Are you a professional chef? Or a passionate chef who likes to experiment with various recipes? Then, you can use your talent by teaching the skills to many others and get paid for that. Start your YouTube cooking channel business and let your recipes take the internet by storm.
YouTube Cooking channels are immensely popular among foodies, new cooks as well as other enthusiasts, and netizens who view them for learning about cooking as well as gaining knowledge about different kinds of food and recipes.
It goes without saying, presently YouTube is one of the most legit and popular ways of earning online. Many YouTube cooking channels are famous around the globe and have millions of subscribers or viewers. If you can attractively share interesting recipes, your YouTube cooking channel business will also give you many viewers resulting in a good income for the business.
Marketing and publicity of your YouTube cooking channel business are very important for earning revenue. Follow a well-planned marketing strategy for your business to make it profitable and sustainable.
12 Steps to Start a YouTube Cooking Channel
1. Open YouTube Channel Account
You need a Google account to start a YouTube cooking channel. If you have a Gmail account, it will do. You have to visit the YouTube website and go to the Channel creation option at the top right of the website. Follow the instructions and open your channel. You will need a good name, a brief description, and a visual for your channel. All these should be attractive to grab the attention of viewers.
Your channel name should reflect your niche and personality. Keep it memorable and easy to spell. Also,
create a visually appealing logo and banner that represents your cooking style. Craft an intriguing and concise ‘About’ section that introduces you and your channel’s mission to potential subscribers.
2. Learn More about the Business
First of all, gather the knowledge about YouTube cooking channel business. Watch different kinds of cooking channels of different countries, both famous as well as not-so-famous ones, and analyze them. Take note of their merits and the number of subscribers for each video. Also, carefully watch the mode of presentation of each video.
3. Select a Niche
You can show different kinds of recipes on your YouTube cooking channel business. Therefore choosing a niche may not be important for this kind of business. However, to be structured and specialized in showing your recipes, you can choose a niche. Here, the niche can be a recipe of a particular country, type (like diet-friendly, vegan, etc.), kind of food (vegetarian, meat, main course, desserts, etc.), and other types.
In a nutshell, sticking to a particular type of recipe may typecast your YouTube cooking channel and restrict the number of users. Hence, it is better to keep the options open. But show the popular recipes and the ones that you are confident with.
Read: Best YouTube Business Ideas
4. Buy Equipment
This is an important aspect of the YouTube cooking channel business. You must have a good quality camera to record the video of cooking so that the video has a good resolution as well as picture quality. Use a tripod to keep the camera fixed. The lighting arrangements of the shooting spot should be well-maintained for video quality and clarity.
Quality audio is another important technical specification for your YouTube cooking channel. Audio recording should be good without much surrounding sound. Use light background music at the time of editing.
5. Follow Routine
You have to be regular in sharing your videos on the YouTube cooking channel business. Share at least one video each week. Choose a particular day of the week and share a video on that day. Also, fix a time of the day for publishing the videos. That will create an expectation among your viewers and they will be certain about your videos.
You can post multiple videos every week, but try to maintain a particular day and weekly schedule. Being regular and consistent will make your business more popular.
6. Have a Presentation Plan
Presentation is very important in the case of your YouTube cooking channel. Plan your presentation style before you start shooting. If possible write down the script. Each presentation has a format.
Sometimes, the presenter or the chef appears at first, talks to the viewers, and then shows the cooking. In some cases, the presenter is shown cooking a particular dish from the start. In some cases, the presenter’s voice is in the background with the visuals of step-by-step cooking. You can take up any format, or a blend of them.
Keep in mind some details of the presentation as follows:
- The ambiance should be visually soothing.
- No surrounding noise.
- The utensils should look proper, shapely, and dry.
- Hands should be clean, preferably with gloves in many cases.
- Ingredients like vegetables, meat/fish, herbs, and spices should look good, healthy, and clean.
- The pot or plate where the cooked food is being served should look beautiful and in perfect sync with the dish.
While talking to your audience, talk in an informal way, in a communicative as well as interactive style. While narrating the recipe, be slow and clear. If possible, have a recap session, after you finish cooking. Also, write down the recipe in the description box of the video.
Do not forget to create eye-catching thumbnails and titles that accurately represent your video’s content. It will attract viewers to click.
7. Provide Details of the Recipe
Whenever you are discussing a recipe or showing it, you must mention the details of the food item. This includes the food value, calorie count, specialty (like vegan or gluten-free, or recipe of a particular country or festival, etc.) and why is it popular. Also, share your opinion on the recipes.
8. Naming Your YouTube Cooking Channel
This is very important for your YouTube cooking channel business. It is the name that will be the identity of your business in the days to come. Choose the name after a good thought. The name of your cooking channel can be after food, gastronomy according to your name or any other. However, don’t go for any confusing or difficult name because that would make it difficult for your viewers to remember the name.
Furthermore, don’t forget to find a website domain in the name of your cooking channel business.
9. Legal Formalities
YouTube cooking channel being a business, you have to follow certain official formalities like
- Registering your business
- Getting the Licenses and Permits
- Registering for Taxes
- Buy Insurance
- Opening a Bank Account
10. How Much Money Do You Need to Start a YouTube Cooking Channel?
There is no cost to open a YouTube channel account. However, you will have to invest money in technical equipment, as well as editing. If you do not have your editing setup, you have to hire it. Apart from that, you will need a well-maintained kitchen, apparel, utensils, ingredients, etc. Computer or laptop, software, internet connection, and maintenance of the equipment also cost money. All these sum up to an amount of $3000 to $7500.
11. Monetize your YouTube Cooking Channel Business
YouTube cooking channels can fetch you a high return if monetized properly. The amount of profit depends on the number of viewers. If any of your videos get more than 10,000 views, you start getting ads on your channel. Some of the ways of monetizing your cooking channel are the following:
a) Google AdSense
Owned by Google, AdSense will pay you a part for each click on the ads. It may range between $0.10 and $0.30 depending on the kind of advertisement.CPI(Cost per Impression) is the metric YouTube pays you. They pay you for the clicks on ads featuring in your channel. Every time a viewer watches an ad, it adds to your income. The CPI may range between a few cents to $10 depending on the number of viewers.
b) Sponsorship & Ads
With a considerable view, you can approach advertisers and sponsors for ads and sponsorships respectively. That will also give you good revenue.
Therefore with the rising number of viewers, you can expect earnings from $5000 up to a million $.
c) Selling Merchandise
You can also create branded merchandise like aprons or utensils and promote them to your audience.
12. Promote your YouTube Cooking Channel
Your YouTube cooking channel business needs a strategic and planned marketing and publicity campaign.
Suggested Read: How to Make Money Online from YouTube Videos
a) Web Presence
Your web presence is a very powerful marketing tool. You must have your website either as a chef, food blogger, food columnist, or food review writer. This will create an identity for you which will help in getting more viewers for your channel.
b) Keywords and SEO
Use keywords that have SEO values whether in describing your channel, writing its content, or giving the titles, so that your channel comes at the top of the search list. Take the help of online keyword generators or SEO experts in this regard.
c) Good Pictures
Use good and attractive pictures in the logo or description of your YouTube cooking channel. This attracts the attention of the viewers resulting in more subscriptions.
d) Subscription Invitations
Ask your viewers to subscribe to your YouTube cooking channel in the videos you are uploading. Subscribed viewers are given regular updates about the new videos. Hence your viewership will increase. Along with that, you will have a captive audience.
e) Social Media
Optimum use of social media will increase the viewership of your YouTube cooking channel. Create pages in the name of your channel on the social media handles and share the YouTube links as well as your website links to generate interest from the viewers’ thereby increasing the number of audiences.
f) E-mail Invitation
You can use e-mail invitations to involve a greater number of prospective viewers.
g) Think Global
YouTube being a global platform doesn’t limit your YouTube cooking channel to a particular area or its cuisines. People now prefer to try out or cook cuisines of different countries and regions. Hence try to include recipes from different countries in your YouTube cooking channel business.
h) Follow Latest Trends
Study the preferred food as well as cuisines and try to include them in your YouTube cooking channel. This will help you in getting more viewers and subscribers.
i) Be Friendly
Try to be friendly and nice while presenting the recipes on your YouTube cooking channel. Ask for suggestions and recipes that the viewers want to see. Honor their requests as much as you can. This will help you gain the confidence and liking of your viewers.
j) Advertise
Advertise your YouTube cooking channel business in digital media as well as on YouTube itself with attractive promos. This is an effective method of getting more viewers.
The success of a YouTube cooking channel is all about getting more viewers. Give authentic recipes, be friendly, and present well to earn good profits from this business.
Frequently Asked Questions
Do I need professional culinary training to start a cooking channel?
Yes, formal training will definitely have some advantages. However, if you have a genuine love for cooking, the ability to explain techniques, and a willingness to learn, there is no reason for not getting success.
How do I make my cooking videos visually appealing?
You need to focus on good lighting, clear visuals, and appealing presentation of your dishes.
Can I use copyrighted music in my cooking videos?
It goes without saying, that using copyrighted music without permission can lead to copyright claims. It is strongly advised to use royalty-free music or obtain proper licenses.
How do I handle negative comments or criticism?
You must respond politely or choose to ignore harmful comments. As a matter of fact, constructive criticism can help you improve.
How long does it take to start making money on a cooking channel?
Earnings will vary depending on the number of viewers you attract. Generally, it is seen, building a loyal audience and meeting monetization requirements can take several months.
Editorial Team at 99BusinessIdeas is a team of experts led by Rupak Chakrabarty with over 25 years of experience in starting and running small businesses. Started in 2010, 99BusinessIdeas is now one of the largest free small business resources in the industry.
