How to Add a Featured Channel to Your YouTube Channel

Hey there! As a fellow content creator and YouTube enthusiast, I know how important it is to collaborate and support one another in this community. One of the best ways to do that is by featuring channels you love directly on your YouTube homepage.

In this super in-depth guide, I‘ll be showing you step-by-step how to add a featured channel on YouTube. Get ready to learn everything there is to know about optimizing this feature to promote other creators!

What Exactly Is A Featured Channel?

Before we dive in, let‘s start with the basics – what is a featured channel on YouTube?

A featured channel is a dedicated section on your YouTube channel homepage that highlights and links out to another channel. It allows you to showcase a creator you want to promote to your audience.

When viewers visit your channel page, they‘ll see the featured channel(s) in a module towards the bottom. Usually featured channels are used for:

Sharing your own secondary channel
Promoting friends or collaborators
Shoutouting smaller creators you want to support
Showcasing channels with content similar to yours

Essentially, think of featured channels like a "hall of fame" section for you to display your favorite creators or projects!

Now let‘s look at why you should consider using them…

4 Key Benefits Of Featuring A Channel

Adding a featured channel offers some major upsides:

1. Increased exposure – This gives amazing exposure to the featured creator. Your subscribers who may not know them now have a doorway directly to their content.

2. Shows relevance – You can feature channels that create similar content style to you. This signals to your viewers that they likely will enjoy this creator too!

3. Encourages collaboration – Featuring friends or people you work with encourages more co-promotion and collaboration between you.

4. Cross-promotion – If you have multiple channels, it‘s an excellent way to cross-promote them. Drive your audience between your projects!

See, it‘s all about support and helping channels you admire get more visibility. As creators, we‘re all in this together after all!

Now that you know why to feature, let‘s get into the steps…

Step-By-Step Guide To Adding A Featured Channel

The process to add a featured channel is straightforward once you know how. There are just 4 main steps:

Step 1) Access channel customization dashboard

Step 2) Add a "Featured Channels" module

Step 3) Select which channel(s) to feature

Step 4) Organize featured channels and publish

Let‘s take a deeper look at how to do each:

Accessing Channel Customization

First, you need access your channel‘s customization dashboard. This is where you can edit sections like featured channels.

To access it:

Go to YouTube.com on a desktop browser while signed into your account.
Click your profile picture, then select "Your Channel" to go to your channel homepage.
On your channel, click the "Customize Channel" button in the top right corner.

This opens your customization dashboard. This is only available on desktop, not the mobile app.

Adding The Featured Channels Module

Once you‘re in the customization screen:

In the left sidebar, click "Customization" if not already selected.
Under "Featured Sections", click the blue "Add a Section" button.
In the pop-up, select "Featured Channels" to add the module.

You can also add other sections like Popular Videos, Playlists, etc – but for featuring a channel specifically, choose the "Featured Channels" option.

Selecting Which Channel(s) To Feature

Now it‘s time to choose who you‘ll showcase:

In the "Featured Channels" pop-up, name the section something creative.
Search for a channel you want to feature and select it from the results.
Repeat to add more channels – you can feature multiple!
Click "Done" once you‘ve picked your selections.

The channels you picked will now appear in your Featured Channels module.

Quick tips for picking the best channels:

Search manually – you can‘t just enter a channel URL to add it.
You can‘t feature your own channel(s) here.
No limit on how many you can feature!

Organizing & Publishing Your Changes

Lastly, organize your module and publish it live:

Drag and drop to reorder the channels within the module.
Click the blue "Publish" button in the top right.
Confirm by clicking "Publish" again.

And that‘s it, your shiny new featured channels will now be live and visible to anyone who visits your channel!

Adding them is super easy once you get the hang of the customization dashboard. Now let‘s talk optimizing them…

Optimizing Your Featured Channels Section

Now that you know how to add featured channels, let‘s dig into some pro tips for optimizing them:

Choose relevant channels

Pick creators closely aligned to your niche and content style. Your audience will be much more likely to check out and subscribe to similar channels.

Update it periodically

Rotate in new and trending creators every so often to keep it fresh. Don‘t let it go stale!

Name it thoughtfully

"Featured Channels" works, but naming it based on a relationship or theme makes it stand out more.

Feature channels consistently

Don‘t just feature someone once. Keep them in your section for extended periods to drive more subscribers.

Request reciprocity

Ask creators you feature to also feature your channel for mutual benefit. But don‘t force it.

Promote your featured channels

Mention your recommendations in videos and link to them using end cards. Drive more clicks!

Using your featured channels intelligently and keeping them updated will lead to more exposure for the creators you feature.

Now let‘s flip sides – what if you want to get featured?

Tips For Getting Your Own Channel Featured

If your goal is to get featured by other YouTubers, here are some key tips to make that happen:

Network and build connections – Having real relationships in the space is crucial for getting featured. Focus on bonding.
Create high-quality content – Channels will only feature you if your content is great and aligns with their audience.
Offer value to those who feature you – Promote them in return, collaborate on a video, or get creative in providing value.
Reach out respectfully – Asking directly but politely if they‘d feature you is fine. Explain the mutual benefits.
Get featured by peers first – Easier to get featured by channels around your size before bigger channels.

Building trust and goodwill, and providing value back to the YouTube community, will help you get featured by those you admire!

Weighing The Pros and Cons

Let‘s compare the potential upsides and downsides of featuring channels:

Potential Pros

Helps other creators by improving their reach
Can forge positive collaborations and relationships
Provides your audience with more great content

Potential Cons

Some viewers may find featured channels distracting
You give other creators direct access to your audience
Requires keeping them updated

Overall, the pros seem to outweigh the cons in most cases! Just be selective in who you feature, set it up effectively, and refresh it regularly.

Answering FAQs About Featured Channels

Let‘s tackle some frequently asked questions about this feature:

Do you need permission to feature someone?

Nope! You can freely feature channels without asking. But it‘s thoughtful to give them a heads up.

Is there a limit to how many you can feature?

None at all – you‘re welcome to feature as many different channels as you want. Go wild!

Can I feature my own channel(s)?

Unfortunately no, you‘re unable to feature any of your own YouTube channels.

Can I get in trouble for featuring someone?

YouTube allows and encourages channel featuring. Just don‘t pick channels posting shady or dangerous content.

Is there an automated way to feature channels?

No, you have to manually search and select each channel one-by-one in your customization dashboard.

Hopefully that clears up some of the most common questions around this!

Maximizing Your Success Featuring Channels

Here are a few final tips to maximize the impact when featuring channels:

Spotlight smaller creators – give them a huge boost by exposing them to your audience.
Group similar channels – create sections of just gaming channels, just IRL vloggers, etc.
Write a description – give context on who they are and why you‘re featuring them.
Ask viewers to subscribe to your featured channels – directly tell them to check out these creators!
Share featured channels on social media – expand visibility by posting about them on Twitter, Instagram, etc.
Thank creators you feature – show gratitude and they‘ll be more likely to feature you back.
Monitor performance – track traffic to your featured channels section using YouTube Analytics.

The more thoughtful you are featuring channels, the more powerful an impact it can make!

Wrapping Up

And there you have it – everything you could possibly need to know about featuring channels on YouTube!

Here‘s a quick recap:

Featured channels help you showcase other creators directly on your channel.
Add them using channel customization on desktop YouTube.
Pick relevant channels and refresh them over time.
Promote your featured channels everywhere you can!
Getting featured requires building relationships and trust.

So what are you waiting for? Start supporting other amazing creators out there by featuring their channels today! Feel free to reach out if you have any other questions.