If you’re on YouTube, you have a lot of options for growing your subscriber base and earning money and/or building your brand and promoting your business. Your competition, on the other hand, has risen dramatically in the last decade. Every minute, 400 hours of video were uploaded to YouTube in July of 2015. In May of last year, the number jumped to 600 hours of video per minute.
It’s never been easy to build a brand and/or make money on YouTube. Many content creators are turning to merchandising, content marketing, and crowdfunding on platforms like Patreon as the platform continues its demonetization trend. But those are topics for another day.
Despite the platform’s competitiveness and obstacles, having a broad YouTube subscriber base is always a valuable advantage. You can consider creating YouTube brand account to rapidly increase your customers. There’s many ways to make the most of YouTube when following your video content passions and goals. Today, we’ll look at how to increase your YouTube subscriber count in particular and how to get more people – and people in your target audience – to click that YouTube subscribe link.
Just Ask
The simplest way to get more people to subscribe to your YouTube channel is to actually ask them to do so. Why would your viewers not subscribe if they already like the video you’re showing them?
You have a big gap in your pipeline that future subscribers are slipping through if you don’t encourage your viewers to subscribe with a brief reminder and a visual prompt.
The red subscribe button is always visible underneath your video. In the drab YouTube color scheme, it stands out. Many times, all the audience requires is a gentle prompt to click on it.
Despite the fact that this first approach is by far the simplest, many YouTubers prefer not to use it. Some are also concerned that they will come off as too pushy and lose potential subscribers as a result. Even if you’re hesitant about the idea, this is rarely the case.
All you have to keep in mind is that you’re supplying them with information that they find interesting or useful (or both). You’re doing them a favor by allowing them to see more with a single mouse click.
It is important how you bring up the YouTube subscribe link. Try to bring it up at the appropriate time and with the appropriate tone. When they’re the happiest with your video, it’s a good time to bring it up. This is normally at the end of your videos or immediately after you’ve shared the best, most insightful, funniest, or simply the best material to them.
Use Engaging Outros
This is another “salesy” technique that you can use on all your YouTube channel videos and should. The end of your videos is a great place to build anticipation for your channel and what’s to come.
A viewer who clicks the YouTube subscribe link is impressed with what they’ve seen and eager for more. So, keep the momentum going and react by mentioning what you’re going to do next. Talk about the videos you’ll be uploading to your YouTube channel in the future. Discuss subjects that you know your audience is interested in and tease your upcoming insights into it.
The aim of these teaser outros is to create anticipation for your upcoming videos. They only take a few extra minutes to create and the ROI on that effort can be huge over time.
Use the Clickables YouTube Offers You
YouTube allows you to add clickable boxes to your videos. We strongly advise you to use them to increase interest and, as a result, YouTube subscribers.
This can be accomplished in a number of ways. At the end of your video, you can add a watermark that reminds viewers to subscribe. These watermarks serve as a second subscribe button, but they are located on the main video screen, making them much more visible to some viewers, usually those who don’t scroll down to the comment section.
On your end screen, you can also add more noticeable reminders. End screens can be configured to offer two clickable links to other related videos on your channel, as well as another background alert to subscribe.
Make a YouTube Channel Trailer
Users who visit your channel will be taken to the homepage, which features a single video. Their first experience of your channel will most likely be the YouTube intro. Put your best foot forward if you want to attract new subscribers.
A high-quality YouTube channel trailer will pique the curiosity of first-time viewers, often enough to click that YouTube subscribe link as well as watch the content you’ve uploaded.
Make Better Use of YouTube Playlists
Your visibility in YouTube’s search algorithm will benefit greatly from playlists. When your individual videos do not appear on the side of users’ screens, your playlists often will. Playlists play a unique role in YouTube’s search algorithm. They can be used in conjunction with your standard videos as part of a larger content strategy.
Your YouTube playlists should ideally resemble a highly bingeable Netflix series. However, for certain channels, a less linear playlist approach would suffice. However you choose to use them the playlists you create should be in line with the rest of your channel and include high-quality videos that really showcase what kinds of content those who clik that YouTube subscribe list can expect to see.
Lead Your Viewers to Your Next Video
Remember how we talked about the final screen? You can add links to your other videos there as well. This is a fantastic opportunity for you to keep your viewers engaged and gain new subscribers. Viewers who continue to watch your videos are more likely to be interested in your channel.
Ensure that the videos in your end screen are related to the video in which they are embedded. They should all be on the same subject so that your viewers can happily keep watching your videos without getting confused.
Offer YouTube Contests
Contests are an excellent way to increase viewer engagement. You can hold a variety of different competitions without too much effort or even expense. The aim is to create a buzz and entice people to take action.
YouTube contests aren’t going to increase your subscriber count by themselves. They can, however, be part of a larger strategy to keep people watching your videos. A higher subscriber count is often associated with more screen time, and, if monetization is your goal for your YouTube channel, more revenue.
Do Your YouTube Keyword Research
It’s a lot easier to attract new audiences if you know what they’re looking for. The simpler this task becomes the more niche your videos are.
The aim of YouTube keyword research is to be able to create a title and description for your video that will help it rank higher in search results. It will be difficult to compete for popular search words like “cute puppies.” However, considering keywords when creating niche “how-to” guides or other material that interested consumers are searching for will significantly improve your viewership.
Remember to keep the video highly relevant when changing titles and descriptions for keyword purposes. Making improvements like this will only help if the videos deliver on the promises made in their titles. Unfulfilled commitments can occasionally result in more quick views, but they will not result in new subscribers and you may even lose some of those you’ve gained if they feel ‘conned.’
Celebrate YouTube Subscriber Milestones
You may have some casual viewers who watch some of your videos but aren’t yet committed fans. You could use a quick mention of subscriber milestones as a reminder, and thank all of your subscribers for their assistance in getting you there.
Thanking your audience and letting them know you care is a powerful reminder for would-be subscribers to click that YouTube subscribe link. It also means that the channel’s viewers are a part of it (which they are). You don’t have to be aggressive about it if that’s not your style, but a simple, sincere “thank you” is always appreciated.
Be More Consistent with YouTube Content Creation
If your content marketing is out of tune, no amount of tips and tricks can help. Your videos should maintain the same brand image and be consistent with it. The more consistent you are, the more quickly your efforts will be rewarded.
Make sure you don’t go too long without recording a video. You don’t have to make videos all the time. However, releasing new videos on a regular basis can help to keep your audience interested in your brand. It is easier to build your following if you manage expectations.
If you know you’ll be taking a break but intend to return, let your audience know! Every now and then, everybody takes a break. Simply inform your audience, give them a thank-you message, and let them know when you’ll be back.
Communicate With Your YouTube Subscribers
In order to market a young channel, you must communicate with your subscribers. You should make an effort to respond to comments, particularly if your channel is new. Don’t feed the trolls; instead, acknowledge and react to constructive reviews, as well as sincere criticism.
“Hey man, I love your stuff, but I can’t hear anything in my left earbud,” for example, is a common example of sincere criticism.
In this case, you can say “thank you,” mention the issue, and work on improving your audio in the future.
Other great ways to react to your audience include “hearting” or pinning really amusing or informative comments to the top of the comments section. This is a fantastic way to launch a conversation with your most ardent followers. You can, of course, react again in a pinned comment line.
Remember Quality Over Quantity
There’s a bad idea that’s been circulating for a long time. Some people believe you should create as many YouTube videos as possible. After all, more videos mean more time spent watching them, which helps the search algorithms. So goes the theory anyway.
The reality is that sacrificing video quality for quantity is akin to repeatedly shooting yourself in the foot. If you want to increase your subscriber count, choose quality over quantity.
You should upload videos on a regular basis, but low quality will irritate your most ardent fans and will not likely attract many new ones. High-quality videos are what bring in new viewers in the first place, and they’re also what keeps them coming back, and nudges them into clicking that YouTube subscribe link.
Need help with YouTube keyword research, SEO, or YouTube in general? Pearl Lemon’s YouTube experts are standing by. Get in touch here and let’s talk about how we can help you.
