Michelle
Running a YouTube channel is a fun hobby, but it’s also a lot of work. With all the time you spend scripting, filming, editing, promoting and doing all the other work that happens behind the scenes, it’s only natural that you’ll start to think about getting something back for your efforts.
Luckily, YouTubers with over 1000 subscribers and 4000 watched hours can apply to have their channels monetized. The first step to achieving this is obviously to grow your channel. Here are a few tips to help you do so, so you can start earning.
Grab Their Attention
In order to get views, your videos will need to catch the audience’s eye. The title and thumbnail of your video are the two first things viewers will see, and will determine whether or not they decide to click on your video.
Using bold and informative titles is crucial, but avoid clickbait. Making a visually appealing thumbnail is a simple and easy way to get more clicks too – try to keep things simple, professional and easy on the eye. Overly busy thumbnails could be off-putting so make sure you find the right balance.
Pick a Niche
People will be more likely to subscribe to your channel if they know what you’re about and they know that they’re interested in the type of content you produce. Picking a niche and sticking to it will help you create more of a community of viewers than if your content was all over the place.
Picking a niche is one of many ways to brand yourself and appeal to a specific group of people. For example, you can make cooking videos, fitness videos, videos about studying or productivity, gaming, etc.
Know Your Audience
As your audience starts to grow, you’ll be able to get a feel for what they like and what they don’t, and you can use this to your advantage. Adapt your content to fit the styles of videos that perform the best on your channel. As you get to know your audience’s preferences, your content will get better and better.
Think about the content itself, but also the way you communicate with viewers, the value you provide them and more. The overall experience of a YouTube channel means more than one video in isolation.
Stay on Trends
Try to follow current YouTube trends while still staying in your lane. Basically, if you run a channel that teaches people how to code, don’t suddenly start creating ASMR videos just because they’re trendy.
Instead, pay close attention to the trends in your own field and industry and stick to those. For example, if new programmes or useful information are released, make sure to talk about them on your channel in order to stay relevant. Fitness channels could discuss new techniques or products on the market.
Create Evergreen Content
If you want to get more views on your channeland continuously get views even on your older videos, you need to get into the habit of creating evergreen content. This refers to content that is always relevant and that people will always be searching for.
Evergreen content could be “how-to” videos, “best of” lists, seasonal recipes, etc. Think about what your channel does best and the type of content you could create that will age well. This will help you ensure you rack up plenty of views on a continuous basis – not just when you post something trendy and relevant.
Engage With the Community
People love to feel like they’re a part of something bigger, and online communities are a great way to create that feeling. There are a few different ways you can engage with your subscribers and grow your community.
First and foremost, it’s important to communicate directly with viewers, especially when your channel is just starting out. ‘Like’ the comments posted on your videos, or even comment back to thank viewers for their support or to answer questions and engage in discussion. Another great way to engage is by doing Q&A videos.
Run Competitions or Giveaways
People love a good competition, and they’ll do just about anything to win. Host a giveaway (or a different type of competition) with one of the prerequisites being to subscribe to your channel.
Make sure that the prize you have on offer is something relevant to your channel, so that the promotion brings in the right audience. For example, if you post study or productivity content, you could do a stationary or notebook giveaway.
