YouTube is all about subscribers and one of the key metrics to measure success on YouTube is through the number of subscribers your channel has. More subscribers mean more views for your videos.
Posting videos frequently has a big impact on your subscriber count because the more you post videos, the more people watch them. Hence, you get more engagements, likes, and shares.
However, getting subscribers on YouTube takes more than just posting videos. Here are some tips on how to increase YouTube subscribers:
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8 Tips to Get More Followers on YouTube
Tip 1: Create Engaging and Informative Content
If you want people to watch your video, you need to create content that is engaging and informative. Here are some ways in which you can create better content:
- Build your content around a specific audience.
- Ensure that you plan your video script ahead of time so that all the relevant points are covered and you don’t flood the viewers with unnecessary information. If you feel that there is too much information in one video, break it down into several videos.
- Viewers like it when you use a good example every once in a while. Use examples as much as you can and make sure that they are from high-quality sites.
- Add visuals to your content to make it more appealing
- Always start your videos with an interesting hook which will make people want to continue watching the rest of the video.
- Always use original content. If you use someone else’s content, your video will not be engaging enough, not to mention that you may end alienating people
- Include cards, end screens and pattern interrupts to engage your audience
The next essential thing that you need to know in this how-to increase YouTube subscribers article is the frequency of your uploads
Tip 2: Create and Publish Videos Frequently
There is no doubt that creating and publishing videos frequently helps to increase your subscribers. Conversely, if you haven’t published in a long time, people won’t want to subscribe to your channel.
According to Social Media Examiner, YouTube channels that publish more than once a week perform better than those who don’t. When someone subscribes to your channel, they get a notification in their email whenever you upload a new video. If someone gets an email notification once a week, it's more likely that they will engage with your video, especially if the content is content is original, engaging, and informative.
So if you can afford to publish more than one video a week, there are higher chances of gaining more subscribers, and you can get them faster if you use a fixed frequency strategy.
Once you are done with the uploading of your content, you also need to optimize them. Let’s take a look at how you can do it as a part of this how-to increase Youtube subscriber article.
Tip 3: Optimize Your YouTube Videos
Optimizing your videos helps your content rank higher on YouTube. People who see your videos are likely to also interact with your content. To ensure that your videos reach the right audience, you can optimize a number of video elements such as the title, description, video, and other meta tags.
Title
According to Backlinko, “Using an exact keyword in your video title can help you with rankings”. Ultimately, higher ranking means more views and more subscribers.
Description
When you write the description of your video, make sure that you provide all the necessary information such as keywords, timestamps, and links.
Timestamps help viewers to choose a section of the video they want to watch and jump right to it. Linking other relevant videos in the description gives a chance to showcase other videos and also keeps your content engaging.
Video Tags
Video tags help others to find your video. If you want to know more about how to optimize meta tags, you can watch this video here:
Some other ways in which you can optimize your channel are:
- Upload a captivating thumbnail
- Upload a transcript of the video
- Add a start screen and end screen to your YouTube videos - A start screen so that people know what your videos look like up front and an end screen which is not dark and non-descriptive
If you think, only optimizing your videos is enough for getting more subscribers, you might need to reconsider it. It is also important that you optimize your YouTube channel. Here’s how to increase your Youtube subscribers by optimizing your YouTube channel.
Tip 4: Optimize Your YouTube Channel
In order to get more subscribers on YouTube, you need to optimize not just your videos but your channel as well. Here are some of the easiest ways to do this:
Create a YouTube Trailer
A trailer gives your audience a preview of what your channel has to offer. Through your trailer, you can give your audience an idea about -
- your brand
- the type of videos you post
- a taste of your future videos
- your release schedule
Design an Interesting Look for Your Channel
A YouTube channel can look interesting by using appropriate channel keywords, channel descriptions, and channel art.
When you write a description for your channel, use keywords, and keep the content short and interesting. According to Backlinko, “ YouTube SEO ranking factors study discovered that channel keywords have a small-yet-significant correlation with higher YouTube search rankings”. The first 100-150 characters of your channel description are very important as it is shown next to your channel on search results.
Include an appropriate call-to-action at the end of your description. Pick some channel art that is hip and cool but also relevant to your brand.
Include Sections and Playlists on Your Home Page
If you have a lot of videos, organize them into various sections and playlists and feature them on your homepage. You can also optimize these playlists by adding the right keywords, titles, and descriptions.
Tip 5: Create High-Quality Videos
People don’t like to watch videos that have poor audio and video.
If you have a professional video in place, people will take you seriously and engage with your videos. Following these simple steps can help you build your reputation as a professional.
- Make sure that you record your video in a quiet atmosphere with no ambient noise in the background.
- Use good recording equipment so that the audio is clear. Also, remember to watch the input volume meter while you are recording
- Set up a green background and use studio lights during recording.
- Record your videos in 1080p or higher. According to Backinko, YouTube preferably ranks HD videos.
- Plan your video script ahead before filming so that you know what to say and get to all your relevant points.
- Use slow motion and jump cuts wisely to accentuate some parts of your video.
- Stabilize your video recordings with a tripod and shoot your videos horizontally. For wider shots, you can use a clip-on lens.
- Choose a good video editing software.
- Finally, review your work carefully before publishing.
Tip 6: Add a Subscriber Watermark to Your Videos
YouTube allows you to add a watermark to your videos. This is a great way to remind people to subscribe to your channel. A watermark can be a logo, brand name, or a call-to-action.
Tip 7: Engage with Your Audience
When you interact with your viewers, it gives them a sense of gratification. This leads to higher chances of people who would want to subscribe to your channel. This is the reason why engaging with your audience is very important to increase your YouTube subscribers.
If somebody took their time to watch your video, thank them at the end of the video and give them an idea about where to go for more information.
Encourage your viewers to comment and give feedback about your video. According to Backlinko, “Video comments have a very strong correlation with rankings”. Learn from the criticism and incorporate these feedback into your video. You can always get new ideas from your viewers too and create new videos based on the comments.
Rewarding excellent comments (both on and off YouTube) for their support also helps to improve engagements. Also, you don’t always have to do a pre-recorded video, live streaming is a good way to interact with your audience in real-time.
Tip 8: Promote Your Videos on Other Platforms
If you want your video to reach people outside YouTube, it’s a smart idea to promote your videos on other platforms.
Social media
The first thing you can do is look at the platforms which you already use. Facebook and Instagram are good places to start but you can also leverage a lot of other platforms as well.
When you post something on Facebook, include the link of your YouTube video along with it. Apply the same strategy with Twitter, Instagram, and other social media sites.
Forums and Blog Discussions
You can also participate in forums and blog discussions and include your YouTube link whenever it is relevant and natural to the discussion. Join high Q&A sites and post answers to the questions related to your video.
For example, if you are on a blog discussion about machine learning, you can add your YouTube video on What is machine learning? in the comments along with what you are trying to say.
Link Building
Find relevant and authoritative websites that are relevant to your content and collaborate with them to produce backlinks. You can also opt for testimonial link building where someone provides a testimony by linking to your video. Collaborate with other YouTube channels as well - there are high chances that people are doing the same thing as you are.
Influencer Marketing
Influencers have a loyal following which makes it easy to get their content across to a lot of people. If an influencer posts a video on your behalf, it will help you to get a lot of subscribers quickly.
Email Marketing
Emails are also a great way to reach lots of people at one go. Take advantage of email marketing by adding your YouTube channel link in your email signature.
Other ways to promote your content
- Engage with people by posting your video links on relevant community pages
- Publish your video in reputable video directories
- Bookmark your videos on popular bookmarking sites (eg: stumbleupon)
- Embed videos in your blog posts
- Promote other related videos in your end screen
Conclusion
We hope this article on “how to increase YouTube subscribers” will help you reach your YouTube goals. In order to establish yourself as a professional on YouTube, you need to get a greater number of subscribers. The only way to do this is by producing good content and optimizing key areas. Simplilearn’s course on YouTube and Video Marketing enables you to make the best use of a video to promote your business on YouTube. In this course, you will learn about how to produce compelling and effective videos for marketing and a few ways to customize your channel for better engagement with your audience.
