How To Get More YouTube Subscribers
Clean House
Do you have videos from ten years ago on your channel that were shot with a flip phone? Get rid of old videos that don’t align with your current brand. Do you have dozens of playlists, so that it’s confusing for the viewer? Is your header properly sized for YouTube? Does it look professional? Ask yourself this, “Would you subscribe to your channel?”
Create A Great Trailer
I’m lucky to have an amazing editor that made a professional looking trailer and intro for my videos. I highly suggest using a good editor, if possible. It’s not as expensive as you think. Check out Fiverr for some great freelancers. You can also use them for graphic design to help you create a cool logo or header for your site. Make sure you have a clear message. What is your channel about? You need to communicate that clearly in a 30 second trailer.
Design Great Thumbnails
I never do this. I just use a clip of the interview subject and screen shot it. Here’s an example.
Tom WardA Thumbnail Image From Under The Influence
Now, look at what a professional YouTuber does. Look how much better this one looks. I’m a big fan of Shane Dawson. He’s hilarious and if you haven’t heard of him, check out his channel. He always has wacky videos and his thumbnails reflect that.
Shane DawsonA Thumbnail Image From Shane Dawson’s Site
You can learn to edit them yourself, or pay someone to do it, but take it seriously because they’re important. It’s like a book cover for your video.
Post Amazing Content
Sounds obvious, right? I think a lot of us fall into this trap, “I need to post a million videos a week or my subscribers will jump ship and never watch me again!” Trust me, no one is thinking about your videos as much as you are. Post quality, rather than quantity.
Be Consistent
Why would you subscribe to a channel that hasn’t posted in two months? You wouldn’t. You don’t need to post every day, but if you’re going to post once a week, then do it every week. The Merrell Twins told me, “When we started posting videos we had a goal that we’d post a new video every Tuesday. And we’ve never missed one, no matter what else was going on in our lives.”
Have A Contest
Is this cheating? I don’t think so. I’m in the middle of a contest right now. There’s a great site, Gleam, that runs the contest for you. You select the way people can enter, like: Subscribing to your channel, following you on Instagram, leaving a comment, etc. They give you a landing page that you can share on your social media, your blog or your channel to help promote it. I did my contest with goal of getting more subscribers. Make sure you have a clear goal for your contest.
Promote Your Channels In Online Communities
I just watched a great YouTube video where Gary Vaynerchuk was talking about how you could make $70,000 a year talking about Smurfs. He was being funny, but also serious. There’s an audience for just about every topic, and if you can tap into them, you’ll grow your audience. Be engaged in relevant conversations on Reddit, Twitter chats, Facebook Groups, and LinkedIn groups and you’ll grow your subscribers.
Collaborate With Other YouTubers
Every big YouTuber does this, and so should you. By working with other creators you get exposed to their audience. Search for other channels in your space and reach out to them. Make sure you pick channels that have a similar sized following. If you have 500 subscribers, don’t reach out to someone with 500,000.
Create Great Playlists
Do you have a series of videos that go together? Group them together in a playlist. It’ll encourage people to binge watch them and they’ll be more likely to subscribe to your channel because they’ll want to see your next video.
Create Searchable Titles
Most people pick their titles last and don’t put much thought into them. I used to do the same thing when I was writing an article. I’d write the article, and then just pick the first title that popped in my head. That was a big mistake. Come up with a great title first and more people will find your videos and subscribe to your channel.
Set A Goal
I shot a funny video, How To Shoot A YouTube Video, For Clueless Aspiring YouTubers (Like Me) with YouTuber Marissa Rachel, where she showed me how to become a YouTuber. I wasn’t sure what to say at the end of my video and she told me, “You always have to ask the viewer to like the video and to subscribe to your channel. Set a goal, like you want to get to 300 subscribers, and ask your viewers to help you reach it. Make sure it’s attainable, and if the viewer likes you, they’ll do it to help you out.” Every big YouTuber asks their viewers to subscribe and so should you.
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