In the YouTube universe, as in life, nothing is impossible. With effort and passion for challenges, success is possible. At first, the challenges will prevail – getting a satisfactory number of views for your videos or building your subscriber list black profile.
Although the definition of success for a YouTube channel is very personal, many measure it by the number of subscribers a channel has and, in this sense, the challenge will be greater. So, while we can’t tell you what your YouTube niche should be (vegan cooking tutorials? Or maybe makeup styles?), we can give you some tips to increase your number of followers. Follow the following recommendations and grow your subscriber list on YouTube:
01. Don’t be ashamed and ask
Leave the shame aside and ask all your viewers, at the end of each video, to like and subscribe. Sometimes viewers are just watching videos on YouTube and aren’t thinking about interacting in any way, they just want to watch those videos. Reminding them that in addition to watching they can participate, can be your ticket to success. Some people think that asking people to subscribe and hit the “Like” button is desperate, but if you think about it, YouTube is hardly an inconspicuous place. And besides, there’s nothing wrong with asking. In fact, even well-established channels still make these types of requests in their videos.
02. Ignore YouTube hacks.
Do you know what things you don’t have time for? For other people wasting your time. That said, if you think you’ll get something valuable out of a video titled “YouTube’s Secret Tricks: How to Get 5K Subscribers in 5 Minutes,” you apparently have plenty of time. Videos that promise something that sounds too good to be true are too good to be true. Also, many of the videos end up being jokes at the end. There are no magic solutions to increase subscribers but rather strategy and continuous work.
03. Promote yourself everywhere (multiplatform advertising)
We know you like YouTube, but to get more exposure you should make use of other platforms and social networks for the benefit of your channel. There are several ways to do it.
Sharing is living: Every time you post a video on your channel, share a link to said video on your other social networks like Facebook and Twitter. Are you lazy? Well, you can use the IFTTT platform and set it up so that every time you post a public YouTube video, a link to this video is posted to your Facebook and Twitter accounts so that no one misses it. Another smart way to keep your YouTube channel on the cutting edge is to add a direct link to your profiles on other social networks.
Create an amazing website for your videos: Having a dedicated website for your YouTube videos will not only give your content a home away from its natural habitat, but it will allow you more control. By not being limited by the given YouTube layout, you can give free rein to your creativity and design the page to your liking. Plus, it’s incredibly easy to sync your channel with Wix Video, so every time you upload a video to YouTube, it will appear on your website automatically. You’ll even have the ability to sell your videos to your visitors, which is something you can’t do directly from YouTube. If you need another reason to convince yourself, check out our 8 Reasons Why You Need a Video Website.
Send a newsletter to your subscribers: Don’t forget about your website’s subscribers when you publish a new video on YouTube! Create a newsletter to tell your fans about your latest video and add a link to your channel, or, if you followed our advice above and set up Wix Video on your website, simply invite them to visit the page.
04. Interact with your community
It is vital that you get involved with your community. They are the ones who “like,” subscribe, and encourage their friends to follow you too. Frankly, no matter what your goal is, getting started on YouTube, getting more views or increasing subscribers, treating your community with respect and interacting with them regularly will be one of the keys to your success. Not only does engaging with your audience on your videos help your community resonate with your content, but YouTube will reward you for social reach. Plus, your fans will be happy to show you their love by liking and sharing the video.
05. Reevaluate your channel design.
Not everyone was born with an eye for (YouTube channel) design. And it’s OK. You may have an “ideal audience” in mind for your content, but in reality you should aim to attract as many people as possible. To do this, one of the things to keep in mind is how your channel looks when someone lands on it. While it’s the content, in theory, that should make viewers subscribe to your channel, if you want your videos to be successful, make sure your channel has an eye-catching and attractive design. Review the appearance of your channel, the profile icon, the layout of the videos and ask yourself how you could improve it to broaden its appeal. Ask for opinions from people close to you, even if their answers are somewhat subjective, having the point of view of others can be of great help.
06. Spend time on thumbnail videos
The power of a good thumbnail video on your YouTube homepage is surprisingly limitless, so it doesn’t hurt to spend a decent amount of time crafting it. With most of your work limited to producing your actual video content, you can make the mistake of thinking that spending time designing your videos’ thumbnails is a waste of time. Nothing is further from reality. The video thumbnails are what really attract attention, full stop. So when creating those thumbnails, make sure that each one has a defined style that you can apply to all your video thumbnails. This type of consistency looks great on your channel and adds a touch of professionalism.
07. Put greater emphasis on your SEO.
The ability for your target audience to find your videos easily is crucial for any channel, especially newer ones, so if you’re not doing everything you can to give visibility to your YouTube videos, that should change. Creating a strong title and description may sound boring and laborious, but it has the potential to determine how easily your video will be found. Don’t take it lightly! To optimize your channel according to SEO techniques, do some keyword research and decide if you prefer to go for the most popular (and competitive) keywords, or the more specific long-tail keywords . But it’s not all about the title! You should also ensure that your video description is complete and contains appropriate links, in line with the tags you used on your videos. Don’t skimp on your tags either, make sure they are relevant.
08. Create playlists for your audience
If a viewer comes across one of your videos through a search, invite them to continue watching similar videos from your channel by creating an automatic playlist. This not only makes your channel add more viewing minutes, but it will also save your audience from the dreaded YouTube black hole. The one where you can spend hours going from video to video without finding anything that really interests you.
09. Direct your audience’s attention with good CTAs.
The attention span of almost anyone on YouTube is minimal, so you need to intrigue viewers with your content to keep them interested. If they are going to be distracted in any way, it should be with one of your calls to action (CTAs). You can add links to other of your videos that might be relevant to the viewer, or even add a CTA that encourages them to “Like” and subscribe.
10. Incentivize your audience
Like direct requests, incentivizing people to subscribe to your channel can be seen as a “shady” technique to boost your numbers, but when done right, it can certainly work. Running a contest that requires someone to subscribe to your channel in order to participate is basically a surefire way to get subscribers. As long as the contest is worth it and your channel is clear enough that people know how to enter, then go ahead and play! If a contest sounds like too much work, perhaps you can reduce it to a short period and keep it only for a few hours or the duration of an event that is being broadcast on YouTube. Of course, make sure that each and every legal aspect is under control.
11. Don’t stop producing quality content.
This one may seem ridiculously obvious, but it’s very important. Just because you’ve found your YouTube niche and are churning out videos like hotcakes, doesn’t mean you’re producing quality content. In fact, you may already be on “autopilot” mode. Take your time to sit in front of your channel and watch videos from different eras. Even though they are all your creatures, try to see them from a different and more objective perspective. . Ask people around you who would fit your target audience and take note of their opinion. Always learn from your mistakes and it will be one of the most valuable assets of an entrepreneur. It will give you the drive to continually evolve and improve yourself.
Another indication of how your videos are performing are the statistics in the YouTube analytics section of your account, which can allow you to identify past trends of what worked and what didn’t. It is a very powerful tool that should not be ignored.