What is a Channel?

Think of a channel as your project workspace in Subscribr - similar to how projects work in ChatGPT or Claude. It's where all your settings, scripts, research, and preferences live together.

Understanding Channels#

A channel in Subscribr is your home base for creating content. When you create a channel, you're setting up a workspace that stores:

• Your voice profile - How your scripts should sound
• Your audience avatar - Who you're creating content for
• Your competitors - Channels you're tracking and learning from
• Your scripts - All the content you create
• Your video ideas - AI-generated ideas based on successful formats
• Your research - Saved sources and materials

The Channel Creation Wizard#

Creating a new channel in Subscribr walks you through a 6-step process that gathers essential information about your content and automatically generates your audience profile and voice settings.

Step 1: Describe Your Content#

The first step asks you to describe what content you create. This should be a brief description of your niche or content focus - for example, "Tech reviews and gadget unboxings" or "Sustainable living tips for busy professionals."

This description helps Subscribr understand your content area and is the foundation for suggesting competitors and generating ideas later.

Step 2: Choose Your Path#

You'll choose between two options:

I have a YouTube channel - Select this if you have an existing YouTube channel with videos. Subscribr will import your channel information and analyze your content.

I'm starting a new channel - Select this if you're planning a new channel without an existing YouTube presence. You'll provide a custom title and description instead.

Step 3: Connect Your Channel#

Depending on the path you chose:

YouTube Path: Search for your YouTube channel using its URL (like youtube.com/@yourhandle) or @handle. Subscribr will display your channel information for confirmation, including your subscriber count and video library.

If your YouTube channel has fewer than 3 videos, Subscribr will ask you to describe what your channel will be about. This helps the system understand your vision even if you don't have much content to analyze yet.

Custom Path: Provide a name for your channel and a detailed description of what you'll create. Make sure to be specific about your niche and what makes your content unique.

Step 4: Select Competitors#

Choose competitor or inspiration channels that you want Subscribr to learn from. Subscribr provides AI suggestions based on your content type - these are successful channels in your niche that can serve as reference points.

You can either:

• Click on suggested channels to add them
• Search for a specific channel using its URL or @handle
• Remove channels if you change your mind

Having 3-5 competitors selected gives Subscribr good reference points for understanding your content landscape. There's no minimum or maximum, though.

Step 5: Describe Your Differentiation#

Explain what makes your channel unique - how will you stand out from the competitors you selected? This should be at least 20 characters and can describe your unique angle, voice, audience focus, or approach.

For example: "I focus on beginner-friendly explanations with visual analogies" or "I cover the same topics but with humor and personality" or "I target working parents specifically with time-saving content."

This differentiation helps Subscribr tailor the generated ideas and content guidance to your specific positioning.

Step 6: Review Generated Ideas and Audience Profile#

After completing the wizard, Subscribr automatically generates:

Your Audience Profile: Based on your YouTube channel (if linked) or your description (if custom), Subscribr AI-generates a detailed audience avatar including demographics, psychographics, interests, and pain points. You'll see a preview of this profile on the final step.

Your Video Ideas: Subscribr analyzes successful video formats from your competitors and generates 10 ideas specifically tailored for your channel. These ideas include:

• Suggested titles
• The angle or hook that makes them work
• Thumbnail concepts
• Target video length
• Source video reference (showing where the format came from)

You can click Write on any idea to jump straight into creating a script, or Skip for Now to explore your channel dashboard first.

Automatic Generation During Onboarding#

Several things happen automatically while you're viewing the final step:

Voice Profile Generation - If you linked a YouTube channel with 3+ minute videos, Subscribr analyzes your top-performing video transcripts to create your channel voice. This usually completes within a few minutes. You'll see a checkmark when it's ready.

Audience Avatar Completion - The detailed audience profile is generated in the background. Once complete, you can view and edit it from your channel's Audience page anytime.

Video Ideas Generation - Ideas continue to be generated in real-time. As new ideas are created, they appear on your screen. You don't need to wait for all of them to start creating scripts.

All of these continue running in the background even after you leave the wizard, so your channel will have fresh ideas and a fully trained voice waiting for you.

Multiple Channels#

You can create as many channels as your plan allows. This is useful for:

• Managing multiple YouTube channels
• Creating different content series with different tones and audiences
• Testing different content approaches
• Maintaining separate projects with distinct positioning

Each channel gets its own audience profile, voice settings, and idea library, so you can maintain completely different strategies for each.

What Happens After Setup#

Your channel dashboard gives you access to:

• Audience - View and customize your audience avatar
• Voice - Adjust how your scripts sound (Simple or Advanced mode)
• Scripts - See all your created scripts and start new ones
• Ideas - Browse all generated video ideas and write them into scripts
• Settings - Manage channel details, linked YouTube channel, and templates

From day one, you can use any generated ideas to create a script. As Subscribr learns from your YouTube content (or as you add more scripts), your voice and audience profiles become increasingly tailored to your style.

Common Questions#

Can I skip competitors or change my selections later?#

Competitors are optional during setup - you can skip the step if you prefer. After channel creation, you can add, change, or remove competitors anytime from your channel settings.

What if my YouTube channel doesn't have many videos?#

If you have fewer than 3 videos, Subscribr will ask you to describe your channel's focus. We'll use this description plus any available video transcripts to generate your audience and ideas. As you publish more videos to YouTube, your voice profile will improve automatically.

How long does the setup take?#

The wizard itself usually takes 5-10 minutes to complete. Voice and audience generation happen in the background afterward - usually within a few minutes, but sometimes up to an hour depending on system load. You can start creating scripts immediately while this happens in the background.

Can I change my audience or voice after setup?#

Yes! Both your audience avatar and voice profile can be customized anytime from your channel settings. You can edit your audience manually, refresh it based on your latest YouTube data, or customize your voice using Simple Mode or Advanced controls. See Your Audience Avatar and Your Channel Voice for details.

Can I switch or add a different YouTube channel later?#

Yes, you can link a different YouTube channel through your channel settings. This will re-analyze your content and update your voice profile and audience avatar based on the new channel's data.

Next Steps#

After your channel is created, take some time to refine your profile. Start by reviewing your Audience Avatar to ensure it captures your ideal viewer accurately. Then explore Your Channel Voice to understand how Subscribr learned your style - and customize it if needed. Once you're happy with those foundations, you're ready to create your first script using one of your generated ideas or a blank canvas.