Comedy is a complex gene, and one of the most impactful mediums of expression. Shows like ‘Saturday Night Live’, and ‘The Tonight Show’ are proof that comedy is timeless. Making funny videos will, hands-down, win you more shares. It can also motivate a more significant number of viewers to come back and rewatch your videos.
In starting a sketch comedy channel, the first step is writing hilarious scripts. Do not turn the camera on and freestyle. Writing a good script is step one; once you know the writing is funny, these simple factors will help you master the YouTube game.
Here are the only eight things you need to know –
1. Make It A Series
A series of videos, part of the same theme, will do wonders for your channel. Find a comedy subject that you can see longevity in and then make as many episodes under the same setting as possible. This pattern helped retain viewers and come back to watch more of your content.
This also helps when you make a youtube playlist of your series. The youtube playlist is designed to autoplay one video after another. This makes sure you gain more views for each video, as it leads into another. All of this is only possible with a series.
2. Have A Fixed Intro/Outro
Both your channel opening and closing must be consistent. Think of these as the outer-packaging of your products. If your favourite coffee brand changed its packet each month, it would make it impossible to find them in the store. The same is true for videos. Find a good catchphrase or a format and stick to it.
Keep these sections minimal and informative. Introduce the channel and creatively describe your genre for new viewers. In the outro encourage people to subscribe, share a comment and like your video. You can easily find an outro maker online and make this segment in a couple of minutes.
3. Use Sound Design Creatively
While writing the script to your comedy sketches, or during the shoot, it is hard to understand the importance of sound design. When you hit the edit table, see how you can improve the video output with additional sound effects.
In the case of a comedy sketch video, the change in music during the punchline, or the use of overly dramatic music to show exaggeration is a simple hack. Ensure the audio of your dialogue is on point—audiences tune out to bad sound more than shoddy shooting.
4. Use The Youtube Community Feature
The Youtube community tab is one of the more underexplored features of the platform. The community feature allows you to communicate with the people in your subscription list. Think of this section as a place to give updates to your followers.
This helps in two ways. One, it keeps the followers engaged, and your channel stays relevant on the daily feed. The second, it helps to share more personal details about your channel. Updates on the next videos and behind the scene information can be posted here. As a creator, use this section to share jokes, as you would on twitter.
5. Subtitles Are A Must
Yes, subtitling is a long and tedious process. It takes hours to transcribe and add to a video. Lucky for you, as a sketch comedy channel – the dialogues are already pre-written, so you can use the same script and make changes. It helps viewers who might not understand the language or international audiences who do not follow your accent.
The other advantage of adding subtitles to the ‘closed captions’ feature is that it attaches your whole script into the video metadata. This helps your videos rank better and surface more often on the home-feed.
6. Play To A Niche
Carve out a niche right from the start. It is alright to pivot once you find it monotonous – but stick to one niche. For example, if you’re a comedy channel that does gaming or technology sketches, your audience will not react well to political satire.
Plan your niche ahead of time. You can test the waters with a few videos, but once you know what content is better received (and you enjoy making) stick to that niche to build a more loyal following.
7. Plan Ahead, Don’t Lose The Streak
Set a roadmap ahead for your channel. This is a detailed plan that determines how many videos you will add in a week, and what steps you will take to promote it. Plan your videos a month ahead of time. This is the spine of your channel.
Once you have a bank of at least four videos a month, you have more room to make content on a relevant and trending topic. Having a bank of videos will make sure you do not miss a posting date and continue to stay connected.
8. Keep An Eye On Tech
When we say tech, we do not mean the camera gear — we mean the technical aspects of Youtube. You could have the best video online, but fail to gain a viewership because of a technicality.
Here are a few things to note before you hit upload. Keep all your tags updated, add a detailed description, add a colourful and informative thumbnail, and keep your video tiles to the right length. Do not alter your tags often; this will push your videos furth down the refresh. Gaining traction takes time.
Final Thoughts
The core of sketch comedy is rich content. Don’t ponder on the technically too much; focus on writing good scripts. Does windows 10 have a slideshow maker? Make a sketch video using slides. As long as it is funny, people will love it.
Keep in mind that with the comedy genre, it is easy to fall prey to inspiration. If you like the work of another creator, use it as motivation and do not imitate their style.
Consistency is the only tool you need to make your youtube channel a success. If you can post more, and often – your channel will hit a million followers in a few years (maybe months!). There is a market for all content.
