Subscriber Count Isn't The MOST Important Thing

[Peter_Brown]

I see a lot of posts here equating subscriber count to channel size. That probably isn't a great metric. I get that in general terms smaller subscriber counts generally have lower monthly view minutes but it's not a good gauge for total channel influence. I totally get that a channel with 1k subs and one with 100k are likely quite a large spread in scope. BUT don't let that single number consume you. In the end your subscriber count is just a vanity number.

For me subscriber count is most easily equated to setting your DVR to record a show. You haven't watched that show until you've....well... watched it. Until then it's just a promissory note. An IOU one view. For me I see a LOT of large channels with over a million subs that only get 100k views per video. That means that only 1/10 of there subscribers care about what they are producing. That ratio is bad...

Last year at this point I had 60k subscribers. I was getting about a million views per month. Today I have 220k subs and I'm getting.... Wait for it.... about a million views a month.(some months are better, but on average it's still 1mil or so) So, in my personal experience it is more of a vanity number than a true influence number.

I'm not saying it doesn't feel good to see it grow, but just don't let it be your sole purpose. Connecting with you audience and growing your view count seems more important to me than a number that really doesn't put more money in your pocket or change much of anything for your channel.

So, watch that view to sub ratio. It can be a good gauge for how well you are connecting with your audience. Is it low? Try sharing your video and getting in front of more eyes. Is one video outperforming others? Why? What's unique about it? Is it something you can use to improve your view count? Remember growing your channel is about connecting with an audience. When you get big, you want to make sure you still have an active viewer base behind you....

 

[ShadyHybrid]

Yeah I agree. Being a small YouTuber myself, I try not to focus too much on subscriber count, as it really isn't a good indicator of whether or not people actually enjoy your content. Some channels sub bot, or go inactive, and then get very low view counts. Having a low number of active subscribers over a high number of inactive subscribers is like choosing friends. You would rather have a few friends that would do anything for you than a hundred friends that won't even bat an eye for you. Glad you see this point of view that subscriber count isn't anything, because many YouTubers don't understand that...

 

[GamingRack]

I see a LOT of large channels with over a million subs that only get 100k views per video. That means that only 1/10 of there subscribers care about what they are producing. That ratio is bad...

About this part, don't forget not everyone will watch every single video some people sub for very specific content and ignore the rest so I wouldn't say it's bad at all.

I also disagree with it being a vanity number the content may be popular views wise but people not subbing says to me they don't like you or the content enough to get updated when you post or follow what you do with your channel which is kinda the point especially when you want to be connecting with an audience

But obviously having a laugh with YouTube is more important overall I don't really give a toss about numbers haha.

 

[Freshly Finished]

I see a lot of posts here equating subscriber count to channel size. That probably isn't a great metric. I get that in general terms smaller subscriber counts generally have lower monthly view minutes but it's not a good gauge for total channel influence. I totally get that a channel with 1k subs and one with 100k are likely quite a large spread in scope. BUT don't let that single number consume you. In the end your subscriber count is just a vanity number.

For me subscriber count is most easily equated to setting your DVR to record a show. You haven't watched that show until you've....well... watched it. Until then it's just a promissory note. An IOU one view. For me I see a LOT of large channels with over a million subs that only get 100k views per video. That means that only 1/10 of there subscribers care about what they are producing. That ratio is bad...

Last year at this point I had 60k subscribers. I was getting about a million views per month. Today I have 220k subs and I'm getting.... Wait for it.... about a million views a month.(some months are better, but on average it's still 1mil or so) So, in my personal experience it is more of a vanity number than a true influence number.

I'm not saying it doesn't feel good to see it grow, but just don't let it be your sole purpose. Connecting with you audience and growing your view count seems more important to me than a number that really doesn't put more money in your pocket or change much of anything for your channel.

So, watch that view to sub ratio. It can be a good gauge for how well you are connecting with your audience. Is it low? Try sharing your video and getting in front of more eyes. Is one video outperforming others? Why? What's unique about it? Is it something you can use to improve your view count? Remember growing your channel is about connecting with an audience. When you get big, you want to make sure you still have an active viewer base behind you....

I completely agree with this. this is the saame for when someone sends you a message on twitter or instagram or something saying hey want to sub for sub....that means absolutely nothing, its just a subscriber who will never watch any of your content, just so they can get another number from someone who probably will never watch there content. If you are on youtube JUST TO MAKE MONEY (witch i hope to god you are not) than again, your subscribers dont pay you, the views do. so if you have a million subs and only getting 1000 views, its useless. anywhoo, great write up and I was wondering, do you have any tips or ticks or advice to growing your channel as larges as you have. granted I did really enjoy the jawbreaker ring and epoxy vs bacon video lol. you cant say all you have done is upload videos and not do any leg work to get them noticed!

 

[mrarauzz]

One of my favorite streamer/youtuber gains 8 subs a day and has 1.2k daily views. He has 20k subs and I am now caught up to him in stats at 800subs. Yeah it really doesn't help compare, but I should note this YTer streams mainly.

 

[Alan esb]

A Views:Subscriber ratio of 1:10 I consider good, not bad. As someone mentions above just because a subscriber doesn't watch every video you make it doesn't mean they are of no value.

There can be many reasons why your ratio is not as high as you might expect.

Maybe you do not post your video at the right time? Some people subscribe to hundreds of channels so if you post videos at times when they aren't online it may be "ancient history" in their sub feed when they are online later that day. Let's not kid ourselves that just because someone subs to you that they sit and wait for your latest video.

Another reason why your videos have a low Views:Subscriber ratio may be that you post too often. Some people who post 3 videos every day are unlikely to have each one watched by that many subscribers. The channels I subscribe to who post many videos I tend to become more selective about which videos I watch. I very rarely watch more than one of their videos every day. That is not an argument that anyone should just post 1 video per day btw - I think the more you post the quicker you will grow but you cannot expect a high view:subscriber ratio.

I only have about 300 subscribers and I get about 30 or so of them who watch my new videos within the first few hours of it being published. After about a week I probably get about 60 of my subscribers to watch the video so a ratio of 1:5. Some may say that is bad as I have few subscribers and the ratio of views to subscribers only worsens as you get more subs. I take more encouragement from the fact that my videos keep getting steady but low views after the first week.

Like the OP I believe success is better measured in views over time. Do your videos stand the test of time or are they dated after a week? I realise some people create very topical videos and vlogs that aren't intended to be consumed for years afterwards, but as a small creator I like the idea that my videos will amalgate views steadily over time. It makes me think that the hours I spend filming and editing will pay off eventually. I see some channels who have 4000 videos yet they have not increased their monthly views for the past 3-4 years. This tells me that videos on these channels are not often seen after the first few weeks. Instead of looking at your overall subscriber count I think views over time for each of your videos is an equally good measure of success. Who wants to create 4000 videos only to have them forgotten about a year from now? A successful video graph for a video will have an initial spike for the first few weeks and subsequently a decent monthly flow of views maintained for years - and that success doesn't depend on subs but good content, good titles, good thumbnails and good SEO.

 

[Winger94]

Do your videos stand the test of time or are they dated after a week? I realise some people create very topical videos and vlogs that aren't intended to be consumed for years afterwards, but as a small creator I like the idea that my videos will amalgate views steadily over time.

I totally agree on this. If on one side it's useful to check the latest trends for obtaining more visibility, on the other one you can't base your channel on what is new because it's new now but if someone will find your video in a year and that trending is out then it would be useless to watch.
I think that there should be a mix between trending and evergreen, in that case you can attract more people. Also for the view:sub ratio I also heard that 1:10 is the normal ratio, especially for gaming channels even if that can be destabilizing sometimes ( using myself as example I'm at 33 subs so technically I should have around 3 views for being in the "normal range", even if 3 views can be considered really low) but for younger channels I think that the most views come from non-subscribed people so that's why we must use a good SEO and a bit of self promoting( spamming is a no-no, in fact I tend to promote on reddit but only one post per day and maybe even that is too much) so everything must be in balance.

 

[Peter_Brown]

... I was wondering, do you have any tips or ticks or advice to growing your channel as larges as you have. granted I did really enjoy the jawbreaker ring and epoxy vs bacon video lol. you cant say all you have done is upload videos and not do any leg work to get them noticed!

I can give loads of generic adivce, but my best advice might not make you happy. I obsess over views. Sharing videos and getting views is my most time consuming effort. I don't care about the subscriber number at all. Again that doesn't mean I don't want it to grow, but I don't think it's a good bellwether to how I'm doing. I get that feedback from views and likes:dislikes

I share each one of my videos in many locations. Probably 6-8 shares per video (over and beyond my social media). Places that I frequent and participate in. I'm active on Reddit, Imgur, Instrucables and spend lots of time on woodworking and maker forums and Facebook pages. I do detailed write-ups of my project on all those places and also try and respond to as many comments as possible. If one of my videos doesn't get a 50% view to sub ratio within a month, I consider it a failed video.

I also used to do many collaborations with other content creators. I dreamed one collab with 20 other YouTuber woodworkers. We all posted similar content on the same day (Scrap Bin Challenge) and we all added a list in the description with links to each of our channels. We all grew by a pretty large percentage that day. It was a lot of work, but worth it.

1. Obesses
   
2. Share
3. Collaborate
4. Grow

 

[ChrisLegend]

This is a really good post. Thanks for that man, it's interesting how your view count is still roughly the same regardless of your subscribers. It's so easy to get carried away with obsessing about that subscriber count and being discouraged when you don't see it increase whereas your views are progressively increasing . Gotta look at things logically and be happy of what you've achieved

 

[Gaijillionaire]

I think it's important to get 100 subs to get a base but it's true. What's a billion subs if no one watches? I sometimes make unannounced unpromoted vids just to see how much of my sub base watches it. If it hits 70% I feel ok. More, better