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"You don't have to be a YouTube \"personality\" to create a fantastic, customized YouTube channel. Everyone can take advantage of the options available. \nYouTube's product manager for consumer channels, AJ Crane, says your personal channel is \"the best place to showcase your content.\" We spoke to Crane to find out some great ways to improve, and make the most of, your channel's appearance, usability and engagement options.\nIf you want to give your YouTube channel a quick makeover, take a look through our gallery for some top tips, hints and tricks. Let us know any of your suggestions in the comments below.\n\n\n8 Simple Ways to Improve Your YouTube Channel\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n1. Create a Custom Background Image\n\n\"Your channel design should compliment your content,\" says AJ Crane. And what better way to compliment your content than by creating a custom background?\nIf you've got the skills to DIY an image for your channel, then bear in mind it can't exceed 256 kilobytes and will look best at 1500 pixels wide and 2000 pixels tall. YouTube's main channel content is about 962 pixels wide, so if you're making a \"frame\" to fit your content, keep that measurement in mind.\nTo add your own image, click on your YouTube username at the top-right of your screen and select \"My Channel.\" Next, select \"Themes and Colors.\" You may need to click on \"show advanced options\" for the ability to upload your new background image.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n2. Select the Perfect Color Scheme \n\nIf you've changed your background image then it's worth taking the time to look at your channel's color scheme and adjust accordingly. \"Make sure your page is very 'useable,'\" says Crane, who advises paying special attention to the color of the text to ensure it's legible.\nTo make changes to your channel's color scheme, go to your \"My Channel\" settings and select \"Themes and Colors.\" If the page does not display as per the screengrab above, click on \"show advanced options\" to bring up the additional choices. You can select colors by hitting the thumbnail next to the option, or by entering the corresponding hex triplet.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n3. Make Your Best Video \"Featured\"\n\nBy default, YouTube shows your most recent video in the main \"Featured\" window on your channel page. While this may be ideal for YouTubers who post regular content, this may not be a great option for less frequent posters.\nIf your most recent video isn't the best example of your channel's content you can set another video to occupy that slot.\nTo change your channel's \"Featured\" clip, go to your \"My Channel\" settings and select \"Video and Playlists.\" Now, using the dropdown \"Featured Video\" menu, you can choose a video from the list, or by selecting \"other,\" you can paste the URL of the video you want to feature.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n4. Make Sure All Your Thumbnails Look Good\n\nOnce you have your videos neatly ordered, it's time to make sure they look as good as they can. If you didn't do this at the time of upload, you can go back and change the thumbnails of your uploaded videos.\nTo do this, click on your YouTube username at the top-right of the screen and select \"My Videos.\" Find the video you want to amend from the list, click \"Edit,\" scroll down to see three thumbnails to choose from, click the one you want and then scroll down to save.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n5. Add Channel Tags\n\nHave you set up tags for your channel? This is a great way for people to find your content, says Crane, who recommends taking the time to tag your channel with relevant key words just as you do with your videos. \nTo add tags, go to the \"My Channel\" menu and select \"Settings.\"\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n6. Pay Attention to Comments\n\n\"Engage with your audience,\" says Crane. Take the time to read your channel comments as well as those posted on your videos and be sure to respond.\nCrane also advises trying to \"keep the comments quality\" by deleting and reporting spammy comments. These kinds of comments can make your channel page look \"neglected.\"\nDeleting a comment on your channel page is the same process as deleting a comment on your video. Simply hover over the comment and then select the appropriate action from the dropdown menu.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n7. Keep Your Activity Stream Busy\n\n\"Recent Activity\" is a module you can add to your channel page that shows, as the title suggests, what you've been up to on YouTube lately.\nCrane says this module is a great way \"for creators to get involved.\" If you like or favorite a video on YouTube, this action will show up in your \"Recent Activity\" as well as the \"Recent Activity\" box of the content creator. It's a good method for making new YouTube contacts, suggests Crane, as video owners who've been liked or favorited are more likely to click through to take a look at your content in return.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n8. Engage Your Audience\n\nThere's another way to engage your audience via your channel. You can ask questions, call for suggestions or start a discussion through the \"Moderator\" tool.\nOriginally created for the \"News &amp; Politics\" category, Crane suggests using the tool as a great way to get your viewers more engaged with your content.\nTo ask a question on your channel, go to your \"My Channel\" settings, select \"Modules\" and check the \"Moderator\" box to bring up the options.\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\nImage courtesy of codenamecueball\n\nInterested in more YouTube resources? Check out Mashable Explore, a new way to discover information on your favorite Mashable topics."^^<http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema#string>
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