How to Get Your First 1000 YouTube Subscribers

How to Get Your First 1000 YouTube Subscribers

Do you have a YouTube channel that you want to set up or is already running right now? You put all this time, energy and possibly money into creating videos, but when you post them, no one watches other than your mom? Let’s fix that today. Here are the YouTube tips that are sure to help get you YouTube subscribers.

Create a Subscribe Link

When you are verified on YouTube, you have the option of creating a pop-up link. You also need more than 100 subscribers to create a custom channel I.D. After you create a custom URL, you can blast it to everyone! Share on your other social channels, website and your email subscribers.

http://www.youtube.com/channel/REPLACE_WITH_ID?sub_confirmation=1

Above is what your link will look like, you will need to replace the “Replace_with_ID” portion. Again, you need to have 100 subs to create a custom id. If you utilize your friends and family, you should get there in no time!

Optimize Your Video – Keywords

You have to think of YouTube as a search engine. So, it’s all about those keywords! You can use TubeBuddy (which is freemium), Vid I.Q. (freemium), or a more SEO oriented Ahrefs (paid) or Google keyword planner (free).

Below is a screenshot from TubeBuddy that gives you an overall score based on your keyword. As you can see that “vegan smoothie” has a poor overall score, but when you go long tail and add in “green apple vegan smoothies” your score goes from 9 to 42!

Tools like TubeBuddy are fantastic for selecting your keywords, providing trend information and give you a quick snapshot of the results for your keyword.

The easiest one you want to check as well is YouTube! Utilize the search bar and type in your keyword see what shows up next and you can see what people are looking for. Click into the video that shows up for that keyword and see if you will be able to create a better video than that one (or the top 5).

After you have your keywords honed down, the next part is utilizing them in your metadata. Ideally, you want one keyword that is your primary target keyword and 3-4 other ones that you want to use in the description and tags. The main spots you want to hit is the name of your file, your title, description, and your tags.

Utilizing Your Keywords in the Description

You want to ensure you are not just jamming in the keywords in your description. You really want to make it sound as organic as possible. Here you want to front-load your main keyword and organically write the other 3-4 keywords in here.

Utilize the total number of characters YouTube allows. This space is perfect for optimizing, and you never know what you might end up ranking for.

Utilizing Your Keywords in the Tags

This is another spot where you want your main target keyword first and the 3-4 other keywords you had selected. Another pro tip is to check the channels that are currently ranking number one for your main keywords and include the name of their channel in your tags. It sounds strange, but your video is more likely to be in the watch next section this way.

Creating a Custom Thumbnail

Last but not least is to add a custom thumbnail for your video. Make it as click-worthy as possible by creating a high contrast image and a catchy headline. Use a large bold font for the text, so mobile users don’t miss out on what your video is about.

When you are scrolling on YouTube, start noticing what draws your eyes attention and what videos you click, and where are you reading text (on the thumbnail or YouTube title.

Next Level Call to Action

Everyone says the general “like, comment and subscribe to my channel.” That is no longer enough to get people to engage with your video, but a specific call to action can change this. Ask your viewers a question or have them select one or the other (for example, have you found wix.com better than Squarespace, etc.).

Sometimes people don’t know what to say, but by asking a question, not only will you get the “great video” comments, but you also get the “Squarespace is so much better as it lets you do…”.  Also, it creates interaction in the comments between viewers and allows you to reply, further strengthening your connection with your community of followers.

Studies have shown that comments are the best engagement you can get, especially when it’s within the first 24 hours your video is posted. So, don’t be shy to ask for a comment.

Sharing is Caring

After you post, you need to share your video, and I mean literally right after you post your video on YouTube, the first 24 hours are critical! You can post a teaser video in your stories on Instagram with a swipe up to watch the rest, post on Pinterest (I’m still amazed at how many people aren’t posting video posts), and Facebook.

Literally, post on every social channel you are on. Also, don’t forget to email a link to subscribers, and post on your website.

If you’ve mentioned any influencers or brands, you should always send them a link to check out your video that mentions them. Specifically, brands are so big (or should be so big) on user-generated content that depending on the quality of the content, they could literally blast it on all their social networks.

You can also scour the internet with Buzzsumo or even Google your video topic to find blog posts that would benefit from posting your video in their blog post. Say you have a great video about finding keywords to rank on Google that would fit perfectly in a blog post about SEO. Send an email saying how you enjoyed their video and if they embed your video, it could increase time on their page and help their readers.

Own Your Niche

You are more likely to rank higher on Google if you are an expert in your field. That does mean, of course, that Google needs to know what you are an expert in. The same goes for YouTube say you are creating content for Vegan foods, then post about money savings tips, and then vlog your vacation, YouTube is going to be confused. What are you an expert in exactly? Let’s go with the channel that talks about vegan smoothies and vegan food recipes only.

Google’s E.A.T. stands for expertise, authority and trustworthiness. Moz has a great article with all the details that can be found here https://moz.com/blog/google-e-a-t. It is focused on happiness, health or wealth more so than other topics, but studies have shown that when you niche down, google gives you more love. As Google owns YouTube, you can expect the same type of thought process there.

Longer Videos Perform Better on YouTube

The suggestion has been over 5 min should be fine, but if you notice almost all of the suggested videos on your home page are over 15 min? Is the following video just as long?

The YouTube creator blog reads, “We focus on those that increase the amount of time that the viewer will spend watching videos on YouTube, not only the next view, also successive views thereafter.” Essentially YouTube wants to keep you on the site. They don’t want you to leave after you watch a 2 min video when they can have you on their site longer with a 15 min video.

Make sure your video is both long and engaging. You can watch a boring video for 2 min but not for 15. Make it emotional, high energy, watch your tone and show your passion.

Perfecting your YouTube Profile Page

Create a playlist

By creating a playlist, you are essentially the next in the queue and not your competitor. Your viewers will end up watching your videos in sequence – increasing your view time, hopefully, your subscriber count, and your videos ranking.

Creating playlists is super easy when you have niched down. You can essentially create a series if you are teaching a subject and people are less likely to click off to another video. You should still always add related videos on your end screen, as this gives you a better chance that they will keep watching your videos.

YouTube Channel Art

This is where your branding comes into play. You want to have a general aesthetic, and this is one of the areas that can help viewers hit that subscribe button. You should include when you post and what you post about here.

YouTube Channel Trailer

This is the leading video that automatically plays when viewers visit your channel page. Having a YouTube channel trailer shows who is taking their channel seriously and who is not.

Your channel trailer is your movie trailer and a preview of what content viewers can expect if they hit that subscribe button. It’s your elevator pitch so you want to think about your U.S.P. (unique selling proposition). It’s your winning difference and what you can provide that others cannot.

Upload a Transcript

Have you noticed that when you scroll on mobile, the CC starts going so you can see a bit of the video and read the text? It essentially gives you’re a short preview of the video before you click. YouTube does a pretty good job of creating transcription, but if you upload a transcript, it will help you and not hinder your rankings.

Out Value Your Competition – When you’ve selected your keywords, I would highly suggest to watch the top videos and see how you can provide more. You can offer a downloadable that supplements your video or a mini-course; the options are endless. You also get the added benefit of driving people to your website and hopefully collecting their email address.

Consistency

Posting videos consistently is the number one way to grow. I’ve been surprised numerous times on what people have gravitated too. We really don’t know which video will be the big hit and end up being ranked, shared and viewed the most. If you keep posting, not only do you increase your chances, but YouTube is also likely to rank you higher.

By showing posting regularly and making it public what day you post, you are more likely to gain more followers as they know what to expect, and if your content is amazing, they won’t want to miss it. You can also talk about what you might post next, take a poll and create the next video based on feedback.

In conclusion, YouTube is not going anywhere, and it’s the second-largest search engine after Google. So even though it’s 2020 and you might feel that ship has sailed, it really hasn’t, and there’s still hope as long as you can put in the time. YouTube is still a hub for utilizing affiliate links, sponsored posts and the YouTube Partner Program still dishes out cash for content, so you have nothing to lose!

Happy YouTubing!

Are you looking to amplify your YouTube reach with Instagram or FacebookIf you are looking to grow your Instagram following visit my post 9 Strategies to Get More Instagram Engagement and to grow your Facebook Page likes, check out Facebook Growth Hacks.