Getting more YouTube subscribers is an art!
If you currently have a YouTube channel, you must be wondering how you can get more YouTube subscribers.
- Should you buy YouTube subscribers?
- Are there free ways to get more subscribers on YouTube?
With a smart strategy and persistence, you could be the next big YouTube star with tons of subscribers.
I have shared strategies that would help you to get more YouTube subscribers in no time.
With over a billion unique YouTube visitors per month, there is a large potential audience for every uploaded video. Whether it’s a video of someone performing a prank or a video of a fashionista’s summer wear review, YouTube is the go-to platform for video consumption.
With a whole new lot of YouTube stars on the rise, it is definitely a platform to be considered by everyone looking for some online marketing and publicity.
Implementing these techniques will surely help you achieve your goals.
1. Add Watermark to your video.
This is a nice little hack that you can use for your YouTube channel right away. Youtube let you add a watermark that could be shown on all your videos and at all the time. This adds another way for your viewers to subscribe to your channel. This is how this watermark looks like:
Do notice, the various options to show the watermark. You can also remove any existing watermark and use a new one. Initially, I used my logo as a watermark but later on, I shifted to “Subscribe” icon which helped me to increase the number of subscribers.
You can download the below image and use it as your watermark.
2. Configure YouTube account defaults
This is another nice hack that you can use to add a subscribe reminder in all your videos. Just like branding, YouTube lets you add default settings for all your future uploads. You can use this feature to ask your users to subscribe to your videos in all your videos. (See screenshot below)
To configure this, simply head over to YouTube defaults page and add a description that you would like to show in all your videos.
This is the default description I use in all my videos.
I can always edit or remove anything at the time of uploading videos. This is such a time saver and ensures that I remind my viewers to subscribe to my channel.
3. Append your Channel URL with subscription string
This is another smart way to exponentially increase YouTube subscriptions from people who click on your channel link. In this trick, you will append your channel link with “?sub_confirmation=1”
Before: https://www.youtube.com/c/Focusarc
After: https://www.youtube.com/c/Focusarc?sub_confirmation=1 (Click on the link to see it in action)
What this does is, when a user clicks on your link with SML magic string (?sub_confirmation=1), they see the pop-up to quickly subscribe to your YouTube channel. (See the screenshot below)
This removes the friction and lets users quickly subscribe to your channel.
You can use YouTube subscription string with tip #2 (above) or also when you add a YouTube channel link on your blog, social media or any other places.
4. Create a plan (and script) for your videos.
The first step in getting started on your YouTube journey is to plan what your channel is going to be all about.
Then you need to plan the structure of the videos.
Decide what it is that you love creating and focus on developing related skills. Do not mimic trending YouTube channels. Doing what you love is more important for success on YouTube (and in life).
Videos tend to perform better if you write a script because scripts help you in organizing your videos efficiently and keeping you on track. By sticking to a script, you’ll be able to stay on track without veering off to an unrelated topic. This script will also ensure a perfect flow of events resulting in a well-focused video.
Include as many details as possible into your video script:
- The exact words you are going to say.
- The actions you will be taking in the video.
- The main points you need to stress.
- Any necessary calls to action (click on this link, subscribe to my channel, etc.)
Also, identify your target audience and write your script based on their understanding.
5. Create effective channel branding
Channel branding is an important way to let viewers know who you are and what they can expect from your channel.
Your YouTube banner welcomes everyone who clicks into your channel. Maybe they just watched a video and are looking for more. Maybe they’re a potential subscriber.
Make sure they know where they are and why they should stick around.
Your banner needs to be clean, on-brand, compelling, and—this is the fussy part—optimized for all devices. You don’t want important details covered up by your social media buttons, for instance.
6. Increase your uploading frequency.
Now, this is easier said than done, but you cannot ignore its validity. The main reason someone subscribes to a channel is that they love the work of the publisher and wants to see more of their videos.
YouTube subscribers usually do not like channels that don’t produce regular content. Especially in today’s digital age, consumers want continually more and more entertainment. You need to be able to keep up with your subscribers’ demands.
Consistency is the key to developing a long-lasting relationship with your subscribers.
Release your videos in a timely, recurring, and structured fashion. Try to publish one video per week… or at least one or two per month.
Stick to your schedule and do not upload videos off of this schedule. This will hurt your reputation. It’s like watching your favorite TV series; a new episode comes out according to a regular schedule. This consistency helps you stay engaged as a viewer.
7. Optimize YouTube Titles for CTR
Being distinguishable is the most important aspect of YouTube success.
One great way to do this is to give your videos offbeat names. This way, you’re going to be getting a lot of people coming to your channel based on curiosity alone.
Having quirky titles will play a major role in getting the views that your channel needs to benefit from the social proof factor.
But to get a maximum amount of views, you will also need to dive into the SEO part of YouTube marketing.
Here are a few tips for optimizing your YouTube titles for greater reach:
- Use the keyword in the title. This had a larger impact on SEO in the past, but it still has a pretty large effect on video. Google crawlers don’t watch videos the way they read blog posts, so putting the keyword in the title will let Google bots know what your video is all about.
- Use Google Adwords to identify what people are searching for on the web. Try to tackle videos with a perfect blend of high volume searches and low competition.
- Don’t make the title too long. Google truncates the length of the video down to 66 characters and adds ‘YouTube |’ before the video (taking an extra 10 characters). Your ideal video title should be no more than 50 characters.
- Make the title descriptive. Give the audience a sneak peek as to what the video will be about.
- Make the title engaging. Like I said above, having a quirky title will get more people to click. The more clicks you have, the higher it will rank.
- Don’t use the word “video” in the title. This will only take up space and won’t help you rank higher on YouTube’s search engine (though it may have an effect on normal search engines).
In short, learn how to write catchy, relevant, and optimized titles.
8. Create an engaging channel trailer.
YouTube offers a great feature called channel trailers that lets you automatically play a video upon the opening of a YouTube channel.
Your channel trailer is something you must carefully work on and constantly improve to keep visitors engaged.
This is the moment where you need to catch your audience’s attention within a few seconds. The perfect channel trailer is somewhere between 30 seconds to 60 seconds.
Here you will need to provide a reason for your potential subscribers as to why they must stay on your channel, and what it is that you have to offer them.
If you are good in front of the camera, give a quick, informative, and engaging introduction (with a well-structured script).
In your YouTube’s Channel Reports, check the viewer retention rates to see if you are killing off potential subscribers with a boring or lengthy channel trailer.
Tweak it until it’s perfect.
9. Use A YouTube Intro & Outro.
Your YouTube intro and outro not only helps in branding, but it will also make your video more entertaining.
Having an intro and outro will serve your brand and offer your video a sense of professionalism. It’s like the opening theme song of a TV show.
Moreover, an attractive intro will ensure that your viewers stay glued to the rest of the video.
Here is an example from my channel:
10. Optimize your video descriptions.
Coming back to the SEO aspect of YouTube videos, the video description is not to be neglected.
The description will not only let your videos be found in search engines, they’ll also give potential viewers an idea of what your video is about.
But don’t overdo it. Having a very detailed description makes no sense because only the first few lines of your description show up when the video is initially loaded.
Again, like the title, you should use your keyword in the description, and again, don’t overdo it. Don’t think you’re outsmarting the search engine by adding in your keyword 17 times. Doing this will actually hurt your chances of showing up in searches.
Keep it natural and authentic.
11. Make the most of meta tags.
Make use of the Google Keyword Planner for getting ideas on relevant keywords for your YouTube videos. Add all of those relevant keywords to your videos. This will help you become more discoverable in both Google and YouTube search engines.
Overdoing keywords will not help (it will actually hurt), but a few well-researched and well-placed keywords can do wonders for your rankings.
A low video count may not always be only about poor content; it could also indicate poor discoverability
Metadata is something that plays a major role in getting your videos displayed in search results. You can browse some well-converting videos and see what meta tags they are using to give you some ideas. But don’t just copy and paste meta tags; this won’t help your cause.
12. End your videos on a high note.
Whatever the nature of your videos, make sure you end your videos on a high note.
Just like the last dialogue before the curtain falls, make sure you end your videos in a memorable fashion.
Ask your audience for a subscription and alike if they liked the video. Tell them to check out your website.
Whatever you do, remember:
- If you never ask, the answer will always be no.
End your videos on a note of confidence and let your audience know you appreciate their viewership.
Create a tail slate, or a brand-like outro with a standard banner and “subscribe” annotations across all of your videos.
End your videos with a smile and keep your visitors eager for more.
13. Cross-platform promotion is a necessity.
In this age of social media, being present and active on multiple social platforms is a pre-requisite for being alive.
If you’re trying to build a brand, being discoverable is a must. You need to be active on many major social media platforms.
You should at least have a profile on Facebook, Twitter, and Google Plus. But you can always opt for other ones like Pinterest, Instagram, SnapChat, and all the others…
This is how successful brands are built.
By being visible in many places around the web, you set yourself up as an omniscient presence.
Bottom Line:
“Only those who attempt the absurd will achieve the impossible.”
What worked for someone else might not turn out to work for you. So, keep experimenting and stick to the methods that work for you.
Keep experimenting with camera angles, backgrounds, video thumbnails, and all the techniques in this article. Keep tracking your changes and the way they are affecting your audience’s behavior.
Stay true to your brand.
Building something of value on YouTube takes a lot of effort, time, perseverance, and a long-term commitment. But eventually, with patience, you can reap its benefits.
Keep experimenting and exploring
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