The first reply is the one that really did it for me. Plus, the dude's name is my name backwards, so... there's that.
The market is absolutely replete with wannabe YouTubers right now, thanks to Pewds and others like him. The only way to be genuinely successful is to grind it out, be patient, and most of all, be genuine. Sub for sub isn't a genuine way to build a community. It's a "you scratch my back, I'll scratch yours, and then never we'll never watch each other's content again" approach.
I'm new at this, but it's already quite clear to me that the answer to your question is as follows, more or less in this order:
1) ENJOY WHAT YOU ARE DOING. Do not do it for the subs or the money. Stop it.
2) Have confidence/faith in your content/self. Back to #1, if you are constantly feeling like not enough people care about you, it will show in your content.
3) Make a steady, reliable stream of content. This advice comes straight from a top YouTuber. Generate content and don't stop. Do it on a schedule your viewers can see and track.
4) Present yourself as if you were talking to your dream audience. Make your channel and videos look like your ideal viewer expects them to look like.
5) Involve yourself in YouTube communities like this one and others. Actually participate. People will see you and begin to respect you for who you are.
6) Involve yourself in communities related to your content, like forums for games you play. Same as above.
7) Create a wide social media footprint. Kind of like the two above, this just gives you more avenues to interact with a potential audience.
There may be more to it, but I'm still learning. Food for thought.
-H