YouTube is impressive in many ways, especially in offering varied video content, and any viewer can find something for themselves. That being said, there are many, and we mean options for growing and succeeding on YouTube. While success is measured in various ways, one of the most appropriate measurements for a successful YouTube channel is the number of its subscribers.
That is why today, we’ll explain everything you need to know about YouTube subscribers and share 15 proven methods you can utilize so your channel gets more subscribers and grow your YouTube channel organically, which is optimal for creators that prefer not to buy real youtube subscribers and spend a lot of money on it. Without further ado, let’s get started -
The “official” definition of a YouTube subscriber is a user who has selected a channel’s subscribe button and has opted to receive notifications about the content released by that channel (Wikipedia). The subscribers get a subscription feed from the videos published recently, from all the channels they are subscribed to.
Getting subscribers on YouTube is vital for several reasons; the main one is raising the number of particular views. Since every subscriber receives a notification about new video uploads, this translates as consistent views, which depending on the quality of the video, can only increase.
Among the reasons for getting more subscribers is the increase in shares, engagement, comments, and views. All of these are very important, the most important one – you are guessing right – gaining popularity and growing on YouTube.
So, when we talk about how to get more YouTube subscribers, we need to talk about a strategy that will lead towards achieving this goal and towards growing your YouTube channel. Now that we have this out of the way, it is time to learn what you can do to attract more subscribers to your YouTube channel.
There is much more than simply uploading a video to YouTube and hoping for the best, you know, to get views and subscribers and gain popularity. To help you grow on YouTube and hopefully monetize your channel, we’ve compiled the following list of proven methods to help you in this endeavor. These methods serve as guidelines on how to get free subscribers; the only thing required is some (a lot of) effort on your side and a bit of luck.
YouTube channel optimization is one of the best things you can do about your presence on YouTube. How you set up your channel is a reflection of your dedication and character, and to aim at success, the look and functionality of your channel need to reflect this.
Optimizing your channel means having excellent preparation beforehand, including doing in-depth keyword research, implementing all the little tricks of the trade, and executing a perfect SEO strategy. It includes perfect keywords, adding good descriptions, having a proper amount of tags, and more, which you can learn more about by browsing the other posts on our blog.
Branding is essential, especially today, in the ever-growing competitive market of YouTube creators. To attract more subscribers to your YouTube channel, you should work toward building a recognizable brand. This also includes creating a killer logo that you should use as a watermark on your videos, so viewers will instantly recognize your work and click on it.
Maintaining a successful YouTube channel is not easy, but the efforts you invest are totally worth it when you see the results. Editing each video within an inch of its life is also not easy, but the end results can be very rewarding. The image below holds an example of a channel whose videos have a very recognizable watermark – the bright green pincer holding a white letter C. Paired with excellent editing and great content, the Clickspring channel is an example of branding done right.
We talked about building a recognizable brand above, but here we need to mention the importance of having recognizable thumbnails to your videos. The thumbnail shows people what the video is all about and draws them to pick out your video from the offered options.
When working towards getting more subscribers to your YouTube channel, you should put in the extra effort and create appealing video thumbnails: This is evident in the case of Frank Howarth, a famous woodworker on YouTube, whose channel has some very creative editing and irresistible thumbnails. Each thumbnail displays the object he has created in the video, and this is an excellent example of excellent thumbnail execution.
People will certainly like your channel better when they know when to expect your next video. In your quest of how to get more YouTube subscribers, consistency is vital, as people can rely on their daily/weekly entertainment (or educational post).
If you have a consistent upload schedule, people will have a valid reason for checking out your channel, leading to them becoming active subscribers to your channel. If you slack on regular posting of fresh updates, people will forget about you and likely never come back to your channel, which means you will lose views instead of gaining more.
One example of a regular upload schedule done right is the popular entertainment channel WatchMojo. They have over 23.2 million subscribers, and they keep their viewers’ attention by publishing up to 4 videos each day, as can be seen below -
CTA stands for 'Call To Action', and it is a phrase that prompts the user to make an action. On YouTube, an example for a CTA or call to action is to invite your viewers to become subscribers, click on the notifications bell, leave a comment, rate, and share your video. This is quite important when looking to build up your YouTube channel and get more subscribers.
You should add a good call to action at the end of your video, inviting people to subscribe after they’ve watched your content. Don’t worry about annoying people, as you can get creative and do this in a stealthy yet effective manner. For example, at the end of the video, you can simply ask your viewers to subscribe to your channel, with the promise of more similar content .
The end screen has a strong power to help you get more YouTube subscribers. If you don’t know yet, YouTube allows four different elements to appear on the end screen. But if you use all four at once, you risk overwhelming your viewers by giving them many options. We would recommend that you announce your next project or video series and what people can expect to see soon from you near the end of your video and then utilizing your end screen with a good CTA like “SUBSCRIBE” button, and maybe a link to another one of your videos or a playlist.
If you are not familiar with how to add end screen to YouTube videos, we have an article on this topic, and you can learn a lot of useful tricks. Meanwhile, take a look at the end screen of the video for Tiny Dancer by Elton John: The end screen holds a CTA button on the left and on the right another of his videos and a link to a topic related playlist.
As we noted above, it is good to create video playlists, as people like to have things served up to them, and not to go and search for things by themselves. This plays good for you, as you can bank on this by doing the hard work in preparing a playlist of your videos and then offering it to your viewers. They will be more tempted to subscribe to your channel and become faithful fans when they know they can rely on you for good entertainment (or education).
You can arrange your videos or videos from other YouTube creators with whom you cooperate with, and you can do this in one of two ways: one by topics and another by the outcome. The playlist by topic is straightforward – people get to see videos on the same topic. But the playlist by outcome is a newer concept and is one where all the videos on it are related to the same outcome in mind. It gives your viewers a much bigger incentive to watch and subscribe, which is your end goal.
People like to feel appreciated, and you can show your appreciation and gratitude by answering comments and other types of interactions. It also includes interacting and engaging with your viewers on your community tab, sharing more in-depth thoughts, and directly communicating with your fans.
So, clearly, you should make an effort and reply to as many comments as possible, as there is a strong relation between replying to comments and the number of subscribers, according to YouTube.
You all know the famous Play buttons YouTube sends out to its creators when they reach a certain number of subscribers, right? Well, that is YouTube’s way of celebrating subscriber milestones, but as a creator, you need to come up with your own unique way of celebrating your subscriber milestones.
It can be a special thank-you video, a live stream, or something else that will make your subscribers feel appreciated. A famous YouTube creator whose channel has close to 1.87 million subscribers, Jimmy DiResta celebrates every 100K subscribers by preparing a longer video showcasing one of his tool collections -
To get more subscribers to your channel, you should always give hints of what you are working on next. That can be a mention in your current video or in a card on the end screen of your video. It is a proven way to draw people’s attention, and if they happen to like the topic of your next video, the best thing for them is to become subscribers. Simple as that.
For a short-term spike in viewer engagement, you can host a contest or a giveaway. It can also serve to surpass a lagging YouTube subscriber count, which often happens to many channels. But to be successful in this and genuinely attract people to subscribe to your channel, you need to select a prize that will be enticing and valuable to your viewers. It is an excellent way to inspire people to click on that subscribe button.
By collaborating with other YouTube creators, you and all the people you collaborate with get exposed to new audiences that may or may not have heard of your channel. The idea behind collaborating with other YouTuber is cross-promotion, obviously. This is usually done by guest-starring in each other’s videos, where their viewers will hear about you, and your viewers will hear about them.
It has never been so easy to use social media platforms to promote your YouTube channel. The social platforms don’t charge for posting YouTube videos on there, so it is also how to get free subscribers. Plan and prepare a cross-promotion campaign on all social media sites where you have an account and have a good fan base. You don’t need anything complex for starters, simply putting a link to your YouTube channel in your bio section is fine.
Still, to get more people to visit and subscribe to your YouTube channel, you can do a teaser or a short preview video campaign on social media and drive traffic to your channel this way. However, it would be best if you were smart about this approach, as social media platforms work on keeping people on their platforms and frown upon attempts of drawing people to other platforms.
A way around this is to create a short preview video from your original video and upload it as a native video on the social media platform of your choice, as it has 10x more views and shares. Then, simply add the link to the complete YouTube video in the comments section and sit back and enjoy the increase in views and subscribers.
To make it easier for people to discover your YouTube channel and promote your content, you should also promote your YouTube videos on websites and blogs which are topics related to your YouTube channel and content. It’s a way to get your video closer to people who find it interesting.
This is a double value feature, as you can drive traffic toward your YouTube channel and get more views and subscribers. Simultaneously, you can also promote the website/blog and give the Google search algorithms more substance to work with.
One of the conditions to monetize your channel is to get 1,000 subscribers on YouTube. But if you are just starting, getting to this magical number of subscribers is difficult, no matter what you do. To get your channel up and running, you need to spend a lot of time and effort, and there could be little left to promote your site in the way you want to. So, there is nothing wrong with hiring outside help to get things on their way.
However, you select to go on, make sure you create fantastic videos and use our advice above to promote your brand and grow on YouTube. Good Luck.
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