Wondering how to get more subscribers on YouTube? If so, you’re far from the only one. For most channel owners, getting more subscribers on board is a top priority. It’s been a constant battle. But what’s often overlooked is the importance of getting as many active and engaged subscribers signed up as possible.
Not to mention getting them to subscribe to your channel organically. It’s important to remember that getting your first 1k or even 100k subscribers is only half the job. You also need to be putting out the kind of content that keeps them on board and appeals to the YouTube algorithm.
Think about it – what’s the use of 1 million YouTube subscribers if none of them bother to check out your content? In order to grow your YouTube channel effectively, you need a video marketing strategy that goes beyond the numbers alone. If you’re serious about making things happen for your YouTube channel, this is the guide for you.
The Influence and Appeal of YouTube
As of mid-2022, YouTube had more than 2.6 billion active users. Incredibly, more than ¼ of the entire world’s population accesses YouTube at least once a month. Every day, over 1 billion hours of video content are viewed on this one platform alone. If you ever wondered what kind of competition you’re up against, now you know.
Getting lots of subscribers on board as fast as possible isn’t easy. Particularly if you’re talking real subscribers – i.e., active and authentic users with a genuine interest in your content. In terms of pure money-making potential, YouTube is in a league of its own.
It’s one of the most influential marketing platforms on Earth and can be a possible place to build your brand. Not to mention, become a successful influencer, and stack up your own personal fortune. But here’s the thing – getting ahead on YouTube without a ton of subscribers is practically impossible.
On competitive platforms like YouTube, you need to look popular in order to become popular. You also need all the subscribers you can get to become visible on YouTube in the first place. The more subscribers you have, the more likely you are to appear prominently in the search results.
At this point, the number of subscribers you have will be used to assess your credibility and value. In short, there’s no such thing as having too many subscribers on YouTube. There’s no more powerful form of social proof, and the numbers are everything. Though again, the importance of getting active and engaged subscribers on board cannot be overstated.
15 Ways to Get More Youtube Subscribers
Each of the tips and guidelines below will help you achieve two objectives at the same time – gain YouTube subscribers, and build a more engaging channel in general. Be mindful of the fact that getting hundreds or thousands of subscribers on board takes time.
Instant fame and fortune isn’t a realistic goal, so gauge your expectations accordingly. But if you bring each of the following 15 tips into your YouTube strategy, you’ll be looking at a successful channel in no time:
1. Optimize Your Channel
First up, optimizing your YouTube channel begins with conducting a full content quality audit. Use YouTube analytics to determine which of your videos have not been well received by your target audience. At which point, you can either rework them or remove them entirely.
In order to effectively optimize your YouTube channel, you need to ensure that each and every video is of the same flawless quality standard. This will help to grow your subscribers, While conducting your audit, you also need to ensure your written content is optimized for SEO.
Every video title, description, meta tag, and so on should feature appropriate SEO-friendly keywords. The keywords you embed in your content will play a key role in determining who finds your channel when searching for content on YouTube. They, therefore, need to be used strategically and consistently but always in sensible moderation.
2. Make Your Content Stand Out
Of course, you cannot expect to gain YouTube subscribers in viable numbers without standout content. The sheer scale of the competition on YouTube makes it impossible to get ahead unless you are doing something seriously special.
Each and every video you put out needs to be 100% unique and of genuine value to your target audience. It needs to serve a purpose and have something specific to offer the viewer. It can entertain, inform, educate or amuse – just as long as it does something.
3. Post Videos Consistently
Consistency is also important if looking to engage and attract YouTube subscribers. The frequency with which you should be publishing new videos depends entirely on the type of content you publish and your target audience.
But what’s important to avoid at all costs is long gaps between videos. The best way to make things happen on YouTube is to come up with a publishing schedule and stick with it.
This way, your viewers know exactly when to tune in for something new. Ensure that your publishing schedule is aligned with your audience’s most active hours. Avoid publishing when most of your viewers are offline, as doing so will take the shine off your latest content.
4. Make Unique Channel Trailers
In theory, creating an eye-catching and engaging channel trailer should be easy. This is basically your opportunity to provide newcomers with a condensed overview of your best work.
You can go two ways with a channel trailer – the first of which is to combine a bunch of short snippets of your best work together. The other is to put together a personal presentation when you yourself describe your channel and its main points of appeal.
As this is not a particularly long video, you don’t have much time to get the job done. But this is exactly the point with a channel trailer. Your goal should be to hook their attention just enough to motivate them to check out the rest of your content.
5. Create Unique Custom Thumbnails
The thumbnails you use to represent your videos are a make-or-break factor. Most people base their viewing decisions almost entirely on thumbnails – descriptions coming second. Precisely why so many publishers resort to clickbait, which in all instances is a bad idea.
If looking to increase YouTube subscribers, you need to invest heavily in your thumbnails. They need to be unique, eye-catching, and 100% relevant to your content. At a glance, they need to make it impossible for the user to skip you by. First impressions are everything, and quality custom thumbnails can be a real game changer.
6. Create Playlists
The truth is, most people on YouTube are out for an easy ride. The easier you make it for them to check out your content, the higher the likelihood they’ll do so. This is why playlists can be so powerful and influential. If they like one of your videos, chances are they’ll like your other videos. In which case, why not make YouTube playlists to keep them hooked?
When putting playlists together, it’s important to consider context and category. Grouping a whole bunch of random videos together won’t work, even if they’re all great. If you plan to make YouTube playlists, all videos featured must be connected in some way. Not that this should be difficult if you are genuinely consistent with your output.
7. Ask Your Viewers to Subscribe
If your priority is to get more YouTube subscribers, why not simply ask for them? Being straightforward is a surprisingly effective (yet often overlooked) tactic. When you think about it, there are probably countless people you could ask to join your channel.
Your friends, your family members, your colleagues at work, and even your other social media audiences. Plus, it’s also essential to include this particular CTA in your content. Ensure that every video you publish includes a reminder to subscribe. You’d be surprised how effective a gentle reminder can be, coupled with a show of genuine appreciation.
8. Use End Screens and Cards
The two most effective clickable tools on YouTube are End Screens and Cards. End Screens give you the option to include non-avoidable CTAs (calls-to-action) at the end of your video.
You can encourage viewers to subscribe to your channel, direct them straight to the next video, or even point them to your external website or blog. With Cards, you’re looking at a similar CTA tool, which can be used to add clickable links and content to your video while it is playing.
At various junctures throughout a video, you can direct the viewer to a specific URL, recommend another video or playlist, encourage them to subscribe to your channel, or even conduct a poll. All of which have the potential to translate to real engagement and more channel subscribers.
9. Reply to All Comments
Engagement and interaction hold the key to building a successful YouTube channel. Embracing the “social” aspect of social media is something you need to do. In order to both boost your subscribers and keep them on board, you need to engage with them at every available opportunity.
Replying to all comments is particularly important as a demonstration of interest and appreciation. They’ve taken the time to comment on your video, so the least they deserve is a reply. Even a simple ‘Hey (name), thanks for watching!’ is better than no reply at all.
The most attractive and engaging YouTube channels are those hosted by creators who take the time to interact with their viewers. Irrespective of whether a video gets 10, 100, or even 1,000 comments, they all need to be replied to.
10. Celebrate Your Subscriber Milestones
Celebrating subscriber milestones is a great way to demonstrate appreciation to your viewers. It’s also a tried, tested, and trusted way to get more YouTube subscribers on board. Creating videos to celebrate subscriber milestones achieves two things.
Firstly, it gives you the opportunity to thank your viewers, express your appreciation, and show how much you care. Secondly, it gives you the chance to brag about how popular your channel is and motivate new subscribers to get on board.
Each time you hit a subscriber milestone – 1k, 10k, 100k, 1 million, etc. – publish a short video to celebrate the whole thing. Or perhaps, mark the occasion with something special, like a Q&A video or a collaboration.
11. Cross Promote with Other Social Media
Promoting your channel across all of your other social accounts is essential. As is using every blog post and webpage, you publish to its full potential. Think of everything you do outside YouTube as an opportunity to promote your channel. If there’s a place you can post a link to your latest videos, do it.
Use your online assets to build hype ahead of your next videos and to funnel traffic to your channel. Regularly showcase your best work, and post links to the most popular videos in your collection. Remember that if they are interested in what you do elsewhere, chances are they’ll like your YouTube channel.
12. Manage your Channel Branding
A YouTube channel provides you with the opportunity to take your branding strategy to a new level. What matters most with YouTube channel branding is consistency. Everything needs to be a unified reflection of your brand and differentiate you from your competitors.
This includes the following elements of your channel, among others:
Banner Art
Your banner art needs to be eye-catching, original, and relevant to your niche. It needs to give the viewer an idea of the kind of content they can expect from your channel at a glance.
Channel Icon and Description
The same can also be said for your YouTube channel icon, which despite being small, can be hugely influential. Keep your channel description as brief as possible while optimizing it with SEO-friendly keywords.
Custom URL
In order to set up a custom URL, your channel must meet the following requirements set out by YouTube:
- Have 100 or more subscribers.
- Be at least 30 days old.
- Have an uploaded profile picture.
- Have an uploaded banner image.
At which point, setting up a custom (i.e., branded) URL for your channel is as simple as follows:
Step 1: “Sign In” to YouTube Studio.
Step 2: From the left Menu, select “Customization Basic info.”
Step 3: Under Channel URL, click “Set a custom URL for your channel.”
Step 4: You can choose the suggested custom URL based on your channel name or add extra letters or numbers to make your custom URL unique.
You then simply need to click “Publish,” then “Confirm” to finalize your custom URL.
13. Conduct Contest and Do Giveaways
There’s really nothing like a freebie to encourage social media users to take action. Contests and giveaways can be pure gold for anyone looking to build YouTube subscribers. All you need to do is make it mandatory for those taking part to be subscribed to your channel.
The more desirable the prizes you come up with, the more people you can expect to take part. When planning and hosting giveaways, promote them as aggressively as possible across all your other social channels.
You’ll be surprised just how many people are willing to join your channel if there’s something tangible in it for them. Just be sure not to short-change your audience with lame prizes, or your efforts will have the opposite of the intended effect.
14. Collaborate with Other Creators
Collaborations create a win-win scenario. You work with someone in your niche, you present your joint video to your audience, and they do the same with theirs. In an instant, your content, your channel, and your name are exposed to a potentially huge pool of new subscribers.
YouTube collaborations work differently from influencer marketing in that they are 100% free. They can also be much easier to arrange – all you need to do is reach out to other creators within your niche. Pitch your idea, show them your best content to date, and tell them how they stand to benefit by joining forces with you.
15. Buy YouTube Subscribers
Last up, by far the quickest and easiest way to get more subscribers on board is to buy them from Media Mister. To buy YouTube subscribers is to give your channel an immediate and permanent credibility boost. At Media Mister, you can buy subscribers that are 100% authentic – i.e., real people with active YouTube accounts.
All are covered by an extensive retention warranty and a full money-back guarantee. There really is no quicker way of giving your channel a major image boost. The more subscribers you have, the more likely you are to be seen as legit.
At this point, it becomes much easier to convince more organic subscribers to sign up. Particularly for newer channels still finding their feet, buying a bunch of subscribers right off the bat comes highly recommended.
Conclusion
The most effective YouTube strategy is one that combines all of the 16 activities outlined above. Ultimately, it is the quality of the content you create that will determine the outcome. But even with the most outstanding videos, YouTube has ever seen, you still need to promote your work as aggressively as possible.
Buying subscribers is the fastest and most effective way to get things off the ground. After which, publishing standout quality on a regular and consistent basis is essential. Your channel needs to be a picture of professionalism at a glance, and your text needs to be optimized for SEO.
Creating playlists can also help bring more subscribers on board, as can regular contests and giveaways. Simply asking people to subscribe to your channel with CTAs can also be surprisingly effective. Last up, never overlook the importance of promoting your content and your channel outside YouTube.
Use every social media account and webpage at your disposal to showcase your best work and drive traffic to your profile page. Follow each of the guidelines above, and you’ll soon be on your way to a successful (and perhaps monetizable) YouTube channel.
