Hey guys, just finished part two in my series on how to grow your channel. Thought I would share the video and writeup here since there seems to be a lot of "why is my channel not growing?" posts here.
This is not the be-all end-all, but it is how I went from 0-2300 in only a couple months.
Here is the video if you want to listen to the tips rather than read them all. Also helps to see some of my examples and visual aides.
Alright, so assuming you already followed my advice from the first video, you have your equipment, your branding, and you have refined yourself as a jack-of-all-trades.
So whats next?
I suggested that you save some money if you can. All you need is about $16.
This isn't required, but create a channel trailer (30sec-1min) and then go to your video manager, click promote. Set up a video campaign of a couple weeks, at the minimum value. If you have less than 100 subs, this should at least double your growth, and possibly do more since Google often over-serves the ads. (I paid for approximately 200 views a day, and got 7000 one day. I should note that this level of over-serve isn't typical, but over-serving at some level is common. This will kickstart your growth and allow you to save months of growing at 1-5 subs a day. If you plan on making this a business, any dollars spent early on advertising will pay off big in time saved.
Next, make sure you are continuing to respond to EVERY comment on your videos. Even with the new G+ comments, keep replying. Keep being active on twitter, gaining followers through interaction not follow chains. These are potential eyes on your videos.
Avoid giveaways. They bring subs and views short term, but give a false sense of growth. Spend the money you had for your giveaway prize for software, equipment, or ads.
Network! Find Youtubers of a similar size, in the same genre, and interact with them. Maybe collaborate on content, shout each other out, and put each other in the recommended channels box. To find a channel of similar size, go to one of your videos, look at the recommended videos on the right. Find one that has similar content, and is about the same size as you. Message them and see how you can work together.
DO NOT worry about joining a network yet. They do not help you grow, even as much as they may promise it. Just focus on your own content for now.
Lastly, focus on SEARCHABLE content not SUBSCRIBER content. I consider searchable content something that you can rank for in the search results, and is searched by people. Subscriber content is something that people will only be able to find through your social media/subscribers.
Examples:
How to import textures in photoshop- Searchable
Minecraft Lets Play Episode #23 L337 Castle!-Subscriber
Even though people may search "minecraft lets play" you are a small channel, and are unlikely to rank for it. Select topics that are appropriate for your size. As you grow, you can try to rank for more ambitious topics. The smaller you are, the more specific (and often obscure) topics you will need to try to rank for. This is a tricky line to walk, but when you figure it out, it will be obvious. When I was at 100 subs, my "How to Make a Borderlands Psycho Mask" video got 3000 views. That was specific enough that I was ranked front page. You need to find similar gateway videos in your topic area. These are where you will get most of your growth and new viewers.
Let me know what you think, and any questions or additional advice. Hope it has helped you some![DOUBLEPOST=1384564868,1384564648][/DOUBLEPOST]Just realized this perhaps belongs more in the tutorials than this section. Would a mod be willing to move it?
