When your YouTube channel has grown quite big, you run out of ideas for further growth in the channel.
The channel's content is the best you can create and you know how to make a community post on YouTube, several subscribers have stagnated, and the interaction on your content seems to dwindle or stay the same. You start scratching your head and think hard to try and move forward but seem to get nowhere.
Fortunately, we never run out of ideas on how to grow your YouTube channel for free at any point in your YouTube career.
A YouTube collaboration is when two YouTubers from different channels come together to make a one single video. As content creators, they are free to use their imagination to merge their content to make it enjoyable for their audience. It means that the audience will get fresh and entertaining content that’s different from regular videos of each YouTuber in the collaboration.
As you start looking for a YouTuber to collaborate with, you might feel a little lost. How do you pick who to collaborate with? After all, you can’t just collaborate with anyone on YouTube.
Here are three aspects you should keep in mind when deciding who to collaborate with:
What is the goal of the collaboration? Are you looking for a fun video to make with a YouTuber friend or are you collaborating because you figured out it’s one of the ways of how to promote your YouTube channel for free? Obviously, the main goal is to get more subscribers and some fresh eyes on your content, but what else are you looking to achieve here?
Keep the people who will watch this collaboration in mind. Whose attention are you trying to catch? Are they similar to your regular audience or are you trying to branch out and expand your brand and niche?
What will the actual content be like? What will the collaboration look like? These are two very important questions that you should ask yourself - as well as your collaborator - before you start working on your videos together. The content needs to be interesting for both audiences.
Collaborating is often a lot of work and requires time management skills, team management skills and a lot of patience. For some, it might not seem worth it to collaborate with another YouTuber. However, there are plenty of reasons why you should collaborate -
A collaboration can increase the amount of views your videos are getting. Think of it this way - you’re exposing yourself to a fresh audience. If they liked what you did in the collaboration, they’re going to come to your channel to see what else you’ve got under your sleeve.
It’s no secret that collaborating can help your YouTube channel to grow organically. Think of those fresh set of eyes that just discovered your content - if they liked what they saw, they’re very likely to hit that subscribe button and stick around.
When collaborating, there is a possibility of finding out an entirely new type of audience interested in your content. This could be a big break for the channel as the new demographic could have huge untapped potential.
Finding YouTubers to collaborate with when you’re just starting out on YouTube is tricky, but it’s totally possible. When you’ve been on the platform long enough, you’ve probably made connections and networked enough to have YouTuber friends that you can reach out to and pitch a collaboration. However, when just starting out, you’re a new fish in the pond and you need to make a little more effort. Whether you’re new or a veteran YouTuber, here are some ways you can find people to collaborate with on YouTube:
You can take the old approach of searching for prospects on google. For explanation, suppose you provide news related to the Technology industry and you’re looking for famous technology YouTubers to collaborate with. A simple google search will show this:
Afterward, you can dive in to find out more about these YouTubers on Social blade. Let’s check out Marques Brownlee’s channel.
If his stats on SocialBlade are good enough for you, you can definitely think about approaching him and pitching a collaboration idea to him. Keep in mind, though, that the bigger the YouTuber - the harder it will be for you to get their attention. Stick to people similar to you in size and volume and make sure your pitch is tight.
You can also search the keywords you use on YouTube to find other people who are using the same words. This would mean they are creating similar content and can be a good partner for collaboration. For example, If you create content related to supercars, here is what the results for a simple search would look like.
Now all you have to do is watch some videos to figure out which YouTuber you want to reach out to and pitch a collaboration to.
This is one of the most popular platforms to find other content creators who are willing to collaborate, however it’s only available for iOS users at the moment. There are multiple options on how to go about for a collaboration. You can message content creators on the platform, post your own ideas or see the opportunities to collaborate that others have posted.
Another way to find other YouTubers can be through Facebook groups - Type in YouTube collaboration on the search bar on Facebook and select the groups filter on the search results. You can find multiple groups with many content creators willing to collaborate. Each group will have its own requirement for joining as most groups are private and you will need to apply to enter.
Once you have figured out how to find a perfect match for your collaboration, the approach should be direct. Since comments are a public space, you should ask for collaboration in a more private place. Here are some ideas on how to reach out to the content creators -
Email is the most common means of communication to reach out to other YouTubers. The key to writing a good email is not directly asking for collaboration but presenting them with a great idea. This would catch their attention towards the concept, and they will be more likely to agree to a partnership. You can get the email address of a YouTuber on their about page.
The downside of emailing is that the bigger the YouTuber is, the more emails they receive every day and yours might get lost in the crowd. Write a compelling subject line and keep your email relevant and to the point - tell the YouTuber who you are, pitch your idea and hope for the best!
Social Media presence has become essential for content creators which means they are usually present on all the platforms. You can find their profiles through their about pages or by watching one of their videos - most YouTubers write their social media handles down in the video description or they mention them vocally in the video itself.
Do you know someone who knows someone? Yes, that chain can also work for you to get in touch personally with a YouTuber. As you spend more time in developing content and growing, you would find out people who are approachable through your contacts. This is a significant benefit of networking, which can get you in touch directly with someone you want to approach. Even if you cannot get direct contact, you can get the message across to the relevant YouTuber through someone else.
Your pitch shouldn’t be super detailed; leave the nitty-gritty details for later, when the other party shows interest in working with you. If the idea is too long to read, it would automatically have more chances to be ignored. There should be a headline for the concept, which should get the attention very quickly.
Whether you are looking to send an email or reach out on social media, make sure to write effective messages. The plan should be clear and easily understandable; otherwise, you might not be able to get the right message across. The same is the case for direct messages.
Always include a deadline for them to reply, after which you should decide to move on to the next name on your list of prospects you have created using the tips above. You and the other person need to know a specific date and time you decide to move further or do not.
It’s now finally the time to put all the planning into execution mode and ultimately create the video. Even though it might seem like you are doing something new, it should follow your content creation's basic rule to engage the maximum number of audiences. Creating the content is not where the work ends, as you must provide a link to your partner's channel. The audience of both the channels should know about the collaboration. Learn how to make a community post on YouTube to create awareness about a new video or any related topic which your audience might find interesting.
While trying to engage a new audience, keep in mind the previous audience. The collaboration content should align with your existing audience’s interests and not go against it - because that will result in loss of views and subscribers and it frankly defeats the purpose.
After posting the video on YouTube, use social media channels to promote the collaboration. Make it easy for your viewers to move from social media sites towards your video. Clearly post the link of the video with an appropriate thumbnail of the video to attract people from social media sites.
It is also a good idea to create a small trailer about the upcoming video highlighting the key moments from the video. Post the trailer appropriate time before uploading the main collaboration video to let it create an impact. Do not delay posting the video too much as people can forget about the coming video.
Last but not least, you can use YouTube community posts to create hype about the upcoming video to increase the interest in upcoming collaboration. It could be used to build expectations of the audience and let people spread the word.
GetFans.io is the leading social media provider and a one-stop shop for all of your YouTube & Instagram marketing needs.
