

If you love gadgets, this is for you. Talk about the newest iPhone model or how to use the new Play Station 5. Show anyone who wants to buy a thing if it is worth it. People love checking out reviews before buying an appliance or gadget.

Step 2: Create Your YouTube Channel

Now that you have a niche or topic of interest in mind, it’s time to create your channel.

To do this, you will need a Google account. That’s just a complicated term for your Gmail email address.

Follow along as we create a Google account for Omoka Kenya. If you already have a Google account, skip this place.

1. Open a Google account.

Visit the Google Accounts page, fill in your details, and create a password.

Click on ‘Next’

On the next page, you can enter optional details such as phone number, recovery email, date of birth, and gender. Otherwise, you are pretty much done. So, let’s create our YouTube Channel.

2. Create your YouTube channel

1. Go to YouTube.com and click on SIGN IN. This is a button on the upper right corner. You should see your profile picture if you are already signed in.
2. A list of Google accounts should appear. If the one you just created is not on the list, click ‘Use another account’. Otherwise, click on the account you want to use with your channel.
3. Enter the email address you just created.
4. Click ‘Next’, enter your password, and you will be signed in to YouTube. Now, it’s time to create your Channel.
5. Click on your profile picture (or the first letter of your name) in the upper right corner. In our case, it will be an ‘O’. Click on ‘Create Channel’ from the drop-down menu. You will be asked to choose your YouTube channel name. You can either use your Google account name or create a custom name. We will go with our Google account name. Feel free to change yours to whatever you want or leave it as it is.

That’s it! You have created your YouTube channel. You can go on and upload a profile picture, write a short description of your channel, and add links to your website and social media accounts.

You can add these details later, but it would be best to get it over with.

With the channel set, it is time to deck yourself right. Add a great profile picture, channel icon, and banner players. Click on your profile’s icon, choose ‘Your Channel’, then ‘Customize Channel’. Upload the pictures you prefer.

Step 3: Upload Your First Video

Yey! It’s time to upload your first-ever YouTube video. They call it a channel’s trailer. This is the video to introduce who you are and tell your viewers what you will be talking about or doing. You don’t want to go straight to business.

Don’t worry about making this first video perfect. When you sharpen your vlogging skills, you can re-do the trailer later.

How to Create Great YouTube Videos

Whichever niche you choose, you must create fantastic content for your channel. With so many YouTubers competing for the same audience, standing out is essential.

In a nutshell, a great YouTube video should be:

• Helpful – Apart from comedy and reality videos, other niches such as cooking tutorials, lifestyle, or DIYs need to offer actual help to the viewers.
• Short – You are not making a movie or documentary. Don’t bore your audience with hours-long videos. Be brief and sweet… and helpful.
• High-quality – Even if you don’t have a professional camera, ensure your videos don’t resemble something from the 70s movies.
• Well-edited – Take advantage of the many video-editing apps to spruce up your videos before uploading. Remove anything that might offend the viewers or make the video unnecessarily long.
• Understandable – Avoid unnecessary jargon. Take your time and explain procedures or steps clearly without confusing the viewer. Otherwise, they will look for something better.

Organize Your Channel

You need a YouTube Playlist. This helps to categorize your videos accordingly so your audience can easily navigate your channel.

On your channel’s page, click ‘Customize Channel,’ choose ‘Add a section,’ then in the drop-down menu, select ‘Single Playlist’. Add videos, then click ‘Done.’

Step 4: Grow Your Audience

Before earning from your channel, you need 1k or more subscribers and at least 4k watch hours within the last 12 months. This shows you need to attract as many people as you can. Here are a few tips on how you can achieve that:

• Be consistent. Upload videos regularly at specific timeframes
• Check on quality. Nobody likes low-quality videos. A good camera phone will do, for starters.
• Do your research on trends. Find out what people like to see the most at a particular time.
• Market yourself on social media platforms. Share links of your work with netizens and ask them to share as well.
• Be interesting. Create a persona that people would like to hear and see repeatedly. 
• Liaise with other YouTubers. Ask vloggers with a larger audience to appear in any of your videos. 

Step 5: Monetize Your Channel

There are several ways to make money after reaching the mandatory threshold. These include:

• Sponsored content
• Adsense display ads
• Patreon

Sponsored Content

Do product placement on your channel. Brands like advertising their products on channels they can reach prospective customers. For example, if you have a cooking show, a company that manufactures spices might want you to promote its products in a paid partnership setup.

Depending on the company or brand, you can earn from a few thousand to hundreds of them.

AdSense

This is the most popular way of monetizing digital content. On top of the two mandatory requirements, you also need an AdSense account, which in turn, you link to your channel. Once it is running, expect to get around Ksh.108 for every 600 views.

With several videos and a commendable following, you will get a handsome amount.

Patreon

Sign up on this site for a reliable monthly income. Contrary to the usual pay-per-watch hours, Patreon pays for a member’s contribution. Ask your viewers to subscribe to your Patreon page as well.

Also Read: 20 Ways to Get Thousands of Views on Your YouTube Videos

The Bottom Line

Starting a profitable YouTube channel in Kenya requires dedication, strategic planning, and a deep understanding of your target audience. By following the steps outlined in this article, you can set yourself up for success in the dynamic world of online content creation. Remember to identify your niche, create high-quality and engaging videos, optimize your content for search, and actively promote your channel across various platforms.

Building a profitable YouTube channel takes time, consistency, and continuous improvement. It’s important to analyze your performance, listen to your audience’s feedback, and adapt your content strategy accordingly. Collaborations, sponsorships, and monetization opportunities can further enhance your channel’s revenue potential. Stay passionate about your content, embrace creativity, and strive to provide value to your viewers

1. Forbes, The Highest-Paid YouTube Stars: MrBeast, Jake Paul And Markiplier Score Massive Paydays
2. The Social Shepherd, 23 Essential YouTube Statistics You Need to Know in 2023
3. TubeBeast, Are Vlad And Niki Rich? Exploring The Financial Success Of Two Popular YouTube Stars