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When I started recording YouTube content while doing yoga with Cassandra, I thought I could just as easily teach a class in front of a camera as I do in a studio. I couldn’t have been more wrong.
Over the past 10 years, he has built a YouTube channel with over 2 million subscribers. As a result, I’ve learned a lot about teaching yoga on YouTube, including the fact that I’m no longer dependent on a studio’s class style or structure.
If you want to know what it takes to build a successful channel for yoga classes on YouTube, here’s what I learned.
12 things you need to know about teaching yoga on YouTube, according to Yoga With Kassandra
1. Don’t expect recording a video to be the same as teaching in person
Performance is improved compared to studio classes because you teach YouTube content without the students’ energy and observational skills. It’s almost like working as an actor. Recording classes on YouTube may take some getting used to. Also, not everyone likes to be on camera teaching when no one else is in the room, so you may decide it’s not right for you.
2. Learn what your audience wants…
At first, I was stuck in the yoga studio mindset. Even when I received requests for 10 or 20 minute classes, I was hesitant to leave the studio model class for long periods of time. Instead, he recorded only 30 minutes and 60 minutes of vinyasa and yin yoga sequences.
It took some time, but I started to understand what YouTubers were looking for from their comments and what they watched over and over again, and I started teaching 10-minute yoga classes. Shorter exercises like this will feel more doable and make it harder to find reasons why you can’t get on the mat. What I’ve noticed is that subscribers often start with her 10-minute class and keep adding the next class until he’s been on the mat for 40 minutes.
Once I gave myself permission to respond to my students’ requests, everything about my channel changed. Once you tell your audience what they need, pay attention.
3. …and share it even more
I knew I needed to offer a wide range of classes and sequences, but my followers kept telling me, “I want more Yin yoga, I want more morning yoga.” At first I thought, “Oh, I already have some of those classes.” But just because you’ve taught a hip-opening class once doesn’t mean your students won’t want to teach a hip-opening class again. They want it every week.
There’s no need to completely reinvent the wheel. All you need to do is make sure that you are qualified to teach, that you are really good at teaching, and that you are guiding your students through what they actually want. This really increases your sense of self.
If you happen to release a video that does really well, it’s time to ride the wave and keep creating similar content. Whatever is working on your channel, keep doing it.
4. Focus on what you’re good at.
Another mistake I made early on was trying to offer different styles of yoga and different length classes for all levels. I wanted everyone who visited my channel to find what they needed. But unfortunately, trying to please everyone ends up serving no one.
It’s much better to focus on your strengths, skills, and what you’re actually qualified to teach, and combine that with what your students are looking for and what your numbers show they’re paying attention to. . Finding that sweet spot is really, really important.
5. It’s okay to decline requests.
We receive many requests for prenatal and postnatal yoga. I’m trained in it, but it’s not my area of expertise, so I won’t teach it. Honestly, I think it would be a disservice to students for me to start offering such classes. And I don’t think they’ll ultimately be successful because it’s not authentic to my practice.
6. Don’t compare
Don’t compare your channel or classes to other teachers’ videos, especially if you’re just starting out. You’re learning new skills, so naturally you’ll fall short sometimes. But you have to go through that learning curve. It would be the same as if you were learning to draw and comparing your first work to someone who has been making art for 20 years.
Successful yoga teachers on YouTube gain followers because their approach is authentic.what you need to focus on you It’s easy to go in one direction, especially in the beginning, so do your best. Trying to recreate a popular video by another teacher will most likely not work. That video was probably the perfect combination of the right teacher bringing the right practice to the right audience. Stay true to yourself, be patient, and give yourself grace. Find your tribe.
7. Encourage followers to stay on YouTube
It’s tempting to offer something small on YouTube and send people elsewhere, like your website or another platform where you offer paid classes. But YouTube wants to encourage people to stay on the platform, and rewards channels that encourage their followers to do the same. If you want YouTube to be a functional platform for you, it’s wise to treat it with the respect it deserves.
This is where I learned that “the more, the better.” You don’t have to worry about giving away too much content for free. I know some of us are hesitant to jump into that idea, thinking we should hold back and only offer a select few free classes. But if you’re going to take advantage of YouTube, the more content you can offer, the more content your students will receive, the more they’ll come back to your channel, and the more benefits you’ll have for teachers and education in the long run. You can get it.
8. Choose your class title carefully. . .
It’s easy to forget that YouTube is a search engine. Users join the platform just like Google and enter what they want to practice. Based on these keywords, YouTube decides which videos to show.
The best way to get people to watch your class is to give your video an accurate title. Keep it simple. Ask yourself what the focus of your class is. Who is it for? How much experience does a student need? How long is it? What style? Do they need props? Remember that your class is solving a practitioner’s problem by offering something that matches what they are looking for. Title it accordingly.
YouTube also has built-in tools that recommend keywords related to your field, including video titles that will resonate with your audience.
9. . .But don’t stress about SEO and algorithms
Many yoga teachers feel overwhelmed and think they need a lot of SEO knowledge to optimize their YouTube content. wrong. If you have even minimal knowledge of SEO, put it to use here. But that’s not necessary.
In addition to making your title literal, be thorough with your description as if you were writing a blog post. You can also include playlists in the description. Also, similar to the title of your video, optimize the wording of the thumbnail image, which is the small image of your video that users see in search results. Additionally, YouTube allows 500 tags per video. Don’t be shy about using it. However, make sure they are truly relevant to your video.
After all, people will find your videos in many different ways. In some cases, when you’re watching someone else’s video, you may see your own video offering similar content. Who knows, maybe your video will show up in Google search results. Someone might share your class on Facebook or Pinterest. In such cases, it can be as simple as someone searching for the title of your video, such as “Evening Yoga.” Then you’ll see a bunch of classes, and you’ll probably click on one of your classes.
10. Set a schedule and be consistent
Yoga rewards consistency, and so does YouTube’s algorithm. YouTube tends to share content from channels that are consistent and don’t disappear over time. For the past 9 years, I have always shared videos on the same day of the week and at the same time, at least he releases one video a week. YouTube also has tools that recommend the best times and times to publish your videos based on your audience’s digital habits. So set a schedule and stick to it.
Posting with predictability and consistency also establishes trust with your audience. It would be a pain if your students noticed that you had uploaded a bunch of classes in a few days and then disappeared for months. They may be less likely to subscribe to your channel because they don’t know if you’ll come back again. It’s better to set a schedule and be responsible for your schedule and your followers. It’s better to do less and be as consistent as possible. You can add classes to your weekly schedule later if you find them more manageable for you.
You can also include a reminder in your video description to subscribe to your channel and turn on notifications to let your viewers know when you share new content.
11. Wait for capital investment
Everyone asks about the best equipment to shoot and edit YouTube videos. However, I always advise teachers to wait until they have been recording YouTube content continuously for six months before purchasing a camera and sound system. 6 months is enough time to find out if you like teaching on the platform.
If you decide to invest in equipment, focus on the microphone rather than the camera. This is because students at Downward Dog’s home listen more often than they watch and hope they don’t turn their heads in different ways to look at you. (This means you need to pay close attention to your cues, too.) In the meantime, use your smartphone’s camera to make sure you’re in a well-lit area, such as in front of a window with natural light. please confirm. .
12. Please be patient
The question that always comes up is, “When can I start making money from YouTube?”
That’s difficult to answer. To apply to join the YouTube Partner Program, you must meet certain criteria. Currently, to join the Partner Program, you must have at least 1,000 subscribers and 4,000 hours of play time in the past 12 months. YouTube is in the process of changing the standards of the program to make it accessible to more creators.
If you are accepted into the program, you will be able to earn advertising revenue from your videos. This means advertisers will place ads on your videos and share their commission with YouTube. If an advertiser spends $1, the advertiser receives 60 cents and YouTube keeps 40 cents.
Until you join the Partner Program, YouTube can run ads on your videos, but you won’t get a 50-50 commission. (Many people are unhappy with this policy, so perhaps this policy will be revised in the future.) Also, you won’t be able to remove ads that interrupt your classes until you join the Partner Program. Only then can you remove ads, decide where to place them, and decide how many ads you need.
YouTube is not the path for instructors looking for instant gratification. If you’re thinking of making some quick money by posting a few videos on YouTube, it’s probably not going to work. You need to work on it for the long term.
About contributors
Cassandra Reinhardt I am a Yin and Vinyasa yoga instructor based in Ottawa. YouTube channel The number of subscribers has increased to 2.2 million and the number of views has exceeded 230 million. Cassandra recently published a guided yoga journal. My Yoga Journey: A Guided Journal, her daily affirmation card deck, I radiate joy, and her book, year of yoga.
