Kickstarting the New YouTuber Journey
Role
Product Designer (Contract)
Timeline
Sep - Dec 2020
Team
Conner Manuel, Tiffany Vo, Jago Pang (Mentor)
Background
Through Berkeley Innovation, I designed "YouTube Launch," a new program aimed at helping aspiring creators get started. Key aspects of the design were later integrated into YouTube Studio in spring 2021, shaping how YouTube supports new creators.
Problem
The intense competition on YouTube makes it hard for aspiring creators to stand out and build an audience, leading many to give up after a few videos.
Outcome
YouTube Launch is a 10-step milestone program within YouTube Studio, designed to help new creators get started and build the skills, confidence, and momentum to keep going.
The opportunity lies in guiding new YouTubers to improve retention.
User Goal
I want to be a successful YouTuber.
Business Goal
We want to drive increases in new user engagement and retention, so that more content is being created on YouTube.
Key Insight
We found out that new creators have to do the most work in the least motivating phase of their journey.
01 A lack of guidance starting out.
New YouTubers lack an onboarding experience, and valuable resources like Creator Academy videos are hidden despite their relevance. In contrast, competitors offer personalized creator packs to support their users.
02 Analytics as sole source of feedback.
Newer YouTubers often find analytics discouraging, as small view counts prevent meaningful data. Despite this, analytics remain the only form of instant feedback, leading to an unhealthy obsession with the numbers.
03 Self-expression drives creators, but algorithm pressure diminishes the fun.
The majority of creators surveyed are most motivated by self-expression on YouTube, but this motivation fades as YouTube lacks tools to sustain it. As creators produce more content, they struggle to balance the algorithm's demands with their own desires, causing many to feel demotivated and quit after just five videos.
Key Insight
We found out that new creators have to do the most work in the least motivating phase of their journey.
Onboarding
Working with data scientists, I pulled Messenger data to inform how I designed this feature on Instagram.
Messenger snoozing experience allows for 5 options.
A New Launch Card in the YouTube Studio Dashboard
The Launch card serves as a central hub, summarizing upcoming milestones, and providing relevant resource cards and motivation.
To shift focus away from analytics, the dashboard omits numbers and highlights small moments and personal growth instead.
Milestones
Bite-sized tasks help users feel accomplished and motivated by breaking down the journey into manageable steps.
Users can access resources to complete each milestone and view both completed, current, and upcoming milestones.
Inspiration
The Inspiration tab offers personalized content tailored to a user’s interests and channel genre, helping them learn from others.
The Inspiration tab offers Creator Academy videos, content from similar creators, and success stories from their favorite YouTubers.
Graduating YouTube Launch, What Now?
YouTube rewards users with new features and personalized feedback, encouraging continued growth. The Launch card disappears, but content remains tailored to the creator’s progress.
Users unlock verification, live streaming, and community growth features.
Monetization Program Onboarding
The Studio team embraced personalized guidance, adding milestones and step-by-step support to the monetization page.
